The NASA Texas Region descended on Eagles Canyon Raceway April 11–12 for the Spring Fling, bringing a packed grid of Spec Miatas to the 2.7-mile circuit. Known for its technical elevation changes and windy conditions, Eagles Canyon provided a grueling test for veteran drivers and rising stars in the Teen Mazda Challenge.
Tensions were high as the Spec Miata field shared the track with the Spec E46 class. While multi-class racing can often lead to traffic headaches, drivers noted a surprising level of synergy. Gavin Vaughan, a TMC driver, remarked that it was the “best group for us to be grouped with,” noting that the faster BMWs stayed well clear of the Miata battles. John Hamner, who goes by his middle name Patrick, agreed, calling the weekend “awesome” because the E46 field was consistently quick, preventing the usual “back-marker” bottlenecks.
Saturday, Race One
The opening race of the weekend belonged to John Hamner, who secured his first career Spec Miata pole position and followed it up with a commanding victory. Hamner credited his qualifying success to a tow provided by Vaughan, which gave him the necessary slipstream to top the charts.
“Race one went about as well as it could possibly go,” Hamner said. “I put it on pole, got away at the beginning and out in first place, and immediately folded my mirror down so I couldn’t see Logan and Gavin behind me.”
The battle for the podium was a frantic four-car train involving Hamner, Logan Stretch, Gavin Vaughan, and Beckett Friesen. While Hamner held the lead, a late-race yellow flag at Turn 11 prevented a move from Stretch.
“Logan was making a move to try to pass me at Turn 11 and all I had to do is stick my finger out and point at the flag station and he went right back in line,” Hamner recalled.
Vaughan, who finished just 0.301 seconds behind the leader, described the intensity of the pack: “For the first maybe five or six laps, it was like a four-car train. I could not shake Beckett off.”
Behind the lead pack, Andrew Adleta engaged in a tactical duel with Trevor McCallion, eventually making a pass on the final lap. “I got him on the way up the hill. He went a little wide and I just got a better exit,” Adleta said.
Saturday’s race one ended with Hamner in first, Stretch in second, Vaughan in third, with Friesen and Robert Watson in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Saturday, Race Two
Race two saw a shift in momentum as Logan Stretch found the speed that had eluded him in the morning. Despite a rocky start where Stretch “mis-shifted at the start like four times,” he clawed his way back to take the victory.
The race was defined by mechanical attrition. Gavin Vaughan, who started third, was forced to retire after only four laps due to a terrifying double brake failure. “I started to lose my brake pedal,” Vaughan said. “I ended up having two calipers seized. The car would pull one direction under braking one time, and then pull the other direction the next time.”
Manfredi Alliata also suffered a bizarre mechanical failure when his shifter completely detached from the transmission. Alliata explained that the threads where the shifter screws into the transmission had failed.
At the front, Beckett Friesen and John Hamner traded positions in a nail-biting finish. Hamner led into the final lap, but Friesen pulled off a rare maneuver. “He made a move on the outside of Turn 15 … and passed me at the line by about 2 or 3 feet,” Hamner said.
Saturday Race two resulted in Stretch taking the win, followed by Friesen in second, Hamner in third, Watson in fourth and Mark Curlee in fifth.
Sunday, Race Three
Sunday brought cooler heads but higher stakes. The grid was set by the fastest lap of the weekend, putting Hamner back on pole. However, the race was neutralized early by a “catastrophic” hub failure on Gavin Vaughan’s car at Turn 5.
“My car decided that it wanted to try to go a little faster through the corner, and it shot me in the grass and in the air,” Vaughan said. “I vividly remember being in the air and the thought came in my head: ‘Wow, I’m about to flip.'” Fortunately, the car stayed upright, and Vaughan escaped uninjured.
After the restart, Stretch checked out to take the win, but the battle for second was legendary. Alliata, having made substantial suspension adjustments after Saturday’s struggles, charged from seventh on the grid to challenge Hamner.
Hamner, meanwhile, was driving a wounded car. Contact with Stretch on the restart had partially detached Hamner’s rear bumper. “I had a big sail dragging around behind me for the whole race,” Hamner noted. Alliata chose his moment carefully: “The benefit of pushing [Hamner] would have been getting closer to Logan, but what happens if the bumper drops? I basically decided it was time to make the move. I got this one.” Alliata secured second place in the final corner of the final lap.
Race three ended with Stretch in first, Alliata in second, Hamner in third, Frisen in fourth and Watson in fifth.
Conclusion
The weekend at Eagles Canyon Raceway served as a masterclass in Spec Miata parity. Logan Stretch emerged as the weekend’s statistical leader with two wins, while John Hamner celebrated a career milestone with his first pole and victory. The resilience of the field was on full display, from Alliata’s setup-driven comeback to Erin Price’s consistent top-10 finishes despite hub concerns. As NASA Texas looks forward to the next round, the debate over mechanical safety — specifically rear hubs — remains a hot topic, but the spirit of competition has never been stronger.
