Eighteen Spec Miatas rolled into Carolina Motorsports Park this May to fight it out for the top spot on the podium. On Saturday Broderick Bauguess set fastest time for pole position, with a 1:49.446 followed by Aiden Crouse P2, Keith Williamson P3, Eric Gerchak P4, Scott Carlisle P5 and John Palazzolo P6.
In the race, Crouse got a good run through turns 1 and 2 to edge out Bauguess at Turn 3 for the lead while Gerchak also got the better run in Turn 1 to take P4 away from Williamson and Carlisle and Palazzolo held on to fifth and sixth. Annika Carter then picked off Palazzolo going into Turn 5. Bauguess bump-drafted Crouse on lap two and then got a run to make the inside pass on Crouse at Turn 8 for the lead.
Bauguess and Crouse then continued to gap the field, and on lap three Palazzolo took back P6 from Carter. On lap six Don Elvington, who missed the qualifying due to a mechanical problem, got around Palazzolo for P6. On lap eight, Williamson got a run on Gerchak through Turn 13 and made the inside pass at Turn 14 to move up to P3. After starting the race P17, Elvington ended his charge toward the front with a pass on Carlisle for P5. Crouse continued to hound Bauguess throughout the race but Broderick Bauguess held on to set the fastest race lap and win the race. Aiden Crouse finished P2 with Keith Williamson a distant P3, Eric Gerchak P4, Don Elvington P5 and Scott Carlisle P6.
On Sunday Bauguess won pole position again with a 1:49.638 followed by Crouse P2, Williamson P3, Gerchak P4, Elvington P5 and Yan Dia P6.
At the start Bauguess and Crouse went through the first three turns side by side until Crouse exited Turn 3 with a little more momentum to finally take the lead entering Turn 4. Gerchak took P3 away from Williamson again at Turn 1 and Dia edged out Elvington for P5. The first four cars stayed close and began gapping the field until lap three when the race was red flagged to reset a crash barrier. On the restart, Bauguess appeared to miss a shift and Williamson moved up to P2 with Bauguess P3 and Gerchak P4.
Bauguess pushed hard to reclaim his position bump drafting Williamson up to the kink and then diving inside for the pass at Turn 11. Bauguess continued to push hard and broke late for Turn 1 to get inside Crouse. Crouse did an over-under move as Bauguess had scrubbed much of his momentum and was able to beat Bauguess to Turn 3 to take back the lead. Gerchak worked with Williamson, bump-drafting, for several laps but the pair were unable to close up on the two leaders.
Williamson took a defensive line on the last two laps and Gerchak, on the last lap, tried to carry too much speed into Turn 14, spun and went off track. Bauguess tried a couple more times pass, but each time Crouse held on and took the win with Williamson P3, Elvington P4, Ernie Cole P5 and Gerchak P6.
