The first of NASA Great Lakes’ three trips to Mid-Ohio in 2026 produced some great racing and challenging conditions. For the first race on Saturday, drivers had to mount the Hoosier SMW for the first time this season. All three races for the weekend used the 2.25 mile, 13-turn Pro Course without the chicane at the entry to Keyhole.
Eleven Spec Miatas met on the grid for the early Saturday warmup with cloudy conditions and temperatures in the 70s. The results were a good indicator of where the competitive racing would be. Topping the session was Teen Mazda Challenge racer Lincoln Olson with a 1:43.26 a miniscule .06 faster than former series champion John Allen. Another tenth behind was Wyatt Wood and the next three cars were a second behind but only separated by .270 seconds.
Qualifying took place two hours later in the same conditions, on a dry track. Results were similar to the warmup, with Olson capturing his first pole of the season, improving his time by 0.6 seconds with a 1:42.6. Three tenths behind was Allen in P2 and Wood in P3. A pack of five competitors led by Ryan “Serenity Now” Waldo were 0.7 adrift of the top three, oddly enough reflecting the same spread seen in the season opener at NCM.
The Mid-Ohio course received heavy rain prior to the afternoon race, and as racers headed to the grid, the intensity lessened but never enough for the track to dry. The Olson/Allen/Wood trio pushed each other hard for the full 10 laps under green, each taking a turn at the lead. Wood took the win with a last-lap pass on Allen.
Dry conditions returned for Sunday, with welcome sunshine, but 10 degrees cooler. The top three led by Allen from P1 were rarely separated by more than a half second for the first five laps until Olson made his way to first and created a small gap of just over 0.7 seconds. His turn at the lead lasted three laps until a left front spindle left the chat with two laps remaining, fortunately without major damage to the car. Allen held on for the win over Wood.
Chris Rawlings and Esteban Velez battled for P4, swapping positions twice, with Rawlings finishing ahead and grabbing the final podium spot after Olson’s unfortunate luck. The race for fifth between Michael Spivey, Justin Hare, and Ryan Waldo may have been the most interesting of the race. The three shuffled positions several times through the 11 laps, Waldo moved up two spots with two laps remaining and held the position, with Spivey sixth and Hare finishing seventh.
The final race of the weekend also remained dry, led on track by Allen and the next seven Spec Miatas within 2 seconds based on race two fast lap times. The competition was a little less exciting up front, with Allen holding P1 and building nearly a 5-second lead at the checkers. Wood and Rawlings exchanged positions twice early on until Wood settled in at P2. Chris Schuster had his best finish of the weekend, starting P7, passing three competitors by lap two and holding that position to the finish.
Waldo, Velez, Spivey, and Hare continued their race two fun with a similar amount of passing, and waiting to take advantage of another’s mistake. They finished from P5 with Velez on a last lap pass to top Waldo, followed by Hare with Spivey suffering a mechanical issue on the last lap.
Shout Outs for the Weekend
- Justin Hare for graduating NASA Great Lakes ITS (Instructor Training School) joining several other of our SM racers who are sharing their knowledge and teaching others.
- The entire SM field for an incident-free rain race on Saturday.
- The SM paddock for push-starting John Allen a couple times.
- Chris Schuster for an evening parts run to rebuild a AIX Mustang transmission Saturday night.
- Esteban Velez gets the hard luck award running out of gas with one lap remaining in race two.
- John Allen, 1:41.937 during race three Sunday afternoon. Track record is 1:41.6 (set in 2007)
