With qualifying lap times from third to ninth place separated by less than a tenth of a second, the NASA Texas Spec Miata contingent proved once again why it remains the most competitive class in the region.
“Cresson is a place that rewards or punishes mistakes,” said Vinnie Baratta, who battled through a bent subframe during the event. “If you’re not bang-on consistent, you’re going to make mistakes and mistakes are going to get punished.”
Saturday Recaps: A Gift and a Grind
The weekend started with a drafting clinic during the first race on Feb. 28. Gavin Vaughan took the top spot, but the real story was the battle for the final podium positions. Manfredi Alliata and Nick Harwood engaged in a grueling duel that culminated in a side-by-side sprint to the finish line, with Alliata securing third place by a mere .021 seconds.
Vaughan took the win in race one, but second place Trevor McCallion scored the fast lap of the race at 1:24.722. Alliata came in third, with Harwood and Christopher Shaffer in fourth and fifth respectively.
For Saturday afternoon’s race two, front-row starters Vaughan and McCallion made contact early, opening the door for the rest of the field. Harwood narrowly escaped the wreckage to take a commanding win, finishing 4.5 seconds ahead of Teen Mazda Challenge driver Andrew Adleta. However, the race was marred by aggressive contact throughout the pack, leading to the disqualification of Robert Watson for a “punt” in Rattlesnake.
“Race two for me was a bit of a gift,” Harwood said. “The front row decided to swap positions. All of a sudden Trevor and Gavin kind of came together side to side and effectively took themselves both out. I narrowly escaped that and kept on going.”
For race two, Harwood took the win, followed by Adleta. Alliata took third, followed by Mark Curlee in fourth and McCallion in fifth.
Sunday Coverage: Endurance and Redemption
Sunday’s race tree tested the drivers’ stamina with a 40-minute, 25-lap marathon. The morning air was filled with the scent of hot brakes and the sound of shifting gears as drivers managed tire wear over the 40-minute session. Vaughan reclaimed his position at the top, but the focus was on the persistent headwind after Big Bend, which made drafting essential for survival.
“The story of my race was the little mistakes that cost you and let you fall out of a draft,” Baratta said of the long Sunday morning session.
Watson made a stellar comeback following his Saturday disqualification, carving through the field to secure a third-place podium finish. “I was waiting for [Harwood] to make a mistake because I was tired of seeing him in my mirror,” Watson joked after the race.
Gavin Vaughan took his third win of the weekend, followed by Adleta, Watson, Harwood and Baratta.
The final event, race four, saw Krystin Jaenicke find her rhythm. After a frustrating Saturday where a minor contact resulted in a flat tire, she shaved 1.5 seconds off her best lap time over the weekend to finish on the podium. She attributed much of her Sunday success to the “rabbit” in front of her.
“Erin and I had a lot of fun,” Jaenicke said. “I had an opportunity to have a rabbit to chase. You can kind of pick up on a few things and carry that little bit more speed through the corners.”
Adleta took the win, followed by Erin Price, with Jaenicke in third, Travis Satterfield in fourth and Scott Seberti in fifth.
Key Driver Perspectives
Technical challenges were a recurring theme from Cresson. From the transition to Hoosier tires to the surprising rate of hub failures, the Spec Miata paddock was as much a laboratory as it was a racetrack.
“The whole weekend was basically a science experiment,” Baratta said regarding the tire switch. Harwood echoed the sentiment, noting that the stickier Hoosiers might be contributing to mechanical strain: “It does seem to eat up our hubs a little more. The Hoosier has a lot to do with that. It’s a little stickier.”
Beyond the mechanics, a new alliance emerged this weekend. Drivers Jaenicke and Erin Price announced the formation of Black Asphalt Racing, with Bill Agha serving as team principal. The new team aims to bring a professional, unified front to the Texas Spec Miata field, which has seen a surge in “metal-to-metal” incidents.
“We want more people in our field,” Harwood said. “Over the last couple years, we’ve kept things really clean. This last weekend was a little bit of a step back, but I think everybody’s taking a little bit of an introspective on what happened.”
Conclusion
The March Madness event at MSR Cresson concluded with Gavin Vaughan and Nick Harwood solidified as the men to beat, while Andrew Adleta continues to prove his status as a rising star in the Spec Miata ranks. While the weekend was physically taxing and mechanically expensive for some, the high-speed chess match of drafting at Cresson remains a highlight of the NASA Texas calendar.
The region now looks ahead to the next stop at Eagles Canyon Raceway, where rivalries are expected to simmer and the newly formed Black Asphalt Racing will look to make its mark on the podium.
