And then there was one. The last race weekend of the year, held at beautiful Road America, was cold — below freezing at night — but the changing of the leaves surrounding the 4-mile road course was as outstanding as the racing.
Saturday was an action-packed, double-points race day, with nine Spec Miatas qualifying. Justin Hille set fast lap, with Chris Williams and George Clos Jr. rounding out the top three.
Williams jumped out to an early lead over Hille and Clos Jr. heading into a gaggle of 944s in Turn 1. The race was a one of traffic management as the Spec Miatas had to work through all but one or two of the 944 Spec cars. Hille bowed out early, bringing on a full-course yellow, when he had to park just before the kink due to a failed throttle cable.
The single-file restart bunched everyone up again. Williams was pursued by Scott Dennewitz but Williams held on for the win, as Davis, and George Clos Jr. crossed the finish within .2 seconds of each other in a dramatic fight for the last podium spot. Davis won his first podium of the year, with Clos Jr. taking fourth.
The second race grid was set by fast lap in race one, and Williams held the pole. Hille had managed to put in a good lap before his throttle cable let go, and he and the car were ready for the second race of the day nabbing the second spot on the grid with George Clos Jr. in third.
The drop of the green saw Williams jump out to an early lead, and immediately into the back of the Spec 944s again. Hille gave chase, but this weekend belonged to Williams as he completed the sweep, setting a NASA track record in the process. Hille brought home second, followed by Davis in third.
In the end, Justin Hille earned his second consecutive championship in NASA Great Lakes. Chris Williams came in second again, with Chris Price rounding out the points championship in third.
In NASA Midwest contests, Chris Williams won his first points championship thanks to the Road America performances. Ben Paderta took second, without even racing in the last two Midwest events, and in another show of brotherly love, Andrew Clos edged out Jamie Clos by just three points for the third and final podium spot in the Midwest.
