944 Spec round three found us back at Mid-Ohio with a contingent of six drivers. Our core group welcomed Mid Ohio School instructor Taylor Byrne in his first 944 Spec race.
Saturday’s qualifying saw Steve Brewster on the pole followed by Brad Raum, Shannon McCue, Tara Brewster, Rick Briggs and Taylor Byrne. At race time the 944 Spec pack was in the second wave of the field, behind the three GTS 2 cars, in a total field of nearly 50 cars. At the start of the race, McCue jumped out in the lead with Raum hot on his heels for the first lap. Raum got a good run on McCue and took the inside line to take the lead in the Keyhole. Good battles took place throughout the race that managed to stay green for the duration, with the exception of a couple of turns where cars went off and got right back on again. At the drop of the checkered flag, it was Raum taking home his first win in 2014, followed by McCue 9 seconds back, then Steve Brewster, Byrne, Briggs and Tara Brewster.
Sunday greeted us with rain showers and the 944 racers switched to the full tread Toyo RA-1s. McCue showed his rain driving skills and took pole position with the best qualifying time. He was followed by Tara Brewster, Raum, Byrne and Steve Brewster. At race time, the rain was coming down at a pretty good rate. At the green flag, Tara Brewster had a great line and managed to get the lead followed by McCue, Byrne, Braum and Steve Brewster. At the top of madness Byrne got a bit loose in the wet and a little rubbing action took place between him and McCue, who managed to stay ahead of Byrne and the entire field was carefully navigating their 944s for the best rain line on the track and dicing through some slower traffic. McCue managed to get a good run on Tara Brewster at the exit of Thunder Valley and took the lead and never looked back. Raum and Byrne managed to get around Tara Brewster and had a close battle at many points in the race. At the checkered flag it was McCue, Brad nine seconds back, Byrne, Tara and Steve Brewster.
