Road Atlanta is a premier track, one of the greats of all time. We are lucky to race there regularly and it’s easy to forget that it’s a bucket-list drive for a lot of racers. That said, the NASA Southeast regulars found themselves among a large group of folks from other regions this weekend, creating the largest Spec Miata field so far this year.
Saturday highlights included a great run toward the pointy end by Steve Kaney, who finished sixth despite a missed shift at Turn 12. Turn 10a is always a great place to make a well-executed pass, but it was 10b where Dylan Stancil got sideways allowing Yan Dia to slip past. At the finish line, the podium had Mark Gibbons in third, Brian Henderson in second and Spec Miata hot shoe Todd Buras in first.
Sunday saw qualifying on a wet track, although most went out on dry tires. Once race time came, it was fully dry and the racing heated up. The best battle of the race was midpack with Dia, Kaney, Keith Williamson, Stancil and David Henderson Jr. all nose to tail, working the draft on the long back stretch. Traffic from other classes eventually broke them up, but a few well-placed bump drafts kept them together. At the finish, Brian Henderson crossed the stripe first, followed by Ryan Fisher and Mark Gibbons.
Big fields, tight racing and great friends. That’s why NASA Southeast is home to such passionate Spec Miata racers!
