If the first race weekend of 2026 is any indication, it will be filled with close racing. The margin of victory for all three races totaled 0.58 seconds on the new-to-NASA Spec Miata Hoosier RCES. The new rubber was christened on National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park’s Grand Full course with 23 turns and 3.15 miles of challenging asphalt.
A total of 19 Spec Miatas filled the grid to start the NASA Great Lakes 2026 season and the Friday test day was spent understanding the Hoosiers, confirming car changes made during the offseason, and for many racers, knocking off five months of rust after finishing the 2025 at the same track.
Topping the time sheet after 20 minutes of warmup was Wyatt Wood with a 2:26.58 who was over a second faster than the next two, Teen Mazda Challenge racers Aryton Grim (2:27.7) and Lincoln Olson (2:27.8).
Qualifying followed two hours later with the temperatures rising another 15 degrees. Marc Cefalo claimed pole with a 2:27.8 after spending Friday learning the track. He shaved a second off his warmup time. P2 was claimed by 2025 Great Lakes SM Champion Chris Finnigan with a 2:27.9, and Grim 2:28.0. The next five racers were within another 0.7 seconds. It appeared any offseason rust was removed and everyone was ready to race.
Saturday Race One
Race one took the green late afternoon and Cefalo had his hands full. The next two cars weren’t more than .4 seconds off his rear bumper for four of the first five laps. On lap six, Wyatt Wood took the top spot after starting from P7 on grid, making his way through the tight field, holding on for the win during the final four laps but never building more than a half-second gap. Just .2 seconds behind Wood at the checkers was prior series champion John Allen, who made his way to P2 on lap eight from a P9 start. Finnigan and Grim were shifted to P4 and P5 respectfully.
Sunday’s Action
Sunday morning’s Spec Miata field gridded based on fast lap times from race one. Starting P1 was Finnigan (2:28.8), Allen P2 (2:28.9), and Cefalo (2:29.2). The racing between the top three was intense, with each shuffling through the podium positions and leading at least one lap. Ultimately Finnigan prevailed for the win by a scant .15 seconds with a last-lap pass.
Wood, the winner of race one, had a front row seat in P4 watching the top three shuffle and waiting to pounce. He got that chance on lap five, taking P3 and again on the final lap following, or pushing, Finnigan around Allen for P2. A few positions further back in the field, our three TMC racers, Grim, Olson, Luke Martin, and veteran Chris Rawlings were having their own battle for fifth through eighth, with Grim getting the best of them with the P5 by nearly a second over Rawlings.
The weekend finale in the afternoon brought the hottest temperatures of the weekend and an anticipated greasy track if the Friday test day was any indication. At the green flag, Wood started from P1 was pushed to P3 by Rawlings and Cefalo, who started P5. Wood regained P1 on lap five from Cefalo and after Rawlings unfortunately retired due to a failed front bearing. Allen starting P4 grabbed third for four laps before being shuffled back in the field several spots by Grim, Finnigan, and Martin with his best showing of the weekend finishing P5 in the tight field. Grim worked his way to P2 after starting P6 for a strong finish to the weekend as well. The final laps were also the stage for a close battle between Olson and veteran Ryan Waldo. The two were separated by a thin .2 seconds the final laps, with Waldo taking a last lap pass for P7.
Shout Outs for the Weekend
Aryton Grim for finishing the best of the TMC racers all three races in his return to SM. Mike Spivey, Chris Finnigan, and John Poppenhouse for helping Chris Schuster change a transmission on Friday. Marc Cefalo for providing Schuster the transmission and for helping Finnigan diagnose a handling issue. John Poppenhouse and Mike Spivey for helping Finnigan correct that handling issue. Justin Hare, Kevin Hare, and Mike Spivey for push starting John Poppenhouse (later found to be a loose ground wire).
Planet Miata for racing NCM for the 1st time and adding 7 racers to the on-track fun. The SM crew for serving dinner and Lincoln Olson (TMC) for sharing his racing journey at the Saturday awards banquet.
