After a short summer break from racing, NASA Southeast resumed in September for the annual Savannah Sizzler event. Roebling Road Raceway might look simple on paper, but it offers some of the best side-by-side racing in the Southeast. In the morning qualifying session, Jeremy Barnes grabbed pole position with a time of 1:22.536.
Race one in Spec Miata started with Barnes on pole and Capers Zentmeyer to his outside. By lap four, the front group consisted of Barnes, Zentmeyer, Keith Williamson, and Yan Dia. They were also beginning to mix it up with out-of-class traffic at that point. This action continued through lap 10, where Williamson and Dia found themselves racing side by side for an entire lap. This allowed Zentmeyer and Barnes to pull away, while also allowing Peter Rigg and Don Elvington to close in. On lap 12, Barnes went full send, sailing off in Turn 1 and leaving Zentmeyer solely in the lead. With four racers in positions two through five, they duked it out for the remaining podium positions. In the end, Williamson worked with Dia to secure a place on the steps. The top finishers were Zentmeyer in P1, Dia in P2, Williamson in P3, Rigg in P4 and Elvington in P5.
Having the fastest time in race one, Zentmeyer started on pole for race two, with Barnes to his outside. These two had the battle to watch as they pushed out. Once the group reached traffic, the remaining field slowly spread out behind them throughout the race. Barnes did his best to beat Zentmeyer, but fell ever so short with Zentmeyer winning by just .138 seconds over Barnes at the finish line. The final results were Zentmeyer in P1, Barnes in P2, Dia in P3, Elvington in P4, and Ernie Cole in P5.
By race three, everyone was feeling the “Sizzler” part of the weekend as the sun gleamed down on a hot track. For this race, Zentmeyer and Barnes again led the field up front. At the start, Elvington and Rigg pushed quickly into the top five. Trying to gain a position on lap four, Rigg put two wheels off in the dirt, sending him off spinning in Turn 4. Cars behind him took evasive action, avoiding any contact. But this also put some separation between the top four cars and the remaining field. Barnes continued to challenge Zentmeyer while Williamson challenged Elvington. Behind them, Griffith Hawk was envisioning a top five finish as he filled Dia’s mirrors with his presence. As with most Spec Miata racing, there were some exciting battles throughout the field. In the end, Zentmeyer swept the weekend with yet another win. Rounding out the top five was Barnes in P2, Williamson in P3, Elvington in P4, and Dia in P5.
