Among the field of six Spec Iron cars at VIR, only Dr. Audrey Zavodsky was a podium finisher from last year’s Eastern States Championships at Road Atlanta. Zavodsky started from third on grid — where she finished at last year’s Championships — but she was gunning for Robert Miller, who had the pole and Cash Canada, who was in second.
The black flag on the opening lap and the double yellow a few laps later meant the field would have to wait to begin racing in earnest. Robert Miller used pole to his advantage, never gave up the spot, and he held on for the win. He made it look easy, though we know every race is a scrum.
“After the red flag, everything came back and we ran good,” Miller said. “We got a couple of breaks coming up through the esses and we just kind of stayed up front the rest of the time. The car ran great all weekend. We didn’t have to work on it much. It was great.”
Meanwhile, Zavodsky was battling with Carmine Pace and Patrick Roof, who had advanced from the back half of the field. The three traded positions cat-and-mouse style for several laps, a great display of spec-class racing. When the checkered flag finally fell, it was Miller in first, with Pace in second and Zavodsky in third.
“I started fourth,” Pace said. “It was a great race and I pulled into second had a good fight with third and fourth place, going back and forth. It was just a hard-fought race, and I was able to pull of a second.”
However, Zavodsky’s car was disqualified after post-race inspections, and that bumped Roof up from fourth and into third.
