SPEC MIATA LAZY LABOR DAY:
It was a sunny and warm labor day weekend and we were here at Buttonwillow, preparing for the second to final round of our regional event. It was disappointing to see only 9 Spec Miatas out of 22 cars in our run Group #2. Everyone else must have gone to the beach instead!
 

I (Clement) qualified 1st in SM (4th fastest in the run group), in front of several I.T. cars, landing me in Row 2. Andrew (Fernandez) and Don (Thibaut) qualified 2nd and 3rd respectively, just a tad behind. Andrew figured his yellow Spec Miata was not fast enough and apparently blew his motor so he switched to his purple Pro SM car after qualifying.

The Group #1 race (Pro 7's and Spec 7's) had a wild start resulting in a multi-car pile coming around Riverside. The race was stopped for an extended period. Apparently to get back onto schedule, races for ALL run groups were cut short. Now we got to run only 14 laps (instead of 20 as previously scheduled.) Unfortunately, that announcement came out too late for me as I and Don had already fueled our gas tanks to the rim.

Finally it was time to go racing. I had a decent start but several I.T. cars that qualified behind me easily out dragged my miata to the 1st turn. I managed to stay close for a few more corners but as we reached Talladega and the back straight, they (the I.T. cars) were able to use all their hp and said "see ya" to my miata.

Meanwhile, Andrew, in his Pro Spec Miata, easily disposed of Don and caught up to me. I tried to keep him at bay for several corners before running wide into turn 1 (at the end of the pit straight). Andrew took the opening and effortlessly opened up a gap of at least 1 sec a lap. Within a short time, I could see him catching up to the I.T. train in the distance. I tried pushing a little bit harder but that did not matter. I was not closing in on the train in front and no one was remotely close to me. With little fanfare, I ran the rest of the race around and around on my own.

Apparently Don Thibaut and Jim Tilley were putting on a good show and had a good run at each other for 3rd. In the end Andrew, I and Don finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. While Andrew's Pro Spec Miata was only 2 lbs over the minimum required weight, I was more than 30 lbs over! Andrew's car was much stronger so even if I had eliminated my weight handicap, the outcome probably would not have changed.
 

It was a new day and felt warmer than Saturday. My car seemed slightly down on power and was not handling as well as Saturday but stilled qualified 2nd, right next to Andrew. For the race, we were told our event would be cut short once again. This time, I fueled only just enough for the race.

I had a decent start and actually got by Andrew at turn 1 while he was boxed in by some I.T. cars. As we made our way through Star Mazda, Andrew easily out powered me heading towards Magic Mountain. Jim Tilley made a dive going into Magic Mountain. Better let Jim through than having a bad wreck like those in Group #1. Andrew was already making headway pulling away. Going into the 2nd lap, I had a good run behind Jim going through the esses and made my move on Jim going into the inside at Star Mazda. Unfortunately Jim was not giving an inch and tried to close the door. As a result, that sent both of us into the dirt.

In the mean time, both Don Thibaut and Shawn Sampson made it through before I was able to rejoin just a bit behind them. Having made sure the car was still handling the way it was, I followed them as hard as I could and had a front row seat watching the battle develop between Don and Shawn. Shawn tried left and right everywhere but did not have enough to get through. Finally, I think Don missed a shift coming out of Star Mazda and Shawn was able to pull even before reaching Magic Mountain. Shawn was probably saying to himself, it was about time, as he pumped his fist going past Don.

Shawn tried to get away but that was not so easy when both Don and I were trailing just behind. My car seemed to handle better than both Don and Shawn as the race progressed. With just 2 more laps to go, Don and I figured it was time to make a run. Don and I hooked up coming out of Talladega and started to run down Shawn in a hurry. Don went left (to the inside) and I went right (to the outside) figuring Shawn's car could only defend one position.

Don and I wiggled left and right down the back straight and so did Shawn. Finally as Shawn switched back over to my side I crisscrossed and tucked in tightly behind Don on the inside. I think we all knew the coming turn at the end of the back straight would probably decide our race. The 3 of us were flying at 100 mph as we reached the bump and the braking zone.

Don left his braking as late as possible and ending up not making the turn. I braked dead even with Shawn but let off sooner and made it through the corner. I checked the mirror but didn't see Shawn behind me and guessed he must be somewhere along my side! I checked left and right but didn't see anyone around. It turned out that Shawn had gone off at the end of the back straight as well. I guess he was momentarily distracted by our maneuvers. I cruised around the last lap to claim 2nd place while Don recovered quickly to finish in 3rd with Shawn following closely behind in 4th.

So until next time, hope everyone enjoyed our racing.