2023 Spec MX-5 Challenge Season Recap

The 2023 season of Spec MX-5 Challenge certainly continued the trend of really high-highs and really low-lows. The season ended with me ending up in 4th for the overall regular season championship (3rd of the East Coast drivers) with 2 wins, 6 podiums, and 8 top-5s of the 10 races I finished. Throughout the season I fought adversity while proving my speed against some of the most talented young racers in the country. Unfortunately this season ended with a crash on the opening lap of the Championship weekend taking us out of contention for the $30,000 prize.

Summit Point - March 31st - April 2nd

Our start to the season began in the mixed conditions of Summit Point Motorsports Park with some returning, and some new faces in the paddock. The weekend started great with me securing pole position in the dry qualifying session placing me in a great starting position for both races. Although we knew it would be a tough fight as the top 6 cars qualified within a tenth of a second!

Race 1 would turn out to be a fight from green to checker. Dropping from the pole to 5th on lap 1 after the teammates around me got together and put me in a tough spot. Fought back up to 2nd and had the mindset to catch the leader that began running away. Unfortunately, without teammates out there I was a sitting duck on the straightaway and fell down to 5th once again. I would fight back to 2nd in the final laps of the race and hold on to the finish. In the process I also managed to set the fastest lap of the race which would also be a new track record in SMX!

Race 2 started off much better. Held the lead and found a drafting partner for the first 10 or so laps. Car started to fall off and get loads of oversteer after I had built a gap to the field and in an attempt to keep pushing hard I got snap oversteer on throttle in turn 1 and dropped 4 wheels in the grass losing my lead and sending me back to 5th. Got back to 4th and was running down 3rd in the closing laps but had a worsening problem getting the car into 3rd gear, which caused me to go wide and fall back to 5th again.

Some good points, some not so good points coming out of the start of the season, but certainly something to build on.

Virginia International Raceway - April 5th - 7th

VIR would be our comeback weekend and probably the highest level I have ever driven at.

Race 1 I started 4th after a traffic filled and shortened qualifying. Made a great start putting me 2nd by turn 3 and taking the lead at the end of the first lap. A few laps later I got hit in turn 1 knocking my toe out slightly and pushing me back to 6th. Within a lap and a half I drove from 6th back to the lead and pulled out a gap to take the win! This was my first win in a National Level SMX race with way to many 2nd place finishes in 2022.

Race day 2 from VIR was a bit different than day 1, but still with a great result. Put down a 2:10.8 in morning qualifying, putting me on pole by a whole half second.

Made a good start and kept the lead of the draft train for the first few laps before dropping down to 3rd and then quickly back to 2nd. I worked hard to team up with the leader and we started to pull away from the rest of the battling pack. I was being patient and planning my move for the last lap to avoid any chance of being re-passed. Unfortunately I don't think this was the right strategy as I gave up a huge run with 2 to go which would have gotten me the lead and could not replicate it on the final lap. We ran side by side at the end of the back straight on the final lap but I didn't quite have enough of a run to take the lead.

Still, this was a huge weekend as the Championship race would take place here during runoffs and with a 20+ car field, I knew we could easily be competitive.

Watkins Glen - June 30th - July 2nd

Coming off VIR, hopes were high heading into Watkins Glen with big points on the table due to a relatively small field. Ultimately it would be where our season started to fall apart.

Day 1 I would qualify 2nd and fought super hard all race managing the ever important draft at Watkins Glen, traffic, and some of the most cut-throat racing I saw all year long. At the end I would come out a close 2nd.

Day 2 would start with a wet weather qualifying session that was a fight between cars on slicks, and cars on wets. I chose the slicks and as the track started coming to me the gap to the wet-tire fastest lap closed. Ultimately I qualified 2nd once again.

Race 2 was an absolute battle for the entire top 5 from lap 1. Took the lead for a bit but bounced around from 1st to 5th throughout the race. Coming to the white flag, we all hit some fluid in the last corner which caused the car in front of me to bounce off the wall leaving me nowhere to go. This was the first significant crash of my career and would unfortunately impact further rounds of the championship.

Daytona International Speedway - August 4th - 6th

Going into Daytona I was super excited, coming off one of my best weekends there in 2022 I was confident I could turn my season around. The #16 Flatout Motorsports was rebuilt and ready to roll! Things looked good for the first couple sessions of the test day until an electrical shutoff issue would pop up in session 3. The car would not restart that weekend, most likely with some hidden wiring damage from the impact at Watkins Glen. Thankfully Flatout had another car in the trailer, unfortunately it was being tested for some straight line performance issues which obviously was not ideal at Daytona.

Despite the 5mph disadvantage on the oval, I managed 6th in qualifying and in both races I fought hard to stay in contention, with the issue becoming worse as the car built temperature on the hot Florida days. Even managed to make it to 3rd at one point before ultimately getting left by the draft and finishing 7th.

Race 2 was more of the same, fighting to stay in the pack, up to 3rd then lost the leaders. This time managed to hold 5th at the end.

The issue would turn out to be sticking brakes and as frustrating as it was, I felt like this may have been some of my best driving of the year. To even stay slightly competitive with this handicap took all the effort I could manage.

Sebring International Raceway - September 1st - 3rd

I was back in the 71 car again at Sebring, this time with all issues sorted and ready to fight. First time at Sebring on a hot, slick, and challenging track conditions. The name of the game for this weekend would be traffic management with a rather interesting grouping with the IT field of regional racers.

Started a solid 3rd for Race 1 which was a dog fight from start to finish. Bounced all around the top 5 for most of the race and caught some bad breaks in traffic with 2 laps to go putting me 4th coming to the white flag. With the lead fight intensifying I found a way to go from 4th to the lead through turn 1 and held on for the rest of the lap to take the win! Super exciting race and I recommend watching my onboard of it here.

Race 2 was equally interesting for different reasons. Took the lead lap 1 from my 3rd place starting spot before a red flag came out lap 2 for a crash. The cleanup was extensive and by the time we were going to go back to green we were given a green-white-checker scenario to deal with. The toughest part is they lined the SMX field up directly behind all the slower, out of class cars. This created probably the most intense 2 laps of racing I could imagine with me swapping the lead multiple times and catching some traffic in the wrong place at the wrong time which cost me a shot to get back to the lead. Crossed the line in a hard fought 2nd.

This also would seal 3rd for me in the overall standings going into the championship at VIR.

Virginia International Raceway - September 28th - October 1st

VIR would host the SCCA National Championship runoffs along with the Championship round of the Spec MX-5 Challenge Series. High hopes going in coming off a super promising regular season event there earlier in the season.

Qualifying was frustrating to say the least. Got released first due to my registration time causing me to not have a drafting partner. When I went back to find one games started to be played with contact, off-tracks, and certainly no fast laps being set. I was going to start Race 1 in 11th.

Race 1 and any hopes at a Championship would end on lap 1. Got caught up in a stack-up at the end of the backstretch causing me to hit the tire was at 80mph. Happy to have been ok but the car certainly was not finishing the weekend.

Much like 2022, 2023 would finish in such a hard way. I am happy to have enjoyed the great moments on track this season despite the challenges. I certainly elevated my game as a driver and look forward to see what opportunities await me beyond Spec MX-5 in the future.

I have to thank everyone that made it possible:

Flatout Motorsports

Grenon’s of Newport

Grand Prix Studio

Cambox

Toyo Tires

and so many others.

Thank you for all you have done for me and I am looking forward to bigger and even better things in 2024!