As Mazda fans worldwide marked the 25th anniversary of the MX-5 Miata’s debut at the Chicago Auto Show on Feb. 9, 1989, some Mazda racers in Louisiana were celebrating in their own special way – by pushing their MX-5s across the finish line first. At the first rounds of the SCCA Mid-States Majors Tour at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La., just a few miles outside New Orleans, there were a couple of MX-5 wins in very competitive Production classes.

In Saturday’s 30-minute contests, Jesse Prather drove his No. 34 Jesse Prather Motorsports/Mazda Mazda MX-5 to the overall and E Production win, slowing down at the finish to cross the stripe side-by-side with friend and F Production winner Eric Prill’s No. 7 Super Max/Jesse Prather Motorsports/Hoosier Mazda Miata. Both drivers repeated their wins on Sunday in the 17-lap events. (Click the name for insight into Prather’s MX-5 or Prill’s Miata.)

Darryl Wills was also a double winner, in Formula Mazda.

Another Miata victory came in the Touring 4 class on Saturday. Luis Rivera of Angleton, Texas was the winner in his Miata. He led a few laps in a hard-fought contest on Sunday, but couldn’t hold the point.

As usual, Spec Miata provided some of the most entertaining racing of the weekend. Saturday had been a day with a lot of blowout victories, but Spec Miata seldom ends with a rout.

Craig Berry’s No. 29 Berry Marble and Granite/East Street Racing Miata and Voytek Burdzy’s No. 4 Advanced Autoparts Mazda Miata worked around polesitter Tom Brown’s No. 27 Advanced Autoparts/Custom Wireless Miata on lap six, then inched away from a six-car battle for third to settle the lead amongst themselves. After a handful of swaps for the lead, Burdzy found himself in the front to start the final lap. Berry was able to close on a couple of occasions in the final circuit, but Burdzy hung on to grab the checkered flag.

On Sunday, the Spec Miata fight was a four-car train in the last half of the race, but it once again came down to Berry and Burdzy when Tom Brown’s No. 27 Advanced Autoparts/Custom Wireless Miata experienced a mechanical issue on lap 14. Burdzy held the point on lap 16, protecting the inside into Turn 1 as Berry looked for a way around. It didn’t work in Turn 1, but it set up a pass in Turn 3 and gave Berry’s black and green machine the lead with one to go.

Searching hard for an opening, Burdzy’s last shot at the win was under braking in Turn 13. Burdzy locked up his brakes and couldn’t get close enough for a pass, leaving the win to Berry, with Burdzy in second.

The Mid-States Conference returns to action March 15-16 at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, Texas, with Rounds 3 and 4 of the 12-race season. The next SCCA Majors event will be a Western Conference event at Inde Motorsports Ranch in Wilcox, Ariz., on Feb. 22-23.

SCCA Mid-States Conference Majors Tour
NOLA Motorsports Park
Feb. 8-9, 2014

Round 1 Winners

Class	Driver	Hometown	Car
Formula Mazda	Darryl Wills	Deer Park Texas	Formula Mazda
E Production	Jesse Prather	Topeka Kan.	Mazda MX-5
F Production	Eric Prill	Topeka Kan.	Mazda Miata
Spec Miata	Voytek Burdzy	Shiller Park Ill.	Mazda Miata
Touring 4	Luis Rivera	Angleton Texas	Mazda Miata

Round 2 Winners

Class	Driver	Hometown	Car
Formula Mazda	Darryl Wills	Deer Park Texas	Formula Mazda
E Production	Jesse Prather	Topeka Kan.	Mazda MX-5
F Production	Eric Prill	Topeka Kan.	Mazda Miata
Spec Miata	Craig Berry	Tyler Texas	Mazda Miata