With more than 300 cars on the entry list for the Sports Car Club of America’s BFGoodrich® Tires Atlanta Super Tour at the scenic Road Atlanta, close races were a lock. It happened, and what transpired on Saturday at Road Atlanta for Round Five of the Eastern Conference Majors Tour, in many classes, was the Club’s own version of March madness.
Spec Miata is always good for a close conclusion, and the three-wide finish looked like jets in formation as just a half-second separated the winner from fifth place at the checkered flag.
The early stages of the race featured two distinct drafting packs of four that became an eight-deep line by lap five. Alex Bolanos and Jim Drago drove the No. 57 Autotechnik/Rossini Engines Miata and the No. 2 East Street Racing Miata, respectively, to a lock-step breakaway through the midpoint. Pushing hard behind, Andrew Carbonell’s No. 43 BSI Racing Mazda Miata and Dillon Machavern’s No. 24 Heritage/Panic/T-Speed Mazda teamed up to turn the fastest laps of the race, marching down Drago and Bolanos by lap 10.
Carbonell – fresh of a victory with Randy Pobst in the IMSA Continental Tires SportsCar Challenge at Sebring International Raceway the weekend prior – was the official leader as the pack of four started lap 14 with six minutes to go. With just a couple of laps left, Defending SM National Champion Drago made his move – and it backfired. Drago went to the lead in Turn 7, but then was freight-trained by the other three leaders and fell all the way back to fourth after controlling most of the race. With that excursion, Todd Lamb’s No. 84 Cahall/Driver Coach/Hawk Performance Miata joined the battle, and the five crossed the stripe to start the last lap all in a row and Carbonell up front.
Bolanos took the lead early in the lap, and on the big run into Turn 10, held on while Machavern moved to second. The group came down the hill and through the last turn looking for real estate, and at the finish it was Bolanos on the left, Machavern on the right by 0.120s, and Carbonell, Drago and Lamb in order for the finish.
The F Production battle saw Don Ahrens’ No. 61 AhrensAuto.com/Mazda/Hoosier Mazda Miata in front early, chased by Ken Kannard’s No. 51 Northwest Cable/Hoosier/Mazda/OPM Mazda Miata. Patrick Crider’s No. 89 Hoosier Tire/Jesse Prather Motorsports/Ducommun Mazda Miata joined that battle, and the three ran nose-to-tail for the lead. Ahrens started to fall off on lap six, and Kannard pulled out some breathing room, but was pushed to the finish knowing Crider remained just a few seconds behind.
Round Six of the Eastern Conference Majors Tour on Sunday Came to coming to a close on Sunday under sunny skies, but it didn’t start out that way. Eight race groups ran races of 20 laps or 40 minutes.
Fortunately, the track was dry by the time the Spec Miata gang took to the track and put on a show. Polesitter Alex Bolanos got a shove from Jim Drago at the start, and the pair led a line of Mazdas 10 deep through the early stages.
It didn’t take long until the No. 57 Autotechnik/Rossini Engines Miata and the No. 2 East Street Racing Miata, joined by Dillon Machavern’s No. 24 Heritage/Panic/T-Speed Mazda, had shed the rest of the line and the three lapped the circuit nose to tail.
On lap 13, Machavern followed Drago around Bolanos. Bolanos quickly moved right back onto the train and kept the pressure on. Lap after lap until the finish, the three waited for a mistake that never came. Still separated by a razor’s edge, Drago crossed in front of Machavern and Bolanos for the podium.
In the fast formula car group, Robert Noell took the lead from Darryl Wills’ No. 1 Hillenburg Motorsports Formula Mazda on lap eight, and the pair ran within half a second until lap 17, when Wills spun out of contention. The run to the finish completed a weekend sweep for Noell in the No. 27 Robert Noell Associates/Guest Concepts Formula Mazda.
The weekend was capped by a weekend sweep from Jim Daniels (No. 76 TheRacingInsiders.com Mazda Miata) in E Production and a first time U.S. Majors Tour winner in Crider in F Production.
The Eastern Conference Majors Tour returns to action at the freshly repaved VIRginia International Raceway, April 18-20, for Rounds Seven and Eight. The next U.S. Majors Tour event on the calendar comes in the Mid-States Conference at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit, April 5-6.
SCCA Eastern Conference Majors Tour
Road Atlanta
March 22-23. 2014
Round 5 Mazda Winners
| Class | Driver | Hometown | Car |
| E Production | Jim Daniels | Germantown Tenn. | Mazda Miata |
| F Production | Ken Kannard | East Troy Wis. | Mazda Miata |
| Formula Atlantic | Michael Mallinen | unavailable | Swift 016a/Mazda |
| Formula Mazda | Robert Noell | Cary N.C. | Formula Mazda |
| Prototype 1 | Jacek Mucha | Laval Quebec | Jms016cp/Mazda |
| Prototype 2 | Bailey Monette | Milton Ga. | Mazda Sport Racer |
| Spec Miata | Alex Bolanos | Hialeah Fla. | Mazda Miata |
Round 6 Mazda Winners
| Class | Driver | Hometown | Car |
| E Production | Jim Daniels | Germantown Tenn. | Mazda Miata |
| F Production | Patrick Crider | Leesburg Va. | Mazda Miata |
| Formula Mazda | Robert Noell | Cary N.C. | Formula Mazda |
| Prototype 1 | Jacek Mucha | Laval Quebec | Jms016cp/Mazda |
| Prototype 2 | Bailey Monette | Milton Ga. | Mazda Sport Racer |
| Spec Miata | Jim Drago | Memphis Tenn. | Mazda Miata |