New track records were the order of the day as the Mid-States Conference of the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour arrived at the 2.2-mile Pueblo Motorsports Park circuit for Round Nine of its 2014 Championship. Five race groups took to the track under partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 70s for practice and qualifying, followed by 25-minute timed races on Saturday.

Race one, for small-bore Production, GT and ST cars, got off to an inauspicious start. Several cars experienced trouble on the first lap, including second-starting Rick Kosdrosky, who spun and stalled in the slick Turn 10. The black flag was displayed, and the field brought to the pit lane before completing lap two.

The field reverted back to grid order, to the joy of some and the chagrin of others. Polesitter Matt Reynolds, of Fair Oaks, Texas, took a dominating overall and E Production win in his No. 71 Reynolds Brothers Racing/JPM/Vintage Connection Mazda Miata, setting a new track record of 1:39.596 in the process.

Despite falling back to third in F Production on the initial start, Eric Prill, of Topeka, Kan., led restart-to-checkers in his No. 7 MaxtonsFight.org/Jesse Prather Motorsports/Hoosier Mazda Miata. Prill lowered his previous track record to a 1:42.139 in the process.
Jonathan Goodale, of Conifer, Colorado, won GT-Lite and set a new track record in his No. 04 Mazdaspeed/Hoosier/JoeApex.com Mazda MX-5. Brian Laughlin, of Tulsa, Okla., had similar results in Super Touring Lite in his No. 25 Mazda/Hoosier Mazda Miata. Both drivers would repeat their wins and set even faster track records in Sunday’s races.

Reynolds was the first repeat winner of the day, taking Spec Miata by some 20 seconds over Kyle Watkins, of Broomfield, Colo. Jonathan Barnett, of Lafayette, Colo., completed the podium after a race-long battle for third with Chandler, Arizona’s Dean Busk. While Reynolds took the win, he was not able to break Watkins’ track record, set in 2012.

After heavy wind and rain Saturday evening, the track dried in time for morning warm-ups, and provided perfect conditions for all five race groups. Unlike Saturday’s race, Production, small GT and Super Touring cars had a clean race. Reynolds once again scored a dominant E Production and overall win in his Miata, lowering the track record in the process to a 1:39.403.

Following the jumbled race on Saturday, the remaining classes had a split start behind the E Production field. Polesitter Prill got a clean start to lead fellow F Production drivers Rick Harris, of Longmont, Colo., and Bill Hingston, of Aurora, Colo. The three were running nose-to-tail when Prill’s Miata broke a cam gear, leaving Harris and Hingston to battle for the win. Hingston was through into the lead a lap later, in his No. 08 Little Bill Racing/Mazdaspeed Mazda Miata. Harris fell off the fight shortly thereafter, leaving Hingston a comfortable margin. With just two corners remaining, Hingston got a flat tire; but the margin was large enough that he was able to limp home to the checkered flag.

For the second-straight day, Reynolds scored a second win with another dominant victory in Spec Miata. Reynolds drove to a 15.116-second win over Busk. Russ Lindemann, of Longmont, Colorado, finished third.

The Mid-States Conference of the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour takes the hot summer months off, before the season finale on Labor Day Weekend at Heartland Park Topeka, in Topeka, Kan.

SCCA Mid-States Conference Majors Tour
Rounds 9 and 10
Pueblo Motorsports Park, Pueblo, Colo.
May 24-25, 2014

 
Round 9 Mazda Winners

Class	Driver	Hometown	Car
E Production	Matt Reynolds	Fair Oaks Texas	Mazda Miata
F Production	Eric Prill	Topeka Kan.	Mazda Miata
GT-3	Jim Speights	San Antonio Texas	Mazda RX-7
GT-Lite	Jonathan Goodale	Conifer Colo.	Mazda MX-5
Spec Miata	Matt Reynolds	Fair Oaks Texas	Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite	Brian Laughlin	Tulsa Okla.	Mazda Miata

Round 10 Mazda Winners

Class	Driver	Hometown	Car
E Production	Matt Reynolds	Fair Oaks Texas	Mazda Miata
F Production	Bill Hingston	Aurora Colo.	Mazda Miata
GT-3	Jim Speights	San Antonio Texas	Mazda RX-7
GT-Lite	Jonathan Goodale	Conifer Colo.	Mazda MX-5
Spec Miata	Matt Reynolds	Fair Oaks Texas	Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite	Brian Laughlin	Tulsa Okla.	Mazda Miata