Northeastern racers couldn’t wait for the snow to stop and the sun to come out this year. They got as much sun as they could want, and then some, when the Northern Conference Majors Tour stopped at the 12-turn, 2.25-mile Thunderbolt Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports park for Rounds 9 and 10. With the sun beating down, the track turned slick quickly, leaving drivers to find the available grip and get to the finish. Some drivers shined, and some struggled in the tough conditions.

On Saturday, eight race groups ran 30-minute races for points in the season-long SCCA Championship. The only drama in in the first group was who would take the overall win. That turned out to be the Formula Atlantic-class Fahan Paving/Hoosier Tire/MAZDASPEED Motorsports Swift 016/Mazda of Chris Fahan. While an F1000 car pulled away early, Fahan went by on lap 15 to claim the overall victory. He repeated the feat in the 22-lap race on Sunday.

Elivan Goulart slowly built his lead in a flag-to-flag Spec Miata win in the No. 70 S.A.C Racing/SCDA1.com/Hoosier Mazda Miata, turning laps just quick enough to move ahead of the field by 3.077s at the finish while, behind him, the rest diced for the podium.
Tyler Kicera’s No. 44 Kicera Motorsports Mazda Miata and Yiannis Tsiounis’ No. 69 Yushino Mazda Miata swapped the second position on five occasions, officially, through the race. The final time came on lap 17 of the 19-lap race, when Kicera went to the inside of Turn 1, and held on to the finish for second position.

Kicera kept the pressure on Goulart for the full distance of the Sunday Spec Miata contest, but couldn’t find his way around the veteran driver. Kicera was in the wheel tracks of Goulart’s machine for 22 laps as the two were alone once Tsiounis pulled to pit lane on lap 13. Goulart used traffic to create space going into Turn 4 on the final lap, and then Kicera used a desperation effort to close the gap through Turn 8. That failed and Kicera ran wide, leading to the very misleading 2.492-second margin of victory.

On Sunday, Jon Farbman’s crew on the radio didn’t tell him that quickly approaching Kirk Knestis was his Super Touring Lite competition. Farbman was looking for his second straight win in the No. 3 Drillmasters Marching Shoes Mazda Miata, and got a small gap early. Knestis slowly closed the gap, and by lap 15 was right on the rear of Farbman. Knestis tried to surprise Farbman through Turn 3, which is not a typical passing zone at New Jersey Motorsports Park. When that move didn’t work, Farbman was able to sneak away, and took the weekend sweep.

Patrick Crider finished a difficult mechanical weekend with a strong finish and a win in F Production, putting the No. 89 Hoosier Tire/Jesse Prather Motorsports/Carbotech/Summit Racing Mazda Miata on the top of the box. Sam Ryan was a double winner in Formula Mazda, and Christopher Collins took the Saturday victory in Touring 4.

The U.S. Majors Tour continues in one week in the Northern Conference for one of the biggest races on the SCCA Club Racing calendar with the Chicago Region WeatherTech June Sprints at Road America. The Eastern Conference returns to action at Watkins Glen International with Rounds 11 and 12 of 14 on July 4-6.

SCCA Northern Conference Majors Tour
New Jersey Motorsports Park
Millville, N.J., June 7-8, 2014

Round 9 Mazda Winners

Class	Driver	Hometown	Car
Formula Atlantic	Chris Fahan	Redding Conn.	Swift 016/Mazda
Formula Mazda	Sam Ryan	White Haven Pa.	Formula Mazda
Spec Miata	Elivan Goulart	Shelton Conn.	Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite	John Farbman	Greenwich N.Y.	Mazda Miata
Touring 4	Christopher Collins	Darnestown Md.	Mazda Miata

Round 10 Mazda Winners

Class	Driver	Hometown	Car
F Production	Patrick Crider	Leesburg Va.	Mazda Miata
Formula Atlantic	Chris Fahan	Redding Conn.	Swift 016/Mazda
Formula Mazda	Sam Ryan	White Haven Pa.	Formula Mazda
Spec Miata	Elivan Goulart	Shelton Conn.	Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite	John Farbman	Greenwich N.Y.	Mazda Miata