Five class winners score two victories on the SCCA Majors weekend; Spec Miata produces different winners each day.

The SCCA Majors Tour race weekend at the 2.75-mile, 16-turn NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La., was all about the doubles. As is every Majors weekend, this one was a doubleheader. It also doubled up on conferences, as this one was a joint shindig between the Southeastern Conference and the Mid-States Conference, the first dual-conference event in Majors history. Finally, out of 13 race wins, 10 were accomplished by five drivers.

One of the few single-race winners was JF McClughan of New Braunfels, Texas, who won the Saturday B-Spec race in his No. 36 MAZDASPEED/Hoosier Mazda2. He escaped with the victory, but John Phillips made him work for it. Phillips was pressing McClughan up until the last lap and attempted to get underneath McClughan through Turns 15 and 16, but was not able to pull off the move. McClughan got a good exit off the corner and was able to seal his win by 0.176sec.

Spec Miata was the other class to not feature a double winner. On Saturday, Todd Buras scored what he termed a come-from-behind win in his No. 056 BSI Racing/East Street Auto Spec Miata. Starting in seventh, Buras knew he would be in the mix toward the end of the 30-minute sprint race. However, he didn’t expect to cross the line in first place when time expired.

Buras narrowly missed being collected in an opening-lap incident that involved multiple cars flying off track. That incident brought out a full-course caution that lasted two laps. Once going back to green, the race was on. Denny Steyn, Chris Haldeman, Andrew Carbonell and Buras were locked in close battle for much of the race. As the laps began to wind down, Steyn was in the lead until he pushed wide through Turn 14. That was enough of an opening to let Buras and Haldeman through as they crossed the line in that order.

On Sunday, Spec Miata was again decided during the last lap. Carbonell, of Miami, Fla., emerged as the winner over teammate Buras. As the field exited Turn 17 to take the white flag, Buras got a huge run on Carbonell and won the drag race to the line. However, Buras was unable to hold the position. Going through Turn 2, Carbonell was able to get back around Buras. Carbonell then was able to complete the lap error free at the controls of his No. 074 BSI Racing Mazda Miata.

Joseph Burton Harris, of Cresson, Texas, cruised to the Formula Mazda win on Saturday, but had a tougher go of it in the second race. Harris went toe-to-toe with multi-time National Champion Darryl Wills and came out on top as a result of patience. As the laps wound down in the 17-lap race, Harris got a good run off Turn 17. He and Wills were side-by-side as they approached Turn 1. Harris had the inside line for the corner, but Wills made his car stick on the outside line. It wasn’t until the leaders got to Turn 4 that Harris was able to finish his pass.

Defending E Production National Champion Matt Reynolds of Fair Oaks, Texas drove to two unimpeded wins in his No. 71 Reynolds Bros. Racing/JPM Miata. Bill McGavic was also a double winner, taking two GT-3 wins in an RX-7, as was Miata driver Michael van Steenburg of Winter Haven, Fla., who won Super Touring Lite both days, and Voytek Burdzy, who drove his MX-5 to double Touring 4 victories.

The next event for the U.S. Majors Tour Southeastern Conference will take place at Road Atlanta, March 20-22. The Western Conference will also be in action that same weekend at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.

SCCA Southeastern/Mid-States Conferences Majors Tour
NOLA Motorsports Park, Avondale, La.
March 8-9, 2015

Saturday Mazda Winners

Class	Driver	Hometown	Car
B-Spec	JF McClughan	New Braunfels, Texas	Mazda2
Formula Mazda,Joseph Burton Harris,Cresson	Texas	Formula Mazda
E Production,Matt Reynolds,Fair Oaks	Texas	Mazda Miata
GT-3	Bill McGavic	Arcadia, Fla.	Mazda RX-7
Spec Miata	Todd Buras	Melbourne, Fla.	Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite	Michael Van Steenburg	Winter Haven, Fla.	Mazda Miata
Touring 4	Voytek Burdzy	Shiller Park, Ill.	Mazda MX-5

Sunday Mazda Winners

Class	Driver	Hometown	Car
Formula Mazda	Joseph Burton Harris	Cresson, Texas	Formula Mazda
E Production	Matt Reynolds	Fair Oaks, Texas	Mazda Miata
GT-3	Bill McGavic	Arcadia, Fla.	Mazda RX-7
Spec Miata	Andrew Carbonell	Miami, Fla.	Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite	Michael Van Steenburg	Winter Haven, Fla.	Mazda Miata
Touring 4	Voytek Burdzy	Shiller Park, Ill.	Mazda MX-5