The Mid-States SCCA U.S. Majors Tour wraps, with eight Mazda drivers clinching title positions

The Mid-States Conference of the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour wrapped up its season with a finale at High Plains Raceway, the second race at the Colorado track for the Conference, which also included Hallett, Heartland Motorsport Park, Iowa Speedway and Pueblo Motorsports Park. When the final points were tallied, eight Mazda racers became conference champions.

Rayce Dykstra is splitting his time between the Formula Car Challenge and Spec Miata, but that hasn’t stopped the teenager from Littleton, Colo., from finishing on the podium in all but one of eight Mid-States races, winning two of them. That put him well clear of John Harms, who ended the season strong despite his rough start to the season at Hallett. Traci Shwartzbauer was third in the standings.

Mazda racers took both E and F Production titles, with Jesse Prather claiming E Production in his first-generation RX-7 – the same one he drove to a podium finish at the 2017 SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Because of the large geographic area of the Mid-States Conference, drivers tend to stick to either East or West, and Prather only met his closest rival for the title once, at Pueblo, where he took both races. In F Production, it was all Mazda drivers – mostly Miatas, with one lone 626 driver in the mix – so it was a lock for a Mazda championship. There, Bill Hingston took the title over Sam Henry, although the two never raced head-to-head all season. Instead, Hingston was usually racing against Paul Jensen and his Miata. Hingston took most of the contests, but Jensen did claim a win and finish third in the conference standings. 

There were only two regulars in GT3 in the Mid-States Conference in 2018, both in Mazdas. Doug Sherwood won four races in his RX-7 to take the title over Miata driver George Walker. Jonathan Goodale had more competition in GT-Lite, but competing in only the Colorado races was still enough for him to take the conference with four wins. 

The only FE drivers to enter Mid-States races came from out of the conference, but FE2 champion Coloradan Mike Davies knows a thing or two about racing in a spec class. Davies entered and won four races. Ryan McLaughlin won two races and had four other podium finishes to win Formula Mazda in the conference, with Doug Nelson giving him a good run for his money in the races he entered. Nelson took three wins, but only started six races to McLaughlin’s eight. 

Joshua Holsworth entered his Miata in four Touring 4 contests and came out on top in each to win the conference.

SCCA Majors Tour
Mid-States Conference
Mazda class champions
E Production: Jesse Prather; Topeka, Kan.; RX-7
F Production: Bill Hingston; Aurora, Colo.; Miata
GT3: Doug Sherwood; Longmont, Colo.; RX-7
GTL: Jonathan Goodale; Conifer, Colo.; MX-5
Formula Enterprises 2: Mike Davies; Aurora, Colo.; Van Diemen FE2 Mazda
Formula Mazda: Ryan McLaughlin; Evergreen, Colo.; Star Formula Mazda
Spec Miata: Rayce Dykstra; Littleton, Colo.; Miata
Touring 4: Joshua Holsworth; Kansas City, Mo.; Miata