408 replies to this topic

[MPR22]

One complaint. Start the dam race on time! We all had the same amount of time to make a tire choice.. if you show up after 7:25, you missed the 5 and must start from the rear. If that race was started on time.. it doesnt change much for me.. but Cory and Alex are winning by 8 seconds.

Agree with this 100%.  Chris and I made our decision and were at grid with about 10 to go.  We were 2 of about 15 cars at the time.  Unless the officials were going to officially post pone the start to allow for all competitors to make decisions, then the race should have started on time.

And it was not like we were behind schedule.. there were no races for hours before ours started

[Jim Drago]

Agree with this 100%.  Chris and I made our decision and were at grid with about 10 to go.  We were 2 of about 15 cars at the time.  Unless the officials were going to officially post pone the start to allow for all competitors to make decisions, then the race should have started on time.

And it was not like we were behind schedule.. there were no races for hours before ours started

[Joe Cooley]

Dry (well it was by the end....)

 

Buras

Bolanos

Carbonnell

Drago

Lamb

 

 

Well I got 3 of the top 5 right?  Just not Goring.  I pointed at my wife as he went by and said he'd win it though.

 

Awesome job by all the SM guys keeping it cleaner than almost all other races out there.  The crowds were into it.  Especially what looked like some big slides by Buras into and through 6.  Got a little quiet as everybody spread out but the dry line formed and everyone was cheering, yelling and screaming in the turn 5 stands.  

 

Good to meet some of you guys that I hadn't met before and letting me hang out with the SM crowd even though my Miata was too new and in a different class. 

[38bfast]

Jim could you let us in on your oil level speed secret.

[Todd Lamb]

Taking notes from The Caveman?

[mdavis]

 

To the Mazda Spec Miata Community,

 

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone in the Mazda Spec Miata Community.  This was my first year racing cars.  I am am very grateful to race in such a great competitive class. 

 

I would like to thank the SCCA and MAZDA for putting on such a sensational Championship Runoffs.  It was awesome to race under the lights at Daytona International Speedway. Thank you to my fellow competitors for such an exciting and clean race. I was very happy to finish 14th in a field consisting of 62 cars. 

 

I wouldn't have been able to have performed so well in my rookie season without the help from so many people in the Mazda racing community.

 

I would like to thank the SCCA for allowing me to get my competition license even through I wasn't old enough to drive on the streets.  I really appreciate the SCCA for putting their faith in me.  Thank you also to all the SCCA Volunteers who give up their time to support racing at the grassroots level.  We couldn't go racing without them.

 

I would like to thank Mazda Motorsports for supporting this class.  Mazda goes above all other car brands to support racing. John Doonan has been super helpful by giving me advice on how to go about attaining sponsorship. Thanks to David Cook for helping me get an article on Mazda Motorsports' website.  Thanks also to Tom Long for coaching advice and teaching me how to utilize my data to improve my race craft.  I am proud to be part of the 144 Mazda drivers photographed on the Daytona banking.

 

I would like to thank Jim Drago and the East Street Racing Team.  Jim has been a great mentor and has been very generous with his time coaching me and giving me advice about setup. He and his crew were always willing to help make changes to the car and were always available over the phone to answer questions. Thanks to Erik Stearns and Craig Berry for their help and guidance throughout the year. 

 

I would like to thank Steve Scheifler for all his assistance. Steve was a great help getting my car prepped the week before the runoffs.  He has a wealth of knowledge about Spec Miata.  I truly appreciate him sharing that with me.  During a race in St. Louis, Steve left the track during the lunch break to run and get me a spare part so that I would be able to race that afternoon. Steve is always willing to help out and answer questions and is one of the most selfless people I know.   

 

I would also like to thank Chris Haldeman and Matt Reynolds for all their encouragement and sharing their racing knowledge.  Despite my younger years they have always treated me like any other racer.  This list could just keep going on and on about all of those that helped make my first year in car racing a success. 

 

I would like to thank everyone for all your support and encouragement this season.  My goal is to become a pro racer and I think that we are on the right track to making that possible. I am very thankful to be racing against such a fantastic group of competitors who are always teaching me something new, both on and off the track. Racing with the MAZDA community has been a terrific experience.  Thank you for welcoming me into your family.

 

Sincerely,

 

Max Nufer

NRE Driver #27

Nufer Race Engineering

www.nreusa.com

 

Max,

 

It was great to meet you and your family earlier this year at Kansas Speedway.  I'm glad I was able to help in a very small way that weekend and have followed your results since that point.

 

While I appreciate your note of thanks-- I would like to thank you for your involvement in club racing.  Having young guys like yourself involved is the lifeblood of club racing and without guys like you getting involved and pushing us forward we'd be stuck in the proverbial gravel trap of life.

 

Keep it up.  You've got lots of folks cheering you on in racing and beyond.

 

MD

[Jim Drago]

Jim could you let us in on your oil level speed secret.

After extensive testing.. We have determined with a 99.99% certainty that the VVt car works even worse on 8 qts of oil that the 99/00 model. I think this will conclude our testing!

[Tom Hampton]

But, there's still an 0.01% chance you are wrong?  Its still just a theory!!!

[38bfast]

After extensive testing.. We have determined with a 99.99% certainty that the VVt car works even worse on 8 qts of oil that the 99/00 model. I think this will conclude our testing!

Jim your customer service is second to none. The caveman ask the question and you felt compelled to test to give him hard data.

[38bfast]

I really have to hand it to Mazda. The under the lights and the fireworks at the finish was top notch. It was certainly was all the buzz of the event. Great PR for Mazda and every one enjoyed it. Thanks Mazda.

[Ron Alan]

Well I got 3 of the top 5 right?  Just not Goring.  I pointed at my wife as he went by and said he'd win it though.

 

Awesome job by all the SM guys keeping it cleaner than almost all other races out there.  The crowds were into it.  Especially what looked like some big slides by Buras into and through 6.  Got a little quiet as everybody spread out but the dry line formed and everyone was cheering, yelling and screaming in the turn 5 stands.  

 

Good to meet some of you guys that I hadn't met before and letting me hang out with the SM crowd even though my Miata was too new and in a different class. 

Good job Joe...missed your 3 when I glanced back through!

[Chad Martin]

Best Race i've watched on the tube in probably 5 years.   Great show gentlemen.

[Bench Racer]

Great professional grade race by all, altho,  without the rain it would have been a hoot beyond belief.  Didn't/don't understand the not drafting together of #70 and #156. Different tires or??? 

 

A six sigma (3.4 defective features / million opportunities) process is one in which 99.99966% of all opportunities to produce some feature of a part are statistically expected to be free of defects. Yes, I understand an engine is many parts.

 

Yer golden Jim.

[Mark McCallister]

I watched from the Turn-3 grandstands, it was just a thrilling race to watch, pace lap to fireworks.  Of all the races I've watched over the years, that had to be about the coolest.  Congrats Mazda and SCCA on an awesome event.  I think Jonathan, Andrew, and Alex deserve Rolexes for that effort!

[RussMcB]

Mark, I must've been a few feet away from you.  :-)

 

My wife and I saw car #118 pass the second place SM on the final lap, we both looked at each other and said, "Who the heck was that?!".  :-)

 

The fireworks were really cool.  They were high quality, long lasting and loud (the way they're supposed the be.)

[MPR22]

After extensive testing.. We have determined with a 99.99% certainty that the VVt car works even worse on 8 qts of oil that the 99/00 model. I think this will conclude our testing!

The 1.6 also works worse on 8 qts of oil than the 99/00 model, does a nice job of crop dusting the track though. 

[FTodaro]

The 1.6 also works worse on 8 qts of oil than the 99/00 model, does a nice job of crop dusting the track though. 

You just could not resist throwing a bit of 1.6 Parity on the pile could you

[Tom Hampton]

which year suffers the most from 8 qts?  Perhaps this is the great equalizer we have been looking for?  Weight, plate, and oil volume.  

[Jim Drago]

Just watched the race video... Huge props to Alex and Cory! They drove the best race in the field from start to finish.. Had the race started on time???? I really feel horrible for Cory after watching that race. Nice job guys! Goring and Carbonell also huge props on dry tires in those conditions. Haldeman hanging around by himself and winning apparently ! As many have said, congrats to the entire field! What an event!
Jim

[Blake Thompson]

 

The drama in this class seems to be much higher than the others and I get that to an extent due to the size, drivers, parity, history, etc.. BUT, my concern is all of the drama will drive out competitors from the class. Maybe it is just part of racing in the most competitive class in club racing, or because it is SPEC. I don't know. But I hope we/yall can hold it together and progress it even further, and not let our best asset become our worst issue. Again, this coming from a total newbie greenhorn hack driver.

 

That drama has existed for the 10 years I've done this and probably for the 20 that Drago has.  The SM was the MOST populated majors class this year by almost 40% when averaged across all regions.  Any time you get that many grown ass men vying for one flag you're going to get a lot of BS.  I am purposely leaving the women out of that equation because they're better behaved than us.