NASA Southeast’s February event at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C., is typically chilly, and this year’s race was no exception. With plunging temperatures, rain, and wind gusts of 50 mph, drivers who still had their heater cores hooked up could stay warm, and outside, the racing was as hot as ever for NASA Southeast Spec Miata.
Race one kicked off with Travis Wiley leading from the pole, having set a blistering qualifying lap time of 1:49.337 earlier in the day. Dean Dybdahl, starting on the outside, shared the front row. Despite a challenging start where Dybdahl locked up his brakes, he didn’t let it deter him. He quickly found his rhythm and steadily worked his way back up, eventually closing in on Wiley, who had been leading most of the race.
No. 90 Dean Dybdahl swept the weekend despite a lockup on the first start. Dybdahl scored three wins, while No. 21 Eric Gerchak got a third-place finish in race one.
Wiley wouldn’t give up the lead easily and fought off Dybdahl’s first attempt to pass him on the front stretch. In the back carousel, Dybdahl used an out-of-class car as a pick in Turn 8, getting around Wiley and securing the lead position. There was great racing throughout the field, like with Charles Lankford and John Pallazolo contending for P12/P13. Up front, they swapped positions several times and showed poise in and out of traffic. Lankford eventually prevailed, securing the P12 position.
As is often the case in Spec Miata, the final results were anything but predictable. Dybdahl emerged victorious, with Wiley in a close second, Eric Gerchak in third, Javier Laurnaga in fourth, and James Newell in fifth. The race was a testament to the unpredictable nature of motorsport, where anything can happen until the very end.
Despite the fierce competition on the track, the NASA Southeast race event at Carolina Motorsports Park was also a display of camaraderie among the drivers. Rain moved in on Saturday evening, turning the weather from bad to worse overnight. The morning sessions had to be delayed, but eventually, the storm system passed, and the drivers were ready to get back to what they love – racing.
In February, Julian Pollard notched a third-place finish in race two at Carolina Motorsports Park.
Everyone used their Toyo RA1 tires, a popular choice for wet track conditions due to their superior grip, to navigate the wet track. Dybdahl and Wiley again started on the front row, but this time, Dybdahl had the pole, with Wiley starting on the outside. As with many rain events, the young and fearless drivers could navigate faster than everyone else.
Unfortunately for Wiley, he ran out of gas early and could not finish the race. Dybdahl held the lead from start to finish and had a comfortable lead at the end. Behind him, Newell moved up from P4 to finish second, while Julian Pollard made a statement starting in P8 and working his way up to finish third. Laurnaga finished in P4, with Yan Dia rounding out the top five.
Here’s a slice of the Spec Miata action from Carolina Motorsports Park. No. 181 Javier Laurnaga scored a second-place finish in race three. No,. 78 Travis Wiley scored a second-place finish in race one and a third in race three. No. 77 James Newell scored a second-place finish in race two.
When race three started, it had turned into quite a beautiful day. The track was perfect for the final race of the weekend. This time, Dybdahl started on the pole with Newell to his outside on the front row. Dybdahl again led the race from start to finish. Behind him, there was a great battle for positions P2-P5. Laurnaga, Newell, Dia, and Wiley were nose to tail, waiting for one of the others to make a mistake or get duped by out-of-class cars. Laurnaga used the traffic perfectly and did a solid job defending any challengers. Meanwhile, Wiley, who started in P8, patiently picked off Dia and Newell to finish in P3.
In the end, Dybdahl swept the weekend with an impressive 16-second lead over second-place Laurnaga. Wiley grabbed another podium, finishing P3, Newell in P4, and Dia in P5.