NASA MSR Cresson Miata Race
This weekend was my first NASA regional Miata race. With one of the only NA Miata’s on grid, I was both nervous and excited to see what I could do.
Friday
On practice day, we had 5 practice sessions to learn more about the setup and improve my driving. I focused on being consistent in the car and coming off the brakes sooner and sooner. At the end of the day, we knew we had a car capable of running in the top 5.
Saturday
In qualifying, I set myself up to draft behind the two fastest cars on the field. However, due to a mishap with another driver, I was separated from the two and forced to run alone. Unfortunately, I ended up qualifying P14.
In the first race of the day, I got a good start and had some great battles. I learned so much about race craft in just 30 minutes. I ended up gaining 3 positions, resulting in a finish of P11.
In the second race, starting 11th, I got another good start and came out of turn 1 strong. I had some more great battles and ended up progressing to 8th.
“Saturday was filled with success and a ton of race craft experience. Although I didn’t get the best qualifying, I had an awesome time driving my way up the grid!”
Sunday
On the last day of the race weekend, we had one race that was 40 minutes long. Starting in 8th, I got another great start and held my own.
I was able to make up one position before my tires started overheating and my car became difficult to drive. After the race, we found out that we had missed the tire pressure by a mile, preventing me from moving up the grid.
Despite that, though, I managed to finish the race in 7th.
“Considering the fact that this was my first official NASA race and I was one of the only NA Miatas on grid, we are very happy with the results. I feel that I could’ve shown more potential if we got the tire pressure correct, but that’s just racing. We live and we learn. I’m going to continue working hard so I do even better at the next!”
March 5, 2023
