June Race Weekend, also Father’s Day weekend, welcomed the last opportunity to race with fellow Club Spring Mountain members before the summer sabbatical. We kicked things off with a Bracket Race Friday afternoon followed by “Tacos at the Tiki” later that evening where members and guests escaped the afternoon heat at Lake Spring Mountain. All weekend, races were held on the Mansell (C) 3.415-mile configuration.
Friday Bracket Race
Thirteen drivers competed in Friday’s Bracket Race with a mix of four Miatas, six Radical SR3s, one Wolf GB08SM, one Ferrari and one Lotus 2-Eleven. Racing for the first time since November, Todd Snyder took to the course in his Radical SR3; Renee West also raced for the first time since January in her Miata. After the green flag was given, the first few laps of the race ran smoothly with good clean passes and no issues. However, on lap 3, Mark Saroyan (Miata) went off in Turn 8 due to a mechanical issue and had to exit the race.
On lap 5, Gregg Gorski (Radical SR3) went off in 5B, but he was able to get back on the track without assistance. On lap 7, Ron Eckhardt (Wolf GB08SM) went off as well and unfortunately was unable to complete the 8th lap of the race. Of the 11 drivers who finished all 8 laps, only one broke out of their bracket time! The top 3 finishers, all in Radical SR3s, were Miguel Grillo in 1st, David McConnell in 2nd and Snyder in 3rd.
Saturday Miata Race
Saturday’s Miata Race went green at 10:22am with 8 drivers. Ron Fletcher didn’t waste any time jumping to the front of the pack! Despite being squeezed into the first turn 3-wide and losing 2 wheels in the dirt, Fletcher maneuvered his way up to 1st from 3rd by the second lap. Going into lap 3, Fletcher was still in the lead followed by Jim Balestrieri, Gregg Gorski and Teddy Landau. By lap 4, Fletcher and Balestrieri had gained a 7-second lead over the rest of the pack.
On lap 5, Lee Mixon had to exit the race due to a mechanical issue, but going into lap 6 the focus shifted back to Balestrieri and Fletcher. Bumper to bumper and going into the white flag, Balestrieri managed to pass Fletcher just in time to secure 1st place! Fletcher followed in 2nd, Gorski in 3rd and Landau in 4th with Dennis Kane, Michael Lorenz and John Saroyan in 5th, 6th and 7th.
Sunday Miata Race
Seven drivers came out to race in the Father’s Day Miata Race. Jim Balestrieri qualified on pole driving his #7 car, not to be confused with Lee Mixon who raced in Balestrieri’s #67 car that day. After the green flag and into lap 3, a competition emerged between Mixon and Gregg Gorski battling for 3rd. During lap 4 in Kenny’s Corner, Gorski managed to pass Mixon, but on lap 6, Gorski had two tires go off in Turn 2, causing him to fall behind and Mixon to regain 3rd. Before Balestrieri took the overall win for Sunday’s Miata race, Gorski once again managed a pass Mixon going side by side past the white timing line. The race finished with Balestrieri in 1st followed by Teddy Landau in 2nd, and Gorski and Mixon finished in 3rd and 4th. Dennis Kane finished in 5th, followed by Mark Saroyan in 6th and Michael Lorenz in 7th.
Saturday Light Sport Race
In Saturday’s Light Sport Race, 11 drivers participated, two of which we welcomed back as they had been absent from CSM race series for an extended period of time; Todd Snyder and Orin Harker. We were also excited to see the new GB08SM Turbo debuted out on the track being driven by CEO and co-owner of Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club, John Morris.
Right away the power behind the new Turbo was obvious as Morris launched ahead on the first lap, separating himself largely from the rest of the pack. Further behind on lap 1, Gerry Shear spun off in Ego Check, but he was able to get back on without assistance. The race continued routinely until lap 4 when Keith Gostlin passed Miguel Grillo for 7th position and on lap 5 when Orin Harker also made a pass on Grillo, this time for 8th. Soon after, Snyder spun off in Turn 7 costing him a few positions.
On lap 9, Harker went off in 5B and was able to get back on while Morris continued to increase his lead. On the final lap, Gregg Gorski and Snyder battled it out for 5th, but Snyder managed a last-minute pass around him in Turn 1. To conclude, Morris finished 1st overall after having grown his lead sizably throughout the whole race; he finished with an astounding 35-second lead over 2nd place driver Ron Eckhardt, followed by Fletcher and Indy Al in 3rd and 4th.
Sunday Light Sport Race
For Sunday’s Father’s Day Light Sport Race, 4 drivers participated – Ron Eckhardt, Keith Gostlin, Gregg Gorski and David McConnell. With all the drivers ready, the race began early; through the first 2 laps, everyone remained in their starting positions, but on lap 3, Gorski spun off in 5B costing him a position as he fell into 3rd. Finishing positions were Eckhardt in 1st, Gostlin in 2nd, Gorski in 3rd and McConnell in 4th. Eckhart had the best lap time of the day at 2:14.351 with a 25-second lead in front of 2nd place.
