The winds were a blowin’ and the racing was a rockin’ in Hallett Oklahoma for the fifth U.S. Majors Tour at the track which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. With the prairie fires burning in the background, the drivers battled intense winds as the day got later. The cloudy skies were a bit ominous, but held off precipitation other than some limited sprinkles as Group 3 rolled off the grid.
Group 1 kicked off the action right after lunch with a tight Formula F race. Four drivers battled closely for the win throughout the 25-minute timed race: Cliff Johnson (Alpine Litho-Graphics Piper DF-5), James Stiehr (Carpe Metam Racing Piper DF5), Andy Melvin (U-Boat Watch Van Diemen RF), and Hans Saurino (Quantum Racing Services Van Diemen FF). Johnson started on pole, yet it would take five official lead changes to claim the win.
Johnson was not able to capitalize on his pole starting position and Melvin took the credit for leading the first lap, although the two came down the straightaway side-by-side. Johnson promptly reclaimed the lead and held it for five laps before Melvin again took over the top spot for a strong two laps. When Saurino took the lead on lap nine, Johnson had fallen to fourth. During Saurino’s ten laps at the top of the score chart, Johnson marched is way back. On the last lap, contact was made between Melvin and Saurino with Johnson being the benefactor. He was followed across the line by Stiehr, who although never held the lead officially, was tightly entwined in this group through the entire race.
The Spec Miatas occupied the entirety of group three. Polesitter Jim Drago kept his East Street Racing/SafeRacer Mazda Miata ahead on the start and never looked back. He was able to take the win with a victory margin of over eight seconds. He was joined on the podium by Justin Hille (Hilltrux/ROUSH Mazda Miata) and Max Nufer (Nufer Race Engineering Mazda Miata).
The following group was composed of the classes affectionately known as “Wings ‘n’ Things” that included the winged Formula and Prototype classes. Brothers of FF contender Hans Saurino, Nigel and Joshua put on a show in their Quantum Racing Services Van Diemen FCs. Joshua started on the Class pole with Nigel directly behind on the grid. The brothers ran closely in that order for five laps before Joshua suddenly lost steam, giving his older brother the opportunity to take the lead. Despite continued pressure from Joshua, Nigel held on to the lead and took the victory.
The Saurino brothers are the sons of multi-National Champion John Saurino who competed through the ’90s and ’00s in GT and Production cars. Nigel claimed the F Production National Championship in his father’s MG Midget in 2014 before the brothers made the transition into open-wheel racing.
The racing continues from Hallett Motor Racing Circuit tomorrow with another round of qualifying in the morning and racing starting at 10:30 am CDT. Live timing, notes, and video can be found at SCCA.com/live.
NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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