Spec Miata
Words: Jeff Zurschmeide

Predicting the outcome of a Spec Miata race is a lot like predicting the winner of a bar fight, but consider this: Preston Pardus has competed at the Runoffs six times and three of those times he won his race, plus finished second once. That impressive record already makes him the winningest driver in Spec Miata Runoffs history. If he grabs first again this year, he’ll have won three times in a row. So we’re playing it safe and predicting another Pardus win, with Connor Zilisch and Travis Wiley rounding out the podium.

With 59 entries registered at press time, there are a number of past champions in the mix, including two-time SM champion Jim Drago and three-time STL champ Danny Steyn, so before we hang the medal around Pardus’s neck, there’s a race to be run. To give us the insider view we asked Steyn, who’s always in the mix but has yet to claim top honors in SM.

“I think all the usual players will be there,” Steyn says. “I’m guessing Connor Zilisch will be a favorite, along with Pardus and Drago. Elivan Goulart will be a contender, too, along with Nick Bruni, Todd Buras, Peter Ensor, Charles Mactutus and Rob Hines.”

Travis Wiley tends to agree. “It will be Connor Zilisch and maybe Jim Drago since he’s particularly good there,” he says. “But I think it’ll be Connor who’s going to be hardest to beat.”

Steyn is also looking at an impressive new player who could disrupt the conventional wisdom.

“Raiden Nicol is a 14-year-old whiz kid,” Steyn declares. “He just beat me at Road Atlanta, my home track, and he kicked my ass! This guy is exceptionally talented. In my opinion, he’s got a really good shot at it.”
Steyn also emphasizes the strategic nature of the VIR circuit.

“It’s so important to qualify near the front there,” he explains. “It’s not an easy track to pass on. You’ve just got to be so patient, because there are not a lot of passing opportunities. It’s easy to come alongside a guy, but it’s not that easy to get past him and go cleanly. And if you go alongside in Spec Miata, both of you fall back, so the idea is to pass and move forward. And that’s the hard part.”

Marshall Mast, Touring 3. Barbara Protos photo

Touring 1, 2, 3 & 4

Words: Richard S. James

Touring 1
Touring 1 has been Andrew Aquilante’s playground for a long time, and it usually takes a mechanical issue for him not to win in his Ford Mustang. And if he doesn’t win, Mark Boden has been right there to take the victory when Aquilante has an issue.

“We wouldn’t be going if I didn’t have a shot at winning,” says Aquilante, before listing other contenders. “Mark Boden is going to be the strongest one. The BMW, as we could see from last year, was strong and nothing’s changed. There’s some cars from the West Coast that, if they enter, if they can’t win I don’t know what’s wrong with their driving…”

Boden got knocked out of last year’s championship race early, so we didn’t get to see what his BMW might have done in interesting conditions, but he won in similarly interesting conditions at VIR in 2019. And while Boden has been toying with a Mercedes-AMG GT4, he says he’s going to bring the proven BMW E92 M3.

The car count is low so far, with only eight confirmed entries. Of those, we believe local knowledge might be an advantage, so we think another Mustang man, Robert Korzen, has a good shot at the podium. Other contenders include Hugh Stewart, Timothy Rubright and S. Sandy Satullo III.

Touring 2
“I think there’s going to be more variety in T2 this year than there has been in past years, and a lot of fast guys,” says podium pick Mark Boden. The mounts for our podium picks include a BMW, a Mustang and a Porsche, so he may not be far off.

Charlie Peter has two consecutive second-place finishes at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. He’s upgraded from BMW’s 235iR to the more potent M2 CS, so between that and his greater experience, it’s likely time to move up a step. But Mustang racer and three-time T2 champ Kurt Rezzetano isn’t likely to make it easy.

“Kurt Rezzetano; of course Charlie Peter … Tim Kezman is going to be fast,” Boden says, listing potential contenders. “I think those are going to be the pointy end of the field. There are a few other fast guys that come in, but Kurt and Charlie are probably the top two picks right now.”

Boden is our pick for third in his trusty Porsche, but could easily surprise at VIR. David Sanders has been getting closer to the podium in recent years and could be a contender, too. Scotty B. White made the T2 podium last year in a Viper, but has entered with the Ford Mustang EcoBoost that he ran in 2020.

Touring 3
In five Runoffs appearances, Marshall Mast has three National Championships in Touring 3. The last time he didn’t win a championship was in 2019, the Runoffs’ previous visit to VIR. We’re betting that in 2022 he adds the famed road course to the list of tracks at which he’s won titles.

“I think my chances are pretty good,” Mast says. “I think Jason Ott, Breton Williams and Chris Hart are going to be tough. I was beat [in 2019] by Broderick Baugess in a Spec E46, so I know those cars are going to be fast around VIR. Rob Hines and Derek Kulach in Nissans are going to be pretty stiff competition also.”

Mast is back in the EcoBoost Mustang, and says he feels he’s progressed as a driver, which can’t be something his competitors want to hear.

Jason Ott has had limited running this year in Hoosier Super Tour events, so he’s a little hard to gauge, but he’s usually quick in the BMW Z4 M Coupe. Still, he’s certainly going to have his hands full with Mast and Hines. Hines won both parts of the Super Tour at VIR in his Nissan over Williams, so he’s looking very strong for a podium finish.

Touring 4
In addition to Touring 3, where he’s a three-time champ, Marshall Mast is contesting T4 in a Scion FR-S. He’s our pick to win, but he’s going to have a real fight in store.

“I’ve run more Super Tours and Majors this year in T4,” Mast says. “I was racing against Marc Cefalo most of the time, so I know he’s going to be tough. I just barely had him in most of the races. I had a massive battle with him at Watkins Glen, and I know that car is going to be quick. For other guys, it’s the usual contenders – Michael Borden is going to be tough, and Chi Ho and his BMW.”

Cefalo and his MX-5 have been tearing it up everywhere they go, so he’s about as sure a thing for the podium as it gets. And defending champ John Heinricy will be up there, because, well, Heinricy. Don’t count out Izzy Sanchez or Chris Windsor, either.

T4 is looking at a big field made up largely of BRZ/86/FR-S entries and MX-5s, but there will be some other cars thrown in. Mast thinks there might be a surprise in there.

“I feel like T4 is the class where somebody’s just gonna show up in possibly an RX-8 and surprise all of us,” he says. “So, yeah, I’m kind of expecting somebody who I didn’t think was going to be a contender to be one. I think the rules for T4 are super close as far as every make and model of car, so it’s going to be tough, especially with the draft at VIR.”