Pair of Top Ten Finishes for Wheels America Racing at the Circuit of the Americas
The SCCA Hoosier Super Tour weekend at the Circuit of the Americas brought close, intense Spec Miata racing for three Wheels America Racing drivers. The total car count for the weekend came in at 39, so there was no shortage of talent and competition!
Saturday’s first qualifying session saw Alex Stanfield, driver of the #55 A&M Excavating Mazda Miata, qualify on the sixth row of the grid in P11. Matt Stretch, in the #89 machine, put in a qualifying time good enough for P8, but his transponder failed and he did not register any times. In the #98 was Logan Stretch. After battling handling issues in Friday testing, his car was still compromised for qualifying. Logan was only able to qualify 25th of the 39 car field. The green flag flew for Race 1 in sunny, but cold conditions. Stanfield worked his way from P11 to P6 over the course of the race, and that is where he would finish. Starting from P25, Logan Stretch picked off cars one by one to bring home P17, still with a compromised car. Matt Stretch’s car fell victim to electrical issues and he was not able to complete lap one.
Sunday brought warmer weather and better pace for the Wheels America Racing cars. After discovering the issue on the #98 car before Qualifying 2, the team thrashed to get the car ready to hit the track. The car ultimately did make it onto the grid for Qualifying 2, and showed much better pace with Logan Stretch finishing P11. Alex Stanfield improved his time from Saturday’s qualifying session and finished in P6. Once again, the #89 machine fell victim to electrical issues, and it would not record a lap time. With Qualifying 2 finished, the grid for Sunday’s 35-minute Race 2 was set. Based on the fastest lap time turned in any session preceding Race 2, Stanfield would start P10 in the #55 machine, Logan Stretch in P16 in the #98, and Matt Stretch in P39 in the #89. Early on, both Stanfield and Logan Stretch picked off cars and worked their way up to P4 and P7 respectively. They were on a charge with race-winning pace. Likewise, Matt Stretch drove all the way from the back to crack into the top 20. After both Stanfield and Logan Stretch’s car suffered electrical issues, they dropped outside of the top 10. Alex Stanfield fought back to finish P10. Logan Stretch would cross the line in P14 with the fastest lap of the race, and Matt Stretch climbed all the way from P39 to P15.
An unfortunate weekend of what could have been for the Wheels America Racing boys, but the pace proved that under the right conditions, any of the three could be fighting for the top spot. The team will be looking ahead to its next event in Cresson, Texas at the MotorSport Ranch for the NASA Texas March Madness event!
February 13, 2023