This past week was a gorgeous Petit LeMans week at Road Atlanta, with plenty of great weather and fantastic racing on tap. The fall weather was kind to the area all week, and as we’ve seen, that’s not always the case, with the potential for tropical storms and such at this time of year!
The Mazda MX-5 Cup series was concluding their season with the final two rounds of the championship. The title was anything but decided going into the event, with three key players still vying for the $250,000 check up for grabs. The Rookie of the Year battle was even tighter, with three rookies in contention for that honor and the $80,000 prize.
As fate would have it, race one came down to the closing laps. The top three drivers in the championship were headed down the back straight, three-wide for the lead approaching the famed turn 10 chicane. Unfortunately, not all three cars came out the other side. Jeremy Fletcher came away with the win, putting himself in a better position to clinch the championship in race two.
There was tough luck among the rookie contenders, as well, with post-race penalties that made the Rookie of the Year picture much clearer for them.
With an early start for the final day and race two, you could sense the anticipation in the air. Yet again, we were treated to a phenomenal race with incredible battles throughout the field. Jeremy Fletcher went on to take the title, and Helio Meza brought home Rookie of the Year honors.
There was lots of other great racing, too, including the famed 10-hour Petit LeMans. The record crowd certainly had plenty of action throughout the week. It has been remarkable to see sports car racing thriving, and this event really put a stamp on the fact that we continued to see growth this season, not only in the paddock but also in the fanbase.
It’s a quick turnaround for me this week, since I’m heading to Indianapolis for the final time this season, as the SRO World Challenge wraps up its year.