Jacen's Rants
Mazda MX-5 Cup Race Review - 2025 Daytona 1 & 2
January 24, 2025
The MX-5s generally put on the best show on any given race weekend. I think they're a great example of "more horsepower does not mean more better". The racing is extremely close, and the draft is extremely important, meaning last-lap passes and close finishes are the norm. So, what better way to kick off Daytona week than with a race with the MX-5s?
Race 1
After qualifying, 10 cars had some of their lap times disallowed due to exceeding the maximum lap time. This created a bit of a mixed-up grid, with faster drivers starting from the back. Due to light rain, the race began on wet-weather tires. Race control planned an extra formation lap due to the conditions, but it ended up not being necessary as Westin Workman's car stalled before the start, causing the race to start under full-course yellow anyway. While Workman was able to continue, he would return 2 laps down.
Nate Cicero started on pole and lead the first few laps of the race. However, either he or his team decided that it was too dry for wet tires and had him pit to change to slicks. MX-5 Cup generally does not have live pit stops, so the crew and equipment are not prepared for a fast tire change. Despite the length of the stop, Cicero did manage to stay on the lead lap, just barely.
With Cicero out of the picture, the battle for the lead shifted to Gresham Wagner and Tyler Gonzalez. Wagner, however, had a mechanical issue and was forced to retire the car with less than 25 minutes to go.
With the low horsepower of the MX-5s, cars aren't really able to pull away, and the battle for the lead is constant. The battle ultimately ended up primarily being Gonzalez, Ethan Goulart, and Bryce Cornet. Gonzalez lost the lead a couple of times, but ultimately ended up getting it back after a mistake from Cornet in the infield opened the door.
That ended up being the winning move, as Christian Hodneland's car caught fire. Although he was able to get it off-track, race control opted to throw a full-course caution with 2 laps to go, ending the race under yellow and confirming Gonzalez's first win of the season.
In hindsight, Cicero's gamble was a pretty dumb, especially since the rain started to pick up soon after he made the change. Even in the moment, with how close MX-5 racing tends to be, his team should have realized that a scuffed pit stop like that wasn't going to pay off in the end. I'm also a little disappointed that the race finished under yellow, since I think Hodneland was in a safe enough place to not affect the final lap of racing. With that said, it was definitely a very good race and a good sign of things to come for the MX-5 Cup season.
Race 2
The second race was completely sunny, meaning all cars started on slick tires. Cicero once again started on the pole.
The cars didn't even make it to turn 1 before our first incident, where we got The Big One, NASCAR-style. 17 cars were involved in the massive crash, causing an extended yellow-flag period.
The cleanup necessitated a 28-minute caution period. By the time the race restarted, 21 of the 35 cars that started the race were on the lead lap, with 12 cars retired before turning a lap and a thirteenth only completing a handful of laps.
Helio Meza was responsible for kicking off the initial incident and was given a drive-through penalty once the race resumed. With how close MX-5 racing tends to be, that was enough to effectively take him out of contention for a good finish.
Grant West was having an excellent race, but was hit with a 10-second post-race penalty for incident responsibility. To add insult to injury, while running 3rd, he was hit from behind by Bailey Cruse, causing him to spin and putting him further behind. Cruse was also assessed a 10-second penalty for the contact.
Cicero led the majority of the race, but with 2 laps to go, he was shuffled out by a group led by Jared Thomas, who took over the lead. On the final lap, Thomas fought off an attack from Todd Buras in the tri-oval, taking victory by 0.038s.
The big crash and long caution at the start was a bit of a bummer, but the racing we did get was close and exciting. Overall, I'd say this weekend was a good showing for the Miatas.
