Mother Nature jumped in and played a role during the opening two days of Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour (HST) action on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Friday was humming along nicely during the event hosted by SCCA’s Atlanta Region March 6-8, 2026, as part of the larger Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing program. Late in the day, however, a storm blew through Braselton, GA, accompanied by lightning and copious amounts of rain. That brought an early halt to a second round of qualifying on the opening day.
Things were further hampered Saturday morning by a thick fog that caused a delay and shortened the second round of qualifying for about half of the eight run groups. With some slight schedule adjustments, organizers were still able to launch the first race by 10:45 a.m., resulting in a full day of thrills – although it did start raining about 10 minutes after the last race. The first four run groups saw 35-minute or 19-lap races, and the other run groups had 25-minute or 15-lap competitions.
Roles reverse Sunday with the first few run groups having 25-minute or 15-lap races, then the others experience 35-minute or 19-lap challenges. Much thanks go to the nearly 190 dedicated SCCA Volunteers on site who are making the weekend fantastic for nearly 270 entrants.
Spec Miata Welcome Back Weekend
With 51 starters, the Spec Miata (SM) race Saturday was going to be interesting one way or another. Making the contest even more special was the fact that Danny Steyn and Jim Drago, two stalwarts of SM competition, were in the field after an extended absence.
It was the 2024 Runoffs when Steyn and Drago were involved in an incident during qualifying that has sidelined them for a little more than a year. While both have been back on track in recent weeks, this weekend at Road Atlanta marks their return to HST competition. Drago drove the No. 2 East Street Racing/G-Loc Brakes Mazda Miata, and Steyn the No. 39 Rossini Engines/G-Loc Brakes/Planet Miata Mazda.
“You have no idea how overwhelming the emotions are coming back to the track,” Steyn said. “The SCCA family is something absolutely incredible. Until you’ve been forced away from it, you just have no idea how important it is to you.
“I’m a little nervous, but not about the track or anything,” Steyn continued. “I’m just a little nervous that I don’t have what I had. At my age, the rate of falloff is quite precipitous.”
While fearful his muscle memory had gone soft, that concern dissipated a bit after Steyn qualified 20th for Saturday’s 35-minute race. Drago started 31st in a brand-new car making its debut in Georgia. Decked out in a classic livery that brought him a couple Runoffs wins, his staff at East Street Racing wrenched hard to complete the car before this weekend’s adventure.
“This is the first 99/00 I’ve built for myself in years (since around 2014), and man, it came together fast thanks to some serious hustle,” Drago said in a social media post about his SM car.
Steyn and Drago weren’t the only ones “coming back” to SM this weekend. Several fast drivers who now wage war in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup series joined the fray at Road Atlanta, too. That included Chris Allen, Logan Stretch, Max Stallone, Ben Jacobs, Frankie Barroso, John Salerno and Charles Mactutus; as well as Ellie Gossett and her brother, Bobby, who claimed an MX-5 Cup victory just a week ago on the streets of St. Petersburg.
Many of these racers faced both Drago and Steyn over the years as they learned their craft. But Steyn noted he’s super excited to have everyone back together for a great contest in Georgia.
“Racing this weekend with all these accomplished drivers, I’m a little worried how far back I’ll be,” Steyn admitted with a chuckle. “But I want to run heads-up against the fastest kids that are out there, and these kids are incredibly quick.”
Saturday’s race, which finished under full-course yellow, was won by a young man named Skyler Cottrell in the No. 9 Sentry Body and Paint Mazda Miata. Steyn made a solid showing, charging up to 10th before the checkered flag. Drago came home in the 35th spot.
The SM test wasn’t Steyn’s only challenge Saturday. He also competed in the Super Touring® Lite (STL) race where he started on pole in the No. 09 Ocean Machinery/Nelson Engines/OPM Autosports/G-Loc Brakes/Hoosier Mazda MX-5 car. When the race began, he got swallowed up by reigning STL National Champion Mike Taylor who took the lead in his Acura Integra. A few laps later, however, Steyn was back out front and didn’t relinquish the lead again for the 35-minute race. That earned him a first-place trophy in STL on his first weekend back with the HST series.
A Special Kind of Tool
Before the year’s first HST event in California a couple weeks ago, longtime competitor Scotty B. White said, “We got some new things up our sleeves that are different from last year, and I hope we’ll have a little bit more of a faster car.”
Well, White took two Touring 3 (T3) victories on The Circuit at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, and he’s back in action this weekend in Georgia. The trick up his sleeve, however, is no longer a secret. It’s now known he has deployed a special “tool” by the name of Marshall Mast.
After almost a dozen years, Mast ended his employment with the legendary Phoenix Performance shop. It was an amicable departure, but still a difficult decision to make considering he drove to five Runoffs victories with that squad.
“It was time for me to do my own thing,” Mast said. “I saw an opportunity to do something I wanted to do, and I decided to jump on it.”
That “thing” he referenced was creation of his own race shop, Relentless Motorsports, which you can learn more about @relentless.motorsports.llc on Instagram.
“I’m super excited,” Mast said of the new endeavor. “It was pretty nerve-racking. I’m just kind of going into this with some blind faith and not worrying about it.”
Mast is looking to expand the number of automotive platforms he’s familiar with as time passes. Although, he knows he’s currently not too shabby with Mustangs. And those Fords are what White wants setup help with across different Touring classes.
“Scotty and I have obviously raced together since I started nine years ago,” Mast added. “We’ve always been good friends. Should be a fun year, and hopefully we’ll win a bunch of races.”
At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday, White started the T3 race behind polesitter Nic Hammann in the No. 41 Carbotech/NISMO/Paragon Performance Nissan 370Z. It didn’t take long, however, for White to take the lead. A full-course yellow midway through the contest hampered his effort and allowed reigning T3 National Champion Hammann to get back by with a handful of laps remaining. Hammann went on to victory, and White’s runner-up result made for a third podium appearance in an HST season that is only three races old.
Saturday Race Winners
Below are provisional race winners from Saturday’s Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Each entry includes Car Class: Driver Name, SCCA Region, and Car.
American Sedan®: Michael Kamalian, Atlanta Region, Ford Mustang
B-Spec: Franklin Futrelle, Atlanta Region, Mazda 2
E Production: Peter Norton, North Carolina Region, Caterham Seven
F Production: Ken Kannard, Atlanta Region, Acura Integra
H Production: Steve Sargis, Blackhawk Valley Region, Triumph Spitfire
Formula 600: George Bugg, Tennessee Valley Region, Scorpion F600
Formula Atlantic®: John Mcaleer, Atlanta Region, Swift 016
Formula Continental®: Carter Sheets, Steel Cities Region, Van Diemen F2000
Formula Enterprises® 2: Paul Schneider, Central Carolinas Region, SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
Formula F: David Ybarra, Texas Region, Mygale F1600
Formula Vee®: Mike Lawrence, Central Carolinas Region, Protoform P2
GT-1: Joseph Freda, Alabama Region, Chevrolet Corvette
GT-2: Joseph Federl, Texas Region, Ford Mustang
GT-X: Garry Crook, Gulf Coast Region, Norma M30
Spec Miata: Skyler Cottrell, Atlanta Region, Mazda Miata
Spec MX-5: Jarrett Jones, Atlanta Region, Mazda MX-5
Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: Peyton Long, Arkansas Region, SCCA Enterprises SRF3
Prototype: Wade Richardson, Alabama Region, Stohr WF1
Super Touring® Lite: Danny Steyn, Florida Region, Mazda MX-5
Super Touring® Under: Tony Ave, Central Carolinas Region, Honda Civic
Touring 1: James Candelaria, Central Florida Region, Chevrolet Corvette
Touring 2: Raphael Assuncao, Atlanta Region, Porsche Cayman
Touring 3: Nic Hammann, Kansas City Region, Nissan 370Z
Touring 4: Kevin Fryer, Washington DC Region, Mazda MX-5
Action Restarts Early Sunday at Road Atlanta
On-track action begins 8 a.m. Eastern Time Sunday after everyone has moved clocks ahead one hour for Daylight Saving Time. It should be a full day of racing where we learn who appears on victory podiums at Road Atlanta to receive commemorative bottles of Mazza Vineyards sparkling wine.
The first four run groups will have 25-minute or 15-lap races, then it’s 35-minute or 19-lap contests for the final four run groups. Catch all the action in real time thanks to HST’s free online video broadcast produced by DriversEye Live and found at SCCA’s YouTube page. Announcers Gregg Ginsberg and Tom O'Gorman will again offer expert commentary, and Sunday victory podium celebrations can be viewed at the Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.
As usual, live HST Timing & Scoring is also available throughout the weekend at scca.com/live.
Photo: Nic Hammann on his way to T3 victory during Saturday’s Hoosier Super Tour. In the background is T3 runner-up Scotty B. White driving the blue car. Also pictured is STL winner Danny Steyn taking a unique path through the Turn 10 complex at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Photo by Jeff Loewe
