Like a mischievous gremlin, Mother Nature toyed with the first two days of Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour (HST) competition March 6-8, 2026, in Braselton, GA, during an event hosted by SCCA’s Atlanta Region. Part of the larger Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing program, the hope was that conditions would stabilize Sunday and action around Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta would go off without a hitch.
You could say Mother Nature was less radical Sunday, because the entire day was ruled by overcast skies that delivered something between a light and annoying drizzle, then an annoying and light sprinkle. That left the 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit damp all day, and forced competitors to waffle between wet tires and slicks.
Nevertheless, six run groups were able to complete races Sunday. The seventh run group – consisting of open-wheel, open-cockpit Formula Atlantic, Formula Continental and Formula Enterprises 2 cars – also started its race under predictable conditions. However, a full-course yellow late in the 35-minute contest was also met by an upsurge in precipitation. Race Control decided conditions were not safe considering most cars were on slick tires, and the contest ended a few laps early. The Stewards’ decision, however, was lauded by competitors who agreed a restart would’ve been treacherous.
As for the final run group consisting of GT-1, GT-2, Touring 1, Touring 2 and American Sedan machines; a mechanical issue on the pace lap left the circuit covered in a slick substance. Corner Marshals did their best to remedy the situation, sliding around on foot like Olympic Curlers. Yet, with daylight running out, the painful decision was made to call an end to the event.
Still, many trophies and commemorative bottles of Mazza Vineyards sparkling wine were doled out to podium finishers throughout the day, as well as sparkling water to those below 21 years old. Competition and laughs were found by all having #funwithcars.
Probing B-Spec
Franklin Futrelle is the reigning Formula Enterprises® 2 (FE2) Runoffs® Champion. He has two additional National Championships in Spec Racer® Ford Gen3 (SRF3), and one other Runoffs win to his name in Formula Mazda. But at Road Atlanta this weekend he was rolling with the B-Spec field in the No. 34 Meco Inc. Mazda 2 borrowed from Chris Taylor Racing Services.
“I was looking for a new challenge this year,” he said. “I’ve got this goal of trying to win Runoffs in multiple, different classes. So, I’m trying to pick very competitive classes that look fun, and B-Spec checks those boxes.”
This weekend at Road Atlanta was Futrelle’s first time racing a front-wheel drive car, and his first time partying with the B-Spec gang. It was a whole new endeavor for him as far as wielding a low-horsepower car versus a formula car.
“I’ll still be running the Runoffs in the FE2 car, but I’ll be qualifying for B-Spec as well,” Futrelle said. “I’m diving into the deep end, I guess.”
A former Skip Barber Racing School instructor at Road Atlanta, Futrelle perhaps surprised nobody in his first B-Spec outing Saturday. He qualified on pole and won with a 1.2sec gap on the runner-up. Sunday was a bit rockier as Futrelle got embroiled in an incident and departed the contest early. Avoiding troubles was B-Spec racer Rice Robineson in the No. 50 Mazda 2, who went on to win the race.
One final thing to consider is the fact that Futrelle is working with Comprent Motor Sports to build his own B-Spec machine. Being constructed as well is an additional steed for two-time SRF3 National Champion Robeson Clay Russell who is also looking to enter the fray later this year.
Gap Year
Lots of young men and women take a “gap year” between high school and heading off to college. That time is often spent hiking across Europe, gaining life experience in a small village somewhere in South America, or maybe traveling the U.S. to see what the country has to offer. Emy Kissick, a Spec MX-5 (SMX) competitor from the Northwest, is spending her gap year racing with SCCA.
“I started racing Spec Miata in 2023 after taking a racing school at ProFormance Racing School in Seattle, Washington,” Kissick said during a 2025 interview at SCCA’s Targa Texasland. “I always loved cars since I was 10 or 11 years old, and my first car was actually a Datsun 280Z which I bought when I was 14. I didn't really know about the racetrack, and I just loved the mechanics side of it. When I was 15, my mom bought me a high-performance driving day as a Christmas present, and that’s what started the very slippery slope.”
Last year, Kissick earned a $50,000 Mazda Motorsports scholarship to race a full season of Spec MX-5 in the HST series, as well as some SCCA U.S. Majors Tour® events. She’s back at it in 2026, having tackled the first HST event of the season on The Circuit at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California, and was at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta this weekend in the No. 13 Pacific Raceways/Z Car Garage/Shift Up Now Mazda MX-5 car. She also intends to be in the mix when HST visits VIRginia International Raceway, Portland International Raceway, Watkins Glen International, and Barber Motorsports Park later in the year.
It probably comes as no surprise that Kissick’s goal is to land on the podium as many times as possible. Top 10 finishes will do her just fine, too. At Buttonwillow she achieved that, finishing fifth on Saturday and sixth on Sunday. At Road Atlanta on Saturday she finished 13th in an SMX race won by Jarrett Jones in the No. 86 Stephen K Jones CPA/Rossini Racing Products/GTE car. On Sunday she improved and finished 8th in a contest won by Skyler Cottrell in the No. 09 Sentry Body and Paint/Final Turn Motorsports vessel.
Where does Kissick envision herself down the road? She’s really not sure, but the 2026 Runoffs at Road America is certainly in her plan. It’s hard to predict what the future holds, but she’s having tons of fun right now.
Sunday Race Winners
Below are provisional race winners from Sunday’s Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Each entry includes Car Class: Driver Name, SCCA Region, and Car. An asterisk (*) denotes drivers with a weekend sweep in the class.
B-Spec: Rice Robinson, Atlanta Region, Mazda 2
*E Production: Peter Norton, North Carolina Region, Caterham Seven
F Production: Steven Powers, Arizona Region, Mazda Miata
H Production: Matt Brannon, Ohio Valley Region, Fiat X 1/9
*Formula 600: George Bugg, Tennessee Valley Region, Scorpion F600
*Formula Atlantic®: John Mcaleer, Atlanta Region, Swift 016
Formula Continental®: Brandon Dixon, Alabama Region, Citation F2000
Formula Enterprises® 2: Sebastian Mateo Naranjo, Central Illinois Region, SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
*Formula F: David Ybarra, Texas Region, Mygale F1600
Formula Vee®: Donnie Isley, Central Carolinas Region, Agitator 016
Spec Miata: Dean Dybdahl, North Carolina Region, Mazda Miata
Spec MX-5: Skyler Cottrell, Atlanta Region, Mazda MX-5
*Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: Peyton Long, Arkansas Region, SCCA Enterprises SRF3
*Super Touring® Lite: Danny Steyn, Florida Region, Mazda MX-5
*Super Touring® Under: Tony Ave, Central Carolinas Region, Honda Civic
*Touring 3: Nic Hammann, Kansas City Region, Nissan 370Z
Touring 4: Ayden Rose, New York Region, Mazda MX-5
VIR Next Stop for HST
Virginia is for lovers, especially lovers of Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing since that’s where you’ll find VIRginia International Raceway (VIR), which is next up on the 2026 HST schedule.
Registration for Drivers and Volunteers is already open for the two-day party in Alton, VA, taking place April 4-5, 2026, and hosted by SCCA’s North Carolina Region. The playing field that weekend will be VIR’s twisty and undulating 3.27-mile circuit that has hosted the Runoffs® a couple times.
As usual, action from VIR will be presented live, online and for free thanks to the popular HST video broadcast. Before then, the Road Atlanta weekend can be revisited with on-demand video playback at the SCCA YouTube channel. Also find Sunday victory podium celebration videos at the Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.
Photo: Rice Robinson hustling his way to B-Spec victory Sunday at Road Atlanta during the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour.
Photo by Jeff Loewe
