A FAST START: Mazda MX-5 Cup races serve as early thrillers for Rolex 24 at Daytona fans
DAYTONA BEACH — Comparatively speaking, a pair of 45-minute sprints featuring fields comprised entirely of Mazda Miatas, many of which piloted by youngsters, didn't exactly jump off the page when it came to the week's schedule for the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
Not with the four-hour BMW M Endurance Challenge on Friday afternoon and, of course, the twice-round-the-clock, marathon main event beginning on Saturday afternoon.
But, as they say, big things come in small packages. And body frames. And time periods.
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Other races may be longer this week, but they'd have to go a long way to match the drama of the pair of free-for-all battle royales that comprised the Mazda MX-5 Cup doubleheader. The first race ended in a four-wide, bump-drafting battle under the lights Thursday evening and the second served as an octane-laced cup o' joe Friday morning, concluding with a one-lap dash to the checkers.
The winners? Seventeen-year-old Tyler Gonzales emerged victorious in Race 1 and nearly pulled off a sweep before being passed in the tri-oval by Jared Thomas in a final, green-white restart after a late caution in Race 2. Both events featured race-winning passes long after the leaders had exited Turn 4 for the final time.
Yes, Gonzales and Thomas were the victors. But really, everyone watching were winners.
No wonder the likes of Chase Elliott and Mike Helton are fans.
"That was one of the best races I’ve ever watched, just as a fan sitting there,” Elliott was quoted as saying after a Mazda race at Nashville Superspeedway in May.
We hear you, Chase.
Luckily, fans will have six more weeks to check out the series with doubleheaders still scheduled at St. Petersburg (Feb. 25-27), Mid-Ohio (May 13-15), Watkins Glen (June 23-26), Road America (July 1-3), Virginia International Raceway (August 26-28) and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (Sept. 28-30).
And while the series covers some American terrain in its 14-race tour, opening at the World Center of Racing is more than fitting as the cars, all fourth-generation Miatas, are built exclusively by Flis Performance in Daytona Beach.
Certainly, the evenly matched humming machinery, which reverberates more like a pack of angry bees than their roaring, endurance-race running counterparts set to contest the weekend's longer events, are part of what made both races must-see affairs.
But moving from under the hood and into the cockpit, the series truly serves as a proving ground for hungry, young wheelmen. Connor Zilisch, who led 11 of the 21 laps before settling for second in Race 1, is all of 15 years old. Gonzales? He's an elder statesmen by comparison at the ripe old age of 17. Max Opalsky and Sam Paley, two drivers in the mix in both races, are 16 and 19, respectively.
And don't get us started on Thomas, who's practically a step away from social security at age 24.
Certainly, folks flock to Daytona for one of the world's true tests of auto racing endurance. They come for a warm-weather, winter refuge.
But most of all, the majority come for the spectacle. It can be found in the infield, where a Ferris wheel, merchandise and art tents and manufacturer's exhibits can be found throughout the property.
And on Thursday evening and Friday morning, the weekend's shortest races — compare Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid" to 'Gone With the Wind" — were spectacles indeed.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: MAZDA MX-5 CUP: Two sprints highlight early Rolex 24 at Daytona racing
