thanks Austin, much appreciated. My wife was the real trooper, she had no idea how far out of my comfort zone I was, but she hung in there with me, total trust!

in such a tight class, and at a track where teammates of convenience are critical to moving forward, communication is key. Not easy to do so we often resort to hand signals. Thumbsup can mean many things, and it all depends on the context:- great save, great pass, thanks for the push, lets work together, etc

@@dannysteyn Oh, that's awesome. Thank you for the response =)

Glad you enjoyed it, and Pro Tip! Never miss a Spec Miata race! They are always guaranteed to be entertaining. So many identically powered cars driven by so many talented drivers, all trying to wrestle the same sqft of asphalt away from each other. It leads to some compelling racing.

@@dannysteyn thank you I will try not to

glad you enjoyed it, I promise you it was just as exciting in the car, was grinning from ear to ear, and laughing while it was going on. It is precisely these type of racss that keep me coming back year after year. Passing, and being passed is what racing is all about!

Totally agree. The old busstop was such a flowing ballsy element that made Daytona so special. Now its a stop start element just like every other track and the flow is gone.😢

Need the grass back at least in the bus stop area..... We all know racings potentially deadly the sanctions gotta ease up a little on the safety that keeps making tracks ugly. Sorry to those who wouldve been having dig in rollovers but I want the grass again.

@@dillonpierce7869 Dillon, he grass is gone, it wont come back. Life is always adapting to the new reality. The mantra that I live my life by is the following - "The rules of the game are always changing, and those that adapt to the new rules first, always win." I too, miss the grass but that is long gone!

@@dannysteyn agreed but it could make the older videos even more popular for me than they already r I rewatch alot of stuff from the 2012-2020 era for sure.

@@dillonpierce7869 totally agree DIllon, the flow in the bus stop has gone completely

thanks @escortracer. Glad you found it enteraining. I was smiling and laughing the entire race, so much fun!

Thanks Randy, you are a funny man! 😀

From the data, the new curbing slows us down by 5-8mph min speed, but that translates into more than 1-1/2 seconds of lap time. Entry speed is compromised, but its the exit speed that really hurts. In my opinion, the "new bus stop" has taken out a lot of the JOY of the Daytona track. This track always had this one of a kind epic section, where, if you got it right you were golden, and if you didnt you sh@t the bed, and i LOVED the bus stop. Now its just another stop-start kinda turn , just like every other turn at every other track. That EPIC FLOW has gone!

@@dannysteyn was disappointed with the change also. I run a T3 Boxster. The impact with speed is similar for me too. I did the race a month ago. Got no warning of the change and we had no practice. I found out lap one of qualifying. Looks like they didn’t give you guys practice either because of the storm. Thanks for the video. Love the rear shots. That is a great view.

Yup i had seen him earlier in the lap tgrougj Nascar T4, and wasnt sure we would clear him by T1, so i had multiple strategys playing through my head. As it was, we got tge last lap flag as we eere passing him, with cars on the inside and outside, and i just held my spot. Being the 2nd car seldom hurts on the last lap. 😅

Hi @thefriedpiper...... sorry to hear that you had a mishap on Tin Cup. And thank you for the kind words. Its easy to get dumped here with all the baby head rocks, and more. This sort of ascent requires momentum and a light front wheel that you give freedom to. Keep your weight back, standing on the pegs, allowing your knees to soak up the bumps and hold the handlebars very lightly in your hands, elbows out, so that the front can be deflected whereever it wants to go - never fight the front wheel. And always carry momentum. Momentum is your best friend. Things get rough very quickly if you come to a standstill. I never stopped until you see me break into the clearing as that was the first time I had open road without rocks.

@@dannysteyn yea that was my attack to a tee. Once I hit that rock garden right at the start I never let off until I dumped it. Still not sure how my foot ended up in the condition it's in. Bike just bounced too much and I lost all my momentum. Luckily there was sxs descending so one dude helped my get flipped around to head back down. That road is no joke

Glad to hear, so come back and join in the fun all over again

Thank you, and as always, I apprecaite the feedback and support

thank you sir, always appreciate your comments

thanks Bryce. Yup there was a definite sphincter moment there, but just slightly flat spotted the tires. With regards to your 2nd question, I came away from the weekend with 26 pages of new notes, 11 of them purely new rain notes, as this was the first time I ran in the rain at Road America since they repaved, it and i had to throw away 15 years worth of rain notes!!

thanks Arhur, Miatas are so much fun, especially in the rain, so perfectly balanced and so easy to keep a constant drift

Thank you - appreciate the kind words!!

Its called bump-drafting. Two cars pushing each other go faster than one car on their own. So we bumpdraft to try and pull away from the rest of the field, so that on the last lap we are only battling with one other racer.

Welcome to the insanity Andrew - you are going to find it incredibly frustrating at times, and so rewarding at times. But every single second behind the wheel of a Spec Miata is exhilarating for sure. If you ever want any help or advice, always feel free to reach out to me and I will assit where I can

Thanks Jose - yes Spec Miata racing is some pretty bad-ass stuff. Close door to door racing, not for the feint of heart!

thank you Jaques - much appreciated

tahank you for that such entertaining moment. ur cameras views is so amazing

thank you for those kind words Michael. I do love this track, on the brink of disaster every step of the way. You are in a constant battle with grip, losing the front, and then losing the rear, and you have to have a great feel for car control to not over-drive and beat up on the tires that you will need at the end of the race. I guess I did all right this weekend with two wins in STL and a win and 2nd place in SM against the kids.

Wecome to the insanity. Racing any Mazda Miata / MX5 is a total blast, and I encourage you to start racing as soon as you can. It is a high that cannot be beat. And make sure to check out the rest of the videos in my channel - there are plenty there that will inspire you to go racing. Welcome!

thank you Tracy - had no idea if the car was going to stay together after the contact, but was gonna hang in there as long as I could. It was a fun ride, but kicking myself as I still made too many mistakes

Thank you buddy, much appreciated. I race people the way I want to be raced, and I have a great deal of respect and admiration for people that treat me the same way. If there is a guy on my tail, coming up fast, I wont block. I will let him through and hopefully I can learn something from him. I love wheel to wheel clean fair racing, thats the thing that keeps me coming back every time! and PS, at the ARRC this year, I completed my 503rd race and notched up my 200th win. Pretty stoked with those numbers, maybe I can relax now....... oh hell no, just fires me up even more!

@@dannysteyn Awesome numbers Danny. I am looking forward to some great racing thanks to like minded racers as youself. May The Force Be With You ! ---Dave

it sure is! And in the brakes, and though the turns too!

thanks buddy, and yes it was. Still not sure if it was the tire or the drive train. Tire had mininmal rubbing, and the sound only happened under throttle, never on trailing throttle, so it seemed to be drive related. Hopefully Tom will sort it out before Homestead

thank you for those kind words Randy! Much appreciated

thanks John, yes engine is good, one of Rossini's best to date. That one has been torn down 4 times in scrutineering in the past two years.

thank you for those kind words @x3racer86 - very much appreciated. I always race others the way that I want to be raced, and I always want to leave a place that I have visited in a better condition than I found it, and that takes respect and dignity. And that you saw that in my racing means the world to me. Unfortunately my 501st race was the STL National Champs the following day and I finished 2nd, so my 200th victory is proving elusive!

It would not be as much fun if it were easy :) and the victory will be even sweeter!@@dannysteyn

@@x3racer86 SPOT ON!~

thanks Duston, appreciate the kind words. It was pretty exciting in the car as well!

thanks for the kind words @cscorny

total mystery to us too!

Glad you found us @Hondatech26 . Spec Miata racing is pretty epic.

thank you for noticing Christian. Fortuantely there is NO QUIT in me at all, and I will fight till I have nothing left. But my preferred style of figthing is WITH respect. But it is clear that three are others that do not subscribe to the same philosophy.

great move at 11:40

Thank you!

thanks Michael, and if you think it was exciting to watch in video, just imagine how exciting, and draining it was, to race in real life. I was physically worn out when I got out of the car!

Question I forgot: What motor are you running in STL? The original 2 liter with high compression and hot cams? You weren't giving up much to that B18C on the straights. And do you know what motor the STU NC's run?

Thank you for the props L8rApex! I run a 2007 NC. The engine we use for STL is the 2.0L MZR engine. We run 11.0 compression with special pistons, cams etc. We run Motec ECU and set the RPM Limit between 8000 and 8400 depending on the track. I personally use the 5-speed gearbox and altered rear end ratios, so that the shift points closely match those of my Spec Miata so that I retain the same muscle memory for each track, but most do run the 6-speed. For me the 6-speed ratios are not that ideal. Sam Nelson in Atlanta builds my engines - hope that helps - and for the STU, most run the 2.5L version of the MZR, although some have tried with the rotary but it gives up too much torque

@@dannysteyn thanks for the answer, just what I was thinking. And I knew I had seen rotaries in STU Miatas in years past.

thank you sir, such a hard fun race where we both worked out butts off till the very end!

Thank you , much appreciated!

thank you sir, it was a real battle from start to finish!