Homestead Major
Florida Region Major Event
January | Homestead, FL
Car Count - 10 FF
Near-perfect weather contributed to an all-around good weekend for racing. Each day had clear skies and temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s.
After a busy test day, we would lose 1 driver due to mechanical failure. Leaving 10 FF cars for the remainder of the weekend.
4x Runoffs Champion - Jonathan Kotyk would sweep the weekend. This time, in his usual Mygale equipment, engineered by Geoff Bushor. What was unusual, was the new color scheme! A white car, with artistic elements of blue, yellow, and red - the car’s theme looked to be inspired by compulsory art.
At the start, the drivers tried to pass Kotyk, as everyone knew he would have the pace to run away. In race 1, Dowden was successful and led the first portion of the race, before driving off track and returning the top spot to Kotyk.
The real race was for 2nd place. Four Driver’s battle all race long for podium spots.
Race 1 would see the Lee Racing Swift of Dan Thorogood finish 2nd, followed by Brian Graham Racing Piper of Michael Dowden in 3rd.
Race 2 capped off the weekend, Michael Dowden and his Piper DL7 climbed to 2nd, and John Benson finished 3rd in a Swift DB3. Hopefully, a hard-fought battle and the podium result will entice Benson to start racing regularly again. After becoming a father 6 years ago- John Benson gave up his seat. It was very impressive to see what Benson could do, with the type of program they run, and his limited time in his race car.
Outside of the race for 2nd place, many new and old drivers came out to race. All got better as the sessions went on. The 3 day weekend and an additional test day, provided more than enough track time to start the 2025 season with a bang!
-Chris Schneider from Executive Autosports ran the DB6s of Rick Bernard and Dom Seddio, who both look forward to attending more Major/SARRC events.
-Khill brought 2 new karting kids- Wesley and Abigail, these two young drivers are just starting out in formula cars.Kotyk prepares for another run at a Runoffs title.
-Michael Dowden from BGR and Dan Thorogood from Lee Racing continue to get better, and if they continue to improve at this rate, I expect both to be able to run with Kotyk next year.
-John Benson and Brian Graham both get back in the seat after walking away from driving regularly.
-Neil Radloff ends the weekend with a big smile.
SCCA livestreamed the event this weekend!
Race 1 starts at 4:48:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MoS3mcE04o
Race 2 starts at 9:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx21iOn5Mpg
What a great weekend! I can’t wait until Sebring Bonus Major in February, the schedule is released and the small-bore formula car group will have their own race.
Brian Graham will be returning with Michael Dowden, and has another car available, you shall contact him if you want to drive at Sebring. Dan Thorogood, Neil Radloff, Rick Bernard, and Dom Seddio will be present. I will be pressuring Alan Opell and Hannu Numenpaa to make the event! John Robinson and I intend to drive if we can get our cars done. Other locals like Roel Blok and John Schimenti always show up to this February event. I sold a car to Flavio Melo last year who lives in Jacksonville FL, I hope he can start racing with us soon. I think it is unlikely, but Khill could return with Wesley and Abigail, if they decide to get more track time before the start of the FRP season.
I’m sure we can get at least 7-8 cars at Sebring, much more if things play out well!
Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the event, and to those watching and reading from home!
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