Barber Motorsports Park - MX-5 Cup Rounds 5 & 6
Despite the mixed weather conditions, this weekend was full of growth, learning, and some hard-earned results I’m proud of—but I’m not satisfied. I know there’s more in me, and I’m hungry to keep improving.
In practice, I focused on getting right back to where I left off during testing. I finished P17 in Practice 1 and improved to P13 in Practice 2 after dialing in the setup and finding a few extra tenths in my driving. I still knew there was work to do, but I felt confident heading into race day.
The next morning greeted us with rain, and qualifying turned out to be unexpectedly wet. After a last-minute call on setup, we threw on the rain tires and rolled to grid. Unfortunately, I struggled with the car and could only manage P28. Disappointed in another tough qualifying session, I shifted my focus to Race 1, which looked like it’d bring heavy rain and possibly thunderstorms.
Starting P27, we took a big swing on setup—and nailed it. The car came alive in the wet. In the first 20 minutes, I was flying, carving through the field and making it all the way up to P14.
As the rain tapered off and the track started drying, my rain tires and full-wet setup became a challenge to manage. The group behind started to close in, and the pressure was on. I managed to hold my ground, finishing P12 with Heather Hadley just a tenth behind me at the line. That run earned me the Top Finishing Female award and I gained 16 positions—just one spot away from claiming the Hard Charger Award!
In Race 2, I started P18 but dropped back early due to a couple of mistakes. However, I was able to recover—avoiding a multi-car incident in Turn 5, gaining five positions, and building momentum throughout the remainder of the race. I worked my way up to finish P11 and earned another Top Finishing Female award. Considering the conditions, I’m proud of the consistency and progress, but I know there’s still room to clean things up.
Huge thanks to my incredible team, JTR Motorsports Engineering, and to my amazing sponsors: Coble Commercial Properties, AE Victory Racing, Collision Careers, Smart-Energize.com, Shift Up Now, Ribtect, Palmetto Galleries, and of course, my supportive dad for making all of this possible.
I’m already fired up for the next one—Mid-Ohio, here we come!
See you there!
May 4, 2025
