There was perhaps no better way to celebrate spring than to be at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, LA, Saturday for the first of two Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour competition days hosted by SCCA’s Lone Star Region and Southwest Division just outside New Orleans.
As far as the weather was concerned, you really couldn’t ask for more. Things were cool in the morning and temperatures topped out in the upper 70-degree range by day’s end. The sky was mostly clear and blue all day with humidity levels being nowhere near insane.
This fourth round of HST’s 10-event season opened with 20-minute qualifying for each of seven run groups around the 2.75-mile, 16-turn circuit . After lunch, each of those groups then went out for 25-minute races to decide the first set of winners for the March 22-23, 2025, soirée that is part of the Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing program.
Enjoying New Challenge
The Formula Enterprises®2 (FE2) race Saturday was won by 17-year-old Eric Wisniewsk in the No. 25 Hillenburg Motorsports/RE-MAX Commercial FE2 Mazda. That field included a couple others with lots of open-cockpit, open-wheel experience who are maybe not always associated with the FE2 class. One such driver was Steve Whitston, the reigning Runoffs® Formula Vee® National Champion from SCCA’s Milwaukee Region.
Whitston, 35, has been playing in FE2 for a couple years now “because race cars are awesome,” he said. “It’s always exciting to do something else, but never ‘instead’ of Formula Vee. It’s to do something in addition to Formula Vee.”
“It’s such an exciting thing to be part of a spec class because you know what you’re going to get,” Whitston added. “I love the FE2 platform, and the car is an absolute blast to drive.”
Another FE2 driver fitting nicely into this discussion is Russell Strate Jr., 73, from SCCA’s Western New York Region. He has a history piloting Formula 500 and Formula 600 vehicles. But he, too, has been enjoying FE2 competition for several years now.
“I wanted to broaden my horizons,” Strate said of his decision to give FE2 a try. “Although, I haven’t learned how to drive the car yet.”
“The drivers who have been in FE2 for a while are very competitive,” Strate added. “I’ve enjoyed FE2 even though I’m not getting on the podium.”
The learning curve continued for Whitston and Strate at NOLA on Saturday. Whitston, in the No. 18 Alliance Autosport/LOA Construction car, ran second for a bit before leaving the race. Strate came home sixth in the No. 91 Alliance Autosport sled.
Tigers Hungry for Knowledge
Tech got some greatly appreciated help this weekend at NOLA thanks to a dozen members of Louisiana State University’s Formula SAE (FSAE) team.
Paul May, SCCA’s Southwest Division Scrutineering Administrator, reached out to the school with an offer: Students come to NOLA for a hands-on experience, and in exchange he’d make a donation to help with their goal of getting to Michigan for FSAE’s national meetup later this year.
“Formula SAE is SCCA’s little brother,” May said. “We need to pay more attention to recruiting them and finding the enthusiasm within them for the jobs we do with SCCA.”
LSU first-year student Jamiriah Clayton was one of the students in attendance on Saturday. She decided to come out because this weekend’s activity matches perfectly with two of her passions: cars and volunteering.
“I wanted to get a closer look at the cars, especially Formula cars, because I’m very new to all of this,” she said. “This is a really good opportunity.”
Christopher Walker, a Mechanical Engineering student at LSU, was another FSAE team member on site with a big smile.
“I just wanted to come check this out,” he said. “It’s a really cool event, they’ve got some really cool cars, and it’s just a lot of fun.”
Thanks a bunch, LSU Tigers, and best of luck later this year in Michigan during your FSAE competition.
Mazda Murderer
Some SCCA members occasionally believe the Club caters a lot to Mazda. To be frank, if it weren’t for passionate partners such as Mazda, Hoosier Racing Tire, Sunoco Race Fuels, Hawk Performance, Tire Rack and Hagerty, the cost of racing would be a lot higher.
But for the haters, we bring you Blake Thompson, aka: The Miata Murderer. He has personally torn apart more than 200 Miatas utilizing a corded Milwaukee Sawzall with a 12-inch rescue blade. After disassembly, the good parts are then offered for resale.
Thompson’s first exposure to motorsports came via ice racing a Honda Civic on Wisconsin’s Lake Onalaska in the early 2000s. He later joined SCCA in 2015 before stepping away from the track for nearly five years now for parenting duties.
But Thompson, a member of SCCA’s Milwaukee Region, is back this weekend driving the No. 37 BTDTRacing/ISellMiataparts.com Mazda MX-5 in Touring 4 (T4) competition. It’s his very first race in more than four years, driving a car he plans to develop for Spec MX-5 competition down the road.
“I had a little trepidation, a little anxiety, but it’s good to be back in the vibe of it,” Thompson admitted. “I feel good and I’m seeing people I like to see.”
Thompson had a bit of a rough Saturday, pulling off track for a bit before retiring the car just prior to the white flag in a race won by Ethan Barker driving the No. 112 Hoosier Mazda MX-5.
Saturday Race Winners
Below are provisional race winners from Saturday’s Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour conducted at NOLA Motorsports Park. Each entry includes Car Class: Driver Name, SCCA Region, and Car.
American Sedan®: Michael Kamalian, Atlanta Region, Ford Mustang
B-Spec: Eric Yagel, Houston Region, Honda Fit
E Production: Tyler Ladd, Wichita Region, BMW Z3
F Production: Stephen Simonds, Houston Region, Mazda Miata
H Production: R. Paul Evans, Texas Region, Datsun 510
Formula Atlantic®: Larry Howard, Kansas City Region, Swift 016
Formula Enterprises® 2: Eric Wisniewski, Western Michigan Region, SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
GT-1: David Fershtand, Texas Region, Chevrolet Corvette
GT-2: John Atwell, Texas Region, Ford Mustang
GT3U: Jeff Dernehl, Atlanta Region, Mazda RX-7
GT-X: Jacek Mucha, Florida Region, Cadillac DPI
Spec Miata: Frankie Barroso, Florida Region, Mazda Miata
Spec MX-5: Ethan Lampe, San Francisco Region, Mazda MX-5
Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: Tyler Stephens, Northeast Oklahoma Region, SCCA Enterprises SRF3
Prototype: Garry Crook, Gulf Coast Region, Storh WF-1
Prototype 2: Jack Donnellan, Oklahoma Region, Carbir SR
Super Touring® Lite: Nick Leverone, New England Region, Mazda Miata
Super Touring® Under: Richard Astacio, New England Region, Lotus Exige
Touring 1: Paolo Salvatore, Lone Star Region, Ford FP350s
Touring 2: Alex Hocevar, Delta Region, Chevrolet Corvette
Touring 3: Richard Kulach, Tennessee Region, Nissan 370Z
Touring 4: Ethan Barker, Houston Region, Mazda MX-5
NOLA HST Sunday Broadcast
We’re only halfway done in The Crescent City as another entire day of on-track action from NOLA Motorsports Park starts Sunday at 8 a.m. Central Time. Festivities commence with 15-minute qualifying for each of the seven run groups. After that there will be 18-lap or 35-minute contests for all.
Tune into the HST video broadcast produced by DriversEye Live found at the SCCA YouTube channel. Announcer Brian Bielanski will supply corner-by-corner commentary with some help from Runoffs announcers Tom O’Gorman and Larry “Lefty” MacLeod.
Don’t forget that live HST Timing & Scoring is found throughout the weekend at scca.com/live, and Sunday victory podium celebrations can be viewed at the SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.
Photo: Eric Wisniewski won the Formula Enterprises®2 race Saturday during the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour at NOLA Motorsports Park.
Photo by Harrison Atwood
