Titles Sealed at Grattan Majors

Voytek Burdzy won SM on Sunday.

Voytek Burdzy won SM on Sunday.

Heat and humidity were the first things drivers often mentioned after crawling from their cars following Rounds 11 and 12 of the SCCA Northern Conference Majors Tour races at Grattan Raceway.

The effort it took to win on the physically demanding track was the second. With 25-minute races on Saturday and 25-lap races on Sunday for the final weekend of Northern Conference Majors competition. It was the last chance to score points for championships, and several were decided in the final races.

That includes Touring 4, which was still tight after Saturday. Daniel Bender's main competition, championship leader Greg Vandersluis, left the track after qualifying with a mechanical issue that couldn't be repaired. Bender went on to win on Saturday in his No. 10 Bravo Trailers/BFGoodrich Tires/Autobarn Mazda Mazda MX-5. He needed a victory or a second-place finish on Sunday to seal the title, and he did it with another win.

Justin Hille was able to do what few can do in any Spec Miata race – escape from his rivals, break the draft, and march to a win by more than four seconds. Hille steadily marched his No. 48 Hilltrux/Roush Mazda Miata away from the two-car battle for second between Voytek Burdzy and Seth Rowley. That gap got larger when Rowley's Miata tapped the rear of Burdzy's No. 41 Miata, swapping positions as both continued. Burdzy moved back into second position, and then held on for at the finish with Rowley behind.