Titles for Masson, Hixon at Roebling Road

After an evening of rain, the track was damp as Formula Group 1 racers took to the track. Sting Ray Robb began the race on pole, but Devin Wojcik made use of the rain line and picked up two spots in the first lap. He only managed to keep the lead briefly, as he dropped two positions after some tire lock-up entering Lap 3. This allowed Kyle Masson to slide into second, followed by Robb in third. Further down the pack, Clay Magouyrk and Jeffrey Stern had a heated battle for eighth position. With 13 laps to go, the track began to dry. Wojcik slid, allowing Robb to pick up some time, but Wojcik recovered nicely and maintainsed second.

Entering Turn 5, Wojcik made a pop for the lead and overtook Masson. As they entered the next lap, Masson reclaimed the lead in the straightaway, followed by Wojcik and Robb. In the back, Stern spun, allowing Nicolas Bakker and Magouyrk to move up. With 10 laps to go, Robb looked to move on Wojcik. The two went side by side in the next two turns, but Wojcik didn't let up and managed to keep second place. With less than nine laps to go, Robb began mastering Turn 2 and inched closer to Wojcik but couldn't overcome him despite his best efforts. As Robb continued fighting, Masson also continued to extend his lead from the rest of the field.

In the back of the pack, Davis Durrett looked to make a move on Bakker, but Bakker made a mistake and went off in Turn 5, allowing Durrett to move into sixth. With five laps to go, Masson continued to stretch his lead while Robb closed his gap to Wojick. With only three laps to go, Wojcik and Robb went side by side, but neither made a move. Bakker, who fell to the back, tried to advance on Stern, spun but continued. Going into the next lap, Robb took the second spot as Wojcik moved back. With only two laps to go, Masson caught the back of the pack, slowing him down and giving space for Robb and Wojcik to catch up. But instead, Masson used this to his advantage and extended his lead. Robb did the same and extended his second-place position. Masson took the win with a commanding three-second lead, followed by Robb and Wojcik.

In the MAZDASPEED Challenge, Sam Schecter made an early move in Turn 1, leaping from sixth to third and continuing to charge. Going to Turn 5, Schecter continued to move up into second within the first lap. In front of Schecter, Zachary Month had an assertive first lap and moved into first, overtaking veteran Bryan Hixon. Hixon's experience was evident as he kept his composure and stayed close, with only 0.2 seconds separating him from the top two. After two more laps, Hixon made a move and tucked it in behind Schecter. He moved into second. As Schecter tried to make up the difference between second and third, he dropped three wheels and continued.

In the back of the pack, U.D. Ramsey felt some pressure from Tapley Johnson. In Turn 2, Tapley made the move and overtook Ramsey for fourth. Month continued to stretch his lead and with each lap, added a car length from Hixon. Month took the win, followed by Hixon in second and Sam Schecter in third.

In Formula Group 3, due to the damp nature of the track, Stern went four off early in the race, allowing Magouyrk to move into first place. Stern dropped to the back. With 12 laps to go, Magouyrk continued to keep the lead, followed by Mathias Soler in second and rookie Sam Paley in third. Going into Turn 2 of Lap 5, Soler closed up the gap between Magouyrk and himself. He made a pop for the lead in Lap 7, pushing Magouyrk back into second. In the Master's race, Stern slowly made up the gap between himself and Pat Daly. Despite this, in the last three laps, Daly made his move and picked up two spots, finishing the race in fourth. Mathias took the win, followed by Magouyrk in second and Paley in third.

In Formula Group 1, Masson began the race on pole and felt pressure from Wojcik early. The two exchanged positions in the first lap but Wojick fell back to second within the next lap. Raphael Forcier also began the session assertively as he gained two positions on Lap 3. He made a pop for third and overcame Robb. Going into Turn 3, Wojcik took a big slide but kept his position. As racers continued, the leaders, Masson and Wojcik, continued to break away from the pack, but entering the next lap, Robb made a move to reclaim P3. Going into Turn 5, Wojcik continued to work and closed the gap to Masson and entered the draft.

As racers entered Turn 1, a few moves occured, including a change in the lead but the exchange was short-lived as Masson captured it back moments later. Robb and Forcier also had a heated exchange in the next six laps with six position changes between the two racers. Forcier captured P3 in Lap 8. Wojcik charged for the top spot but couldn''t make his move stick.

As the racers reached the end of the session, Vincent Khristov made a charge for the third position and made it stick, but it was short-lived as Forcier reclaimed the position shortly afterward. With only three laps to go, Wojcik continued to close the gap with Masson, who had a big slide in the previous lap but didn't make the move until Turn 1, where he made a pass for the lead. With one last lap to go, the leaders switched and Masson took the lead. With a photo finish, Masson took the win by a mere .086 seconds. Wojcik finished second, followed by Fortier in third.

In Race 2 for the MAZDASPEED Challenge, racers faced difficult conditions as the rain ensued shortly after the beginning of the warm-up laps. Tires were changed from BFGoodrich slicks to BFGoodrich Comp-2. Veteran MX-5 Cup racer Hixon began the race on pole and assumed a commanding lead in the first few laps, followed by Month and Schecter in second and third. As the racers approached the halfway mark, Month made a pop for the lead and overcame Hixon. Schecter followed in Month's footsteps on Lap 6 and made a similar move on Hixon to overake second position. Month took the win, followed by Schechter and Hixon in third.

In Formula Group 3, Race 2, Stern began the race on pole and quickly tried to break away from the rest of pack. But despite his assertive driving, he had a big slide in the same lap and dropped back. With Stern dropping back, rookie Rafael Cymer assumed the lead followed by Soler. Cymer's lead was short-lived as he wemt four off on Lap 4 and needed to come into the pits. His error worked well with Masters driver Daly, who began in fifth position but picked up positions from the start of the race.  

Despite Soler holding strong to second, he had an incident and went four off. His mistake caused him to pit, which allowed Paley to move into second, followed by Magouyrk in third. As the racers entered the final laps of the race, Magouyrk locked up and went four off. With the incident, a yellow flag caused the lead to diminish between Daly and the rest of the field. Despite this, Daly managed to hold onto the lead, followed by Paley and Stern in third.

With Masson's first win of the day, he clinched the Winter Series championship in commanding fashion. The young racer who began his racing journey less than two years ago with a Skip Barber Racing School three-day at Road Atlanta showcased the exceptional growth he's had in the system which has groomed the likes of Soler, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi. Masson won the championship with 350 points, followed by relative newcomer Robb in second at 329 points and Wojcik in third with 327 points.

In the MAZDASPEED Challenge, Hixon secured his fifth title in the series, showcasing that experience does pay off. He was followed by Month in second and Felix Borogadty in third.