Spec Miata set to break Runoffs records

With nearly 100 Spec Miatas entered in the 2017 SCCA Runoffs, things are about to get very interesting.

Spec Miata holds the all-time record for the largest number of cars to start a race at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. In 2013, 67 Miatas made the Runoffs grid at Road America. The second-place record is also held by Spec Miata with 60 cars at the 2010 Runoffs. This year, a new Spec Miata record will be set at the SCCA Runoffs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Just a few days after entries were opened in July for the September race, 92 Spec Miata drivers from all over North America declared their intention to race in this year's national championship race.

That number poses a challenge to SCCA officials, because according to the rules, the 2.592-mile road course at Indianapolis can handle only 72 cars. SCCA officials plan to address that challenge by splitting the Spec Miata group into two segments for qualifying sessions. But it's the race that poses the real problem.

SCCA rules state that to race in the Runoffs, you have to post a qualifying time that's not more than 115 percent of the fastest qualifier's time. That will potentially take out the slowest cars, but even then, the group could still be too large. SCCA officials have a plan for that, too.

Read the full story at MazdaMotorsports.com