Gresham Wagner and the Spark Performance team capped off a successful weekend at the New Jersey Motorsports Park Thunderbolt Circuit. After finishing second by .0009 seconds in Sunday’s first race, Wagner led home a double podium for the team in MX-5 Cup Race 2 that afternoon.
Wagner started both races from the third position after a tight qualifying session. In Race 1, he retained his third place until the final lap. After contact between the two cars in front in turn 1, Wagner avoided the incident and closed the gap to the remaining leader of Jared Thomas. In a thrilling finish, Wagner made a move to the outside of Thomas coming to the checkered flag, missing out on the win by a .0009 second margin.
In Race 2, Wagner moved up to second place on lap 1, followed by teammate Selin Rollan in third. When leader Michael Carter ran slightly wide exiting turn 2, Wagner slipped past into first. Rain began to fall in the final sector of the track, but was not substantial enough to cause a stoppage. Wagner held onto the lead while Carter and Rollan fought for second behind him, allowing him to open up a three second gap that he held until the finish. Rollan finished in third, earning Spark Performance a strong 1-3 result.
The Battery Tender Global Mazda MX-5 Cup heads to St. Petersburg, FL on Oct. 23 for the series finale. The street circuit is a new venue for the series and should bring an exciting pair of races.