The new paring of McCumbee McAleer Racing and Gresham Wagner earned their first victory of the 2024 Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup in Race 1 at Daytona. A 4th place finish in Race 2 left the pairing in the championship lead after the first event of the season.
After four seasons with his previous team, Wagner made the switch to McCumbee McAleer Racing for the 2024 season, and the pair proved an instant success with a 1st place finish in the opening race of the year. Starting in 12th place after an unspectacular qualifying, Wagner would move throughout the top 10 for the majority of the race as the lead draft constantly shuffled positions. With two laps to go in the race, Wagner tried position himself in the top 5, and entered the final lap fighting for the win. With a last-lap move coming to the finish, he crossed the line in 1st, pushed across the line by Tyler Gonzalez. MMR teammate Jeremy Fletcher followed behind in 3rd place to secure a double podium for the team.
Early in Race 2, Wagner was knocked out of the lead draft with contact, sustaining minor damage. Consistently moving back into the lead pack, he found himself in a similar position as the day before. On the final lap and setting up for a dramatic finish, an incident at the front of the field resulted in further contact to the #5 car, and Wagner found himself at the back of the top 10. A hectic run on the rest of the lap saw him work his way back to 4th at the checkered.
With his pair of finishes, Wagner left Daytona with the championship lead. And after securing four of the six podium positions on offer, MMR also has a grasp on the teams’ championship. The next event in the Whelen MX-5 Cup sees the teams and drivers return to Flordia for Rounds 3 and 4 at the 12 Hours of Sebring (March 13-15).