Road Atlanta has a way of humbling you before you even turn a wheel, and this weekend it did that in more ways than one. The 2026 Summer Sizzle, a Double SARRC and Club Racing Experience weekend at the historic Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, lived up to its name. Highs both days sat around 92°F, and with Georgia’s summer humidity stacked on top, the heat index was pushing past the century mark for most of the afternoon. It was the kind of weekend where the car works hard and so do you.
We rolled in Friday afternoon, checked in, and my crew chief (that’s Kyle, who is also my wife and mom to Avery and Kolbe) and I went hunting for a paddock spot. We landed directly across from the Radical Race paddock, parked next to some serious hardware and some serious talent, including my friend Wil, who runs the #3 car.
Wil’s Radical #3, Road Atlanta|Photo: Zhurong Photography
That paddock spot turned out to say a lot about the weekend ahead. I was the only Formula Vee entered, so I got folded into the Formula group alongside FE, FA, and the Radicals, cars that are thirty to fifty seconds a lap faster than my little Vee. Intimidating doesn’t quite cover it. I knew going in that I’d spend most of qualifying and both races getting out of the way of cars that could lap me twice over. But I needed the seat time, and I needed this event stamped for my Full Competition SCCA license application. This was event number two of the three I need.
To their credit, the Radical and Formula guys didn’t seem to mind, or at least that’s what Wil told me. I spent the whole weekend with one eye on the mirrors, pointing every time I saw faster traffic closing in.
After tech inspection Friday, we headed to the hotel to drop bags and find dinner, which turned out to be one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time at La Montaña Mexican Grill in Braselton. Highly recommend it. And everyone in that town gets around on golf carts, which never stops being fun.
Kyle, Jose, and Avery, golf cart cruise
Saturday morning, setup and a surprise in qualifying
We were back at the track by 8am Saturday and it was already hot. Kyle and I unloaded the golf cart and the Mysterian M2, our Formula Vee #69, and got the tent, generator, and gear set up for the day. Then the checklist: tire pressures, oil level, torque every lug nut, walk the whole car for loose screws and bolts, top off the fuel. Drivers meeting, and off to qualifying.
Leaving the paddock for the grid
Funny enough, my very first lap of qualifying ended up being close to my fastest lap of the entire weekend. In the weeks leading up to the event, I’d been running iRacing sessions in the 1:45 range, times that are in the neighborhood of real Formula Vee pace at this track. I felt good going in. What I hadn’t done before was drive a Vee on the Hoosier slicks SCCA requires. I’d only ever run radials. So when I crossed the line at 2:01, I was disappointed. That’s a big gap from what I was expecting.
Here’s how qualifying broke down, lap by lap:
| Lap | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2:06.615 | Out lap, building pace |
| 2 | 2:01.662 | Fastest lap |
| 3 | 2:05.304 | +3.642 |
| 4 | 2:52.208 | Traffic / incident |
| 5 | 2:05.429 | Recovery |
| 6 | 2:05.400 | Consistent |
| 7 | 2:05.438 | Consistent |
| 8 | 2:05.593 | Consistent |
Once I got a look at the data and the onboard video afterward, the picture got clearer. Moving out of the way for faster traffic all weekend cost real time, but I also strung together several genuinely clean laps, especially early on. So there’s work to do, either the engine is down on power and needs a compression check, or the car needs some attention on toe, camber, and overall geometry. Probably both.
Qualifying also came with a curveball. Every car and driver gets weighed in impound afterward, and I came in at 1,011 pounds combined, 14 pounds under the minimum. So before the first race Saturday afternoon, I had Kolbe bring me actual gym weights to bolt into the car. We added 22 pounds to get legal, which obviously costs a little speed, but legal is legal.
Race 1
#69 on track, Road Atlanta | Photo: Andrew Thomas Leonard
| Lap | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2:11.781 | Fastest lap |
| 2 | 2:14.740 | +2.959 |
| 3 | 2:20.455 | Heavy traffic |
| 4 | 2:21.774 | Heavy traffic |
| 5 | 2:15.085 | Pace returns |
| 6 | 2:17.074 | Traffic |
| 7 | 2:16.169 | Consistent |
| 8 | 2:18.938 | Traffic |
| 9 | 2:16.981 | Consistent |
Race 1 itself was quiet by Formula Vee standards, and about what I expected. I finished 16th of 16, which makes sense against a field with that much more power, aero, and raw ability. I did have a small spin between turns 3 and 4, entirely my own doing. I got greedy trying third gear and shifted a beat too late, plain as day when I watched the onboard footage back.
Back to impound after the race, and this time we made weight clean. I won my class, which is an easy trophy when you’re the only Vee in it, but I’ll take a win anywhere I can find one.
Class win, Saturday
Sunday, heat and good company
We got to the track closer to 10am Sunday since the Club Racing Experience groups ran for the first couple hours. That group is a show all by itself, Miatas, Ariel Atoms, retired IMSA prototypes, RX-7s, all kinds of cars I don’t get to see up close very often. We met a lot of great people out there. We also got a few backhanded comments along the lines of “why are you even out here with the Radicals, you’re way too slow,” which, fair point, but that wasn’t my call. That’s just how the SCCA chief steward grouped the field. Either way, it was good practice, mirrors, track placement, a little race craft under pressure.
Sunday, Road Atlanta
| Lap | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2:12.693 | Fastest lap |
| 2 | 2:17.634 | Traffic |
| 3 | 2:17.383 | Consistent |
| 4 | 2:20.061 | Heavy traffic |
| 5 | 2:16.819 | Recovery |
| 6 | 2:21.918 | Heavy traffic |
| 7 | 2:17.340 | Consistent |
| 8 | 2:16.181 | Good pace |
| 9 | 2:14.233 | Strong finish |
| 10 | 2:15.378 | Strong finish |
Both races told the same story. Fastest lap on lap 1, before the SR3s, SR1s, FE2s, and FC cars started catching me, and the pace held up well when the track was clear, especially that 2:14.233 late in race 2. The swings between the low 2:14s and 2:21s line up a lot more with getting out of the way of faster traffic than with the tires falling off or me losing focus. Good sign for next time.
The heat by Sunday afternoon was something else. I went through what felt like gallons of Gatorade and water just trying to stay ahead of it.
The best part of the whole weekend had nothing to do with lap times. Having both of my sons there with me, and Kyle running the pit like she always does, made it one to remember. We also got to meet a bunch of Avery’s engineering friends who came out to watch. Kolbe and Avery both got to run their own cars around Road Atlanta between sessions, Kolbe in his BMW X5 and Avery in his two door Jeep Wrangler, which is not exactly built for a road course but made for a great story anyway. Avery also got to sit in Wil’s Radical SR1 which is awesome, but hopefully he doesn’t feel bad next time he sits in the Vee 😛 lol.
Avery, riding shotgun in Wil’s Radical SR1
Checking fluids under the tent
Jose and Kolbe, going over the car
One more thank you owed here. My buddy Mike, a longtime Viper guy and a pilot, tracked down 100LL avgas for us, which has gotten nearly impossible to find unless you can walk onto an airport ramp, and those are locked down tight these days. That fuel run saved the weekend and I won’t forget it.
What it added up to
The car came home in one piece, thank God for that. We made new friends, spent time with old ones, banked real seat time against faster company than I’m used to, and picked up two trophies along the way. Bringing the Mysterian M2 back on the trailer in the same shape it left in is always the real win.
Two trophies, one weekend
Second event stamp, done. One more to go for the Full Competition license.