Speed to win was there, but racing luck was not on the 14-year-old's side
June 24, 2019 - Competing at the SCCA June Sprints two weeks ago to learn the famed Road America, Maxson returned to the 4.014-mile facility this past weekend for rounds five and six of the Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup Presented by BF Goodrich. Driving the #74 Copeland Motorsports entry, the 14-year-old continued his string of results with a pair of top-ten finishes in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
"It was a difficult weekend for us results wise, but our speed was on par with the race winners," explained Maxson. "I ran into some bad racing luck over the past two days and lost the draft on two occasions avoiding incidents. The close racing provides for a lot of beating and banging, more than there should be at times, but I'm continuing to learn and build towards a bigger and brighter future."
After a pair of successful practice sessions on Friday and a tenth place effort in qualifying, Maxson drove to the front of the field during Friday afternoon's first wheel-to-wheel action as he sliced and diced his way to the lead. Looking to have a car for the win, the bad luck would strike after slight contact knocked the Mazda alignment out, and Maxson fell down the running order to finish less than three seconds behind the race winner in the eighth position.
Back to the track Saturday, a morning off provided ample time for the Copeland Motorsports crew to massage Maxson's Mazda MX-5 and the speed was one again apparent. Moving forward from his ninth place starting position, Maxson drove his way into the top-five en route to the fourth fastest lap of the race. Looking good for a front of the field finish, the young Georgia resident's race fell apart just before the halfway mark.
"I had to go four wheels off on the exit of turn seven to miss my teammate," added Maxson. "It killed my momentum and allowed others to get a run on me. I tried my best to defend, but in the end, we lost the draft and were never able to close back up."
Courtesy of his Road America race results, Tyler Maxson currently sits eighth in the overall point standings and second in Rookie of the Year honors.
With just under three weeks away from his next on track event, Maxson will travel back west to the Portland International Raceway for the July 12-14 TC America program. Sitting second in the series championship points battle and leading Rookie points, the 14-year-old will try and build off of his double win weekend at the Sonoma Raceway.
For more information on Tyler Maxson, please contact RTD Media and Management at Info@RaceTechDevelopment.com or visit him online at www.TylerMaxsonRacing.com.