When an early caution slowed the action on the streets of St. Petersburg, Michael Carter (No. 08 Carter Racing Enterprises) thought that his work to pull away from the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires field was all for naught. He didn’t need to worry; when racing resumed, he still could not be caught. Carter took the win by over two seconds, a mammoth margin in MX-5 Cup competition, and leaves St. Petersburg in the points lead following six races in the 14-race championship.

The St. Petersburg street course was cruel to many drivers in Round Five of the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires, but Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports) didn’t put a wheel wrong and was first to the checkered flag. He was followed across the finish line by polesitter Michael Carter (No. 08 Carter Racing Enterprises).

A red flag in qualifying for Rounds Five and Six of the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires gave drivers little time to perfect a lap around the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg street circuit on Friday. At the checkered flag it was Michael Carter (No. 08 Carter Racing Enterprises) at the sharp point of the grid. He shares the front row with his championship rival Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance).

The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires is making waves in the motorsports world with its incredibly close racing, and this week the spectacle arrives at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The concrete walls and compact schedule will test each team’s performance under pressure.

We saw some absolutely amazing racing and incredibly close finishes during the previous Idemitsu MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires double-header at Sebring International Raceway. In race one, the lead changes on the final lap were a great example of impressively clean yet tight racing, which is what we’ve become accustomed to in this series. The dramatic three-wide finish was the second-closest in series history, and the entire series has some of the closest racing to be found anywhere.