GRM feature car wins first in class at the high-speed Nevada Open Road Challenge

Colin
By Colin Wood
May 26, 2022 | Mazdaspeed Miata, Nevada Open Road Challenge

Photography Courtesy Greg Lee

Ever wish you could run in a road rally without having to pay attention to speed limits? Lucky for you, there’s the Nevada Open Road Challenge and its sister event, the Silver State Classic Challenge.

Essentially high-speed timed rallies, both events often feature entries made up of two people–a driver and a navigator. The goal: to reach the destination as quickly as possible.

Just how fast do competitors go? For reference, the current record belongs to Bob Allyn and David Bauer, who completed the 2017 Nevada Open Road Challenge with an average speed of 219.643 mph.

The big news today, however, is that a former GRM feature car, a 2005 Mazdaspeed Miata owned by Good-Win Racing’s own Greg Lee, won first in its class.

Oh, and did we mention Greg completed the event solo?

Read more about Greg Lee’s win here, or click here to learn more about the Nevada Open Road Challenge and the Silver State Classic Challenge.

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Comments
te72
te72 Reader
5/23/22 11:31 p.m.

As an NB owner (three times over) for many years now, my appreciation for Greg's win is sincere. These cars do surprisingly well as far as stability at top speed goes.

 

That said... what were those guys driving that they *averaged* 219mph???

TheRyGuy
TheRyGuy New Reader
5/24/22 5:48 a.m.

In reply to te72 :

Looks like an old stock car, not a bad way to take that record!

sobiloff
sobiloff GRM+ Member
5/24/22 11:29 a.m.

Kudos to Greg!

RacingComputers
RacingComputers GRM+ Memberand Reader
5/24/22 6:14 p.m.

Looks like an OLD Kenny Schrader - Andy Petrie Chevy.  

SSpiffy
SSpiffy New Reader
5/24/22 6:19 p.m.

"without having to pay attention to speed limits?"

This only applies to the 180 mph and Unlimited Classes. Greg was in the 100 mph class, so his max speed allowed was 124 mph. I've run it twice with Mom navigating for me, once in the 115 mph class and once in the 125 mph class; in both cases my max allowed speed was 140 mph.

This isn't to throw shade at Greg, a first place finish is HARD! I finished 4th and 2nd in class when I ran. It makes for a great weekend, if you haven't considered it, consider doing it!

Driven5
Driven5 UberDork
5/24/22 6:27 p.m.

Speaking of Mazda's former commitment to offering the Miata in great colors...

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter)
Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
5/24/22 6:57 p.m.

I did this event a long time ago and I strongly recommend everyone give it a try

 It's truly bucket list material.

(Managed 3rd in the 105mph class)

Vettetoo
Vettetoo New Reader
5/25/22 6:20 p.m.

NORC and SSCC are a lot of fun running up and down Hwy 318. I've met the record holders Bob and David and they're great guys. Add to your bucket list the Big Bend Open Road Race and bring the Miata for another challenging race with plenty of turns and elevation changes.

te72
te72 Reader
5/30/22 1:36 a.m.

In reply to TheRyGuy :

Well that's certainly unexpected haha.

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