13 year-old debuts in MX-5 Cup, plus Kinsey grabs first racing victory

Race 6 of the Scottsdale Ferrari Apex Challenge brought something entirely new to the weekend field of 39 competitors. It was the first race ever on Apex Motor Club’s new 2.15-mile, 12-turn phase two circuit. The final race of the season in May will combine phase one and two to create a four-plus miles layout with 22 turns.

That’s not all that was new. Thirteen year-old Nico Colby made his car racing debut in the MX-5 Cup, finishing fifth overall and just nine seconds back from the podium group after a race-long battle with veteran Joe Rainey. The seventh-grader never put a wheel wrong and showed great pose in finding a way by Rainey, finally getting it done in Turn 4 about two-thirds of the way through the race. 

“It felt really exicting. I was a little nervous at first but once I got in the car I felt really good,” said Colby. “Driving cars is one of my dreams, especially out here at these speeds.”

Slater Colby was the MX-5 Cup race winner after sneaking away from an exciting battle between championship leader Lucas Barnett, Stone Colby and Joey Rainey. The trio was separated by  just 0.4s at the checkers. It was Slater’s first MX-5 Cup win, after a career in motocross. A total of 15 drivers have scored points in the MX-5 Cup, the fastest-growing class in the Apex Challenge. 

“There are definitely some teams play we can do. There are four Raineys racing, and four Colbys. We give each other a little bump draft or words of encouragement over the mic,” said older brother Slater Colby. “I appreciate my dad for letting us come out here and race.”

And keeping the new theme alive, Richard Kinsey scored his first-ever race victory in car racing competition, finishing ahead of Ernie Spada and Doug Perry in the GTX class. In the GT4 class the winner was Rainey, who has the GT4 championship all but sewn up.

“It’s a tricky track and it catches a lot of people out. There was never a sense today that I have this covered,” said Kinsey. “It felt extra good to persevere under that condition.”

The Radical Gold class race experienced its tightest race for the win in years. Three-time class champion Chris McMurry and polesitter Jace Bacon went side-by-side through the opening three corners, with McMurry edging away into Turn 4. Bacon was never further back than two seconds and made a number of lunges for the lead, but was rebuffed and settled for second followed by Andy Voelkel. The trio are the top three in the championship points standings.

“It was a good race. Jace had a wonderful effort. We fought the whole way,” said McMurry. “It’s a super difficult place to pass when you’re racing someone of comparable pace. Honestly I thought Jace had the better pace today. I got him in Turn 1 at the start and that was the critical moment.”

Ryan Fisher amassed his fifth win in Radical Silver and looks destined to win the championship. Fisher spent most of the race battling with Gold class drivers as he looks to gain experience in the class that all silver champions ascend into. Fisher qualified fifth overall and ahead of three gold class drivers. The silver class podium included Jason Dyer and Carl Fredrickson.     

In Time Attack Street, the Sawalqah Household Battle raged on, with husband Jordan taking his third win in five tries versus his wife Star Sawalquah. George Leon and Jeff Koning finished second and third, leaving Star 14 points astray of Jordan with two rounds left.

The next round of the Scottsdale Ferrari Apex Challenge series presented by Coffin & Trout is only two weeks away on April 5. Interested in becoming an Apex member? Email us here. Here’s a look at the midseason standings:

Radical Gold

120 - Chris McMurry

118 - Jace Bacon

85 - Andy Voelkel

74 - Jason Plotke

64 - Ralph Gilles

Radical Silver

140 - Ryan Fisher

100 - Evan Wolf

100 - Jason Dyer

95 - Carl Fredrickson

50 - Niko Kourouglos

GT3

77 - Brannan Hankins

56 - Chris Hanson

49 - Jordan Darling

43 - Ralf Ludwig

11 - Scott Needham

GT4

148 - Joey Rainey

117 - Joe Rainey

83 - Matt Crandall

82 - Matt Williams

51 - Scott Dehlendorf

Mazda Miata

97 - Lucas Barnett

90 - Tom Tait

87 - Joey Rainey

76 - Joe Rainey

70 - Jessica Rainey

Time Attack Street Car

115 - Jordan Sawalqah

101 - Star Sawalqah

97 - Jeff Koning

69 - Brett Voelkel

45 - George Leon

GTX

43 - Richard Kinsey

40 - Ernie Spada

25 - Richard Strahota

Time Attack Race Car

125 - Joe Cattaneo

25 - Jeff Koning

20 - Rich Gramlich