I'll at to RRR reply. Dirt track, not Miatas. Miatas had a fair amount of body roll, not like a go kart in that sense at all. The had poor torque off the line, good higher up. In general they were momentum cars. Loose too much speed - and thats on the driver - and easy to do in an autocrss but also happens on a road course, then as a driver you find out your error when adding gas and the response is less than you wanted. Good feedback to improve ones driving!
Even on a road course like Willow Springs its far more about torque off the corner than top end power. Read Carroll Smith. He spends very little time on engines, so that part is a short read.
One can look at the 1966 Transam, and SCCA A-sedan class of that era for examples of smaller engined cars doing well in the class because they handled better. The 273 was the smallest cid in class. Didn't stop Group 44, or the factory backed teams from being competitive...
Look up Alltime racing and go to an event to get a good sense of street cars, in particular mopars and older mopars, people enjoy driving on the track. Some are, or were, also road race cars (wheel to wheel competition within a class). You don't need to drive to attend.
