Hey Jeff... yes, I rented one of the Flatout cars a few years ago for a double. From a driver's perspective it is a blast to drive. Visibility took me a bit to get used to with the pillars, cage etc. The side mirrors are set back a bit on the doors so they are not in my peripheral vision. This time I was more comfortable in the car and was able concentrate on braking points and the getting thru the oval quickly.

As for handling - the SM set-up is soft, so a bit of body roll and bounce over bumps. But I am not a fan of a tightly sprung car, so I don't mind the roll/set into a corner. The car brakes really well (I was still trying to shorten my braking point into 3); it turns in very quickly; oversteer is minimal unless you hammer the throttle. And even then, some modulation gets the car back in line pretty quickly.

The power in the Miata SM set-up is lower so it forced me to concentrate on keeping momentum in the corners. (helps for the CRX too) The rear wheel drive is fine and the Miata does not have the throttle understeer we get in the front wheel drive cars when we try to go too fast in a corner.

Overall the Miata is great handling. In an ITA prep, it must be even more fun. But I will let Andy be the expert on that.