MX-5 Cup teams are ready to go for the 2010 season.

TOPEKA, Kan. – MAZDASPEED chose the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show to announce the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup schedule. The 2010 schedule keeps with the theory of the latest MX-5 vehicle updates; making small changes to an already strong product.

In creating the 2010 schedule, Mazda sought to reduce travel costs for MX-5 Cup teams while increasing the amount of track time. It was also important to minimize conflicts with other major race weekends and give MX-5 Cup participants the opportunity to experience the best race tracks in North America. With a total of 11 races on eight weekends, it appears as though Mazda has done just that. Read more

MX-5 Cup Shootout

We’ve posted a nice video of the 2009 MX-5 Cup Shootout in our VIDEOS section..

MX-5 Shootout Video – Click here to watch.

MX-5 Cup Shootout winner Nick Evans (MAZDASPEED photo).

TOPEKA, Kan. – Reigning Formula Enterprises SCCA National Champion Nick Evans, of Hilliard, Ohio, will race in the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup after winning the Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout.

From a pool of 13 Mazda champions, Evans was one of five drivers selected to compete in the third-annual shootout. The field was narrowed to five after each finalist submitted a business proposal to a panel of judges to demonstrate their potential to master the business and marketing side of the sport.

On Nov. 17, the five finalists traveled to Buttonwillow Raceway to put their race craft on display. A panel of experienced motorsports professionals carefully scrutinized each candidate’s driving skill, data analysis, technical feedback, business acumen and professional poise. When the final decision came down, the panel chose 20-year old Evans to join the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Driver ladder program. Read more

Racing action from Road Atlanta (Al Merion photo).

TOPEKA, Kan. – Television programming for the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup season has commenced. Race fans will have plenty of opportunities to view each exciting one-hour program produced by Carolinas Production Group, with several new cable and satellite affiliates added to the channel lineup this season. In 2009, the series will reach more than 75 million households, a 40 percent increase from 2008.

MX-5 Cup Round One has already begun to air on Time Warner Cable SportsNet in Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., as well as the MavTV Network. The one-hour program from Road Atlanta is not to be missed, as it will introduce fans to all the new faces for the 2009 season, including Lyonel Kent, who claims the first MX-5 Cup pole of the season in his first race with the series. Read more

Brett Smrz

Meet some of the drivers that will be racing this weekend at the Monterey Festival of Speed, hosted at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Yesterday, I mentioned that Patrick Dempsey and Dempsey Racing were going to take part in the race this weekend in Monterey, CA.  What I didn’t tell you was there are many, many more drivers and racing teams that will be in attendance, all with their own stories and unique set of talents.

Brett Smrz

Brett Smrz is an old pro at driving now, having started five years ago at the tender age of 13, with Kart Racing.  Now a driver under the Mazda umbrella, he finds himself in the unique position of being a contender in a field of champions.

This amazing young man almost didn’t have a racing career following an off track car accident in 2007, when he injured his left leg seriously enough to warrant amputation below the knee.

Read the rest of the story by Nancy Dickinson at Examiner.com