For those who don’t know one of the most talented grassroot’s drivers in the country, meet Justin Hille.

Justin Hille (pictured center). His racing plans may sound simple, but far from easy to achieve.  This year, he plans to run as many of the SCCA Northern Conference Majors as possible, defend his conference championship, and ultimately participate in the National Championship Runoffs at Mid-Ohio. (We expect him to vie for the win. Mid-Ohio is his home track, and he  can drive it forward and backward with his eyes closed, on any line he chooses. Yes, we believe this is the case, though there has been a healthy debate as to this accuracy.)

Even though Hille is running his sixth year in Spec Miata, the Spec Miata competition is always tight at Mid-Ohio and anything can happen on any given day. (For those who know Eric Prill, he was brilliant at Mid-Ohio during the SCCA Majors event in early June, but sometimes luck plays its hand and the finishes just don’t align.) And, there is no doubt that Hille has painted a target on his back, but “that is just more motivation to prove myself and please all that have helped me progress along the way,” Hille states.  “I am confident that I can win that race, rain or shine.

If that happens, I will be putting my effort into competing at the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout.  The past two years, the support of Mazda and Hoosier at the SCCA Majors races has really kept our racing program going.  It would be an honor to be a part of the Mazda family going through the higher steps of the racing ladder.  If I don’t make it to the shootout, or if I do and don’t make it to the Idemitsu MX-5 Cup, I will continue to support Mazda and Spec Miata doing as many club races as possible, promoting the class and the great cars that Mazda builds.” Mr. Hille, for that, we are grateful.

So what’s life like outside of racing?
Hille currently works for Roush Industries as a Supervisor for his Customer Confirmation Testing department.  They evaluate pre-production vehicles on a customer functionality level, and their main purpose is to minimize warranty issues when these cars go into production.  Hille explains, “It is very rewarding to protect the customer, and help the industry better its production process, and prove our software and hardware changes.”

Outside of work, Hille enjoys the outdoors and traveling; “There is a long list of places I would like to visit in my lifetime,” stated Hille.  Perhaps more than this, though, he and his family are very big into music.  All of his brothers are very musically talented.  Hille says he used to be, but decided to become a gear-head instead. And for that, Motorsport is ultimately better off as an industry.

Thanks from Justin Hille:
My Parents – Brad and Becky Hille.  My brothers – Jim, Jeff, Joe, and Jake.  Rob Hutsler and all of the employees at Hilltrux Tank Lines.  Michael Novak and Chuck Caldwell at Roush.  Ralph Provitz and Reece Everard at V2 Motorsports.  Jim Drago at East Street Racing.  Of course Mazda, Hoosier, and SCCA, as their contingency support have kept the program going since early 2015.