Eight of the top grassroots competitors will compete November 15 & 16 at NOLA Motorsports Park for the Mazda Road to 24 scholarship valued at $100,000. Today, we feature Julian Garfield, our first autocross champion to be invited to the MRT24 Shootout.
After spending two-thirds of his life as an SCCA member, 18 year old Julian Garfield has become recognized nationwide as one of SCCA Solo’s most notable young drivers in the sport. Spending a brief period on track in both SCCA and NASA club racing, Garfield proved that he had what it took to be a race winner, and given the opportunity, finds the full potential of whatever car he is tossed into.
He began in SCCA Solo at five years old with the Washington DC Region, where his family was, and still is, heavily involved with the program. In karts he acquired five consecutive SCCA Solo Nationals wins and five ProSolo championships from 2008 to 2012, tying a 40-year record in the sport. At the age of 13, Garfield acquired a competition license and began club racing with NASA in a 1992 Mazda Miata. Shortly after turning 15, Garfield transitioned into SCCA Club Racing to compete in Showroom Spec Miata, the largest class within the DC region. There he earned three wins, five poles, and the runner up spot in the 2013 Mid Atlantic Road Racing Series championship. Due to the expense, he returned to the SCCA Solo scene in 2014 claiming many notable finishes at the National level in various classes. After finishing 2nd place at the 2015 SCCA Solo Nationals in a 1990 Mazda Miata built for C Street Prepared, he transitioned into a 2016 Mazda MX-5 to compete in C Street. There, Garfield went undefeated in the 2016 ProSolo series picking up his 6th championship, and finished 2nd again by thousandths at the Nationals in a record-breaking 86 car class.
Garfield is currently enrolled as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Kansas, where he is an active member and test driver for Jayhawk Motorsports, the school’s Formula SAE team. He continues to work as a driving instructor and novice coordinator for the Washington DC Region SCCA Solo Committee, and uses his automotive knowledge and experience behind the wheel to write for various publications including Mazda Motorsports and his own blog, www.thestudentdriver.blogspot.com.
“I take advantage of every chance I get behind the wheel to continue improving myself as a driver and an engineer, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to potentially work alongside Mazda through the Mazda Road to 24.”