As a way of introducing new drivers to the excitement of the $100,000 Spec MX-5 Challenge competition, Spec MX-5 LLC has announced five individual Spec MX-5 Shootout competitions during 2019. The Shootouts will culminate in the award of a Spec MX-5 v1 race car valued at $25,000.

Shootouts will be run together with Spec MX-5 Challenge events and open to licensed SCCA and NASA drivers. There are 5 Shootout options from which to choose:

• Circuit of The Americas, May 4-5 (NASA)
• WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, June 1-2 (SCCA)
• Sonoma Raceway, June 15-16 (NASA)
• Road America, August 17-18 (SCCA)
• Utah Motorsports Campus, October 5-6 (NASA)

Shootout drivers pick one of these events. They will run with full arrive & drive services and will run in series-owned Spec MX-5 race cars. Drivers simply need to be licensed, show up and race. The cost per driver for each Shootout is $9000, the same as the per event cost for full season Spec MX-5 Challenge drivers.

Shootout winners will be evaluated for the event they run on same the points system used for the Spec MX-5 Challenge Championship, with points offered for each finishing position in each race. In addition, Shootout drivers will be score bonus points for qualifying, clean driving, teamwork and other factors. The highest points winner will be awarded a car after the completion of the 2019 Spec MX-5 season. Though drivers are welcome to run more than one of the Shootouts, only their highest result will count.

“We are excited about the progress being made on the new v2 Spec MX-5 race car and class for 2020. We want to introduce as many people as possible to this type of racing and start building the 2020 field. We think the Spec MX-5 Shootouts are a great way to do this and add to the driver talent pool already involved,” said Tom Martin, director of the Spec MX-5 Challenge Series.

Drivers interested in the Shootouts will have to make an application to the series. More information and the driver application is here.