Mazda Motorsports has long offered the staples of its manufacturer support at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, such as parts support, technical expertise, contingency awards, pro coaching and the Mazda appreciation dinner for its racers and teams.
Mazda Motorsports will be on hand starting with the Saturday practice (Sept 24), through the races eight days later. Whether the racers desire technical support, parts, Mazda patches or decals, pro coaching, or even Mazda Motorsports’ branded T-shirts, Mazda has them. Head to the Mazda trackside support trailer within the Mazda paddock in the spaces: SP6/SP16
Coaching will be held within the RV at the Mazda trackside support trailer. To sign up for pro racer Tom Long on Sunday or Monday, or Chris Nunes (2021 MX-5 Cup Scholarship driver) on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday morning, fill in your name in the open time slot you prefer – posted on the Mazda trailer. Drivers should be prepared with onboard video queued up to the lap they’d like to have analyzed. Data can be reviewed as well, but onboard video is recommended.
“While we are not going to host the annual dinner this year, we intend to in 2023,” commented Josh Smith, Mazda Motorsports’ technical lead. “This year, we are more desirous to provide 1:1 engagement and support.” Our pro coaches Tom Long and Chris Nunes are excellent examples of this effort. But our team – James Painter, Dan Sumner, Scott Kaluza and myself – will all be at VIR to hand deliver Mazda Motorsports jackets to each Mazda racer. We will hand out newly designed Mazda Motorsports T-shirts to Mazda racers, crew and family members, as well. We will help our racers with tech and parts support, including having our parts trailer on hand. We will barbecue for our racers Friday and Saturday, with the plan to provide lunch on Sunday to support our racers and teams on race day. We even will have drip pans for oil for those Mazda race teams paddocking on the skid pad. Our team just wants to share our appreciation for those who invest in a Mazda.”
In addition to the personalized support, Mazda offers contingency awards to all classes Mazda’s compete in, paying the Mazda GT, Production, Touring, Spec Miata and B-Spec drivers who win the Runoffs $4,000; second place finishers earns $2,000; third: $1,500; fourth: $1,250; and fifth: $1,000. Formula X, Formula Enterprises 2, Formula Atlantic, and Sports Racers earn $3,500 for the win, $1,750 for second, and $1,000 for third. The top three Formula Mazda Runoffs finishers in the FX class are each eligible to receive a $500 bonus. Also, there is a $1,000 bonus for winning the Super Sweep – that’s winning an SCCA Conference championship, the Super Tour championship and the Runoffs.
In addition, those who finish in the top three in their SCCA Divisional points championship, U.S. Majors Tour Conference or Super Tour points are eligible for tow fund money. Based on the distance from VIR, that amount can be up to $500.
For more information on Mazda’s contingency awards for the Runoffs, click here.
Mazda thanks all the racers, teams and family members for racing with Mazda.