News Releases

Mazda Racers Shine at NASA Western States Championships

IRVINE, Calif. (August 3, 2015) – The first of five annual signature club racing events is in the books with the completion of the National Auto Sport Association (NASA)  2015 Western States Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.  74 Mazda entries across multiple classes meant ample opportunities to shine.

“It doesn’t get much better for us than to see Mazda racers win at our home track,” noted John Doonan, Director of Motorsports for Mazda North American Operations.  “Our congratulations to championship race winners Joshua Allan, Ben Anderson, Mark Drennan, and Jon Van Canegham. We appreciate all of the great Mazda racers who competed.  We truly have an amazing family of racers.”

The weekend highlights included:

Spec Miata – A full field of 33 Spec Miatas, the largest group of the weekend, took the green, and 26 remained on the lead lap for the entire 45-minute race.  When the checkered flag dropped, the wily veteran Mark Drennan held off a pack of young guns led by Matthew Cresci and Tim Weaver.

Performance Touring D (PTD) –Joshua Allan, racing a third generation Mazda MX-5 for Robert Davis Racing swept the PTD weekend, winning both of the qualifying races and the championship race.  Josh was followed across the line by David Vodden and Ali Naimi for a Mazda 1-2-3 podium.

Performance Touring E (PTE) – Ben Anderson repeated his 2014 PTE Championship taking his Mazda RX-7 to the win over Tommy Lo and Gian Bowles for another Mazda 1-2-3 podium sweep.

Super Unlimited – Jon Van Canegham drove his Mazda MZR powered Elan DP02 to another championship win in the Super Unlimited class.

Teen Mazda Challenge – The weekend included two rounds of the Teen Mazda Challenge for which young racers compete within the Spec Miata class.  It was a perfect points weekend for Mason Filippi who scored both wins to extend his championship lead over Nick Sommers and Matt Million.  Dakota Dickerson and Will Rodgers split the remaining podium positions, each alternating a second and third.

United States Touring Car Championships (USTCC) – The USTCC held a doubleheader in its championship during the NASA weekend.  The TNI MAZDASPEED3 Racing team scored a win and a third with drivers Tim Barber and Ron Valtierra.

Upcoming Club Racing Events:

Event:             NASA Eastern States Championship
Dates:             September 3-6                                 
Location:        Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Virginia

Event:             Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championship
Dates:             September 7-11                             
Location:        Lincoln Airpark, Lincoln, Nebraska

Event:             SCCA National Championship Runoffs
Dates:             September 20-29                            
Location:        Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida

Event:             Mazda SportsCar Racing Academy Shootout
Dates:             October 25-26                                       
Location:        Carolina Motorsports Park, Kershaw, South Carolina

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers.  Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.  For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at www.mazdausamedia.com.

Contact:         
Dean Case, Mazda Motorsports  (310) 318-4582      Mazdaspeed@MazdaUSA.com
Jade Gurss, Mazda Motorsports  (317) 517-4121     MazdaMotorsports@icloud.com