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SCRAMP/Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Earns Business of the Year Star Award from Carmel Valley Chamber of Commerce

MONTEREY, Calif. (Feb. 29, 2016) – The stars shone brightly at the fourth annual Carmel Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Night with the Stars fundraiser and Oscars telecast, with eight businesses being awarded for excellence.

This year, the public nominated and voted the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) as the recipient of the 2016 Business of the Year Star Award/Destination Service of the Year for Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This was the first time SCRAMP has received the award.

“This prestigious award is the culmination of thousands of hours from community volunteerism and the dedicated Raceway staff who are passionate about hosting world-class racing events and attracting visitors to Monterey,” said Barry Toepke, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Vice President of Communications and Historic Racing, who accepted the award and Certificate of Recognition from County of Monterey Fifth District Supervisor Dave Potter.

The black-tie affair sponsored by AT&T was held at Quail Lodge & Golf Club and represented a broad cross-section of businesses. The glamorous event included a live broadcast of the Oscars, three-course dinner, music, dancing and silent auction.

The Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula celebrates 60 consecutive seasons of hosting world-class motorsports events in 2016 on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. This year’s major event schedule continues the decades-long tradition of showcasing national and world championship series’ of sports car, open wheel and motorcycle racing, as well as one of the most prestigious annual historic car racing events in the world. SCRAMP has operated the facility on behalf of the Monterey County Parks Department, which assumed ownership in 1974.

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca contributed $62.1 million to the Monterey County economy during the 2015 five-race major event season through direct trip spending of non-county visitors and produced $5.2 million in state and local taxes, according to a research study by California State University Monterey Bay. Since 2002, SCRAMP has invested $23 million in facility improvements including a hospitality center, suites and garages and new grandstands.

To view the full 2016 racing calendar, visit www.MazdaRaceway.com.

About Mazda Raceway

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was built by and has been managed and operated since its inception in 1957, when it was known as Laguna Seca Raceway, by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP). SCRAMP, a non-profit 501(c)(4) corporation, is the official concessionaire of the world-renowned raceway that is owned by the public via the Parks Department of the County of Monterey since 1974.