Parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. has named David McGrath the new executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. McGrath has replaced Jerry Gappens, who resigned.



McGrath, 51, joined the speedway in November 2011 as director of advertising and promotions. He was voted by his peers as the speedway's "Employee of the Year" in 2012. McGrath was promoted to vice president of marketing and promotions in January 2013 and later to vice president of corporate sales in January 2014.



"During his time at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, David has shown tremendous leadership and great passion for his work," SMI chief executive officer Marcus Smith said in a release. "He has earned the respect of his peers across the company and has embraced opportunities to tackle new challenges. Under his direction, I am confident the future of New Hampshire Motor Speedway is in good hands."

McGrath's background in motorsports includes working as the marketing manager for the pro racing division of the Sports Car Club of America in Englewood, Colorado. At SCCA, McGrath was responsible for sponsor acquisition, contingency programs and marketing from the sponsorship side to a fan base of more than 55,000.

Before joining NHMS, McGrath worked for Comcast Spotlight, the local advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, for 12 years. McGrath was the northern Colorado and Wyoming area sales manager, serving multiple markets and supervising four sales offices. He later relocated to New England to become the local sales manager for Comcast's Portsmouth, New Hampshire office—the most recent position he held before joining NHMS.

"I am thrilled to lead and inspire this wonderful team of dedicated employees, who are as equally passionate about the success of New Hampshire Motor Speedway as I am," said McGrath. "I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and go to work in this new capacity as we continue to move our business forward in 2016 and beyond."

Gappens has worked at NHMS since 2008 but has been with SMI for more than two decades.

"Jerry Gappens has been a significant part of our company's growth both at Charlotte Motor Speedway and in New Hampshire," Smith said. "We are appreciative for his 23 years of service and wish him the very best for the future."



"I've spent the majority of my working life promoting events for Speedway Motorsports, and it's been an experience I'll always treasure," said Gappens. "I truly appreciate the opportunities provided to me by the Smith family. Now that a successful 25th anniversary season is complete at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the time is right for me to move on to the next chapter in my life. The 'Magic Mile' will no doubt continue to prosper under David's leadership."

Martin J. (Marty) Skok Jr., who helped build his father’s successful engine parts manufacturing business into a truly global enterprise serving original equipment manufacturers and replacement parts distributors, died October 4, 2015, at his home in Elgin, Illinois, following a brief illness. He was 87.

Born and raised in Elgin, Skok assumed control of Elgin Industries after his father, company founder Martin J. Skok Sr., suffered a stroke in the early 1960s. A graduate of Elgin Academy and Northwestern University, Skok over the next 50 years directed the growth of the company’s manufacturing and distribution operations, product line and portfolio of customers. He also built on his father’s legacy as a pioneer in professional motorsports. The Skok family campaigned the iconic Elgin Piston Pin Special in the Indianapolis 500, provided financial backing for the popular Elgin National Road Race, participated in Mexico’s La Carrera Panamerica, and were early partners to Anthony “Andy” Granatelli, who later became one of racing’s best-known engine builders, team owners and promoters.

Skok’s most significant success, however, was in guiding his father’s company, established in 1919, to international prominence while maintaining its focus on quality, leading-edge technology and exceptional customer service. Founded as a manufacturer of a single product line—piston pins—Elgin Industries, today, is a fully integrated, U.S.-based supplier of internal engine and chassis components and one of the world’s premier manufacturers of push rods and complete valvetrain packages. Customers include Fiat Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Harley Davidson, Mack, Navistar, JASPER Engines and Transmissions, and several leading replacement parts distributors in North and South America, the Middle East and other regions. The company operates modern, expansive engineering, manufacturing and distribution operations not far from where its founder first rented a small production facility more than 96 years ago.

“My dad never lost his love for the Elgin community, and while many other manufacturers have moved their operations to low-cost countries, he passionately believed in the quality and value of products designed and built in the U.S.,” said his son, Elgin Industries President Bill Skok. Two of Skok’s other children—Cheryl Hogrewe and Thomas Skok—are active in the company’s daily operations, while his son John is retired. “We, and all of our employees, share his passion for quality and customer satisfaction, which is perhaps his greatest legacy,” Bill Skok said.

Skok, who also is survived by his wife of 65 years, Carolyn Doyle Skok, was equally committed to his community, church and other local organizations. He was a member of the Elk’s Club and American Legion, past board member of Elgin National Bank and Elgin Academy, and deeply involved in the St. Thomas More and St. Laurence Catholic parishes of Elgin. He was active in several industry organizations, including National Engine Parts Manufacturers Association, Automotive Sales Council, Automotive Engine Rebuilders Association, Production Engine Builders Association, and Auto Care Association.

In addition to his wife and four children, Skok leaves eight grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Funeral mass will be held Friday, Oct. 9, 2015, at 10 a.m. at St. Laurence Catholic Church. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at Laird Funeral Home, Elgin, and on Friday, Oct. 9, at the church from 9:15 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Memorials may be made to St. Laurence Catholic Church, 565 Standish St., Elgin, Ill. 60123, or the American Legion.

Bowling Green’s Holley Performance Products was named Manufacturer of the Year by the Kentucky Association for Manufacturers (KAM) at the 2015 KAM Manufacturer and Employee of the Year Awards ceremony.

This award is presented annually to a manufacturer in the state that showcases exceptional entrepreneurial spirit, community leadership and policy contributions to enhance the overall prosperity of the Commonwealth.

Tom Flynn, General Manager of Bowling Green Operations, accepted the award at a banquet luncheon at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel in Louisville, KY.

“We’re extremely excited and humbled to be recognized as a Kentucky Manufacturer of the Year. There are a lot of great manufacturers in Kentucky and to be recognized out of all of them is a great achievement for our team. Thanks to the Kentucky Association for Manufacturers for this great award and thanks to our team in Bowling Green for making it happen,” said Flynn.

“The field of nominees for Manufacturer of the Year Award in the mid-sized category was large and excellent, making our Selection Committee’s job more difficult than usual. We are so pleased to congratulate Holley Performance Products as this year’s mid-sized winner,” stated KAM President & CEO Greg Higdon. “They personify the best of the best in manufacturing in Kentucky, and we congratulate them on a well-deserved award!”

Holley Performance Products began in Bowling Green in 1951 producing the Visi-flo carburetor, and has since moved on to manufacture high-performance exhaust products, standalone EFI systems, carburetors, intake manifolds, superchargers, water pumps, plumbing components and fuel pumps for street and race applications. Holley now manufactures products under the famous brand names of Holley, Hooker Headers, Flowtech exhaust, Earl's Plumbing, NOS Nitrous Oxide Systems, Diablosport Tuners and Weiand intakes and superchargers. Today, Holley focuses primarily on the high-performance aftermarket where its world famous carburetion has won more races than all others combined. Holley has powered every NASCAR team since the 1960s with products made in Bowling Green including its current EFI throttle body.

In 2014, Holley announced the creation of a new research and development facility at its Bowling Green Headquarters. The new facility is a revolutionary R&D work cell for designing industry leading exhaust systems that incorporates assets and employees needed to develop and prove new designs, as well as processes and manufacturing techniques.  

The new R&D facility brought an investment of $1,325,000 to South Central Kentucky and created 20 new jobs. Holley has launched over 600 new products in the last year, which has led to increased staff hires in engineering, R&D, sales, tech, and operational support.

“Holley has redefined the business climate of South Central Kentucky and their continued confidence and investment in the region has served as a foundation for a thriving automotive industry,” said Chamber CEO Ron Bunch. “In addition to a strong business model, Holley also has their eyes firmly on the future, and I look forward to continuing our relationship with Holley for many years to come.”

Holley is deeply involved in the South Central Kentucky community. In the summer of 2014, the Bowling Green Area Chamber took a group of local businesses and education officials to Virginia to learn more about how they have capitalized on the motorsports assets in their area. When they returned, a Motorsports Steering Committee was formed to look strategically at our own motorsports assets. Bill Tichenor, Director of Marketing at Holley, and Jason Bruce, Vice President of Business Development, both serve on that committee and are active in helping to develop a strategic plan to grow our economy through our rich motorsports heritage.

This past year, Holley announced a partnership with the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College and Warren County Area Technical Center in a Motorsports Education initiative called On Track. The commitment of On Track is the development of talent for the future workforce of South Central Kentucky. On Track introduces critical STEM concepts in a practical setting that will help develop a highly skilled talent pipeline to continue to fuel the already strong South Central Kentucky economy. Holley’s partnership in this initiative further reinforces their commitment to the education of the workforce in South Central Kentucky.

As a market leader in high-performance race products, Holley annually brings the Holley National Hot Rod Reunion to Beech Bend Raceway. The three-day event brings in about 20,000 visitors and pumps an estimated $4 million into the Bowling Green economy. The Holley National Hot Rod Reunion features a wide variety of activities, including quarter-mile nostalgia drag racing with some of the sport’s most famous, historic cars and drivers racing in such classes at Nostalgia Top Fuel and Funny Car.

In addition, Holley also holds its amazing Holley LS Fest in Bowling Green, which brings thousands of competitors, spectators and media from around the country to Bowling Green each year. The recent 2015 LS Fest was by far the largest incarnation of the event yet with over 12,000 in attendance and nearly 700 participating cars from all over the country powered by GM’s incredible LS engine.

“Holley Performance Products continues to make significant contributions to our community; both to our economy and to improve the quality of life here in Bowling Green,” said Mayor Bruce Wilkerson. “We are grateful to have companies like Holley that care about their community and help make Bowling Green, Kentucky a great place to be. I congratulate them on this great achievement. ”

Just last week Holley announced the acquisition of more top companies in the automotive performance aftermarket including the world’s premier ignition manufacturer—El Paso, TX based MSD Group. That acquisition also included several other top brands/companies including Mr. Gasket, Accel, Superchips, Edge, Racepack, Mallory, Hays, QuickTime, and Lakewood, securing Holley’s position as the world’s largest manufacturer of high performance automotive products.

“Holley Performance Products has long been one of Warren County’s best kept secrets. Since 1951, we’ve had the manufacturing and since 1994 the world headquarters of the premier performance automotive products company right here in South Central Kentucky. They’re a very humble group, but their success and their contribution to the growth of business and innovation here is truly outstanding,” stated Judge Executive Michael Buchanon. “We are so proud that Holley Performance Products chooses to call Warren County home and we hope they continue to grow with us for 50 more years. Congratulations to Holley for this well-deserved honor.”

Yash Motorsports, an Indian startup company, is setting up a drag racing track in Hyderabad, India, in partnership with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), USA.

In a seminar in Hyderabad last week, founder Nagaraja Katellu of Yash Motorsports announced the building of a 1 km, two-lane drag strip near Hyderabad—the first in the country to be built to NHRA (governing body of drag racing) specs.

The racing length of the track will be 400m, with another 600m for shutdown area built as per regulations and safety standards laid down by NHRA.

NHRA executive, Mark Hughes was present in the seminar and stated, they will oversee the setup, training and will also help in making the calendar of events along with running the initial races.

With the seating capacity of 2000, the drag strip will house a driving school. Racers will be able to participate in the races with their own bike and cars.

As in every racing track, safety will be given its due importance, as they will have emergency teams, trauma center, fire safety team, tow truck and safety crew members at every 50m. In addition, there will be adequate timing system to ensure the accuracy of the drag run times for all participants.

Zayn Khan, the newly appointed president of Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India was also present in the event and supported the initiative of building up the strip. The seminar was also attended by former FMSCI president Vicky Chandhok, who stressed on the development of the sport in the country.

It was also revealed that the Government of Telangana too is keen about the venture and will extend their support wherever required.


Source: Motorsport.com

Developed with contemporary technologies, including a high-rpm valvetrain, Chevrolet Performance’s new ZZ6 crate engine offers builders a modern twist on the classic Chevy Small Block 350.

It uses updated Fast Burn cylinder heads with beehive-style valve springs inspired by the LS engine family—a feature that enhances high-rpm capability, enabling the new high-performance engine to achieve 405 horsepower and 405 lb-ft of torque.

That’s more power than any factory produced 350 engine ever installed in a Chevrolet production vehicle and it’s one of the most powerful 350 Small Block-based crate engines in the nearly 27-year history of the “ZZ” lineup.

“The new ZZ6 is the ultimate ZZ 350-based crate engine from Chevrolet Performance,” said Jim Campbell, GM U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “After more than six decades, our powertrain engineers continue to refine and update the classic Small Block architecture, adapting new technologies to advance the legacy of the industry’s most adaptable V-8 engine and giving customers new choices from the company that pioneered the concept of high-performance crate engines.”

A pair of high-flow, Fast Burn-style aluminum cylinder heads, with large intake runners and 2.00/1.55-inch valves, enable the ZZ6 to flow big air, while the beehive-style valve springs offer exceptional high-rpm performance and durability. The unique, tapered shape of the valve spring allows for the use of a smaller spring retainer, which reduces the reciprocating mass of the valvetrain resulting in better valve dynamics.

The ZZ6 also uses an aggressive hydraulic roller camshaft, with .474/.510-inch lift and 208/221-degrees duration, that supports the engine’s high-rpm airflow capability, while maintaining excellent low-speed drivability. Rounding out the rotating assembly is a forged steel crankshaft and durable, quiet high-silicon aluminum pistons housed in a four-bolt-main cast iron block.

A pair of all-new, aluminum valve covers caps off the new crate engine, giving it a distinctive, premium appearance.

Chevrolet Performance offers the ZZ6 crate engine in Turn Key and Base versions. The Base kit (P/N 19351532) includes a single-plane aluminum intake, distributor, water pump, damper and flexplate, but requires the carburetor and other accessories to be added.   

The Turn Key kit (P/N 19351533) includes the carburetor, an air cleaner that matches the unique valve covers, the starter, distributor, alternator and additional accessories such as the air conditioning compressor and front-end accessory drive system.  

Availability for the Turn Key and Base ZZ6 crate engine kits will be announced at the SEMA Chevrolet Press Conference on November 3, 2015.

Dart Machinery (also known as Dart Heads) announces the purchase of a new 82,000 square foot industrial complex in Warren, Michigan. This new complex will combine the current headquarters in Troy, Michigan, and the manufacturing center in Melvindale, Michigan. The merge will streamline the marketing, manufacturing and distribution efforts of Dart Machinery’s aftermarket engine blocks, cylinder heads and intake manifolds.
 
“This all started with a telephone, a two-car garage and a dream in 1981. With our 35th anniversary quickly approaching in 2016, it’s set to be another tremendous year for us,” said Dart Machinery’s President, Richard Maskin. “We’ll continue to do what we do best—and that’s building the best engine components for racers and distributors worldwide. All backed up by Dart’s commitment to quality, strength and performance.”

The American Motor Racing Association (AMRA) announces the signing of historic Fayetteville Motor Speedway to a full time AMRA modified sanction in 2016.  Fayetteville will be the anchor for the organization in the South, and the first to pioneer AMRA Modifieds weekly in North Carolina.

Jim Long, promoter of the historic 4/10th mile facility has stepped up to support the growth of weekly modified racing in the area. With the newly formed partnership between the American Motor Racing Association (AMRA) and the Southeast Dirt Modified Series (SEDMS) Jim and crew will pioneer the momentum of helping to unify rules for modifieds across the east coast, and be the first facility where members of the SEDMS can maintain weekly AMRA points in the Carolinas.

The AMRA tech program and rules package should be an easy transition for staff and drivers that call Fayetteville their “Hometown Track.”

“We are looking forward to a great relationship with the AMRA,” stated Long. “This will give the open wheels in our area a chance to run for the AMRA point fund and a unified set of rules to follow.”

“We are so happy to have Fayetteville step up and come on board for 2016,” said Angie Haught. “This relationship really could help change things for modified racing in the future. We could not be happier with Jim and his crew, and we couldn’t ask for a better facility to add to the AMRA family. The area has some really talented drivers that already call Fayetteville home, and I think they will be excited to be a part of what everyone is doing together to make modified racing better and stronger.”

Along with the weekly AMRA Modified sanction, Fayetteville will host the all new Southeast Dirt Modified Tour in 2016. More information regarding tour dates will be released soon, as well as rules and information for the 2016 season. Fayetteville Motor Speedway has hosted countless prestigious events over its 47 year history, and the AMRA is honored to be part of such an amazing legacy.

Historic Fayetteville Motor Speedway is located at 3407 Doc Bennett Rd in Fayetteville, NC. The track was opened in 1968 giving their nickname “A Heritage of Speed.” Fayetteville Motor Speedway is a beautiful 4/10th mile dirt track located off Interstate 95 Exit 46.

Don Garlits has announced the inductees to the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, a component of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing located in Ocala, Florida.

Comprising Class of 2016 are six of the sport’s most accomplished Top Fuel and/or Funny Car pilots, one of which is Great Britain’s most prolific names, and a successful New England drag racer who became a track manager.  The 2016 Founder’s Award goes to a highly successful track operator, who helped create the model for media relations, not only for drag racing, but for motorsports as a whole.

The 2016 inductees are (in alphabetical order): Preston Davis (Bartlett, Tenn.), Jack Doyle (Wakefield, N.H.), the late Marvin Miller (Bakersfield, Calif.), Mark Oswald (Homa, La.), Dennis Priddle (Yeovil, Somerset, U.K.) and Gas Ronda (Palm Desert, Calif.). Steve Earwood (Rockingham, N.C.) has been named to receive the 2016 Founder’s Award.

Preston Davis drove the famed “Tennessee Bo-Weevil” top fuel and funny cars for master tuner Ray Godman (International Drag Racing Hall of Fame member – 1991) out of Godman’s shop in Memphis, and their successes helped build the sport in the Southeastern U.S. and the lower Mississippi Valley. Davis and the Godman-tune up made for a formidable pair, and for years, the team was a threat in both classes, either in NHRA sanctioned events or match racing in the Mid-South.

Jack Doyle was a successful New England racer who fielded gas coupes, comp coupes, and top gas dragsters, and competed on the East Coast during the 1950s and ’60s.  He was a driving force of the New England Hot Rod Council in the 1950s, which was a major factor in popularizing the sport throughout New England.  After he retired from the driver’s seat, he became the track manager, and later, the General Manager of the famed New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.  

The late Marvin Miller was one of the three partners of the famed red and white Coburn-Warren-Miller “Ridge Route Terrors” Top Fuel cars with tuner Roger Coburn and driver James Warren, argued by many as the most successful Top Fuel team in the era of the ‘60s.  Miller, who owned the Rain for Rent business in Bakersfield, supplied financial backing for the team, and the later rear-engined dragsters which carried his business name on the sides.

Mark Oswald was one of the sport’s most successful drivers in both top fuel and Funny Cars.  He teamed with fellow Cincinnati, Oh. racers Tom Kattleman and Ross Thomas with the Thomas-Oswald-Kattleman Top Fuel car.  His driving successes took him to the famed Candies & Hughes Top Fuel and then Funny Car team, where he won the 1984 Funny Car World Championship, and then drove successfully in the In-N-Out Burger Funny Car before retiring from the seat.  Today, he is the co-crew chief of Antron Brown’s Matco Tools Top Fuel car at Don Schumacher Racing.

Dennis Priddle has been referred to as Britain’s Don Garlits, as one of the prolific pioneering legends of British and European drag racing in the 1960s and ’70s, and is a member of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame.  He campaigned a series of Top Fuel and Funny Cars, and was the first driver into the 6-second range outside of North America with a 6.995-second pass at the famed British Santa Pod dragstrip in 1972. This earned him his “Mr. Six” nickname.  And, during his career, he and Clive Skilton, another noted British drag racer, engaged in quarter mile battles across Britain and Europe, helping build drag racing across the Atlantic.

Gas Ronda (“Gas” is a nickname for his given name, Gaspar) was one of the favorite West Coast Funny Car drivers in the 1960s.  His career started with Stock and Super Stock cars, and was a member of the famed Ford “Thunderbolts,” and their factory-backed 427 Ford powered Fairlanes.  He partnered with famed engine builder Les Ritchey and moved to the emerging Funny Car class in 1966, with a stretched bodied Mustang sponsored by Russ Davis Ford.  His last, and most potent ride was a 1969 Mustang-bodied Logghe chassis car, but a serious fire burned Ronda in 1970, and forced an end to his racing career.

Steve Earwood the recipient of the 2016 Founders Award.  While never a racer, he was raised in a motorsports-oriented family. Drag racing attracted him while a student at West Georgia University (Carrollton, Ga.).  After working at Gainesville (Fla.) Dragway, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) hired him as the National Media Relations Director where he teamed with 2015’s Pioneer Award recipient, Dave Densmore, to create a comprehensive program of cultivating the major market media around National events.  Earwood and Densmore formed Denswood Sports Marketing after leaving the NHRA, representing major drag racing teams and race tracks.  Yearwood also managed the Texas Motorplex, Atlanta Dragway and then purchased “The Rock” – Rockingham Dragway (Rockingham, N.C.), which he operates today.

The honorees are selected by a committee of veteran drag racing and performance industry figures.  The selection committee consists of: Steve Gibbs (Retired Vice President, NHRA), Harry Hibler (President, UNI-Marketing, LLC), Ted Jones (Masters Entertainment, Retired President, IHRA) and Greg Sharp (Curator, Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum).

The presenters will be named in the future.

Editor’s note: This column originally appeared on inc.com.
 
Do you run a business? Then don't take a vacation. I mean it. Don't.
 
Of course, I don't mean not to take some time off. You definitely should. You need to make sure you're getting out of the office. You need a breather. You have to re-charge. It's important that you spend the time with your family. You'll remember those times much more than the times you spent in the office. So go to the Caribbean. Take that cruise. Visit Europe. Knock yourself out. Just don't call it a vacation.
 
You're just not ready.
 
That's because most business owners, particularly small business owners like me (and many of you), rarely take vacations. Especially when you're running a business in today's world. We can't just leave our businesses in the hands of others. Sure, things can hobble along when we're not there. But we have customers who need answers and employees who need our help.
 
And there's a different expectation today. People don't want to wait. They expect immediate gratification. They don't want to hear that that we're on vacation. They want to hear answers. They don't want to see an "out of office" message to our emails. They want to see results.
 
Don't worry—you'll have plenty of time for vacation. That'll be when the next economic downturn happens and things get really slow. But for now, your job and mine is to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way.
 
All this means that even when you're away "on vacation" you're still keeping in touch. That's because you have a smartphone. So you're checking email. You're responding to text messages. You may even need to take a phone call or two. No one says you have to be proactively reaching out. But you have a responsibility, as a business owner, to be available to those who need you and answer their questions so they can do their jobs. This may mean taking a break from the beach, a rest stop from hiking, a quick coffee away from the tour, and responding. And then it's back to vacation.
 
That kind of stinks, doesn't it? Well, there is a solution to our mutual vacation problem.
 
And that's building a better business. One that runs on its own. A business that has an organization and infrastructure. A business with processes in place and policies to follow. One where decisions are made through a chain of command without our involvement in every level of minutia.
 
This is when you have a management team that you've created and nurtured who will march to your orders and follow the road that you've built while taking care of the day-to-day operational decisions that you find yourself doing right now. When you've built a business like this, you've created something of value, something that can be sold for a lot of money or passed down to the next generation. But you will have also created something else: a business that truly lets you take a much needed, uninterrupted, blissful vacation.
 
That's when you know you've really succeeded at what you do. I'm not there yet, which means that I never truly take vacations. What about you?
 

2015 PRI Trade Show seminar speaker Gene Marks is president of The Marks Group, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm specializing in sales and marketing technologies. He appears regularly on Fox News, MSNBC and CNBC discussing matters affecting the business community. He is also a daily columnist for The Washington Post, and writes weekly for Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur and The Huffington Post. Don’t miss his PRI Show seminar “The Next Two Years: Your People” at 8 a.m. on Friday, December 11, 2015, in Room 239 of the Indiana Convention Center.

The Mazda MX-5 Miata is the most road-raced production car in the world. The new Global Mazda MX-5 Cup race car will be Mazda Motorsports’ first-ever ready-to-race MX-5 Miata. The new race car will be available at the special introductory price of $53,000. The race car ordering process begins on www.MazdaMotorsports.com with first deliveries scheduled to begin later this year.
 
Having a turnkey, ready-to-race car removes the effort of engineering and costs of fabrication, enabling the racer to focus on racing. All racers can purchase identically-built race cars so that driving talent will be the number one determining factor for on-track performance, rather than budget, engineering capability or fabrication skills. Production of the MX-5 Cup race cars starts with a street cars that receives motorsports specific modifications for race track safety and performance. The MX-5 Cup is an entry-level professional series, and is a part of the Mazda Road to 24, which helps promote racers up the ladder to the top levels of sports car racing.
 
“For the past decade, the third-generation sports car has been competing in our own MX-5 Cup series, and has been the ideal platform to showcase driving talent in a competitive environment on high-profile race weekends,”said John Doonan, director of motorsports, Mazda North American Operations (MNAO). “With the launch of the fourth-generation MX-5, we are raising the bar by making it even easier for aspiring professional road racers to get involved. We expect to sell out the first batch of cars rapidly.”
 
The MX-5 Cup series champion earns a $200,000 scholarship to move to a higher level series with Mazda the following year. Additionally, the 2016 Global MX-5 Cup series will culminate with a global finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, with entrants from around the world to crown a global champion.A one-day test in Mazda’s top-level IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship SKYACTIV prototype race car will top the list of prizes bestowed on the global champion.
 
The MX-5 Cup race car has been jointly developed by Mazda Motorsports and Long Road Racing in Statesville, North Carolina. Long Road Racing will exclusively build the left-hand drive MX-5 Cup race car The team has evaluated key racing components and will announce several strategic component partners at a later date. Mazda factory race driver Tom Long has led the testing, along with fellow Mazda factory race driver Andrew Carbonell and Kenton Koch, the 2014 Battery Tender MX-5 Cup champion and 2015 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites powered by Mazda champion. Tom Long has won races in all previous MX-5 generations, including the championship in the MAZDASPEED Miata Cup, and currently co-drives the Mazda SKYACTIV Prototype in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
 
Priority to purchase the new car will be given to current competitors in the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires, and others who intend to compete in the 2016 Global Mazda MX-5 Cup. MX-5 Cup cars built by Long Road Racing will be eligible to compete in club racing with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and National Auto Sport Association (NASA) as well as many track-day clubs.
 
Details for the ordering process, including financing options, are available at MazdaMotorsports.com.