10/13/2014
Danny Bender
SCCA Runoffs Recap
Mazda club racers added five more championships to the cumulative Mazda tally at the 51st annual SCCA National Championship Runoffs this past weekend. Making this years’ competition even sweeter for the Mazda racers was the venue, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
“Having the SCCA Runoffs at our home track was a very special time for everyone at Mazda,” said John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports. “To score five wins and 20 podium positions was fantastic and a testament to our amazing racers and having the right products and tech support. We had over 130 stories in our paddock, each one of them an important part of the Mazda Motorsports family.”
After 24 races, for 27 classes of cars, The Mazda highlights included:
· Danny Bender, of Northbrook, Illinois, became a walking billboard for the old adage of ‘Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday’. Danny drove his Mazda MX-5 to the Touring 4 win on Sunday morning before flying home to Illinois to get back to work as a Mazda sales consultant at Autobarn Mazda of Evanston on Monday morning.
· Matt Reynolds, of Boerne, Texas, led a Mazda 1-2-3 podium sweep in E Production. Reynolds. Reynolds also won a Super Sweep award winner, for a SafeRacer SCCA Club Racing driver that wins the nation-wide point championship, a U.S. Majors Tour Conference Championship, one of 10 key events in the Majors calendar and the National Championship Runoffs.
· Mike Anderson, of Anza, California, a three-time Runoffs runner-up, broke through to win the Formula Mazda Championship.
· Conner Kearby, of Corpus Christi, Texas, became the first racer to score a Formula Atlantic Runoffs win with Mazda power. The Seventeen-year-old Kearby was the youngest Runoffs winner this year.
· Erik Stearns, of Van Buren, Ohio, was named SCCA Spec Miata National Champion after the first six cars from Friday’s race were penalized following post-race inspection for unapproved modifications.
· Mazda paid out more prize money than any other car company at the Runoffs, $55,000.
· Mazda had more podium finishes than any other car company (20).
· Mazda had more competitors than any other car company(24% of total starters)
· Mazda had competitors in more classes than any other car company (14)
· Mazda racers who win a SCCA championship are eligible for the annual Mazda Club racer shootout, a $75,000 prize, the largest prize in sports car club racing.
About Mazda, Mazda Motorsports, and MAZDASPEED
Mazda is a leading player in all aspects of sports car racing with an emphasis on endurance road racing. Mazda is the number-one brand for road-racers across North America among both club racers and professionals. Thousands of Mazda-powered grassroots racers compete in various classes with the SCCA and NASA highlighted by Spec Miata, the world’s largest spec class with over 2,500 cars built. Via the Mazda SportsCar Racing Academy, Mazda supports racers at all levels of the sport from club racing up to the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship where it races with production SKYACTIV Technology.
Mazda remains the only Asian car company to score an overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1991). Mazda has had a naming rights agreement at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca since 2000.
Mazda Motorsports is managed by Mazda North American Operations (MNAO). MNAO 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.