15 NASA Racers Selected as Semi-Finalists for 2015 Mazda Road to 24
Shootout
Napa Valley, CA – (October 15, 2015) – National Auto Sport
Association (NASA) drivers dominate the field of racers selected to compete in
the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout. One talented club racer will be promoted to the
professional ranks and receive the $100,000 dollar Mazda Scholarship
package. 15 NASA Racers represent the
majority of the total number of drivers selected for the Mazda Road to 24
Shootout (MRT24).
“These fifteen drivers exemplify the best of what the NASA HPDE
ladder system produces,” said Jeremy Croiset, NASA Director of Business
Development. “We are pleased to see so many NASA drivers eligible for the Mazda
Road to 24 Shootout this year. NASA drivers have done exceptionally well in the
shootout winning the competition the last two years in a row. These 15 drivers
will be representing eight of our 15 NASA Regions around the country. The Mazda
Road to the 24 is a tremendous opportunity for all road racers selected and
with over half of the field of 23 drivers being from NASA, chances are high
that we’ll see a NASA driver yet again move up the Mazda ladder.”
The 15 NASA semi-finalists are:
NASA PTD West Champion (So-Cal Region)
Joshua Allan
NASA PTE West Champion
(Central)
Ben Anderson
NASA Teen Mazda Challenge (Nor-Cal
Region)
Mason
Filippi
NASA Spec Miata East & West Champion (Nor-Cal)
Mark
Drennen
NASA PTE East Champion (Great Lakes Region)
Jason Kohler
NASA Teen Mazda Challenge (Rocky Mountain Region) Ethan Loree
NASA Teen Mazda Challenge (Texas Region)
Deriann Taylor
NASA Super Unlimited Champion (So-Cal Region)
Jon Van
Canegham
NASA (Utah Region)
Bruno Carneiro
NASA (Florida Region)
Eric Powell
NASA Race of Champions (Nor-Cal Region)
Matthew Powers
NASA Formula Car Challenge (Nor-Cal Region)
Tazio Ottis
NASA Formula Car Challenge (Nor-Cal Region)
Hunter Pickett
NASA Formula Car Challenge (Nor-Cal Region)
Michael Avansino
NASA (So-Cal
Region)
Will Rodgers
The criteria for the shootout is to identify the aspiring professional
racer who has the best range of skills required to succeed. These skills include speed, consistency, race
craft, technical feedback and off-track business, marketing and PR skills.
John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports, noted: “Our annual
shootout has become a signature event for Mazda Motorsports. This year, faced
with dozens of worthy candidates, we worked with our key partners at the NASA,
iRacing, SCCA and other industry experts to identify those racers with the
greatest potential to succeed on the professional level. This promises to be
our best-ever shootout, as none of the eligible racers have raced a
fourth-generation MX-5. Only a handful of racers have even tested it. That will
quickly change as we have more than 70 deposits from racers ready to compete
with us in the 2016 MX-5 cup.”
The Mazda Road to 24 Shootout is the single largest prize in
grassroots motorsports. The $100,000 scholarship package supports a drive in
the 2016 Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup. For 2016, this will be in the all-new
Global MX-5 Cup car, which officially went on sale on October 1.
Additional
information about the Mazda Road to 24 shootout, and 2016 MX-5 Cup race car,
can be found at www.mazdamotorsports.com Mazda
Motorsports will be providing live social updates from the Carolina Motorsports
Park event on Twitter at @mazdaracing and with hashtag #MRT24.
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