This past week was the season finale for the IMSA championship at Road Atlanta’s iconic Petit LeMans. We had some mixed conditions during the week, with definitely cooler temperatures and even some unpredictable precipitation. However, this didn’t dampen the racing excitement throughout the different series, and there were some incredible finishes in the Mazda MX-5 Cup championship.
We saw lots of green flag action from the MX-5 Cup series, with a very rare repeat winner during the weekend. Connor Zillisch managed to win both of the races, but Jared Thomas was a repeat champion. It’s the first time someone has won the championship twice, and Jared managed to get them back-to-back!
What’s remarkable is that Connor was the Rookie of the Year winner last season, and this year, he was battling Jared for the overall championship in the final race of the season. Jared takes home another $250,000 check along with the title.
With it being the end of the season, we had the year-end MX-5 Cup banquet celebration, with lots of recognition and awards given out. Current Mazda Shootout winner Nate Cicero came away with Rookie of the Year honors as well as $80,000 to go toward next season’s championship effort.
Speaking of next season, there were lots of exciting announcements made at the banquet. Among them was news of a three-year deal extension with IMSA as the sanctioning body of the series. The series also announced a new title partner, Whelen, and a new tire supplier, Michelin. Whelen is a very prominent name in the motorsport industry, and they have supported many of NASCAR’s various divisions.
With all the big news from the banquet, it’s exciting to know what’s in store for this growing series. The MX-5 Cup series has picked up a lot of momentum this season, between new partnerships and even testing at a NASCAR venue, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what the future brings.