From more than 50 nominees, Mazda Motorsports has chosen 24 drivers to compete in the Mazda Shootout. These finalists will descend on Apex Motor Club, outside of Phoenix, Arizona, November 16 – 18, to compete for $450,000 in scholarships from Mazda.
Each nominee was asked to submit a resume, racing bio and video about themselves. After reviewing the submissions, Mazda have selected the following candidates:
MX-5 Cup
Joey Andrews
Ethan Barker
Skyler Cottrell
Weston Duchak
Eli Dysart
Camden Gruber
Emy Kissick
Lincoln Larson
Jensen Mechelke
Luke Pullen
Michelle Squirek
William Wallis
Spec MX-5
Sarah Groot
Frankie Ladevaia
Carson Neel
James Newell
Asad Nikadambaev
Lincoln Olson
Nathaniel Spitz
Henry Taylor
Lucas Thek
Enzo Vidmontene
Gavin Wardle
Vaughan Weber
The winner of the MX-5 Cup Shootout will take home $150,000 scholarship toward a race season in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin. The runner up will receive a scholarship valued at $100,000 for MX-5 Cup competition.
Two drivers will be selected to form the 2027 Mazda Club Racing Factory Team and receive support from Mazda to compete in SMX at various SCCA events across the country. Many Spec MX-5 Shootout winners go on to compete in the MX-5 Cup Shootout and eventually the IMSA-sanctioned MX-5 Cup series.
Drivers will be tested both on and off-track for two days at Apex. It’s not just lap times that judges are looking at, but ability to apply coaching suggestions, interview skills, personality and motorsports business acumen.
Numerous Mazda partners, including Whelen, Sunoco and Motul will be on hand and part of the judging process. Longtime MX-5 Cup partners Andersen Promotions and Flis Performance will handle logistics for the event with support from Mike Phillips (Phillips Consulting) for the SMX cars.
Several high-profile drivers got their start in the Mazda Shootout, including NASCAR Cup Series driver Connor Zilisch, 2026 ARCA Menards Series Champion Thomas Annunziata and 2026 VP Racing Fuels Challenge GSX Champion Westin Workman.
The 2026 Mazda Shootout will be streamed live on the Mazda Motorsports YouTube channel, hosted by Shea Adam.