{"id":7336,"date":"2024-07-17T09:23:07","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T13:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/?p=7336"},"modified":"2024-07-19T09:44:24","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T13:44:24","slug":"whelen-mazda-mx-5-cup-to-race-at-martinsville-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/17\/whelen-mazda-mx-5-cup-to-race-at-martinsville-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup to Race at Martinsville Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Race to be part of doubleheader event featuring NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour\u00a0<\/em>championship finale<\/em><\/p>\n

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (July 17, 2024)<\/strong>\u00a0– Martinsville Speedway and the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin today announced that the spec series will hold an exhibition race as part of the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season finale event on Saturday, Oct. 26.<\/p>\n

The event will be a 300-lap doubleheader called the \u2018Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300\u2019 with the Mazda MX-5 Cup taking to the track for 100 laps, directly followed by the 200-lap finale of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship. The race will award $15,000 to the Mazda MX-5 Cup race winner.<\/p>\n

The exhibition event will not count toward the 2024 Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship, which concludes Oct. 11 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. It will consist of two practice sessions, single-car qualifying, and a 100-lap race split into two stages. Yellow flags will not count for the first 50-lap stage, but will be in effect for the second half. Prize money will also be awarded to the top three drivers at the stage break.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great compliment to Mazda MX-5 Cup that NASCAR and IMSA leadership enjoy the series and want to expand its footprint,\u201d said Jonathan Applegate, Senior Manager, Mazda Motorsports. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen increased interest in the series from drivers with NASCAR aspirations who want to grow their skill set. Racing at Martinsville is a unique opportunity to capitalize on that and we are really excited about this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concept of racing Mazda MX-5 Cup at Martinsville started amongst NASCAR and IMSA leadership, who recognized the entertainment value of the series\u2019 incredibly close racing. Martinsville,\u00a0the<\/em>\u00a0short track, was deemed a perfect fit for the small convertibles and a test featuring several drivers was conducted in August of last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cMartinsville Speedway has such a unique and rich history of racing, and we couldn\u2019t be more excited to add another incredible event to that history,\u201d said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. \u201cIt\u2019ll be the first time we have open top cars racing on track since our early days in the 50s, tapping into our past and also our roots as we host the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour finale on the same weekend. We\u2019re excited to bring the Mazda MX-5 Cup to Martinsville, and I know this will be one the fans enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 will be the first ever race on an oval circuit for MX-5 Cup, though it has held events at roval tracks familiar to NASCAR fans, including Daytona International Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

Entries are open for all racers and are not limited to MX-5 Cup or IMSA drivers and teams.<\/p>\n

In addition to a $15,000 check from Mazda for the winner, Martinsville will award one of their famous grandfather clocks as well. Runner-up receives $5,000, third place receives $4,000 and payouts continue through 10th place.<\/p>\n

To prepare for this unique race, MX-5 Cup will hold a test at Martinsville on Monday, Aug. 26. The date is exceptionally convenient for MX-5 Cup teams who will have just concluded a doubleheader at VIRginia International Raceway, an hour\u2019s drive away.<\/p>\n

For more details on the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 and to purchase tickets to the race weekend, please visit\u00a0www.martinsvillespeedway.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Race to be part of doubleheader event featuring NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour\u00a0championship finale MARTINSVILLE, Va. (July 17, 2024)\u00a0– Martinsville Speedway and the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7337,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,9,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-feature","category-mazda-mx-5-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7336"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7338,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7336\/revisions\/7338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}