Driving Sports

Nick Evans knows about studying for tests. He is frequently tested as an undergraduate biology major/pre-med student at Ohio State University. He also tests himself on the racetrack. In September, he earned a 2009 SCCA Runoffs Championship in his Mazda powered Formula Enterprise. Now, after a series of very specialized tests, he will add “professional race driver” to his resume as he moves to the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup for 2010.

Nick will follow in the footsteps of Andrew Caddell, Brad Rampelberg, and Justin Piscitell, the three previous shootout winners. Nick also joins the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Driver ladder program class of 2010. The MAZDASPEED ladder has been a critical part of the success of young up and coming racers including Raphael Matos, John Edwards, Conor Daly, Joel Miller, Connor De Phillippi, Dane Cameron, Jason Saini, Todd Lamb, Eric Foss, and Adam Christodoulou.

The five finalists were Evans, Ryan Ellis of Fairfax, Virginia, who distinguished himself as this year's NASA Teen Champion in his Miata, Steven Gorriaran of Providence, Rhode Island, who won the SCCA Spec Miata national championship, Bruce Pendleton of Oakland, California, who won the NASA PTE class championship in his Miata, and Andy Rushing of Austin, Texas, who took the NASA Spec Miata championship.

Each year Mazda invites a panel of outside judges to make the selection. The judges bring a wealth of both on-track and off-track expertise. Over a dozen professionals were involved in either the preliminary business proposal review or the on-track activities. The panel included such luminaries as  Andy Bornhop, Managing Editor of Road & Track magazine,  professional SPEED World Challenge and GrandAm driver Charles Espenlaub, and former Indianapolis 500 driver Lyn St. James.

Given that each of the five candidates have proven themselves capable of winning an amateur national championship, the criteria to move up to the pro level is necessarily less about on-track performance and more about the business of racing. To succeed on the professional level requires a balance of both on-track and off-track skills including fast and consistent laps in the prepared MX-5 Cup car, technical knowledge of the physics of racing and the mechanics of the MX-5 Cup car, and business proposal, presentation, and PR skills.

After a full day of both driving, and classroom activities, the judges added the objective and subjective scores -- discussing the merits of each driver. It was a very close decision, but the numbers and “gut feelings” were in agreement – Nick Evans is the newest Mazda professional racer to watch in 2010.

Evans' prize package is valued at over $75,000 and is the largest prize in available in amateur racing. The package includes a new MX-5 for use in the series, $50,000 for season expenses, $10,000 in parts support, a Sparco driving suit and helmet, professional media training (Courtesy of MAZDASPEED), ten sets of BFGoodrich tires, and ten entry fee waivers (Courtesy of SCCA Pro Racing).

“After hearing the news I was speechless. All I could say was thank you! I felt so relieved once I won the shootout and for the opportunity to begin my professional racing career with Mazda. I put an enormous effort into the shootout and it paid off.  This is really a defining moment in my life. The MAZDASPEED development ladder is truly awesome and puts me on a path to get me to where I want to go. I will soon be battling with the veterans of American sportscar racing and I can’t wait. Bring on 2010!” Evans said.