yikes.

I probably should address this since it has been discussed before multiple times and has left lots of questions with me never answering on it...

As stated above, I would have more than likely respectively declined the invitation once again this year. The Mazda Shootout is a fantastic program for drivers with aspirations to move up to the MX-5 ranks. It is very uncommon for a car make to care about young racing drivers at the grassroots level by offering such opportunities like the shootout and recognition that Mazda provides. So I can't give Mazda enough credit for doing that! I took part as a finalist in the 2017 event and watched my best friend go on and win... It was an awesome experience meeting heroes of mine at the event and learning how to further grow as a racer but more so as an individual! So to me the event means a lot.

However with that said, I will not accept the offer if I am not able to give Mazda 100% of my focus. I could not go into the event knowing that and take a spot from someone that would give 100% and then some. The upcoming racing season in '21 will be just like my past two seasons with a growing focus on my NXS starts (which is likely on the same race dates as MX5C race dates) and a mixture of SM races to fill in the rest of the inactive racing dates. Then add on my day job, which is more important to me than racing and is put forth before my hobby at all times because I want to further grow our family business... it only leads me with no other options.

I hope this event stays for a long time into the future because it has changed my life and I know it will be a benefit for other young racers as well.

Here's my video from this past weekend! I posted the video to the facebook group yesterday but I know a few of you guys don't do social media... It's an interesting video to say the least, I thought I was out of it multiple times and some how we still had a shot at it at the end. The weekend would not have been possible without everyone at ESR... With me doing double duty this past weekend; Jim and his guys did a fantastic job at the track getting my car dialed in for every session! Also a huge shoutout to SCCA for putting on an event like the runoffs during these times.

Snow

Snow

Snow

HC: More snow

Thanks for watching guys and thank you very much for the kind words! It was a really fun time out there and a good day for us! Wish we had stickers for the last run there, so I didn't look like a moving road block... It worked out though, we were running 13th before the last yellow, so we gained a few spots with that strategy call at the end there.

...Drago will spin Preston on the last lap...

I'm still having nightmares from Sebring