Five NASA Finalists Selected for 2015 Mazda Road to 24 Shootout
Napa Valley, CA
– (November 4, 2015) – National Auto Sport Association (NASA) drivers continue
to dominate the field of racers of finalist selected for this year’s 2015 Mazda
Road to 24 Shootout. Five racers from NASA will be competing for the $100,000 scholarship
package that supports a drive in the 2016 Battery Tender Mazda Global MX-5
Cup car.
John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports, noted: ‘The nine finalists in
this shootout are all highly competitive. The fact that the judges identified
nine outstanding racers, from the 23 eligible, shows the tremendous depth of
talent we are working with today. Mazda is so proud to offer this prize to our
grassroots racers and customers; there is simply nothing like it in the
world.”
NASA drivers
dominated the competition securing 5 of the 9 coveted finalist positions
in the 2015 Mazda Road to 24 Shootout. NASA will be represented in the
competition by:
Racer
Hometown
Club/Series
Joshua Allan
La Verne,
California NASA PTD
Western States Champion
Bruno Carneiro
Riverton,
Utah NASA Utah Region
Mark Drennan
San Jose,
California NASA
Spec Miata Champion (East & West)
Mason Filippi Alamo,
California NASA
Nor-Cal West Coast Teen Mazda Challenge Champion
Eric
Powell Orlando,
Florida NASA
Florida Region
Joshua Allan began his career in motorsports securing a position as an
engineer for Ferrari’s F1 team. He got his first taste of racing jumping into
the Italian Formula Ford Championship eventually moving into a vehicle
development role for Maserati. His immediate goal is to win the shootout and
jump start his career in pro racing to attract sponsors and move up the Mazda
ladder in the road to 24 Shootout.
“The NASA racer development ladder is fundamental to building the skills
of track fanatics and aspiring racers", said Joshua Allen. "Even with
my experience, I chose to start in HPDE 1 and move up through each level
because I knew that I would learn new concepts from experienced instructors and
develop the knowledge and skills to share the track with etiquette while
continuing to develop my driving skills. I subsequently became an instructor
myself, which further informed and aided my development. After running Time
Trials for a season I moved into racing in Performance Touring. Thanks to
NASA's driver development system, I found myself racing with highly competitive
and highly respectful drivers with strong awareness to race door-door while not
giving an inch more ground than needed. That's the best kind of racing
there is."
At just 16 years old, Bruno
Carneiro is the youngest finalist in the field. He's from Riverton,
Utah where he started racing karts at the age of 4. After gaining 11
years of experience amassing multiple wins and championships, he decided
to make the move up to racing cars. His choice; Formula Mazda. “The natural
choice was to start racing with the NASA Utah Region at my home track Miller
Motorsports Park," said Bruno Carneiro. "What impressed me the most
is how welcomed I was by NASA Utah. I was fortunate enough to
win the championship on my rookie year and that opened a whole lot of new
opportunities for me."
Mark Drennan, a native of Northern California got his
start in racing cars with NASA in 2007 at Thunderhill Raceway.
His current focus before next week's event is all about
preparation and promotion.
“Every step in my progression - from driving a computer simulator, to karts,
and now to cars - allowed me to be immediately competitive at the next level
and has been crucial to my development as a championship caliber driver,” said
Mark Drennan. "I'm speaking with former shootout participants, series
champions, driver coaches, and race engineers to gain their insights and
advice. I'm also getting the word out to promote the Mazda Road to 24
program and my participation as a finalist."
Mason Filippi began
automobile racing with NASA in 2014. The most important thing to him
this year was good consistent finishes. Mason had 4 wins and several
podiums. Being only one week out from the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout,
his current focus is studying the track, refining interview
skills and promoting himself as well as Mazda through press
releases. “NASA has a great field with talented and dedicated drivers.
Mazda including the Teen Mazda Challenge champions in the Mazda Road to 24
shootout gave me the opportunity to compete for this amazing prize,” said
Mason Filippi.
Eric Powell began his racing
career like many others honing his skills in karting before moving into stock
car racing for several years. Later deciding there were more opportunities in
Road Racing, he moved into NASA. “Currently I am 100% focused on winning
the shootout and building my brand. NASA has been a great place to race
for the past few years. Classes such as Performance Touring really allow
someone with creativity and ingenuity like myself to shine,” said
Eric Powell.
The shootout
will take place at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC, on November 8-10. The criteria for the shootout is to
identify the aspiring professional racer who has the best range of skills
required to succeed. These skills include speed, consistency, race craft,
technical feedback and off-track business, marketing and PR skills.
Additional
information about the Mazda Road to 24 shootout, and 2016 MX-5 Cup race car,
can be found at www.mazdamotorsports.com Mazda Motorsports will be
providing live social updates from the Carolina Motorsports Park event on
Twitter at @mazdaracing and with hashtag #MRT24.