MAZDASPEED MOTORSPORTS is pleased to announce we will be providing parts support this year at the 2008 NASA Championships.

The toughest competition in NASA's season this year will take place September 11-14, 2008 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

MAZDASPEED MOTORSPORTS will be there with a supply of emergency parts for sale to help make sure that you're able to complete your weekend. We will be there on September 11th and stay throughout the weekend. In addition, we will be able to place emergency parts orders on Thursday 9-11, and possible Friday 9-12, for any item that we don't have.

Look for Brian Burrow, working out of Robert Davis' trailer.

MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development will offer more than $90,000 in cash contingency rewards to the top finishers at the 3rd annual NASA National Championship event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on September 11-14th, 2008.

The contingency program will apply to all competitors racing Mazda's and Mazda-powered race vehicle in the following classes:

Spec Miata, ST1, ST2, SU, All PT Classes, All TT Classes

All above Classes (except TT)
1st Place $4,500
2nd Place $2,000
3rd Place $1,000
4th Place $750
5th Place $500

All TT Classes
1st Place $500

See our Contingency Info for more details.

NASA Championship contingency award money is only available for drivers that compete in the same class in which they earned points throughout the season in their respective region. In the event the competitor did not earn regional points in the class they are competing in at the championship event, no MAZDASPEED award will be available.

Payout amounts listed above require a minimum number of competitors in the class. To be eligible for the following Mazda contingency award payouts, the competitor is required to finish ahead of at least two (2) competitors in their class. If the Mazda competitor finishes ahead of only one (1) driver in their class, the payout amount is reduced by 25%. The Mazda competitor must finish ahead of at least one other driver in class to be eligible for an award amount.

MAZDASPEED also has another added bonus for NASA Championship competitors competing in a Mazda or Mazda powered vehicle. If you finish 1st thru 3rd in your Regional Championship in the same class you competed in at the NASA Championships, you'll receive a $200 bonus in addition to your Regional Championship award.

Competitors must be enrolled in the MAZDASPEED Team Support program prior to competing at the National Championship event.

To enroll in the program, please visit www.mazdaspeeddevelopment.com and register for membership. Make sure to follow all instructions to get approved before competing.

In addition, competitors will be required to run both Mazda and MAZDASPEED decals on the car and Mazda patch on their driver's suit while competing at the NASA National Championship event. Details on decal placement and how to order them can be found here.

When something great initially comes out on the market, there are usually two general reactions. One is to run out to the store and buy it right away. The other is to wait for all the bugs to get worked out and look for the next improved model to come out.

When it comes to drifting, the trend isn't very different. After the wild oversteering pastime officially hit North America in 2003, many of us souped up our (insert car model here) and went to all the competitions, making drifting one of the fastest growing motorsports in the country. A few, in the meantime, stood back and watched, listened and learned.

The Mazda Grand Prix of Portland is soon upon us (July 22-27), and this years race will be a bit different from those before it.

Spectators to this years event will be able to see not only the Star Mazda Series, but also a short Formula Drift competition, a huge field of Spec Miata's and the Playboy sponsored MX-5 Cup, all take to the track over the weekend.

If that wasn't enough, spectators at this years GP of Portland are going to be witness to something special. A couple of local boys, Garth Stein and Sam Moses (maybe you have heard of them) will be dueling it out in a pair of Playboy MX-5 Cup cars. Both acclaimed writers in their own fields, Mazda is promoting the race as Fact vs. Fiction, a battle between the non-fiction author (Moses) and the fiction author (Stein), both of whom are no stranger to the tight fit of a race seat.

The ColdTrackDays staff, having done some co-promotional work with local author Garth Stein and his book, "The Art of Racing in the Rain", has teamed up with MAZDASPEED MOTORSPORTS DEVELOPMENT, the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland and both of the authors, to bring our reader a bit of insight into these two guys.

Both Stein and Moses will be guest posting on ColdTrackDays in the coming days, each leaving a little reminder to the other, why they will be seeing the checkered flag first. So check out the site and keep reading.

July 14, 2008 (Irvine, Calif.) - The reading habits of MAZDASPEED staffers will be on display at the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland in the Mazda MX-5 Cup race on Sunday July 27th.  Making guest appearances will be Garth "The Art of Racing in the Rain" Stein, and Sam "Fast Guys, Rich Guys, and Idiots" Moses.  Each is an accomplished writer and racer, with very different career paths, but both calling Portland their home track.