Mazda MX-5 Cup to Test Martinsville Speedway

It started as a pandemic era iRacing folly but is now poised for real life.

The Mazda MX-5 Cup, an IMSA sanctioned sports car division, will conduct a test on the oval at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia to explore the potential of future racing opportunities on the famed NASCAR half-mile.

The test is scheduled for August 21 and 22 and will feature regulars from the MX-5 Cup Series turning laps alongside speedway president, Clay Campbell, who himself has a tenured stock car background in Late Models and ARCA,.

Mazda MX-5 Cup cars feature roll cages but no roofs and have some spiritual similarities to the NASCAR Convertible Series that ran from 1956 to 1959.

The first three NASCAR Convertible Series championships were won by Bob Welborn and Joe Lee Johnson won the final title. Jimmy Massey (1956), Bill Amick (1957), Fireball Roberts (1958) and Tom Pistone (1959) won the four series races that took place at Martinsville.

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