Good things are worth waiting for. Registration for Teen Mazda Challenge will be open from now through April 30. All registrations for 2025 must be complete by midnight April 30.
Yes, this is later than the normal registration period, but NASA and Mazda have finished putting the final touches on changes and improvements to the Teen Mazda Challenge program to make it more competitive, more lucrative in terms of contingencies, and a better training ground for young drivers seeking a career in motorsports.
Drivers who register by April 30 for TMC in 2025 will have March and April races automatically included, retroactively, in their 2025 season points totals. TMC season points close out the end of October to accommodate Mazda and its needs for the Shootout it conducts each fall.
“We worked hard over the offseason with NASA to come up with a revised program that helps young drivers prepare for possible invitation to the Mazda Shootout, and helps deliver a competitive playing field with ample opportunity to win contingency prizes,” said Josh Smith, business development manager for Mazda Motorsports. “The revised program allows drivers to compete on a national level from any region regardless of how many TMC drivers are in their home region.”
Here’s how the new TMC structure will work. TMC eligibility rules will change to a structure in which TMC becomes a “designation” for drivers competing in a region in TMC in Spec Miata. TMC drivers will compete against all other Spec Miata drivers in a given region, and any other TMC competitors in that region as one class. TMC season points in a given region will be calculated as well as regular regional SM season points.
TMC drivers earn regular Spec Miata regional seasonal points contingencies outlined in Mazda Motorsports contingencies program payouts, plus an additional regional TMC contingency.
TMC drivers will be awarded an additional $500 for finishing first in SM in points in a region. That is in addition to regular season points Mazda Motorsports contingencies, $2,500 total. Mazda Motorsports will pay out $350 for second, which is in addition to regular season points Mazda Motorsports contingencies, for a total of $1,600. Mazda also will pay out $250 for third, in addition to regular season points Mazda Motorsports contingencies, for a total of $1,250.
In addition, there is now a TMC national points championship calculated from TMC drivers in all NASA regions nationwide, with contingencies and/or scholarships for the top three finishing TMC drivers nationwide.
Mazda will award $1,000 for finishing first in TMC nationally, $750 for finishing second in TMC nationally and $500 for finishing third in TMC nationally.
That means TMC drivers will be eligible for three contingency prize programs from Mazda Motorsports all while competing in one region, which is the only region in which they are allowed to compete. Drivers from, say, NASA NorCal, are not allowed to travel to SoCal to compete as a TMC driver in that region. That brings us to the NASA Championships.
TMC drivers competing in the 2025 NASA Championships will get a full podium of their own. The old program in which the top-finishing TMC driver earned the $5,000 Champion’s Award will now be divided among first through third. Prizes are paid regardless of overall finishing position at the 2025 NASA Championships and break down as follows:
First $2,500
Second $1,500
Third $1,000
“We have to give credit where due here. We could not have made these improvements without the innovative thinking of Josh Smith at Mazda Motorsports,” said TMC national director Brett Becker. “Josh figured out a way to restructure the program so it was less dependent on TMC participation within a given region and allowed us to take advantage of Spec Miata participation regionally and nationwide. This new program capitalizes on the highly competitive nature of Spec Miata overall, and removes the drawbacks of having no other TMC drivers in your region, which was something of a bug in the old structure.”
To register for this 2025 TMC Program: Click Here
TMC drivers are invited attend a webinar that will highlight and explain the new program. The webinar will be held Wednesday, April 23 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time at the following links:
Teen Mazda Challenge Webinar
Wednesday, April 23 · 4:00 – 5:00pm
Time zone: America/Los Angeles
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/eeu-qfsw-syy
Or dial: (US) +1 240-366-5302
PIN: 447 759 344#
More phone numbers:
https://tel.meet/eeu-qfsw-syy?pin=8452458917545
