The National Auto Sport Association has named Zach Rubin as the new series director for the Teen Mazda Challenge. Rubin takes over for James Brown, a SoCal driver and crew chief who had led the TMC since 2018.
Zach Rubin is a 20-year-old student in his second year at Virginia Tech, where he is pursuing a degree in marketing. Rubin also is an active member of the university’s Formula SAE team. He began his motorsports career in karting and transitioned to sports car racing in 2016, and has since been a driver and regional liaison for Teen Mazda Challenge in the Mid-Atlantic region since his arrival to sports car racing.
“I am excited to start this new journey with Teen Mazda Challenge, which has helped me grow on and off track in our beloved sport,” Rubin said. “I want to give back to the program and help all these young and talented drivers pursue their dreams.”
Rubin first entered motorsports, beginning with local oval and road-course karting at age 12. By 2016, Rubin transitioned into Spec Miata as a TMC competitor and has been racing in both series ever since. Rubin plans to use the knowledge he has gained to help create the best possible experience for current and future drivers in the series.
One aspect of Rubin’s strategy is to help the drivers learn to leverage data. This past season, he won his regional championship for Spec Miata and TMC in the Mid-Atlantic region, attributing his success to data analysis.
“At the start of the season, I was not expecting to win any championships,” Rubin said. “My goal was to improve as a driver, knowing the results would come. I began digging into the data after nearly every session, which made most of the difference.”
TMC takes places within NASA’s Spec Miata race group where young drivers have the opportunity to battle among some of the best Spec Miata competitors around the country. TMC offers young drivers unique opportunities that can help advance them into a career in professional motorsports through the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout, the grand prize of which is a scholarship valued at $100,000 applicable to a season of racing in the Battery Tender Global Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires. Mazda also is offering an additional $20,000 scholarship applicable to a season of racing in Spec MX-5 to the highest-finishing TMC driver at the 2020 NASA Championships Presented by Toyo Tires.
Congrats Zach!!!