Mazda awards young driver with an MX-5 and racing career

Andrew Caddell celebrates winning the 2006 SCCA National Championship Runoff

You've got to hand it to Mazda. They want to be Zoom Zoom and they poney up the products and the marketing to back it up. Back in October we told you about Mazda's unique sponsorship of the SCCA, where they ran a contest for Mazda drivers in the amateur series. To be eligible to win, drivers had to win of one of the National Championships at the 2006 SCCA Runoffs. The winner gets a MX-5 with a ton of modifications, plenty of MazdaSpeed parts, and the money and tires to race in the 2007 SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup.

After three days of racing, four of the top 25 drivers were in Mazdas and were eligible to win the prizes, which amount to about $50,000 and a chance of a lifetime to race with the pros. 18-year-old Andrew Caddell came in first in the competition by being near perfect in 10 of the 11 on and off track challenges. Needless to say, Andrew is pretty psyched about his spoils, and he can't wait to get to Houston for his first professional race.

[Source: Mazda]