After 45 minutes of frantic, all-green flag running with nearly 30 identically prepared Mazda MX-5 Cup machines fighting for position on the high banks at Daytona International Speedway, it was all of 0.015 of a second that separated winner Tyler Gonzalez (No. 51 Copeland Motorsports) and runner up Connor Zilisch (No. 72 Hixon Motor Sports) as the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires delivered another thriller. The margin of victory is the fourth closest in series history.

Connor Zilisch (No. 72 Hixon Motor Sports) scored $80,000 from Mazda for his run to last year’s Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires Rookie of the Year. He got his 2023 season off to a fast start by taking the pole for Thursday’s season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.

Fans will be able to catch some of the best racing in the country live from their computers or phones as the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires will once again be streamed live at racer.com in 2023.

Bigger per-race payouts, large class of rookies and new Mazda Scholarship winners set to do battle with a large roster of returning Mazda MX-5 Cup winners and champions to launch 2023 season.

“Round one winner from 2022 looks to start 2023 campaign in similar fashion”