When that cluster of cars crossed the finish line in Race One at Daytona International Speedway, no one was quite sure who won the race until the timing screen was populated. But the eyeblink finish wasn’t just something that happens on the high banks, as this kind of run to the checkered flag is a common theme in the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires.

There was a point not too long ago that Gresham Wagner thought he’d never race again. Not even out of high school, he had undergone a complicated back surgery that kept him immobile for months. When he was able to jump back into his favorite place on earth, the seat of his kart, it wasn’t the same; there was discomfort, there was pain and there was a drop in performance. Wagner was lost without racing in his life, but then he gave a Mazda MX-5 Cup a try and was reunited with his lost love.

Entering their first event of the 2021 season with the largest presence in the paddock, Hixon Motor Sports (HMS) brought eight drivers to the opening round of the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires. Taking on the Daytona International Speedway, HMS brought the heat showing race-winning pace only to lose out on the final few hundred feet in an epic last-lap battle in race one.

The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires has added Sebring International Raceway to its 2021 itinerary, which makes it the next event on the series schedule.

Japanese petroleum company Idemitsu has signed on to become the title sponsor of the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires.