How did this all get started?
Spec Miata is one of the most popular one-make series of all time. Both SCCA and NASA fully support the class, and offer national championships which crown a yearly champion.
This class was all born out of cars in Showroom Stock timing out of eligibility due to age. Mazda Miata’s were being raced and were winning Showroom Stock races in the 1990s, and its affordability and popularity were building the groundwork for one of SCCA’s most popular classes of all time.
By the mid-1990s, Miata production had eclipsed both the MG/Austin-Healey Midget and Sprite (355,888 cars) and the MGB (386,789 cars), and by 1997 Mazda had produced more Miata’s than both MG models combined.
For SCCA members, a plentiful supply of low-cost used sports cars inevitably leads to great racing. The Miata had been classed into Improved Touring, but was not competitive there, and many drivers believed that a new class was needed.
In the late 1990s, several people around the country were thinking along the same lines. From his vantage point at Mazda Motorsports, Steve Sanders was able to connect these people with each other and with the larger SCCA community.
The turning point for Spec Miata happened at the American Road Race of Champions (ARRC) at Road Atlanta in the fall of 1999, where several cars showed up to showcase the class.
With the Spec Miata concept proven at the ARRC, the next step was to get the local SCCA regions on board.
By the end of 1999, racers were building Spec Miata’s all over the country, and the class took Regional racing by storm. The next few years were characterized by huge success, With that success, the pressure to make Spec Miata a National class quickly mounted.
After several years of robust growth, Spec Miata achieved nationwide rules with its own section in the GCR for 2004, and became a National Championship-eligible SCCA road racing class in 2006.
The 2006 championship race drew an impressive 61 entries, and 55 Miata’s started the race. Andrew Caddell of Northwest Region became the first-ever Spec Miata SCCA National Champion.
The class has become even stronger at the Runoffs in the years since, setting Runoffs class size records of 60 starters in 2010, 69 starters in 2013, and 71 starters in 2021. In a testament to the close competition, it was not until the eighth National Championship was awarded that Spec Miata saw a repeat winner. In 2023 at VIRginia International Raceway with 52 cars taking the green flag, the Championship race ended in the first tie in SCCA Runoffs history crowning Co-National Champions in Spec Miata.
Beyond the Runoffs, Spec Miata is now a critical source of participation and revenue for SCCA Regions around the country. Sustained participation has meant the difference between red and black ink from coast to coast, and the class has brought hundreds of new racers into the Club, with Spec Miata consistently achieving the top spot for overall class participation.
Looking to the Future
The Spec Miata phenomenon shows no signs of weakening. With over one million Miata and MX-5 models produced to date, there are plenty of affordable racecars still on the road.
There’s a predictable harmony among the leading Miata racers in SCCA when it comes to the future prospects for the little car: all see the Miata continuing as a mainstay of the Club.
Perhaps most importantly, Mazda has no plans to abandon its legacy. “The Miata has really been the lifeblood of our motorsports program for the last 25 years – it’s been the biggest success in Mazda Motorsports, ever.”
