Can you race an MX-5 Cup car on an oval? Sure can.

For the first time in its history, Mazda MX-5 Cup competed on an oval track, the storied NASCAR venue Martinsville Speedway. How hard can it be? Turn left and go fast, right?

One of those participants was Andy Jankowiak. He certainly understands oval-track racing, competing in a variety of classes, from indoor midget races to stock cars at the Daytona …

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So if the MX-5 Cup can race at Martinsville, that means they can also race at the L.A. Coliseum (À la Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum), right? 

In reply to Colin Wood :

Actually, no.  They moved the Clash from the LA Colosseum to Bowman Gray stadium in Winston Salem for next year, so no track in LA anymore.  That being said, MX-5 Cup cars at Bowman Gray would still be pretty dope. 

There are a whole lot of setup terms in there that are not familiar to me :) Also, the 500 lb spring on the outside rear wheel is an interesting idea. 

I remember reading an account of an F1 driver prepping for Indy back in the 50s or 60s. They set the car up to have a nice four wheel drift, which apparently led to smoke pouring off the rear wheels. Ovals are a different breed. Not my bag, but I have to appreciate a race car that spends almost all of its time turning. 

How many entries did they get and how many lead changes were there in the race? 

I'd think a competitive 40 car field would be fun to watch but one guy leading all the laps in a 15 car race would be very boring. 

Isn't Martinsville one of the smaller, if not the smallest NASCAR oval tracks?   Small car, small track--makes sense.

DavyZ said:

Isn't Martinsville one of the smaller, if not the smallest NASCAR oval tracks?   Small car, small track--makes sense.

With the exception of the Coliseum and Bowman Gray, both .25 miles, Martinsville is smallest (.526). It's the smallest points-paying track on the NASCAR Cup circuit. They probably would be a blast at Bowman Gray or the Los Angeles Coliseum (yes, no more races there). 

CrashDummy said:

How many entries did they get and how many lead changes were there in the race? 

I'd think a competitive 40 car field would be fun to watch but one guy leading all the laps in a 15 car race would be very boring. 

18 cars. Thomas led 82 laps. A pack of 40 would make it more interesting. 

Keith Tanner said:

There are a whole lot of setup terms in there that are not familiar to me :) Also, the 500 lb spring on the outside rear wheel is an interesting idea. 

I remember reading an account of an F1 driver prepping for Indy back in the 50s or 60s. They set the car up to have a nice four wheel drift, which apparently led to smoke pouring off the rear wheels. Ovals are a different breed. Not my bag, but I have to appreciate a race car that spends almost all of its time turning. 

As a longtime oval-track guy, yes, there's a different language between the two pit areas ... I mean paddock ... I mean ... garage areas. There we go. 

In reply to J.A. Ackley :

I'm an oval track guy, when the cars are sideways on dirt. 

In reply to z31maniac :

So next year they need to run an MX-5 Cup race at Eldora, with about 40 cars.

Love the crossover. I've autocrossed and run plenty of HPDE in my miata but live 5 miles from a dirt kart track currently. Grew up going to both dirt in Winchester and NASA at Summit Point and can see the appeal in both.. Took my 2 yo out to watch dirt karts earlier this year and it looked like a blast just turning left.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

I would pay good money to watch that.  

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

In reply to z31maniac :

So next year they need to run an MX-5 Cup race at Eldora, with about 40 cars.

I would 100% watch that. 

z31maniac said:

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

In reply to z31maniac :

So next year they need to run an MX-5 Cup race at Eldora, with about 40 cars.

I would 100% watch that. 

An MX-5 Cup race on dirt would be interesting. I don't know if I'd pick Eldora, though - too big. I'd recommend something smaller, like the Gateway Dirt Nationals indoors. They'd rock that track.

I don't know that you'd get many takers on dirt.  The teams that are big enough to tear down cars to the tub and put them back together before the next race would do it, but smaller teams wouldn't want to deal with cleaning a car after that.