Convertibles haven’t raced at Martinsville since the 1950s, when NASCAR went to a closed cockpit concept that would have the ability to run on a variety of tracks. But a temporary assignment for Martinsville president Clay Campbell led to an idea where NASCAR and IMSA leadership agreed to put Mazda MX-5 Cup cars on an oval. And so, several decades later, the powers that be were putting convertibles back on track, and that track happened to be Martinsville.
The initial test in 2023, brought NASCAR veterans Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bobby Labonte, along with some of the MX-5 Cup regulars for the day where the group demonstrated that there was potential in the idea of putting the MX-5 on an oval. Thanks to the FIA-approved cage and an interior with things like arm restraints specifically built for cars to race without a roof, the MX-5 Cup series cars were already prepped for racing — at least to run events at road courses alongside the top level IMSA sportscar series. To take on an oval, these cars just needed a setup conducive to running on one.
