As promised, I am writing to update you on the Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout competition that fellow members Andrei Kisel and Cherie Storms are involved in.

The 18 semi-finalists had until 6:00 PM Sunday October 13 to submit a business plan to Mazda.  This business plan is an exercise aimed at demonstrating to a potential sponsor, that sponsoring them would be a good fit for their business and that the driver has an understanding of what running a motorsports team involves, from budgets and costing, to marketing and actual race participation.

In addition, the 18 semi-finalists had to also submit a video to YouTube that demonstrates to the potential sponsor why they are the right choice. Entrants were encouraged to be creative with their submission.

Here are the links to those videos:

Andrei Kisel - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-kt1zEs3z8

Cherie Storms - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBGG4hYxHZI

It appears that only 12 of the 18 semi-finalists submitted videos by the deadline.  If that is the case, the odds of either Andrei, Cherie, or both being chosen for the Shootout are greatly increased.  To see the other video submissions, perform a Google search using "2013 Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout" as the criteria.

On October 22, those who met the submission qualifications, will participate in a conference call where the names of those chosen to go to Buttonwillow to participate in the shootout will be announced.  There will be a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 chosen.

I'm sure both Andrei and Cherie will be on pins and needles awaiting the announcement.  Good luck to you both!

Steve