Charlotte Traynor secures 2026 Mazda's Women In Motorsport scholarship

Following her performance at the prestigious Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout, Charlotte Traynor has been awarded the Mazda Women in Motorsport Scholarship, earning a $100,000 prize to compete in next year’s Mazda MX-5 Cup.

Photo credits: Mazda

Charlotte Traynor has been awarded the Mazda Women in Motorsport Scholarship, earning a $100,000 prize to compete in next year’s Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, following her performance at the prestigious Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout.

One of the longest-running and most respected talent searches in North American motorsport, the Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout has been a pillar of Mazda’s grassroots racing development program since its inception; over nearly two decades, it has distributed millions of dollars in scholarships to aspiring racers, helping many advance into professional motorsport careers.

The program’s mission is simple yet vital: to discover and develop promising racing talent, continuing Mazda’s commitment to supporting drivers from grassroots level. Each year, a group of racers are nominated based on their season-long performances in various regional and club series. The finalists then take part in a multi-day evaluation, combining on-track performance, technical feedback, and off-track professionalism.

For the 2026 edition of the MX-5 Cup Shootout, Mazda Motorsports selected 12 finalists from an initial 32 nominees. Among them were three women — Camryn Reed, Samantha Silver, and Charlotte Traynor — who would compete for the overall scholarship as well as the Mazda Women in Motorsport scholarship, an award designed to support female drivers in the series.

This year’s event took place at Circuit Florida, a newly opened facility in central Florida that none of the competitors had previously driven — nor could practice on virtually, as it was not yet available on any sim platforms. This leveled the playing field, requiring each driver to quickly adapt to the new circuit.

Over the two-day evaluation, finalists completed two track sessions on Tuesday and a third on Wednesday morning, with coaching from professional instructors and interviews with motorsport executives and commentators. Following a final session on Wednesday afternoon, the panel announced the winners.

From what was considered one of the most competitive groups in the history of Mazda’s Women in Motorsport program, Charlotte Traynor, from Arizona, emerged as the winner of the $100,000 scholarship, earning her place on the 2026 Mazda MX-5 Cup grid.

Traynor had already taken part in three MX-5 Cup rounds in 2025, at Barber Motorsports Park, VIRginia International Raceway and Road Atlanta, using the experience to better understand the car and the challanges of the series — preparation that clearly paid off.

“That was probably one of the best feelings I've ever had,” Traynor said after learning she had been selected. “I've worked so hard for this moment, so to see it all pay off is just—I honestly don't even have words for it. It means so much. And to be able to be part of Mazda and represent them going into next year is by far the biggest opportunity of my life. So it's an absolute honor.”

With the scholarship secured, Traynor will now begin preparations for her first full-time campaign in the 2026 Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, which kicks off January 21–23 at Daytona International Speedway.