Shift Up Now Athlete Sally Mott earned two consecutive “Top Finishing Female” awards when she finished 13th then 12th in rounds 13 and 14 of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on October 9-10, 2025.
Fellow Shift Up Now Athlete Ashlyn Speed was out due to a concussion, while AE Victory Racing driver Charlotte Traynor was making her third start in the Mazda MX-5 Cup series at Road Atlanta.
In addition to being the final rounds of the points-paying season for MX-5 Cup, the weekend featured Petit Le Mans on Saturday. As a result, Mott and the rest of the 31-car field had two sessions on Wednesday, followed by qualifying and race one on Thursday, and race two on Friday.
Driving the No. 15 pink Iron Dames livery for JTR Motorsports Engineering, Mott is a Collision Careers supported athlete. Collision Careers was on site in the Fan Zone at Road Atlanta, giving Mott the chance to meet her fans and educate them about careers in collision repair.
On Wednesday, track conditions were damp for the morning practice but dry later that afternoon. Mott ran in the top 20 for both sessions on the 2.54-mile, 12 turn natural terrain road course.
Qualifying began at 8:00am ET on Thursday. A pair of red flags plagued the session, with several calls missing the maximum lap time by running slow laps as they looked for a tow. Mott qualified 13th, earning her fourth top-15 qualifying in the last five races.
That afternoon, the first 45-minute race began at 2:10pm ET. Because of the melee in that morning’s qualifying, several of the fastest cars were starting from the back. Mott was lined up on the inside of row seven, and ran two-by-two with the field to the green flag.
Just a few minutes into the race, the top 15 began to break away from the rest of the pack as Mott set her sights on the 12th-place car ahead. When a mid-pack car suddenly spun and sent a competitor into the concrete wall between turns five and six, a full-course yellow emerged.
Thirty-two minutes remained after the cleanup and the field ran single-file on the restart. Mott maintained her 13th-place spot, running with the front pack. As the field approached turn six, she was hung out to dry on the outside and dropped back to 16th.
Shortly thereafter, she made a pass to claim the 15th-place spot and was promoted to 14th after a contact penalty was assessed to a car ahead. Then with five minutes to go, she lost a tow from the front pack and crossed the finish line in 14th. An incident at the checkered flag
caused another penalty, moving Mott up to 13th and continuing her top-finishing female streak.
The following morning, race two began at 9:35am ET. Mott started on the outside of row 10 under sunny skies with cool track temperatures. After two formation laps, the field had a clean start and Mott moved up to 18th by the end of the first lap.
Just one lap later, she had gained two additional positions, running in 16th and focused on making a pass for 15th, which she accomplished a couple laps later.
With 30 minutes remaining in the 45-minute competition, the car ahead of Mott spun on the high-speed Road Atlanta esses. She was able to avoid major contact and continue, but during the ensuing full-course caution, she had to assess the damage from the impact to the right front of her race car.
The cleanup was lengthy and left only 19 minutes at the restart. Mott had advanced to 12th place and took off with the lead pack, gaining an additional spot by the end of the first lap.
Another incident brought out the full-course caution again with eight minutes left in the race. Then when just over a minute remained on the restart, the green and white flags flew together.
Mott was forced to defend into turn one but held her spot in the top ten all the way to turn ten. As the field went into the chicane on the final lap, she was shuffled back to her 12th-place finishing position, still claiming yet another top-finishing female award.
The finish also put her 12th overall in the 2025 points standings for her sophomore season in the Mazda MX-5 Cup.
“My second year in the Mazda MX-5 Cup has been such a valuable step in my growth as a driver,” said Mott. “I’ve really refined my race craft and car control, and I feel so much more confident and composed behind the wheel, compared to my rookie season. It’s amazing to see how far I’ve come in just two years competing in this series.
“None of it would have been possible without the incredible support from my partners - Coble Commercial Properties, Collision Careers, AE Victory Racing, Shift Up Now, the Shift Up Now Foundation, and everyone who’s believed in me this season.”
The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin series has one final, non-points race to finish the season, taking place at Martinsville Speedway - a 0.526-mile oval in Martinsville, VA - on October 23, 2025.
