Hagerty Returns as Shift Up Now Partner to Sponsor Sabré Cook

Shift Up Now is proud to announce that Hagerty will continue its partnership in 2025 by sponsoring Athlete Sabré Cook as she competes in the 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America series.

Headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan, Hagerty began as a niche insurance agency offering coverage for wooden boats. After expanding their coverage to classic cars in 1991, it has since grown into a global automotive enthusiast brand, and the world’s largest membership organization for car lovers.

Hagerty’s purpose of saving driving and car culture for future generations includes a strong focus on women in motorsport. The partnership with Shift Up Now began in 2021, and has continued to advance year over year.

This year, Cook will be in attendance for The Amelia, one of the world’s most iconic automotive lifestyle gatherings. Celebrating its 30th year of speed and style, The Amelia will take place at the Golf Club of Amelia Island and The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island resort from March 6-9, 2025. Fans are invited to join Cook at the event: CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

Cook, who became the first woman ever to race in the Porsche Carrera Cup series in 2023, will make her debut with JDX Racing, driving the iconic Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car. The Grand Junction, CO native plans to continue her already-impressive career, which began in karting at the age of eight.

“Hagerty’s dedication to uplifting female athletes in motorsports isn’t just inspiring, it’s game- changing,” said Cook. “Their support through Shift Up Now has fueled my career for four consecutive seasons, allowing me to compete in highly-competitive series. I’m honored to continue this partnership in 2025 and hope to use this opportunity to inspire others, and open doors for the next wave of female racers.”

Eva Gregory, Senior Manager of Marketing Partnerships at Hagerty, echoed Cook’s excitement, saying, “Hagerty is proud to continue our partnership with Shift Up Now in 2025, supporting their mission to empower females in motorsport. As part of this commitment, we are excited to sponsor Sabré Cook through Shift Up Now, furthering our dedication to championing talented drivers and expanding opportunities in the racing community.

“As an organization focused on driving inclusivity in the automotive and motorsport industries, we recognize the incredible impact Shift Up Now has made in breaking barriers and paving the way for the next generation of racers. We look forward to another exciting year of collaboration, helping to fuel the future of women in motorsport.”

The 16-round Porsche Carerra Cup North America season will begin with rounds one and two on March 12-14, 2025 at Sebring International Raceway. Fans can follow along on as the races are broadcast live on on Peacock, IMSA TV, and the IMSA YouTube Channel.

Three Shift Up Now Athletes Kick Off 2025 Season in MX-5 Cup at Daytona

Shift Up Now Athletes Heather Hadley and Sally Mott, along with Development Athlete Ashlyn Speed, endured the chaos of an eventful season opener in rounds one and two of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship presented by Michelin at the Daytona Road Course on January 22-24, 2025.

The Daytona weekend marked the start of Hadley’s third season of MX-5 Cup competition, driving the No. 54 “Reverse Oreo” livery for Hendricks Motorsports.

Competing in her second MX-5 Cup season, Mott drove the pink No. 15 Iron Dames-inspired livery for Jared Thomas Racing (JTR).

Speed, the 2024 Mazda Women’s Initiative Scholarship winner, made her MX-5 Cup debut in the No. 31 car for Hendricks Motorsport.

The three Shift Up Now Athletes - plus three other female racers - were part of a record- breaking 36-car field on the 3.81-mile, 14-turn road course.

The race weekend began on Wednesday with two afternoon practices in unusually-chilly conditions. The first started out under damp conditions that gradually dried throughout the session. Later that day, practice two was dry, and teams worked to find a tow in preparation for qualifying the next day.

On Thursday, qualifying took place just before noon. Prior to the session, race control anticipated drivers not wanting to lead the pack and jockeying to be in a tow from multiple cars, so a warning was issued that intentionally-slow paces would not be tolerated. Despite the warning, most of the field opted to run slowly and not warm up their tires. As a result, the entire field was bunched up and running on cold tires at the drop of the green flag. Several cars made contact, creating more havoc within the field.

Hadley got separated from the pack but found her way back into a position for a strong tow, which catapulted her up the charts. Unfortunately, she - along with many of the other drivers - had her time deleted post-qualifying.

Mott was caught up in the midst of the qualifying chaos, making and ceding passes, but working hard to stay in the tow. She emerged from the session with the best qualifying of the Shift Up Now Athletes, putting herself just outside the top 20 for race one, and only narrowly missing the top ten for race two with her second-fastest lap.

Speed elected to stay clear of the drama, and spent most of the session running solo. This allowed her to gain more seat time and experience, in preparation for that evening’s race.

Race one began at 5:30pm ET on Thursday. The 45-minute competition, traditionally run at sunset, was darkened by heavy cloud cover, and accompanied by rain and rapidly-falling track temperatures. Race control declared a wet race as the field lined up on the grid, forcing everyone to start on wet weather rain tires. Then the field was given two pace laps to assess track conditions before lining up side-by-side for the start.

Despite having the full 2024 season under her belt, Mott was racing in the rain for the first time in an MX-5 Cup car. She rose to the occasion, battling back and forth around the 20th-place spot for the entire race. However, as laps ticked by, her rain tires began to overheat, creating tricky handling conditions for her to contend with.

Hadley, starting from the back of the field after her qualifying times were deleted, showed her experience in the dreary conditions. She made her way forward throughout the competition, advancing 11 positions to finish in 18th place and securing her spot as the top-finishing female.

Speed endured some of the toughest-possible conditions for her first-ever MX-5 Cup race, and continued her learning curve. She accepted the challenge, keeping her nose clean and completing every lap.

Race two began at 10:15am ET on Friday under sunny skies with 35 cars lined up to take the green flag. In one of the most memorable MX-5 Cup starts to date, two cars at the very front of the field made contact almost immediately, with the ensuing ripple effect causing significant damage to more than half the field.

When the incident occurred, Mott checked up to avoid making contact with the car ahead, but was hit into a spin by the car behind, sending her into the outside wall.

Hadley darted through the carnage and was also pushed into a spin from the car behind. After doing a full 360 on track, she continued forward but made contact with another spinning car ahead, causing irreparable front-suspension damage.

Speed made a cautious start, which slowed her enough to avoid the massive incident. She began to pick her way through the stopped, spun and damaged cars all over the track.

The full-course caution was changed to a red flag, allowing the safety teams time to remove the cars that were unable to continue. Any team that was able to repair their car was given the chance to do so, given that so many others were out of contention.

The JTR team elected to make repairs, allowing Mott to join the tail of the field as the pack left pit lane behind the safety car with just 20 minutes remaining in the race. Despite not having competition-level speed, she was still able to gain valuable points by crossing the finish line.

After the race restarted, Speed continued her drive to another clean race, finishing just outside of the top 15 and earning recognition as the top-finishing female in her second-ever start in the series.

Next up, the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship presented by Michelin heads to the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, for rounds three and four on February 28 - March 2, 2025.

Sally Mott Joins Shift Up Now Athlete Roster Ahead of Second MX-5 Cup Season

The Shift Up Now Athlete roster continues to grow with the addition of Sally Mott, whose 2025 plans include a full season of racing with Jared Thomas Racing (JTR) in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin.

Mott made her MX-5 Cup debut in October 2023 during the Petit LeMans weekend at Road Atlanta, where she earned the “Top Finishing Female” award in race two. The following month, she was awarded the Mazda MX-5 Cup Women’s Initiative Scholarship.

The Central Texas native then went on to be the top-finishing female overall during her rookie season in 2024, earning a 12th-place spot in the championship standings. She scored seven top-15 finishes, her best being sixth at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Ontario.

Now, driving the No. 15 MX-5 Cup car with her new team, JTR, Mott has her sights set on cracking the top five, and becoming the first woman to stand on the podium since fellow Shift Up Now Athlete Sarah Montgomery.

Rounds one and two will take place on January 22-24, 2025, on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn Daytona Road Course. The weekend begins with a practice session on January 22 from 1:00-1:40pm ET, followed by practice two from 4:15-4:45pm ET. Qualifying and race one will take place on Thursday, and race two on Friday.

Mott is excited to debut a bold, Iron Dames-inspired livery and suit for the season, featuring her sponsors, Ribtect, Coble Commercial Properties, AE Victory Racing, Smart-Energize.com and Shift Up Now.

“I’m very excited about my sophomore year in MX-5 Cup, as I’ve been working very hard behind the scenes to come back stronger than ever,” said Mott. “My goal is to have consistent top-fives and multiple podiums this year. I know I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m more determined than ever to make my goals a reality.”

Fans can learn more about Mott by checking out her Athlete profile on ShiftUpNow.com or by visiting her website at SallyMottRacing.com.

Shift Up Now Foundation Opens Applications for 2025 Grants

The Shift Up Now Foundation is proud to announce that grant applications are now open for the 2025 season. Female racers competing at a professional or semi-professional level are invited to apply, from now until Tuesday, January 21st at 11:59pm ET.

Applications can be submitted online here: https://shiftupnow.org/grants/

The foundation, which lives alongside the Shift Up Now for-profit business, strives for gender equality for female athletes in motorsport, and furthers the mission by accepting tax-deductible gifts, donations and grants.

Funds raised are used to award opportunities to racers believed to have the talent and aptitude to succeed in motorsports, giving them access to more competitive equipment, seat time for testing and practice, and resources to help grow their careers.

In 2023, the Shift Up Now Foundation awarded its first-ever sponsorship grants. The organization then eclipsed its grant goal in 2024 after raising more than $80,000 in a multi- faceted fundraising effort.

A majority of the total came from an in-person event, the inaugural “Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation presented by PenFed Credit Union.” The remainder of the funding came from an online effort called “25 for 25,” in which Lucas Oil matched the first $5,000 in donations.

“Despite the fact that we’ve only just celebrated the foundation’s second birthday, I’m in awe that we’re about to write more than $100,000 worth of grants for racers to help them compete in the 2025 racing season,” said Shift Up Now CEO Pippa Mann. “This has been made possible due to the tireless work from our Board Co-Chairs, Rebecca Bormann and Jim Bork, and the Shift Up Now Foundation CEO, Ariel Ream. They’ve all been incredibly focused and dedicated in helping us meet this goal.

“In addition, we’re so honored to have received so many incredible donations, both from race fans and individuals like James Schenck, who is personally helping us support women in this sport. It’s our mission to make a difference, and while this will be a milestone year for us in terms of growth, we’re just getting started.”

To kick off the 2025 racing season, the foundation has also launched a new fundraising challenge, called the “Race to $25K.” James Schenck - a dedicated Shift Up Now Foundation supporter - has offered to personally match any donation to the foundation during the month of January, up to $25,000.

To join the challenge, race fans and Shift Up Now supporters are invited to make a donation in any amount until January 30th. Donations can be made on the website at https://shiftupnow.org.

Shift Up Now Names New Director of Membership for 2025

Shift Up Now is ushering in a new era for Members as Sarah Montgomery, current Director of Membership, passes the baton to Monica Hilton, beginning in 2025.

Before accepting the Director of Membership role more than a year ago, Montgomery had been actively engaged with Shift Up Now since 2018. The Lafayette, LA native was officially name to the Athlete roster in 2020, then promoted to her current role in the fall of 2023.

Now, Montgomery has accepted a full-time position as a security defense driver with a government contractor.

As the Shift Up Now team explored options for filling the role, Hilton’s background, experience and tenure with the organization made her a logical fit.

Hilton began her motorsports career in 2011 with HVM Racing, handling all the public relations responsibilities for the team, and driver Simona de Silvestro. From there, she launched a motorsports-focused PR and marketing firm called 242MPH (Marketing & PR by Hilton). Clients included racing teams Bryan Herta Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, plus the official IndyCar calendar and Racing for Cancer, a non-profit organization.

In 2019, Hilton managed the personal PR for Pippa Mann’s seventh Indianapolis 500 campaign. Despite being away from racing for a couple years prior, Hilton noted that her long-term friendship with Mann is what made it “impossible to say no.”

In 2020, when Mann took the helm of Shift Up Now, Hilton was invited to be the Director of PR. As the organization has grown, the entire team works tirelessly toward the mission of advancing opportunities for talented female racers, and Membership is an integral part of that.

“The Shift Up Now Members are our core audience, and our biggest supporters,” said Mann. “We’re always looking for ways to take the Member experience to the next level, and that will continue in 2025. We’re excited to roll out some updates and upgrades, and will share the info as it becomes available.”

Annual Shift Up Now membership pricing will remain the same at $100 per calendar year upfront, or Members are given the option to pay $10 per month.

Hilton echoed Mann’s excitement, saying, ”We’re laying the groundwork for some big things in 2025, and we can’t wait to see what our members think!

“First, being part of a mission like this for only ten dollars a month is incredible, and we’re asking all our supporters to please share the mission. Secondly, we want to show our

appreciation by providing some fantastic benefits and opportunities to Shift Up Now Members. Keep an eye on our socials and website, as we share all the details.”

To become a Shift Up Now Members, simply visit https://shiftupnow.com/join/

Fans and supporters can find the Shift Up Now website at www.ShiftUpNow.com, and follow along on social media at @ShiftUpNow (Instagram and X), Shift Up Now (Facebook).