Shift Up Now Athletes Sally Mott, Heather Hadley and Ashlyn Speed competed in rounds five and six of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin at Barber Motorsports Park on May 2-4, 2025.
Driving the No. 15 Iron Dames inspired livery for JTR Motorsports Engineering, Mott is an AE Victory Racing-supported driver for the 2025 season. Both Hadley and Speed competed for Hendricks motorsports, with Hadley in the No. 54 car and Speed in the No. 31 Whelen Motorsports entry.
The MX-5 Cup competition, featuring two 45-minute races, was part of the support series for the annual NTT IndyCar Series race on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn road course.
The jam-packed schedule began on Friday morning with almost back-to-back practices at 8:00am and 10:40am CST. Mott ran in 17th for the first session, then improved to 13th in the second.
The Hendricks Motorsports pair also improved from the first to the second session, with Hadley running only one-tenth outside the top 20.
Later that morning, heavy rain impacted the qualifying session. All three Shift Up Now racers were disappointed, but prepared for the work they’d have to do in the race.
Race one took place on Saturday in rainy, damp conditions forecasted to last throughout the competition. Mott and Hadley both lined up on row 14, with Mott on the inside and Hadley on the outside. Speed would start on the inside of row 16.
The field approached the green flag two-by-two with lights and wipers on, then went four-wide heading into turn one. Several cars ran wide at the exit but most of the field returned to running side-by-side into turns two and three. More jockeying for position continued through the first lap, and as they approached the stripe for the first time, Hadley was 22nd, Mott 25th and Speed 32nd.
Despite the slick conditions, Mott found her stride and began her charge, moving into the top 20 within the first few laps. About ten minutes into the race, she joined the back of the pack ahead when a full-course caution flew for a single-car spin. Cleanup was short and the race restarted just two laps later.
One lap after the restart, all three Shift Up Now Athletes had advanced positions, with Mott in18th, Hadley in 22nd and Speed in 30th.
Near the halfway point, weather conditions shifted and a dry racing line emerged, punishing the wet Michelin tires on the Mazda MX-5 Cup cars. Nevertheless, Mott and Hadley continued to make progress, as Mott moved up to 14th and Hadley into the top 20.
When only 10 minutes remained, the track was almost dry and many of the cars were suffering from overheated wet tires. Hadley’s tires still had some fight left in them and she moved up to 16th.
During the final lap of the race, the rain began to fall again. Mott crossed the finish line in 14th, with Hadley on her heels in 15th and Speed in 28th. After post-race penalties were assessed, Mott was the top-finishing female racer in 12th place, followed by Hadley in 13th. Speed showed significant progress with the 16th-fastest lap of the race.
Race two took place on Sunday morning under clear blue skies, with the fastest laps from race one setting the starting grid. This meant Hadley was starting 10th, Speed 16th and Mott 18th.
After two pace laps, the field was lined up side-by-side again coming to the green and had a clean start. They fanned out three- and four-wide into the turn five hairpin. Mott found herself on the outside after advancing several positions, but got shuffled back again in the pack.
By the end of the first lap, Hadley held onto 12th with Mott in 18th. Despite losing a few spots and running in 22nd, Speed was still in the midst of a mid-pack battle among the 33-car field.
Approximately 15 minutes into the race, a full-course caution emerged. Like the day before, cleanup was short and the race restarted quickly. But unlike the day before, another yellow flag flew five minutes later to retrieve a single car from the gravel.
Seventeen minutes remained when the lights went out on the pace car, but shortly afterward, a car spun in the middle of the pack in turn five. Hadley, Mott and Speed all managed to avoid getting caught up in the incident, but it cost Hadley momentum and track position. Conversely, Mott found the cleanest line through the melee and gained several spots.
At the restart, four minutes remained. Mott was running 14th with Hadley in 17th and Speed in 21st.
The top 15 began to separate from the rest of the field. Mott, holding steady at the back of the front pack, made a clean pass into turn two to claim the 13th-place spot. Meanwhile, Hadley gained a position to move into 16th.
As the field came to the finish line, an incident at the front allowed Mott to take the checkered flag in 11th place and Hadley in 14th. Speed had her best run to date, with a 19th-place finish. After a ten-second penalty was assessed, Speed’s finishing position was listed as 25th.
"With Barber Motorsports Park being a brand-new track for me, there’s a lot I’m proud of coming out of the weekend,” said Mott. “That said, I know I wasn’t perfect—I still have work to do to reach my full potential. One of the biggest wins was finding a rhythm in my mental game and race day mindset. I felt calm, focused, and truly in the zone every time I got in the car. Now the next step is performance: consistently breaking into the top ten, then pushing for top fives, and eventually fighting for podiums. That’s when I’ll really start to feel satisfied with my progress."
Next up, these Shift Up Now Athletes head to Lexington, Ohio for rounds seven and eight of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 6-8, 2025.
