First pairing up for the 2020 Mazda MX-5 Cup championship, Gresham Wagner and Spark Performance have remained a formidable duo in the series. In their second year together, as a one-car team, Wagner earned the 2021 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Drivers’ Championship, and also brought Spark Performance the Teams’ Championship. Coming up short in their title defense in 2022, the driver-team pairing will remain together and contest another season of MX-5 Cup in 2023.
“Sparky [Nathanial Sparks] has been the best thing to happen to my career,” says Wagner. “In my first year in cars in 2018, Sparky worked with me as a coach and mechanic at SCCA events, and I ended up racing in MX-5 Cup alongside him at Sick Sideways Racing. When the opportunity arose for him to enter his own team, it was the perfect situation for me. I’ve been able to grow as a driver while he has grown his team, and we’ve had so much success together over the years. I’m looking forward to a reset and taking on another year of this great series under Sparky’s leadership.”
Wagner has earned 8 Wins and 22 Podiums, in addition to his 2021 championship title, running under the Spark Performance banner. The pair will continue to take on the challenge of Idemitsu MX-5 Cup, and look set to continue their trend of success in the 2023 season.
Spark Performance has grown to 6 drivers for the season opener at Daytona, the biggest entry yet for the team. Wagner will be joined by returning teammate Alex Bachoura, series veteran Hernan Palermo, and series sophomore Bryce Cornet, plus rookies Grant West (moving up from Spec MX-5) and Heather Hadley (Mazda Scholarship winner). The season starts at the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 25-27, 2023.