After a three-month hiatus following the season opener at St. Petersburg, the 2026 Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup season resumes this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with a stout 39-car field set to compete in a pair of races.

In the series’ most recent outing at St. Petersburg, two first-time winners emerged as Bobby Gossett and Justin Adakonis each visited Victory Lane. Gossett also left the weekend with the championship lead and enters Mid-Ohio atop the standings in the No. 44 BSI Racing Mazda MX-5.

Prior to Mid-Ohio, the series participated in a two-day test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in mid-April in preparation for its return to the iconic circuit in September, marking the first MX-5 Cup races there since 2019.

Many of the series’ regular contenders are featured in this weekend’s field, including Adakonis and Gossett. Joining two of the top three drivers in the championship standings are second-place Jared Thomas, Jeremy Fletcher, Matt Novak, Max Stallone, and Nathan Nicholson.

Tristan McKee returns to MX-5 Cup competition after missing the St. Petersburg weekend. While McKee is not in championship contention in BSI Racing’s No. 7 entry, the North Carolina native currently leads the ARCA Menards Series East standings after collecting three victories this season. McKee is joined by Julian DaCosta in BSI Racing’s No. 95 Mazda, with DaCosta also competing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series West.

Also notable, 20 rookies are entered for this weekend’s races, accounting for more than half of the field. Several of those drivers will be making their first Mazda MX-5 Cup starts at Mid-Ohio.

The first race of the weekend is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, at 3:00 p.m. ET, while Sunday’s season finale gets underway at 10:05 a.m. ET. Both races will be streamed live on IMSA’s official YouTube channel and IMSA.tv.

Image Courtesy to Mazda MX-5 Cup