DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 23, 2026) – Defending Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin Champion Jeremy Fletcher recovered from a heartbreaking Race 1 DNF at Daytona International Speedway with a win in Race 2 on Friday. He was followed across the line by another driver looking for redemption, Tyler Gonzalez (No. 57 BSI Racing), who finished Thursday’s race at the back of the field because of a tire puncture.
Green flag running was limited in Friday’s Round Two race due to three full-course caution periods. The restarts were helpful for several star drivers who had poor starting positions.
The first half of the race was all about the rookies. Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout runner-up Ethan Lampe (No. 31 Advanced Autosports) had a tremendous start, going from ninth on the grid to the lead by the end of lap one. The first full-course caution came before the first lap was complete and Lampe was credited with leading the first eight laps under yellow, before the green flag came back out.
Two-time series champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) challenged Lampe for the lead in the limited time between the first and second full-course caution. But it was another rookie, Vaughn Mishko (No. 9 Advanced Autosports), who Lampe had to contend with up front before the final full-course caution.
When the race restarted it became a three-lap dash to the finish and the experience of series veterans showed. Thomas, Fletcher and Nathan Nicholson (No. 56 Advanced Autosports) pounced on the high banks of NASCAR Turn Four, drafting to the front to take the white flag.
Fletcher commenced the final lap leading the field. Behind him, Thomas got hit and knocked off track at Turn Three and then second-place Marcello Paniccia (No. 19 Saito Motorsports) was bumped out of the way in Turn Six. This gave Fletcher a cushion up front, but it was erased by the time he entered the Le Mans Chicane.
Fletcher had Gonzalez and Gresham Wagner (No. 5 JTR Motorsports Engineering) filling his mirrors coming onto NASCAR Turn Four. It looked like Gonzalez might have the right run to get the victory, but at the line it was Fletcher by 0.054-second.
It was Fletcher’s first Daytona race win, checking off a bucket list item for the reigning champion.
“I haven’t figured out a word to describe this,” Fletcher said. “I am super happy right now and super excited for the whole MMR team. This one’s been on the bingo card, like I’ve been saying all weekend—I wanted to get this one checked off, and I think we did just that. After yesterday, this feels really good right now.”
“I got knocked off track a couple times, but it kind of is what it is; you have to deal with it and fight back. After yesterday, I knew I don’t want to be stuck in the mid pack. Everyone has nothing to lose right now, or they think they don’t, and that’s (racing incidents) what comes of it. Happy I could stay toward the front and then have that little dash at the end.”
Gonzalez was subdued with the runner-up finish, having been told by his team to stay put because Fletcher had a penalty coming, a penalty that did not come to fruition.
“I had good momentum going when the yellows came out,” Gonzalez said. “I think, if anything, it just killed time for everybody and made it a shorter race and a little more chaotic.
“(On the last lap) I definitely wasn’t trying to be as far forward as I was, but everybody wrecked right in front of me in both corners,” Gonzalez added. “And then the 22 [Fletcher] had an incident under review, and I was told to push him across the line and I’d win. That’s what I did, but now it seems like that’s not a thing anymore.
“BSI always gives me a great car. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I think it would have been a very similar result yesterday as today.”
Potentially the happiest driver on the podium was third-place Ruben Caceres (No. 84 Spark Performance). The rookie is local to Daytona Beach and struggled to even get on the entry list for the MX-5 Cup season opener. In his three previous MX-5 Cup starts, his best finish was 20th.
“I have no words,” an emotional Caceres said. “I think two weeks ago, we finally got our hands on the car. We didn’t know we were going to be here, until Sparky [team owner Nathanial Sparks] gave us a huge help. At one point in time when that chaos happened early on, I thought our race was over. I mean, we were down to 40th, I think, if not worse, and then a bunch of cautions lined up, and we were able to make up a bunch of spots.
“At the end of it all, I mean, I have no idea. I don’t know anybody in this series, in my third race ever, so I didn’t think I had that many friends. But I look at my mirror, and I’m getting a run on Tyler [Gonzalez] and Jeremy [Fletcher], and I have this train of guys pushing me! For a minute there, I was excited just to set myself up on the podium. And then I was like, ‘Holy cow, I have a chance to win this thing, dude,’ I think I was screaming and probably crying the whole way around the cooldown lap. I didn’t think I’d have another opportunity with the series after last year, but we made something happen, and I’m super stoked that we could.”
Lampe, who led the most laps in the race, ended up fourth at the checkered flag.
Wagner completed the top five and earned the Penske Shocking Performance Award in the process. The two-time series champion advanced a remarkable 28 positions from the grid to the checkered flag.
Alex Bachoura (No. 33 Spark Performance) earned the Takumi Award for the highest finishing driver over the age of 40.
Ellie Gossett (No. 77 BSI Racing) earned her second-straight Highest Finishing Female Award and second-straight check for $2,000.
Both MX-5 Cup races from Daytona are available to rewatch anytime on the IMSA and RACER YouTube channels.
Rounds Three and Four of the 2026 MX-5 Cup season take place February 27 – March 1 at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
About: The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The series has been operated by Andersen Promotions since 2017 and is currently sanctioned by IMSA. Mazda-powered grassroots champions can earn Mazda scholarships for this pro-level series. The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup awards more than $1 million in prizes and scholarships.
Find out more at http://www.mx-5cup.com.
