Inside the SCCA: How National Champions are built

Go behind the scenes with 7-time National Champion Jesse Prather and Mazda Motorsports’ Senior Manager Jonathan Applegate as we uncover the passion, precision, and people driving success in grassroots racing. From one-man engine shops to 100+ Mazdas storming Road America, this episode dives into:

How Jesse Prather builds championship-winning engines with unmatched attention to detail.
Why Mazda Motorsports invests so heavily in grassroots racing.
The evolution from rotary legends to Spec MX-5 dominance.
What’s next for Mazda’s racing future — and how competitors are welcome to join.

Topics

mazda motorsports

jesse prather

spec mx-5

road america

grassroots racing

jonathan applegate

rotary engines

championship engines

SCCA

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Brian Bielanski

Brian Bielanski has lived a parallel life of motorsports and journalism for more than 30 years. He started in motorsports in 1986 as his father’s 16-year-old “crew chief” on SCCA FV, Sports Renault and IT Honda CRX efforts. He has also competed in, and plans to compete again, in SCCA Club racing, Autocross and Road Rally. As a journalist he’s worked in news in network staff positions with CNN and CBS and local news in seven markets from LaCrosse, Wisconsin to New York and Los Angeles. In 2009 he founded RacingWire, one of the first web-only motorsports news services given credentialed access at NASCAR, IndyCar, and NHRA events. He currently hosts several podcasts including “Inside the SCCA” and is an editor/producer for KNX 1070 NewsRadio in Los Angeles.

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