MILLVILLE, NJ (Feb. 25, 2026) – PT Autosport and Wheels America Racing’s Max Stallone will check another new discipline off the list this week, racing on the tight confines of the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin doubleheader.
The 19-year-old Austin, Texas native, who earned entry into the series by winning the 2025 Mazda MX-5 Cup Scholarship last fall, looks to rebound from a difficult opening weekend in the series. Stallone was taken out of race one at Daytona in January, then incurred more damage in race two that limited his ability to move up the field. With another massive field at St. Pete – an expected entry list of over 40 cars – Stallone will need to learn fast, as he races on a street course for the first time in his young career.
The street course in St. Petersburg is currently under development on iRacing, so Stallone relied on in-car videos as he works on learning the track layout ahead of the race weekend. Getting up to speed quickly will be key, with just one practice session in a packed schedule highlighted by the INDYCAR series season opener.
“I’ve been doing a good number of sim races, and I’ve tried to find ones that are on street courses, just to get a feel,” said Stallone. “I’ve done Long Beach, Miami, Mt. Panorama, all the ones with walls that feel like they’re an inch off the track. We tested the car here in Texas a couple of weeks ago, so that helped, and I did a Spec Miata event last weekend and won a race, so that’s some good momentum.
“It’s going to be a crazy atmosphere at St. Pete, even more so than Daytona,” continued Stallone. “It’s going to be fun to spend a bit of time just being a fan, to watch some of the other sessions, including the NASCAR trucks. It’s going to be cool, probably the most fans we’ll have at an event, so I want to absorb some of that – while keeping my focus on my racing and what I need to do to be ready.”
The Daytona season opener was not an easy one as both driver and team experienced some growing pains in a challenging debut, but Stallone feels that things are heading in the right direction.
“Moving from Spec Miata to the Whelen MX-5 Cup is a big jump,” said Stallone. “This is truly a professional series, with incredible competition. We’ve worked hard as a team to improve our procedures and have a more systematic approach to ensure everything that needs to happen happens, in any given situation. That’s what we worked on at the test – simulating practices, then coming off track and going through an entire checklist in a short amount of time, in multiple scenarios. We’ve altered the checklist we implemented for other programs and made new additions with the issues we’ve found with the Cup cars. So I feel as though we’re much better prepared going into the weekend.”
For PT Autosport team principal Jason Myers, the St. Pete weekend is a chance to press reset on the 2026 campaign, with Daytona far in the rearview mirror.
“We’re all very excited for Max to get to experience the St. Pete GP course and weekend - it’s such a great event,” said Myers. “Daytona certainly wasn’t one for the record books but we’re heading into St. Pete with a ton of testing and other racing since then under his belt, so Max is prepared and ready to take the fight to the front of the field.”
The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin will contest two 45-minute races on the streets of St. Petersburg. Race one takes the green flag Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. ET, with race two at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Both races will be streamed live on the IMSA and Racer magazine YouTube channels.
PT Autosport would like to thank our Partners for their continued support:
Mazda Motorsports has been winning races around the world for 50 years. From Le Mans, France to Daytona International Speedway in Florida, Mazdas have been a constant presence at racetracks around the globe, garnering wins and championships in races too numerous to list – and the list keeps growing.
Mazda Motorsports is responsible for all auto racing initiatives within the North American market, from promoting and servicing grassroots racers to developing sports car professionals of the future.
Instagram: MazdaMotorsports
X: Mazda Motorsports
Facebook: MazdaMotorsports
Stallone supports Hope Farm, founded in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in 1997 as a long-term leadership development program that guides at-risk boys, without the benefit of a positive male role model in their homes, from the time they are 5-7 years old until high school graduation and beyond. Staff and volunteers are dedicated to meeting the spiritual, nutritional, academic, emotional, and recreational needs of each young man to break the cycle of fatherlessness.
Instagram: @hope.farm
X: @HopeFarmInc
Facebook: Hope Farm, Inc.
About PT Autosport — Discover Unique Talent. Develop Champions.
PT Autosport provides merit-based motorsport industry opportunities for diverse individuals with high integrity, grit, and coach-ability, achieved through a development program for young aspiring drivers, engineers, mechanics, and other professionals. The first step of this process is applying for the annual Aspiring Driver Shootout, in which aspiring drivers aged 18-23 can compete for a team racing partnership with the team.
A rigorous evaluation process of applicants determines the final competitors for the driver shootout. The winner earns financial support of up to $250,000 ($50,000 guaranteed) to pursue their racing career. The review process also provides the team the chance to identify unique talent for other roles in motorsport, including race engineers, mechanics, and professionals.
PT Autosport is building a community that fosters the development of young talent to find a place where they can make an impact in the motorsport community as a career.
Instagram: @pt_autosport
X: @PtAutosport
Facebook: PT Autosport
YouTube: PT Autosport
TikTok: @ptautosport