The Spirit of Mazda: Jonathan Goodale

Colorado racer is always quick to lend a hand or a tool to his fellow competitors.

"Jon is the type of guy that really epitomizes the spirit of Club Racing overall. So when you think of the Spirit of Mazda, you have to start there. He's the kind of guy that does absolutely everything himself, but he does it because he absolutely loves being at the racetrack and around other racers. And not just being there, but also helping to make sure everyone has the best time possible."

That's the voice of Eric Prill, a longtime friend of Jonathan Goodale's in addition to being Sports Car Club of America's vice president and chief operations officer and a heck of a Mazda racer himself. What he describes is the sort of thing that makes people want to nominate someone for the Spirit of Mazda award, and Goodale is the third Mazda racer to be so recognized. Quite often there is one of the seven traits that define the Spirit of Mazda that stands out in an individual deemed worthy. In the case of Goodale, who races a GT-Lite MX-5 in SCCA competition and was third at the 2014 National Championship Runoffs, that is Toimoku, or learning and teaching together for mutual success.