Spirit of Mazda: Guy Ruse

E Production RX-7 racer has helped a lot of people get into racing, and stay in racing, thanks to his desire to share the sport and Mazda.

Guy Ruse grew up in Daytona Beach. His father raced on the sand long before Daytona International Speedway was built – in a truck, no less – and organized boat races on Lake Lloyd after the speedway was constructed. Yet, although he has been to every Daytona 500 and has raced himself in a variety of racing mediums for years, including sportsman stock cars all around Daytona Beach and the last three decades in SCCA, Ruse had never raced at the famed circuit until the 2015 SCCA National Championship Runoffs, when he had the opportunity to race his E Production RX-7.

So it was only appropriate that, at the Mazda dinner on Wednesday night of Runoffs week in Daytona Beach, he was named the latest winner of the Spirit of Mazda award.

It's not so much that despite his family being involved with racing in Daytona since its earliest days and he finally had the chance to race there that he was honored, although it made the whole thing pretty cool. No, it's more about the selfless commitment he's shown to other Mazda racers, and would-be Mazda racers.