Fresh off winning the Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout, Nick Evans, a third-year in biology at Ohio State, is ready for his next race.

His win at the Shootout in November enables Evans to compete in the 2010 Sports Car Club of America Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, which features professional drivers.

Evans will never see the $75,000 he won in the race, he says, because it is all reinvested in his next race, with most of the money going to his race car.

Most of the drivers are around 30 years old, 10 years older than Evans.

He will miss a couple classes in the spring for the Cup races and
“unfortunately, the classes will be unexcused,” Evans said.

Luckily most of the races are scheduled for the summer, he said.
Evans began racing go-karts when he was 9 years old in Circleville, Ohio.

“I had no responsibility then,” he said, “I always thought that all I’d be doing is racing cars.”

After a few years of racing go-karts, Evans started racing Formula cars, which closely resembles a higher-performance Formula One car.

The MX-5 Cup and Formula racing is usually a three-day event, occurring on weekends. If the drivers can, they practice on an open-track Friday, qualify on Saturday and race on Sunday.

Evans’ girlfriend, Kim Elmore, a third-year in pre-education at OSU, comes to watch him race if the race is not too far away, Evans said.
“I sometimes feel bad, because race days are pretty boring until the race begins. There’s just a lot of standing around and waiting,” Evans said.

To help with some sizeable racing expenses, Evans has sponsors and is a team member of JAY Motorsports.

Buckholz Wall Systems pays for all travel costs, and Cedar Enterprises, which owns many Wendy’s franchises, provides financial support for a variety of racing costs. Evans could not disclose the amount of money he receives from JAY Motorsports, but he said the team provides track support for adjusting the cars during the race.

One thing Evans pays out-of-pocket for is “your run of the mill fuel-pump gas,” Evans said, both the MX-5 and the Formula car can take 93 octane

“If the track doesn’t require us to use its fuel, my dad and I will stop at a gas station on the way in,” Evans said. “We don’t have any pit-stops so we don’t need to worry about filling up anything extra.”

As Evans nears Formula One, more money is needed for cars, crews and to enter races, therefore, the demand for more sponsors grows, Evans said. “You have to show them that you are worth their investment.”

While Evan’s ultimate goal is to race in F1 or in the American Le Mans, he is also considering medical school.

Evans has a dog, Kimi, named after his once favorite F1 driver, Kimi Räikkönen, and a cat named Mozart, after the composer.

He recently saw Mars Volta and he went to Lollapalooza last summer where he enjoyed the performance of one of his favorite bands, Tool.

“Besides music, I just like working on stuff and being creative,” Evans said, “I’m really interested in everything.”

Evans begins the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup April 23.