Meet The First Ball: The 2020 ND2 Miata That Started It All

The First Ball was supposed to be a fun little convertible. It became a track car, a mechanical education, a financial warning and the beginning of everything that eventually became Ball Pit Motorsports.

I did not buy it because I planned to become a professional driver. I still do not have that ambition. I bought it because I loved cars, wanted to learn how to work on one and thought autocross might be fun. What I found instead was a community built around driving, wrenching, helping each other and laughing at the questionable financial decisions that seem perfectly reasonable in a paddock.

The car before the name

I had loved cars for years, but I had also spent most of my adult life trying to make sensible financial decisions. In 2019, I started running a small fleet of cars on Turo. When the world changed in 2020, rentals initially stopped. Then people began driving instead of flying, rental companies reduced their fleets and the pandemic-era semiconductor chip shortage constrained new-car production. Together, those forces sent used-car prices surging.

I used that opportunity to sell most of the fleet and finally make room for a sports car. The car I really wanted was a Honda S2000, but rising prices made it difficult to justify. A rebuilt-title 2020 Mazda MX-5 Miata ND2 was easier to rationalize—at least by the flexible standards of racer math.

Hugh from Aces Miata and More had rebuilt the car after it was wrecked. He was also a track enthusiast and suggested that I take it to a track day. My usual approach to new ideas is to try them before I have enough time to overthink them, so I did.

I never looked back.

From a street car to The First Ball

When I bought the Miata in May 2022, it did not have a Ball name. The closest it came was “Bluey,” named after the cartoon my kids loved at the time. The Ball naming convention developed later, after Golf Ball, Blue Ball and Low Ball made the joke impossible to ignore. When the fleet needed an origin story, the Miata became The First Ball because it was the car that started the addiction.

The First Ball in the lot at Aces Miata & More.

The first modification was a set of coilovers in June 2022. The first track day followed in July. Then came headers, sway bars, brakes, cooling, seats, harnesses, a roll bar, and all the other things that happen when a supposedly affordable roadster becomes a dedicated track project.

The First Ball’s first suspension modification, installed by Zoom Performance and Body Shop.

Before-and-after comparison of The First Ball following its first coilover suspension upgrade.

The First Ball participating in Roshan’s first track day in July 2022.

Because the car evolved slowly, I could drive it between changes and feel what each one actually did. Sway bars changed its character more than I expected. Bucket seats made it easier to focus on driving instead of bracing myself in every corner. A smaller steering wheel improved the experience in the tight cockpit. A pedal spacer helped me learn heel-toe downshifts. The Garmin Catalyst, combined with more seat time, helped me become a more consistent driver.

Not every purchase delivered the same value. Several mid-tier suspension steps felt too similar to justify the expense, and the attempt to keep one car equally happy on the street and track produced a compromise that was not especially good at either. It became uncomfortable on the road while still leaving me wanting more on track.

The education was not always gentle

The First Ball taught me how much fun it is to drive a momentum car well. It also taught me that track driving punishes weak preparation.

In July 2024, the right-front hub failed during a track day. That incident changed how I thought about transportation, tools and spare parts. It helped lead to Ball Caddy because I no longer wanted a mechanical failure to leave me stranded without a way home.

Later that year, I experienced two brake failures—one at G2 and another at Eagles Canyon Raceway. Those incidents deserve their own stories, but the permanent lesson is simple: speed means nothing if the car cannot stop. Safety equipment, inspections, fluid, pads and maintenance are not the boring work surrounding track driving. They are what make the fun possible.

Roshan working on The First Ball after a mechanical failure at the track.

The car also gave me my first taste of competition at Apex Lap Attack at Hallett in 2024. I did not podium. I ran about a 1:30 lap and spent the weekend chasing Marshall, Bill, Andrew, Chris, Lew and John—all people I still call friends today. I am grateful they pushed me to come out for the event. That result fits the spirit of Ball Pit Motorsports better than a polished victory story: show up, learn something, enjoy the people around you and try to be a little better the next time.

The First Ball chasing friends during Apex Lap Attack at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit.

What the build taught me

Building a track car from stock cost far more than I expected. Buying parts one at a time can make every decision feel manageable, but the total eventually tells a different story. By the end, The First Ball had Xida race coilovers, upgraded sway bars and links, additional camber, a big-brake setup, track-focused pads and fluid, a header and tune, an oil cooler, engine mounts, hood ventilation, a roll bar, fixed-back seats and a six-point harness.

That expense was not wasted. The process taught me to work on cars, ask better questions and understand setup changes instead of treating a build sheet as magic. Friends showed me how to do brake work. Coaches taught me how to use the car. Time in the garage with my son made the project matter beyond lap times.

The car also led me to Eagles Canyon Raceway, which became my second home, and introduced me to people who are now friends, coaches and teammates. I entered motorsports knowing very little. That remains part of the point. I am still learning, and Ball Pit Motorsports exists to make that learning less intimidating—and more fun—for the next person.

Why I sold it

In 2025, an off-market opportunity from Silvio and Kelsey at S Collective gave me the chance to buy Golf Ball, a proven time-trial car. The First Ball had shown me that building a track weapon from scratch can cost more than buying one that already works. Golf Ball represented the next step, but owning both cars did not make sense.

I listed the Miata in July 2025 and struggled to sell it. A month later, my friend Jose needed a car for Miatas at Hallett because his NA Miata was facing an extended period of downtime. Jose had once been one of my instructors, and our friendship grew from the trust involved in sharing a car on track. I told him to take The First Ball for the weekend rather than let it sit.

He loved it. In September 2025, he bought it.

Selling a first track car is difficult, but selling it to Jose meant the story did not end. In April 2026, we paddocked beside each other at an SCCA event at Motorsport Ranch Cresson: Jose in The First Ball and me in Golf Ball. Seeing both cars there made the transition feel less like replacing one chapter and more like adding another.

The First Ball and Golf Ball parked together after Jose purchased the Miata.

The First Ball’s legacy

The First Ball was not the fastest car, the cheapest build or the cleanest path into motorsports. It was better than that. It was the car that made me comfortable being a beginner. It taught me to turn a wrench, recover from mistakes, respect safety and value seat time. It also taught me car control, gave me the confidence to turn off traction control and eventually helped me earn my skid-pad certification at Eagles Canyon Raceway. It gave me a reason to spend weekends with friends and family around cars.

Ball Pit Motorsports is not about pretending we have everything figured out. We drive because it is fun. We wrench because learning together is part of the experience. We take safety seriously, but we do not take ourselves too seriously. If these stories help someone else attend a first track day, ask for help in the paddock or discover a community they did not know existed, The First Ball is still doing its job.

Build highlights

2020 Mazda MX-5 Miata ND2 with a rebuilt title; 2.0-liter engine and six-speed manual transmission; Xida race coilovers; upgraded sway bars and camber hardware; four-piston front brakes with track-focused pads and high-temperature fluid; header, exhaust and Fab9 tune; oil cooler and hood ventilation; Blackbird roll bar; fixed-back seats; six-point harness; Garmin Catalyst coaching and data system.

Where to go next

Read How Ball Pit Motorsports Started for the larger brand story. Meet Golf Ball to see why I moved from building a dual-purpose Miata to buying a proven time-trial car.