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Driver
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2004 MazdaSpeed Miata Cup
Atlantic Tour Champion | Payton began racing at age 16 autocrossing a VW Golf. He earned an SCCA Regional C Street Prepared autocross championship before taking his Golf and moving onto road racing in 1995.
Switching to a Mazda RX3 in 1996, Payton scored his first race win in MARRS ITA. Payton consistently posted top placing finishes in ITA and moved into a Nissan 240SX in 1998. In 2001, Payton began racing in the Mazda Miata in both the SCCA MARRS and NASA PARRC series.
His first venture into professional racing came in 2003 with the SCCA Pro Racing MazdaSpeed Miata Cup. Qualifying on the pole at Road America and Michigan, Payton recorded two 2nd place finishes and placed 3rd in the Championship for the year.
Payton joined King RAT Motorsports in 2004 for his second year of the SCCA Pro Racing MazdaSpeed Miata Cup scoring four podium finishes on his way to claiming the Atlantic Tour Championship which included a double win sweep of the Mosport round (his first professional win) and a Pacific Tour appearance at Portland to secure the championship. Payton also racked up several SCCA regional race wins and set track records in the #38 Miata at Summit Point Raceway and Lime Rock Park.
Payton returned to the MazdaSpeed  Miata Cup with the King RAT team in the #1 1999 Miata in 2005. Back with a newly purpose built car, Payton was positioned as the driver to beat for the championship title and remain undefeated at Mosport with yet another double win from double poles.
In 2006, Payton landed two Grand-Am Cup ST class seats with Stewart Motorsports in an Acura TX at Laguna Seca and Piper Motorsports in a BMW at Lime Rock. When handed the BMW in 25th place at Lime Rock, Payton chased down car after car on his way to a 10th place finish. These impressive drives culminated in 5 appearances in the MX-5 Cup with BSI Racing. In the televised races on tracks across the US and Canada, Payton scored three top five results and a start from the pole at Road America.
Payton made a single double race appearance in a Sorted Performance Dodge SRT4 at Watkins Glen earning the Hole Shot award in both races. After a mechanical failure on Saturday, Payton started from the back of the field to finish 10th on Sunday. Locally, while competing in the NASA Mid-Atlantic Spec Miata challenge in support of teammate Rich Hromin, Payton drove a variety of King Rat Spec Miatas to win the SCCA DC Region MARRS Spec Miata Championship.
Payton ran various professional Race events in 2008 including World Challenge Touring can in a Dodge SRT-4 and Lexus IS300. Payton also ran several Koni Challenge events with Meyer Motorsport in a Mazda RX8 and MX5.
2009 will see Payton back in Koni Challenge for several events.
1996 - 3rd Place SCCA MARRS ITA Regional Championship
1997 - 3rd Place SCCA MARRS ITA Regional Championship
1998 - 2nd Place SCCA MARRS ITA Regional Championship
1999 - 2nd Place SCCA MARRS ITA Regional Championship
2000 - 3rd Place SCCA MARRS ITA Regional Championship
2001 - 1st Place NASA VA Region Pro Sedan Championship
3rd Place SCCA MARRS Spec Miata Regional Championship
2002 - 1st Place NASA VA Region Spec Miata Championship
2003 - 3rd Place SCCA Pro Racing MazdaSpeed Miata Cup Atlantic Tour Championship
2004 - 1st Place SCCA Pro Racing MazdaSpeed Miata Cup Atlantic Tour Championship
2005 - 3rd Place SCCA Pro Racing MazdaSpeed Miata Cup Atlantic Tour Championship
3rd Place SCCA Pro Racing Mazda Speed Miata Cup National Championship
2006 - 1st Overall SCCA DC Region 12 Hours at the Point (with Bill Armstrong)
15th Grand-Am Cup ST Class - Laguna Seca (Acura w/Stewart Motorsports)
10th Grand-Am Cup ST Class - Lime Rock (BMW with Piper Motorsports)
7th Place MX-5 Cup (5 of 8 races with BSI Racing)
2007 - 1st Place SCCA DC Region MARRS Spec Miata Championship
1st in SM class (4th overall) SCCA DC Region 12 Hours at the Point (w/Rich Hromin, John Kuitwaard and Hugh Sutton)
10th Place SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge ST Class - Watkins Glen (Dodge with Sorted Performance)
Fast Facts
Best Professional Racing Finish - double win, SCCA Pro Spec Miata 2004, 2005 (Mosport)
Favorite Race Car: Mazda Miata
Current Race Car: 1999 Mazda Spec Miata
Favorite Drivers: Alain Prost, Aryton Senna
Favorite Track: Mosport, Road America
Favorite Car Movie: Bullit
Daily Driver: 1968 Mini Cooper
Dream Car: Enzo
Payton lives in Chantilly, VA with wife Rachel and son Lukas and daughter Olivia and yellow labrador Barney.
Click HERE for details about the Payton Wilson fan club. 
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