Engineering Student Has Victory Lane in Sight with Mazda Scholarship

When he was 14, Vinnie Meskelis decided what he wanted to do with his life: Become a professional race car driver.

Meskelis, now a University of Texas at Dallas mechanical engineering freshman, used money he earned from mowing lawns to take his parents to dinner to share the news.

“I said, ‘I’m going to buy my first go-kart, and I just need you guys to help with other expenses like entry fees, fuel, tires, travel and whatever,’” Meskelis said. “Once we got home, their response was jokingly, ‘OK, go to your room.’”

Today, the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science student is on the fast track to achieving his aspirations after winning a $50,000 scholarship from Mazda Motorsports. Meskelis navigated his road to national prominence and its share of unexpected turns with unwavering tenacity.

When he was in high school, his family could not afford the expenses for him to become a professional racer, so he focused on playing soccer and his schoolwork. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Meskelis suddenly had no activities.

Meskelis’ dad then agreed to take him to the racetrack. Meskelis used his lawn-mowing money to buy a used go-kart and began racing several days a week.

“I was able to pick it up very quickly and get better by just training, training, training,” Meskelis said. He developed his physical fitness, the ability to focus for long stretches at the wheel, data analysis skills to evaluate his performance and an understanding of the go-kart’s mechanics.

Meskelis soon began to win top prizes in local, regional and, eventually, national competitions. He learned to become his own mechanic while competing at the national level, and he beat teams with larger budgets and more resources. Once classes resumed after the initial stages of the pandemic, he continued his high school studies online to accommodate his racing schedule.

In 2024, Meskelis moved from racing go-karts to cars, and in November, he won the Mazda Motorsports scholarship at the 2024 Spec MX-5 Shootout. He was one of three scholarship winners at the event for aspiring racers at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

As part of his scholarship, Meskelis receives professional coaching and support to participate on the Mazda Factory Club Race Team, a program that develops aspiring racers in the grassroots MX-5 class, which drives third-generation MX-5 Miatas.

So far this year, Meskelis has won a spot on the podium in nine races, including five first-place finishes, and he set two track records. Last year, he placed in the top three in 10 races, winning seven of them, including the ChampCar Endurance Series 24-hour race at Virginia International Raceway, where he spent six hours in the car over three two-hour stints and set one track record.

He will compete in the Sports Car Club of America National Championship Runoffs at Road America in September for a chance to move up to Mazda Motorsports’ MX-5 Cup, which offers more than $1 million in prize money and scholarships a year.

At UT Dallas, Meskelis takes classes and finishes his homework early in the week so he can fly to competitions on weekends. This year his racing schedule includes competitions on 20 weekends, including five as part of the Mazda program. Meskelis also serves as testing lead for Dallas Formula Racing, a UTD student-run organization that builds and races small, Formula-style vehicles.

These days, as Meskelis works toward his professional goals, his parents, Simone and Wladimir Meskelis, are cheering him on.

“Now, they are my No. 1 supporters and are doing everything in their power to help me achieve my dream,” he said.