Joey Atanasio is a racing driver who last raced in Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin for Formidable Racing. Atanasio has recorded 1 win and 6 podiums from 27 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 3,156 ranks Atanasio 7503th of 40,200 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the high 8,000s. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file, decayed for time since their last race.
| 2022-09-30 | Road Atlanta ND2 | P3 | +127 |
| 2022-09-29 | Road Atlanta ND2 | P7 | +87 |
| 2022-08-28 | Virginia International Raceway ND2 | P26 | −146 |
| 2022-08-27 | Virginia International Raceway ND2 | P26 | −137 |
| 2022-07-23 | Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta SPO | P1 | +13 |
| Rating won | Race | Series | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| +156 | Daytona International Speedway 2022 | Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | P3 |
| +135 | St- Petersburg Street Course 2022 | Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | P4 |
| +128 | Watkins Glen International 2022 | Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | P2 |
| +126 | Road Atlanta 2022 | Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | P3 |
| +120 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 2022 | Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | P4 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ▸Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | Formidable Racing | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P8 | +618 | 3,270 |
| ▸SCCA Regionals | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P12 | +13 | |||
| 2021 | ▸Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | Provision Motorsports LLC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P24 | −81 | 2,640 |
| ▸NASA | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P29 | −269 | ||
| ▸SCCA Majors | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P17 | −39 | |||
| 2020 | ▸Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | Provision Motorsports | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P18 | ↑908+54 | 2,640 |
| 2019 | ▸SKUSA SuperNationals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | +717 | 2,067 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Justin PiscitellFIA Silver | 3,743 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 35% |
| 🇺🇸 Jenson AltzmanFIA Silver | 3,523 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Jared ThomasFIA Silver | 4,024 | 20 | 5 | 15 | 25% |
| 🏳️ Selin Rollan | 3,551 | 20 | 5 | 15 | 25% |
| 🇺🇸 Alex BachouraFIA Bronze | 3,161 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 65% |
| 🇺🇸 Gresham WagnerFIA Silver | 3,916 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 32% |
| 🇺🇸 Sam PaleyFIA Silver | 3,664 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 37% |
| 🏳️ Chris Nunes | 3,103 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 42% |
| 🇺🇸 Aaron JeansonneFIA Silver | 4,493 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 44% |
| 🇺🇸 David StaabFIA Bronze | 3,679 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 61% |
| 🇮🇹 Andrea Kimi AntonelliFIA Platinum, 3× champion | 8,186 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| 🇲🇽 Noel LeonHigher-rated, 1× champion | 5,954 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| 🇰🇾 Kyffin SimpsonFIA Gold, 1× champion | 5,912 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| # | Driver | Series | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7,493 | 🇻🇪 Ettore Chimeri | Formula 1 | 3,158 |
| 7,494 | 🇬🇧 Freddie Tomlinson | GT World Challenge Europe | 3,158 |
| 7,495 | 🇦🇷 Juan Manuel Bordeu | Formula 1 | 3,158 |
| 7,496 | 🇦🇺 Paul England | Formula 1 | 3,158 |
| 7,497 | 🇨🇭 Peter Monteverdi | Formula 1 | 3,158 |
| 7,498 | 🇺🇸 Bryan Heitkotter | GT4 America | 3,157 |
| 7,499 | 🇿🇦 David Clapham | Formula 1 | 3,157 |
| 7,500 | 🇫🇮 David Loix | FIA GT Championship | 3,157 |
| 7,501 | 🇺🇸 Justin Ashburn | NASCAR Xfinity | 3,157 |
| 7,502 | 🇺🇸 Bob Said | Formula 1 | 3,156 |
| 7,503 | 🏳️ Joey Atanasio | Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | 3,156 |
| 7,504 | 🇬🇧 Phil Bennett | FIA GT Championship | 3,156 |
| 7,505 | 🇳🇱 Rob Slotemaker | Formula 1 | 3,156 |
| 7,506 | 🇺🇸 Steven Clemons | IMSA Pilot Challenge | 3,156 |
| 7,507 | 🇺🇸 Anthony Geraci | GT4 America | 3,155 |
| 7,508 | 🇪🇸 Antonio Creus | Formula 1 | 3,155 |
| 7,509 | 🇸🇪 Bertil Roos | Formula 1 | 3,155 |
| 7,510 | 🇺🇸 Carl Williford | NASCAR Xfinity | 3,155 |
| 7,511 | 🇸🇪 Conny Andersson | Formula 1 | 3,155 |
| 7,512 | 🇺🇸 Danny Kladis | Formula 1 | 3,155 |
| 7,513 | 🇺🇸 Darren Bernier | NASCAR Xfinity | 3,155 |
Joey Atanasio is a semi-professional driver, a level indicating competitive success in pro-am and one-make racing rather than a full-time seat at the top. His Racer Rating of 3,274 places him in that tier. Atanasio raced exclusively in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, a single-model series, across two seasons from 2021 to 2022, accumulating 18 starts with three podium finishes and no wins. He spent most of his time with Formidable Racing, which fielded him in 14 of those races. A single SKUSA SuperNationals karting entry in 2019 preceded his road racing debut. He finished his final season, 2022, eighth in the MX-5 Cup standings with three podiums across 14 rounds, an average finishing position of P8 in a series where he proved consistently competitive but not dominant.[1]
Atanasio's record against his regular rivals tells a consistent story of a mid-field operator among semi-professional and professional drivers. His head-to-head record against the most frequent rivals shows him typically outpaced: he finished behind Aaron Jeansonne 10 times to 8 ahead, behind Jared Thomas 14 times to 4 ahead, and behind both Gresham Wagner and Sam Paley by similar margins in 18 shared races each. Thomas, who won the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup championship three years running (2022, 2023, 2024), was notably faster across the board. Several stronger drivers passed through the series briefly; Atanasio finished ahead of Connor Zilisch, an FIA Gold driver and 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, on six occasions out of unspecified shared races, a notable result against a driver of that calibre, though Zilisch was likely racing part-time at that level.
Atanasio retired after 2022 with 19 total race starts across his recorded career. His 3,274 rating reflects a driver who won regularly against slower competition but could not close the gap to the series' front-runners or the stronger professional drivers passing through the MX-5 Cup field.