After claiming his inaugural Tire Rack Pole Award on Friday, Derek Ketchie and his No. 15 Babyface Fabrication/G-Loc Honda Civic led a 16-car Super Touring® Lite (STL) class to the green flag Saturday morning as part of the 63rd Mission Foods SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® at Road America in Wisconsin. Temperatures where in the low 50-degree range for the 13-lap contest on the first of two Hagerty Race Days taking place Oct. 3-4, 2026, to identify the best of the best competing in the Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing program.
The STL race, one of 23 slated at America’s National Park of Speed over 48 hours, featured a stacked field of competitors that included three previous National Champions in the class. Nonetheless, Ketchie held strong into Turn 1 at the start and emerged with the lead. Behind him, Nick Leverone got by the No. 9 OceanMachinery/Nelson/MCS Mazda MX-5 of Danny Steyn for second. Defending STL Champion Mike Taylor found his way to fourth, and Jose Osiris Peña slotted fifth in the No. 199 Wave Products/La Cremosa Honda CRX followed by Adam Sargis.
The opening lap concluded with Ketchie at the front, Steyn second after getting around Leverone, and Taylor making up the front pack with Peña and Sargis a bit behind. Positions changed further on the second lap as Taylor moved around Leverone for third.
The fourth lap saw Leverone retake the third spot as Taylor’s car experienced troubles and slowed before departing the race. Out front, Ketchie had only managed to generate a half-second lead on Steyn.
As the race progressed, Ketchie and Steyn were able to move off a bit, leaving Leverone and Peña 6-seconds back working out third and fourth positions. Sargis was sitting comfortably fifth with Amy Mills, Gonzalo Aponte and Bill Collins thrilling spectators with some tight racing right behind.
The race’s midway point saw Peña move around Leverone for third. In fourth was Sargis with a car emitting smoke, and Aponte was now leading Mills in the battle for sixth and seventh.
With four laps remaining, Steyn started to put the pressure on Ketchie. On successive laps, he showed his nose to the inside of Ketchie going into Canada Corner. Ketchie, from SCCA’s Central Carolinas Region, got squirrelly exiting the last corner at one point after placing his rear tires in the grass. Still, Steyn couldn’t capitalize and Ketchie crossed under the checker a few laps later with a 0.499sec victory over Steyn. That’s win number one for Ketchie in three attempts.
“Wow. I’m shocked that I’m here,” Ketchie said while being interviewed before his victory lap. “This was such a rough week. We worked and we worked so hard all year to get here. This has been a phenomenal experience. You have to pinch me because I still can’t believe this is happening.”
Steyn finished second for his fourth silver medal in STL at the Runoffs. That’s the eighth time he has had the opportunity to uncork a bottle from Mazza Wines, the Official Sparkling Wine supplier to SCCA, during a podium celebration. Additionally, this was Steyn’s first Runoffs race since a serious incident at the National Championship event two years ago sidelined him for more than 12 months.
“It’s wonderful to be back. Road America, SCCA, the Runoffs, my family … you know how much this means to me just to be back playing with everyone I love,” Steyn said. “But what a hell of a drive by mister Derek Ketchie. I had nothing for him.”
Nearly 10 seconds back, Peña and Leverone continued their battle around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit to see who would claim the final podium step. Ultimately, Peña got the spot by only 0.584sec over Leverone and his Mazda Miata. For Peña, this was his eighth podium appearance in 10 Runoffs races.
Further back, Aponte and Mills were mixing it up behind Sargis. On the last lap, however, Sargis’ car expired. That gifted the fifth spot to Aponte in a Honda S2000 and earned him the Sunoco Hard Charger award after starting in the 15th position. Just 0.375sec back, Mills finished sixth driving a Mazda Miata.
The 63rd Mission Foods SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® is the pinnacle of American amateur motorsports and crowns Sports Car Club of America™ Champions as part of the Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing program. In 2026, two Hagerty Race Days at Wisconsin’s Road America decide 23 gold-medal winners.
The live, online Runoffs Broadcast presented by Mazda features video over both competition days at SCCA’s Official YouTube Channel. Live timing and scoring for each race is also available at SCCA.com/live.
Below are official results for Saturday’s Super Touring® Lite race at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs; with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
- 1, (1), Derek Ketchie, Charlotte, NC, Honda Civic, 13.
- 2, (2), Danny Steyn, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Mazda MX-5, 13.
- 3, (4), Jose Osiris Pena, Miami, FL, Honda CRX, 13.
- 4, (3), Nick Leverone, Mendon, MA, Mazda Miata, 13.
- 5, (15), Gonzalo Aponte, St Cloud, FL, Honda S2000, 13.
- 6, (8), Amy Mills, Manson, WA, Mazda Miata, 13.
- 7, (9), Bill Collins, Inver Grove Hts, MN, Honda Civic, 13.
- 8, (6), Adam Sargis, New Belin, WI, Mazda Miata, 13.
- 9, (10), John Schmitt, Sunbury, OH, Honda Prelude, 13.
- 10, (12), Ethan Swindel, Gainesville, FL, Honda CRX, 13.
- 11, (11), Maxwell Kittleson, Sussex, WI, Ford Focus SVT, 13.
- 12, (14), Richard Grunenwald, Delaware, OH, Mazda Miata, 13.
- 13, (13), Sean Duncan, Kalamazoo, MI, Honda Civic VX, 13.
- DNF, (5), Mike Taylor, Cumming, GA, Acura Integra, 5.
- DNF, (16), Jon Sewell, Tallahassee, FL, Acura Integra Type R, 3.
- DNF, (7), Zsolt Ferenczy, Alpharetta, GA, Acura Integra GSR, 3.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 52.62 miles
Overall Time of Race: 32:50.467 (avg. 96.143 mph)
Margin of Victory: 00.499 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:30.657 (96.728 mph)
Lap Leaders: #15, Laps 1-13
Sunoco Hard Charger: #44 Gonzalo Aponte
Photo by Jay Bonvouloir
