Who Will Win the Runoffs? Touring Category

This year’s “Who Will Win the Runoffs?” game kicked off with the Production classes, and we’re back for more, this time pondering who will stand atop the podium in Touring 1, Touring 2, Touring 3, and Touring 4 during the Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2025, SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® Presented by Sunoco.

There are a lot of unknowns this year – one of which isn’t the track. The 2025 Runoffs will take place at the same amazing motorsport circuit as last year: Road America in Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine. The 4.048 mile track is all but a piece of art – art that was repaved a couple of years ago. Last year, the question was which drivers could sort out the new surface faster. This year, everyone’s got things dialed in, so the race is on.

The Touring classes are expected to produce some of the most intense racing of the Oct. 4-5 Hagerty Race Days. Who will win in those four battles? We don’t know (racing is racing, after all), but read on if you want to know who we think may have what it takes.

Before your eyes glance below, though, here are some links that will help you figure out when to tune in to watch the races, because with SCCA’s incredible live stream, you’ll be able to enjoy the action from anywhere with internet access, be it camped out at Road America’s Turn 5 or on the other side of the planet:

Touring 1

If there’s a preview of the Touring 1 race, that must mean we’re looking at a copy and paste of the past several years (checks entry list).

Or… maybe not. This year’s field is as wide open as it has been in years, so the logical place to start is to choose a weapon. Two Corvettes are in the field along with a host of BMWs, and we’re leaning toward the top end legs of the Corvette to have a small advantage on Road America’s long straights.

If that’s the case, let’s look at the man who was pressuring up front early last year before an error and spin took him out of contention: James Candelaria. Candelaria was making his first start after a heart transplant last year, so we’ll definitely forgive that small error and assume redemption comes this year.

We’ll also be watching the BMWs to use cornering speed to keep up. For that, expect Hugh Stewart (who we will point out was neck-and-neck with Candelaria a year ago after the spin) and Drew Delmonico to be in the hunt.

One more on the watch list is the second Corvette on the list – Michael Pettiford. Pettiford is making his 50^th Runoffs start in this race. Could this be his long-awaited gold medal year?

And, oh yeah, back to the top of this story. We don’t anticipate a Champion’s Provisional being used this year, but if it does – are you counting out a man who has won this race four times in a row and eight times since 2013?

Touring 2

Turnabout is fair play, they say. After three runner-up finishes in three seasons of chasing Phoenix Performance’s seemingly unstoppable five-time Touring 2 National Champion Kurt Rezzetano, Charlie Peter finally toppled the king.

With an especially strong run last fall at Road America – leading 11 of the race’s 13 laps – Peter’s red-and-white Phenix Label-emblazoned BMW eased away from Rezzetano’s Mustang to win by more than 10 seconds.

“It was definitely intense – a total dream come true,” Peter remembers. “I crossed the finish line and I was just in disbelief.”

Aberration or start of a new trend? Charlie Peter is counting on the latter, having warmed up with an impressive win at the June Sprints –a key factor in our picking the young Kansan to repeat this fall.

But Peter has some pre-Runoffs concerns: For one, the T2 BMWs (and the Corvettes) might not have the power of last year. For two, the T2 cars will be paired with the fast-in-a-straight-line American Sedans in the Sunday afternoon race. And three…well, there is Pennsylvanian Rezzetano, armed with both potent Mustang and Corvette, and hungry for a sixth National Championship. He’s our pick to join Peter on the podium once again.

Past the two leaders, we think this is the year John Heinricy –making his 43rd Runoffs start, his third in T2 – will grab a podium spot once again. The ageless 16-time National Champion and past GM engineer returns in the same unique Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing he debuted in 2022.

“That car is such an outlier,” Charlie notes. “No one really knows all of its ‘secret stuff’ inside, but sure gives it a good run.”

Of the others in T2, Peter is quick to mention Scotty B. White (“Always around with that Viper”) and Illinoisan Aaron Kaplan (“Another fast BMW).”

Peter returns with the tiny team that helped him to both T2 and GT-2 titles last year: “We are a mighty team of four. Mirl Swan is our engineer and crew chief, and Mark Shore is a mechanic from our local BMW dealer. I do some crew chores as well. And my dad [FA front runner Hans] cooks us all dinner.”

Touring 3

Let’s start with the obvious: Marshall Mast has five poles in nine Runoffs starts. He won this race by more than 40 seconds last year.

So why does it already sound like we’re hedging our bets? Maybe because even Mast has noticed the uptick in the class.

Mast is still the man to beat, there’s no doubt about it. This year, he’s upgraded the horsepower he’s bringing – trading in the Solstice GXP for a Mustang.

If not Mast, then who? You’ve got options. If you like the Z-cars, try Gamaliel Aguilar-Gamez, Chris Hart, or the hometown hero Nic Hammann. The boys out in Colorado always bring fast BMWs, so Jim Leithauser is one to watch. Scotty B. White and Randy Johnson have lugged their Mustangs in from the Pacific Northwest, and they absolutely belong on this list.

We’ll go Mast, Hart, and Hammann as our podium, but wouldn’t be surprised if we whiffed on all three of these when the race ends.

Touring 4

With many of the same players and at the same track, a look back at last year is a great place to start for the Touring 4 race.

Matt Spicuzzi and eventual champion Alex Lozano have the team (Huffmaster Racing) and the cars (Mazda RX-8) to get the job done and were on the front row last year. Spicuzzi’s race ended two laps early in 2024; don’t count on that happening again. We’re giving him the nod this year.

Another RX-8 that’s always in the mix is Marc Cefalo – he was second to Lozano last year by only 0.183sec. We expect him to finish on the podium yet again, which puts him in the mix for the race win.

An RX-8 victory feels likely, but not a lock. Scotty B. White brings a very quick Mustang to the field. Ethan Barker leads the Hoosier Super Tour points with a Mazda MX-5. Chip Herr has expanded his operation to include a Toyota 86. All are capable drivers and ready to pull the upset.

For us, it’s Spicuzzi, Lozano, and Cefalo – but we’ve got our eye on the rest of the field to go with it.

Photos by Rick Corwine and Jeff Loewe

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