Who Will Win the Runoffs? GT-1, GT-2, & GT-3U

The Sept 29-Oct. 5, 2025, SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® Presented by Sunoco begins…imminently! Just days from now, race cars will be circumnavigating Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn racing circuit that’s neatly nestled between Wisconsin’s Elkhart Lake and Plymouth in the famed Kettle Moraine. Of all the classes, some of the most exciting to watch (and hear) are GT-1, GT-2, and GT-3U. But who will win those races? Don’t tell anyone, but we think we may have an inkling.

First off, know that these are some of the fastest, most awesome looking cars in SCCA’s rulebook. From wild tube-frame builds to highly modded production-based cars, the GT classes are the perfect mix of displacement and engineering, allowing several ways to wind up on the podium.

Of the three, GT-3 is sporting a new name, GT-3U, in preparation for its planned combination with Super Touring® Under in the coming year. The name is different, but know that the players are the same, and the racing will be just as exciting.

In GT-1, we think the winner will be…oh wait, hold that thought. Before we get into our predictions, there are some links you’ll want to have at hand. With these, you’ll discover who’s racing, when they’re racing, and how you can watch the action unfold live on SCCA’s YouTube channel during Hagerty Race Days on Oct. 4-5.

Another link you’ll want is to the other “Who Will Win the Runoffs?” articles we’ve assembled.

NOW we have our predictions…

GT-1

The GT-1 field always turns out at Road America where the high horsepower machines can stretch their legs, and this year is no exception. As always, though, more time on the throttle means more time for things to go wrong. Whoever handles that the best is likely the winner.

In last year’s race, David Pintaric, Michael Lewis, and Ryan McManus all had issues at the start; Tony Ave ran flawlessly into the lead until a $2 wire connector failed.

Toss all of that out the window in this year’s race. We’re leaning toward Tony Ave here, who should be free of that gremlin and hopefully doesn’t pick up any others. If our prediction is correct, this will turn out to be National Championship number five for Ave.

If it’s not Ave? In some ways, it’s still Ave. Last year’s champ Dave Ruehlow, who was the Tire Rack Polesitter in the race, uses Ave Motorsports built cars and engines – and knows the track well. David Pintaric has been his typical solid and steady self in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli this year, so expect him to get back into the mix. The old Jaguar of Mike Lewis keeps coming back, and you can never count him out.

If it rains? Turn your attention to the (worldwide spec) GT3 cars. Michael McAleenan and his Lamborghini is leading the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour points and Taz Harvey’s Acura NSX is practically made for a rain shower.

In the end, though, we want these GT-1 cars to open up – and if they do, we’re keeping our eyes on Ave.

GT-2

It was something of a brave pick of us last year as the young Porsche driver from Kansas would be making his Runoffs debut in a hard-fought GT-2 class. But Charlie Peter – despite a dramatic pre-race week damage repair thrash and a frantic transmission swap just before the second qualifying session – proved the pundits correct, qualifying on the Tire Rack Pole and leading every lap en route to a 12 second margin of victory over 2023 GT-2 National Champ Jared Odrick and perennial contender Jonathan Start.

This year, Peter parked the ’24 Runoffs-winning Porsche 991 GT3 Cup car (which had been raced by his dad, Hans, in the ’22 Runoffs) while Charlie was off competing in the Sprint Challenge.

“Yeah, Dad bought it for himself to run in GT-2, and he had fun with it for about a year,” Charlie explained, “but when our engineer and crew chief Mirl Swan moved back to Kansas City from Indiana, he was like, ‘Alright, I'm ready to go back to my Atlantic car.’ So I got to take care of it…

“This year, since our budget had taken such a hit, I said, ‘Since I have my automatic entry, let's save up the Porsche. And I got free tires with my [T2] BMW, so it'll be a makeup year. And so far, so good.”

Indeed, the only outing Peter has had in the Porsche this year was the Brian Redman historical event at Road America.

As for this year’s GT-2 race, Peter is thoughtful.

“I think it's going to come down to me not screwing it up – that’s gonna be the only way I don't have at least a chance at winning.

“The thing is, with my car being so different from all the TA2 cars and those guys running together all year, both in SCCA and in TA2, they seem to have their own race. Those guys – Brad McAllister and others – will be tough.

The crystal ball is picking McAllister, the Pacific Northwest’s fastest dentist, to claim a step on the podium this year, up at least one spot from last year’s fourth. McAllister was the GT-2 runner-up in both 2018 and 2020.

Deserving of honorable mention are Jonathan Start (Dodge Viper, third last year); Austin Jurs and 2024 Chicago Region June Sprints® winner Justin Elder (both with Chevrolet Camaros); and, always, four-time National Champ Tony Ave (Nissan 350Z). Also, Odrik will be in the mix, should he enter at the last minute.

GT-3U

Grab your earplugs and get trackside for the GT-3U class battle. Despite its smaller size, the rotary-dominated class will make some noise – and we expect an exciting race.

For starters, Tony Ave, Michael Lewis, and Tony Rivera are all professional race winners – they know how to drive. Jeff Dernehl has two of the last three wins in the class, including last year, so you’d be crazy to count him out. He’s also the Hoosier Super Tour leader.

As always, the GT-3U field first must finish – sometimes a bigger question here than in other classes. In that case, we’re leaning on the drivers that also are involved in the car builds to make their way through – starting with Tony Ave.

Ave himself agreed with us when told he’d been picked by us as the likely winner. He expects a battle between himself, Lewis, Dernehl, and Rivera, who has developed his RX-3 even more this season to get into the mix.

Any of the four, as well as really anyone in the class, could land on the podium if they go the race distance. We think the gold medal goes to Ave, though, with Lewis and Rivera following in that order.

Photos by Dave Green and Jeff Loewe

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