The Ebbens paddock space at Road America is jam-packed for the 62nd SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® Presented by Sunoco taking place Sept. 29 through Oct. 5, 2025, in Wisconsin. Perhaps that’s no surprise since most of the Ebben family lives only about 60 minutes from the track. These next couple days are kind of a family reunion of sorts, but instead of a local park or event center, it’s taking place at America’s National Park of Speed.
In attendance is Jim Ebben and his wife, Nikki. Then there are sons Cam, Caleb, and Jett, with significant others in tow. Uncle Joe is there, too, as well as grandpa Cliff and grandma Mary. Toss in a bunch of friends and you’ve got an ardent fan contingent ready to root on Jim, Cam, and Caleb as they seek a Runoffs victory, which is something Cliff did four times – twice in GT-1 at Road America.
An SCCA member since 1999, Jim made 13 previous appearances at the Runoffs and planned to be part of this year’s Touring 4 (T4) field. Growing up with a father who is a very accomplished race driver, Jim’s history at Road America stretches back quite a way.
“I’ve been going there as far back as I can remember, since I was a little kid,” Jim said of Road America. “It has been, easily, 45 years I’ve been going there.”
When you have a world-class facility such as Road America practically in your backyard, it just makes sense to take advantage of that situation. Jim certainly made the most of it, taking his kids to the circuit with great frequency as well.
“My kids were racing go-karts almost twice a week for five years at Road America,” Jim noted. “If you’re talking about individual days added up … I’ve probably spent a total of a couple years at Road America.”
Caleb and Cam, SCCA members since 2010, are competing in B-Spec and Spec MX-5 (SMX), respectively, at this year’s Runoffs. Even though they are both only in their 20s, they’ve already logged lots of time, too, at Road America.
“I remember going to Road America as a kid for the first time, which I think was 1998 or 1999,” said Caleb, whose last name is actually Patrie. “I think that was for the June Sprints because I remember Cliff running a black Corvette way, way back then. I remember also going there for a Divisional event back when my dad, Jim, was getting his National license and my uncle, Joe, was still running Regionals at the time trying to get his license.”
Over the last two decades, Caleb suspects he has made at least one trip per year to Road America. Even though he finds it to be an amazing place, such easy access can make visits commonplace to a degree. And sometimes it’s easy to overlook the value of such family gatherings at such an awesome facility.
“Things can be a little competitive at times and it’s easy to lose sight of what really matters, which is having fun and spending time with family,” Caleb said about his karting days. “But I look back now, and I really enjoyed that time racing with my brothers and hanging out with the entire family.
“It’s kind of the same story now,” Caleb continued “Now, we’re all racing cars. We have our rig at the track, so we all just kind of hang out. After several years of this stuff under your belt, you kind of slow down to appreciate the family time.”
Cam very much echoed the sentiments of his brother and father. Yes, the Ebben paddock is a little chaotic at times with all the family and friends aboard for #funwithcars. Nonetheless, he wouldn’t change a thing now that a passion for motorsports has been fully ingrained within him.
“Growing up at the racetrack makes the passion pretty easy to find,” Cam said. “I kind of had a realization of what I was witnessing when I was old enough to appreciate it, and I understood the passion that I had.”
The Runoffs brings together top amateur road racers each year for a winner-take-all National Championship gathering. The competition and pressure can be pretty intense at times. The Ebben family, however, seems to have developed a coping mechanism.
“It’s a surreal experience to be able to race alongside them,” Cam said of his family. “We’ve turned something that is usually super competitive into a more relaxed family outing because this is an activity we’ve done regularly every week. We’ve taken the competitive atmosphere and turned it into something that can be shared to create memories with my family, which is very special to me.”
That’s not to say that each Ebben won’t be trying their best to claim a victory and gold medal at the 2025 Runoffs. Driving all cars – undamaged – back onto the trailer at event’s end will make for a pretty good outing. But winning in their own backyard, at a facility they know so well, and where grandpa claimed two National Championships, would be important, too, especially for Cam.
“It has been a long time coming for me, and I think this is the year I have a great chance at it,” Cam said about earning a win. “My grandpa won National Championships right before my eyes while I was growing up as a kid. It would feel so full circle for me as someone who grew up at Road America to deliver a win … and do it for Cliff.”
A passion for motorsport and strong family ties are certainly at the core of this ad hoc team made up of members from SCCA’s Milwaukee Region. However, it is grandpa who keeps the program on track. While each Ebben is fairly adept at automotive maintenance, it’s actually Cliff who makes the cars run. But honestly, when you’ve got an award-winning pitmaster managing the cookout, you don’t take the tongs or spatula out of that person’s hands.
“Frankly, my dad does a lot of the work,” Jim said of Cliff’s involvement. “He busts his butt on these cars. A ton of the mechanic work is done by him.”
Caleb added that “we definitely wouldn’t have the successful operation we do without Cliff’s help.”
Watch the Outcomes
Unfortunately, Jim experienced some car issues and decided not to participate in this year’s T4 contest. Instead he’ll focus efforts and energy on helping his sons get the most out of their races this weekend.
To see how Caleb and Cam do in their respective National Championship races, tune in online to the SCCA Runoffs Broadcast presented by Mazda found at SCCA’s Official YouTube Channel. That’s where you can catch all the action during the two Hagerty Race Days, and live timing/scoring can also be found at SCCA.com/live.
Caleb’s B-Spec race begins at 8:15 a.m. Central Time Saturday, Oct. 4, where he’ll be in the No. 8 Honda Fit. On Sunday, Oct. 5, it is Cam’s turn to shine at 10:15 a.m. in the No. 55 Ready Set Sim/PSG Enterprise Mazda MX-5 that will be part of the SMX field.
Quick access to the race broadcast can be found through the link below.
Photo: The Ebben squad at Road America. Left to right are Caleb, Cliff, Jim and Cam.
Photo by Philip Royle
