Two days of qualifying have come to a close for the 62nd SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® Presented by Sunoco, taking place Sept. 29 through Oct. 5, 2025, in Wisconsin at Road America. Each of the 23 classes competing this year had another 21-minute session on track Friday to post top times around the iconic 14-turn, 4.048-mile circuit that has been making motorsport history for 70 years now.
Friday was also Tire Rack Pole Award day, which means drivers have now been identified as the quickest competitors tasked with leading their respective classes to the green flag over the next two Hagerty Race Days.
Each Tire Rack Pole Award winner receives $500 to spend at Tire Rack. Equally important is the psychological and competitive advantage they gain by starting out front, thus enhancing their chance of reaching the checkered flag first. Winners then head to a victory podium celebration where they’ll uncork and spray a bottle from Mazza Wine, the Runoffs’ “Official Sparkling Wine.”
Always Monumental Moments on Tire Rack Pole Day
From B-Spec through Super Touring Lite in the running order, Tire Rack Pole Day was a celebration of single-lap excellence. That began with a first-time fast qualifier, Josh Schmidt, and the first pole for a Chevy Sonic in B-Spec since 2015; and continued through Jose Osiris Pena’s first career pole driving a Honda CRX in Super Touring Lite to end the day.
In between those? Lots of activity amongst all 23 classes. Peter Cunningham has 50 career pole positions, but those were as a professional in SCCA Pro Racing’s World Challenge championship. Friday’s Super Touring Under (STU) pole is his first at the Runoffs, though to be fair his only other attempts were as a youngster in the 1980s. His Honda Civic TCR will start alongside a fellow World Challenge race winner in two-time and defending STU National Champion Chip Herr. Cunningham’s Thursday lap of 2:23.083 is a new class record.
Tony Ave didn’t come to the Runoffs so he could sit around the racetrack. Entered in GT-1, GT-2, GT3U, and Formula Atlantic, Ave had secured poles and track records in GT3U and GT-1 before Friday’s lunch break to bring his career total to five.
Matt Spicuzzi is now two-for-two at the Runoffs, at least when it comes to pole positions. Spicuzzi put his Touring 4 Ford Mustang on the pole as a rookie last year, then followed it up this year with a new track record. Spicuzzi led the first nine laps of the Runoffs race a year ago before bad luck struck; he’s hoping to lead the final lap this year, but he’ll definitely lead the field to green.
The revamped Prototype class was guaranteed a record in qualifying, and Lee Alexander has his name in the record book and on the pole. It’s the fourth time Alexander has been on a Runoffs pole, this time with his Stohr WF1.
On the opposite end of that is Formula Atlantic, however, which has raced under that name since 1979 (and was Formula B before that). All of that history makes Hans Peter’s Runoffs record lap of 2:00.923 even more impressive – and gives him the fifth Runoffs pole of his career.
Notable Names at the Front
In the history of the Runoffs, only two people have more pole positions than Steve Sargis after he put his Triumph Spitfire at the front of the H Production grid on Friday. Sargis has 15 career poles (and for good measure, nine wins and 23 podiums), trailing only Jerry Hansen (25) and Andrew Aquilante (22) on the career list.
Jon Brakke has six career Tire Rack Pole Awards at the Runoffs, but this year is his first since 2012. Brakke’s BMW Z3 saw its Thursday time hold up for the E Production best. Like Brakke, Brandon Dixon was able to turn back the clock in Formula Continental. Dixon is now a three-time pole sitter, but this marks his first since back-to-back poles in the old Formula 1000 class in 2012 and 2013.
Jonathan Kotyk has now scored four Tire Rack Pole Awards at the Runoffs since 2018, but this season marks his first at Road America. Kotyk will lead the Formula F field to the green in his Ford-powered Swift.
Andy McDermid added his seventh career Runoffs pole in American Sedan, but it’s been a long time coming for the eight-time champion. McDermid has not sat on the front row at all since his pole in 2018 at Sonoma.
How’s this for impressive – the fast qualifying in Touring 2 gives Kurt Rezzetano his sixth Runoffs pole in the past five years. Yes, you read that correctly – the Phoenix Racing driver is on a five race pole streak in T2 and tossed in an American Sedan pole in 2022 for giggles. The T2 mark on Friday at Road America gives Rezzetano, a five-time champ, 10 poles for his career.
Franklin Futrelle locked down his third career Runoffs pole, but his first in Formula Enterprises 2 following a pair in Spec Racer Ford. A potential bad omen for his fellow competitors – Futrelle’s last Runoffs saw him qualify second and finish in that same position. He’ll have the leg up on the field here.
You Never Forget Your First
Several drivers grabbed the glory of a Tire Rack Pole Award for the first time in their careers.
Bobby Sak has two National Championships and five podiums, but on Friday scored his first career pole. Sak earned the honor of leading the 43-car Spec Racer Ford Gen3 field to the green flag on Saturday morning.
Cam Ebben, with a draft from teammate Francisco Barroso, earned the top time in Spec MX-5. Ebben’s Mazda will start alongside Barroso on the front row, but the two will likely attempt to get in a line and break away from the field with the draft on Sunday.
Touring 1’s James Candelaria pushed his Corvette to the top on Thursday, and that time stood by just tenths on Friday. It’ll be his Corvette next to Hugh Stewart’s BMW on the front row of the grid.
Andrew Abbott earned his first Formula Vee pole in impressive fashion, as his lap of 2:44.101 is more than seven tenths ahead of second-place Chris Jennerjahn in a notoriously close class. Abbott has been near victory on multiple occasions with five third place finishes in his career.
After an unfortunate DNS at Road America one year ago, Charles Mactutus came back in a big way with his first career pole. The popular Spec Miata driver already had the respect of the field, but his 2:43.213 on Thursday proved his skill and held up through Friday’s runs.
In 14 Runoffs starts, David Strittmatter’s best finish is fifth. He’ll have another opportunity to improve that stat, as he’ll start on pole for Saturday’s F Production race. Strittmatter was the provisional polesitter in his Acura Integra on Thursday, then improved his time to a 2:32.395 on Friday.
Brad McAllister cut nearly half a second from his Thursday time and jumped to the Tire Rack Pole Award honor in the GT-2 class on Friday in his Ford Mustang. McAllister has a past silver medal at the Runoffs and is aiming for a gold.
Nic Hammann and Marshall Mast were neck and neck in last year’s Touring 3 race, and this year looks like a repeat. Hammann’s Nissan 370Z was just behind Mast’s Ford Mustang on Thursday but reversed the script on Friday to take the fast qualifier by just 0.105-second.
In all, a total of 4,167 laps were turned over two days of qualifying at America’s National Park of Speed. For a full rundown of qualifiers and their times, click the button below.
'25 Runoffs Qualifying Results
Tire Rack Pole Award Rundown
Below are provisional polesitters across the 23 different Runoffs classes with driver name, SCCA Region, car, and fastest lap time. An asterisk (*) indicates a new qualifying track record at Road America.
- American Sedan®: Andrew McDermid, Detroit Region, Ford Mustang, 2:26.792
- B-Spec: Josh Schmidt, North Carolina Region, Chevrolet Sonic, 2:52.211
- E Production: Jon Brakke, Land O'Lakes Region, BMW Z3, 2:27.293
- F Production: David Strittmatter, Neohio Region, Acura Integra LS, 2:32.395
- H Production: Steve Sargis, Blackhawk Valley Region, Triumph Spitfire, 2:38.785
- Prototype: Lee Alexander, Tennessee Region, Stohr WF1, 2:01.180
- *Formula Atlantic®: Hans Peter, Kansas City Region, Swift 016a Mazda, 2:00.923
- Formula Continental®: Brandon Dixon, Alabama Region, Citation US2000, 2:11.259
- Formula Enterprises®2: Franklin Futrelle, Atlanta Region, SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda, 2:12.475
- Formula F: Jonathan Kotyk, Buccaneer Region, Swift DB6, 2:24.905
- Formula Vee®: Andrew Abbott, Detroit Region, Vector AM-1, 2:44.101
- *GT-1: Tony Ave, Central Carolinas Region, Chevrolet Camaro, 2:01.273
- *GT-2: Brad McAllister, Oregon Region, Ford Mustang, 2:11.807
- GT3U: Tony Ave, Central Carolinas Region, Honda Civic, 2:23.436
- Spec Miata: Charles Mactutus, South Carolina Region, Mazda Miata, 2:43.213
- Spec MX-5: Cam Ebben, Milwaukee Region, Mazda MX-5, 2:36.232
- Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: Bobby Sak, Detroit Region, SCCA Enterprises SRF3, 2:28.226
- Super Touring® Lite: Jose Osiris Pena, Puerto Rico Region, Honda CR-X, 2:32.065
- *Super Touring® Under: Peter Cunningham, Milwaukee Region, Honda Civic TCR, 2:23.083
- Touring 1: James Candelaria, Central Florida Region, Chevrolet Corvette, 2:20.677
- Touring 2: Kurt Rezzetano, Philadelphia Region, Ford Mustang GT, 2:23.351
- Touring 3: Nic Hammann, Kansas City Region, Nissan 370Z Nismo, 2:28.676
- *Touring 4: Matt Spicuzzi, Detroit Region, Ford Mustang, 2:32.956
Watch ’25 Runoffs from Road America Online
Accompanying both Hagerty Race Days will be the multi-camera Runoffs Broadcast presented by Mazda. Available online around the globe, track the action via smartphone, tablet, smart TV, or desktop and laptop computer. Find the video at the SCCA Official YouTube Channel. Up-to-the-moment timing and scoring data is also available at the Runoffs Live Timing/Scoring webpage.
With a significant storehouse of motorsport and Runoffs knowledge, SCCA’s National Championship welcomes back livestream broadcast anchors John Fippin and Ryan Myrehn. A duo steeped with skill and Runoffs history, the two will again enlighten viewers on wheel-to-wheel and corner-to-corner happenings as they swap duties across both Hagerty Race Days.
Livestream video coverage would be incomplete without additional insight. For another year, that important info will be supplied by Tom O’Gorman, Larry “Lefty” MacLeod, and Heyward Wagner. MacLeod and O’Gorman will be sitting in-studio with Myrehn and Fippin. Meanwhile, Heyward delivers important updates from grid before races and captures raw emotions of winners on pitlane after the 13-lap or 40-minute contests.
Need more Runoffs infotainment? Thankfully, Brian Bielanski returns in 2025 with the Inside the SCCA podcast presented by Goodyear on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 4-5. Those presentations, which occur about an hour prior to the day’s first race and during lunch breaks, can also be found at SCCA’s Official YouTube Channel.
Of course, the Runoffs is best enjoyed in person. A three-day pass, which is good Oct. 3-5, is only $80 at the entry gate and includes parking and paddock access. Single-day admission is a steal at $45 for either Saturday or Sunday. Anyone 16 years old and younger get in free with a paying adult. SCCA members get a 20% discount on passes, which you can learn more about at the Runoffs ticket webpage.
'25 Runoffs Broadcast Runoffs Timing/Scoring
Photo: The 2025 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Tire Rack Pole Award winners
Photo by Jay Bonvouloir
