Tyler Ladd captured his second consecutive E Production SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® win at Wisconsin’s Road America, in a race that featured an early fight and ended under full-course yellow during the first of two Hagerty Race Days.
Ladd, who struggled with pace during practice and qualifying, was surprised by his race results.
“I can't believe it,” Ladd said. “I was bummed all week. I didn't think it was there and then (you) just take a breath and go.”
Tire Rack Pole Award winner Jon Brakke — in the No. 89 BMW Z3 — led the field to green but appeared to miss a shift at the start, allowing outside-front-row starter John Hainsworth in the No. 95 TurfTrade/Hoosier/Carbotech/MaxAtk Mazda RX-7 to surge into Turn 1 and build a 1.8-second lead by the end of the opening lap.
“I tried to put my head down and not look back,” said Hainsworth. “But every time I did, I saw that blue car getting a little bit bigger, and a little bit bigger until he was there and I couldn’t ignore it anymore.”
By lap four, Ladd — driving the No. 51 JPM/Carbotech/Jethot/Hoosier BMW Z3 — had closed the gap and was on the back bumper of Hainsworth.
“I was sitting there stressing, stressing, stressing, thinking take a breath, take a breath, take a breath and put my head down,” said Ladd, whose persistence paid off with a pass for the lead heading into Turn 1 on lap four.
Once around Hainsworth, it didn’t get any easier for Ladd.
“It was all out, I was pushing as hard as I can, because he’s no slouch. I was sliding all over the place trying to keep on going,” said Ladd.
Hainsworth tried to give chase and kept the pressure steady, but he couldn’t find a way around Ladd before a full-course yellow froze the field and ended the race under caution.
“He was hard to catch once he got around me,” said Hainsworth, “the closer I got to him the more my car heated up and there was not much I had for him unless he made a mistake, which he didn’t do.”
The battle for the final step on the podium came down to Austin Bradshaw in the No. 41 Sunoco/Goodyear/Mazda/Cobalt Mazda RX-7 and Peter Norton in a Caterham 7. Bradshaw claimed third, earning Runoffs bronze and his second consecutive podium finish.
“This feels amazing.” said Bradshaw, “We had a lot better competition this season and it’s great to be out there with so many great old-school cars. Honestly, I’m more proud of this one than last year.”
Like the fight for first, and despite the race-ending caution, the duel for third was heated between two cars that make speed in different sections of Road America.
“(I was) worried about Peter because through the Kink he just catches up so quickly and my car is diabolical through there wanting to put itself into the wall,” said Bradshaw. “I’m watching for him, which side he’s on, (and) I’m adjusting my mirror to make sure I see low enough.”
Rounding out the top six were Norton, who finished fourth, Anthony Parker, fifth in a Triumph GT6, and Tim Schreyer, sixth in a BMW 325i/is. The Sunoco Hard Charger award went to Mark Weber, who started 20th and finished 12th.
The 62nd SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® Presented by Sunoco 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 2025, two Hagerty Race Days at Wisconsin’s Road America decide 23 gold-medal winners.
Live, online video coverage of Runoffs races is available 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 provisional results for Saturday’s E Production race at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Sunoco; with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, SCCA Region, car, and laps completed.
1, (3), Tyler Ladd, Wichita Region, BMW Z3 2.5L, 12.
2, (2), John Hainsworth, South Jersey Region, Mazda RX-7, 12.
3, (6), Austin Bradshaw, Oregon Region, Mazda RX-7, 12.
4, (5), Peter Norton, North Carolina Region, Caterham 7 America, 12.
5, (9), Anthony Parker, New England Region, Triumph GT6, 12.
6, (7), Tim Schreyer, Great River Region, BMW 325i/is, 12.
7, (12), John Baucom, Central Carolinas Region, Fiat 124 Spider 2000, 12.
8, (14), Thomas Burt, Central Florida Region, Mazda RX-7, 12.
9, (13), Joe Carr, San Francisco Region, Mazda Miata, 12.
10, (17), Kurt Frietzsche, San Francisco Region, Mazda RX-7, 12.
11, (16), Don Tucker, Mid South Region, Mazda Miata, 12.
12, (20), Mark Weber, St Louis Region, Mazda Miata, 12.
13, (18), Yuri Collazos, Florida Region, Mazda RX-7, 12.
14, (21), Rich Olsen, Chicago Region, Austin-Healey 3000, 11.
15, (19), Steve Gaetjens, Neohio Region, Mazda RX-7, 11.
16, (8), Cameron Wogrin, Colorado Region, BMW 328i/is, 8.
DNF, (11), Doug Piner, North Carolina Region, BMW Z3 2.5L, 4.
DNF, (1), Jon Brakke, Land O'Lakes Region, BMW Z3 2.5L, 3.
DNF, (4), Chris Haldeman, Texas Region, Mazda Miata, 2.
DNF, (10), Bryce McGuire, North Carolina Region, BMW Z3 2.8L, 0.
DNS, (15), Whitfield Gregg, New York Region, Mazda MX-5, 0.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 48.58 miles
Overall Time of Race: 35:48.531 (avg. 81.392 mph)
Margin of Victory: 01.525 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:28.756 (97.964 mph)
Lap Leaders: #95, Laps 1-4; #51, Laps 5-12
Sunoco Hard Charger: #70 Mark Weber
Photo by: Rick Corwine
