It only takes a few cars to make a great race, and the Touring 1 (T1) field proved it with just five cars on grid at the 62nd SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® Presented by Sunoco at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Tire Rack Pole Award winner James Candelaria, led the five-car grid in his No. 134 Hoosier/Hawk/Penske Chevrolet Corvette, just ahead of Hugh Stewart, of Milford, Connecticut, in the No. 23 BMW E46 M3. Rounding out the field were Drew Delmonico, a Runoffs® rookie in the No. 43 Cameron Racing/San Francisco BMW M4, Michael Pettiford in the No. 41 Chevrolet Corvette, and Ronald Lombardo in the No. 06 Ford Mustang.
As the third race on Saturday during the first of two Hagerty Race Days, the T1 group shared the track with the faster GT-1 field on Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit, known as America’s National Park of Speed.
At the green flag, Candelaria used the straight-line speed of his Corvette to lead the field into Turn 1, with Stewart close behind. Delmonico slotted into third after Pettiford made a run forward in his Corvette. Behind them, Lombardo made light contact with a bridge support at Turn 8, continuing at a reduced pace. Pettiford also faded back in the first few laps as the leaders pulled away in a podium battle.
The top three stayed within a second of each other, as Stewart and then Delmonico looked for a way around Candelaria for several laps. Road America's legendary Canada Corner became the preferred passing spot, where the Corvette’s straight-line advantage was neutralized. Delmonico took over second position there in the second lap.
In the sixth lap, Delmonico made his attempt as the leaders came to Canada Corner. Making a strong move to the inside, his BMW lost traction and hit Candelaria in the right-rear tire sending both drivers sliding off course. Stewart avoided the mess and took over the lead almost 2.5 seconds ahead of Candelaria and Delmonico.
"I have to apologize to James (Candelaria)," Delmonico said after the race. "There was no grip on the inside of the track, so the car just went for a bit of a ride."
At last year's Runoffs, Candelaria finished in second place, and that's where he found himself at mid-race, but a Runoffs race isn't over until the checkered flag falls.
"It made me feel exactly like I felt last year when I spun it on my own accord," Candelaria said. "But I just put my head down. I put it in first gear, drove it out and the car had developed a push but nothing serious. I was able to keep driving and that motivated me to get back around Stewart. Stewart is a fantastic competitor, and I always love racing with him. He didn't make it easy, but we got it done."
Working as the GT-1 leaders came through to lap the field, Candelaria chased Stewart down and made a pass to regain the lead in Turn 1 of the eleventh lap. Delmonico had also recovered enough to place himself solidly in third.
Candelaria's Corvette and Stewart's BMW were both showing the effects of 11 laps of flat-out racing, shimmying and sliding under braking at every corner. Stewart made one last brave attempt, again at Canada Corner, but his fading tires couldn't take one more all-out move. Stewart's car slipped and went wide, yielding second place to Delmonico as Candelaria led the field to the checkered flag.
Rounding out the field were Lombardo, who finished fourth, and Pettiford, who retired after the ninth lap. Delmonico also earned the Sunoco Hard Charger award for most improved position, rising from third to second position during the race.
"I led for a little while and then I realized I couldn't hold up James (Candelaria) because he just had too much in the straights," Stewart said. "I figured I could make another run at him in the last couple of turns. I tried to sail it into Canada Corner, but it didn't work out."
Hailing from SCCA's Central Florida Region, Candelaria was emotional in his victory lane interview, saying, "It's unbelievable. I've been after this for so long, ever since I started racing with SCCA. It's the pinnacle of amateur sports, car racing. I got to thank all the workers, my family, my crew, and my team, Phoenix Performance. I've been after this forever. I don't even know how to feel. You can see I've got tears in my eyes. It's something special."
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 final results for Saturday’s Touring 1 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, (1), James Candelaria, Central Florida Region, Chevrolet Corvette, 12.
2, (3), Drew Delmonico, San Francisco Region, BMW M4, 12.
3, (2), Hugh Stewart, New England Region, BMW E46 M3, 12.
4, (5), Ronald Lombardo, New England Region, Ford Mustang, 11.
5, (4), Michael Pettiford, Colorado Region, Chevrolet Corvette, 9.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 48.58 miles
Overall Time of Race: 29:37.862 (avg. 98.362 mph)
Margin of Victory: 04.251 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:21.612 (102.907 mph)
Lap Leaders: #134, Laps 1-5, 11-12; #23, Laps 6-10
Sunoco Hard Charger: #43 Drew Delmonico
Photo by: Jay Bonvouloir
