In his 11th SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® start, Alex Scaler drove his No. 79 ASC/Autowerks/Hoosier Scaler Mk1 Formula Vee to the lead just before the line to win his first National Championship by 0.042 seconds at Wisconsin’s Road America, home of the 62nd Runoffs Presented by Sunoco.
The race, which started with all the calmness of an angry hornet’s nest on the first of two Hagerty Race Days, finished with opportunistic teamwork and strategy, earning Scaler his first gold medal in more than a decade of attempts.
“It definitely doesn’t hit you when you’re sitting here,” said Scaler, “it’s been a long time coming.”
Second-place finisher Andrew Whitston began the final lap of the race in second place, driving his No. 12 Rocker Motor/LOA Construction/Hoosier Ptoroform P2 Formula Vee. He moved into the lead in Turn 14 but lost it just before the finish line. For most of the race, Andrew had controlled the pace, with Scaler close behind — and even pushing him down the straights.
“Alex (Scaler) was racing hard, and we got away because he was pushing,” said Andrew, “(he) did an awesome job of pushing me around and racing really clean where we could make that break and get away.”
Scaler and Andrew switched positions a few times in the first five laps, but Scaler soon realized he’d have to sit in second if he wanted his best chance at a win.
“Behind him was great, in front of him wasn’t as great,” said Scaler. “At some point we realized we’re better off with me pushing him around and the more we could break away the more fun we could have at the end.”
That breakaway created a unique circumstance on the last lap – where neither driver wanted to lead onto the front straight for the last lap because of the advantage the following car has in the draft. The strategy reached a crescendo when Scaler and Andrew found themselves side-by-side leaving Canada Corner on the final lap.
“Nobody wanted to go,” said Andrew, describing how each driver wanted to be in second place coming down to the finish.
With third place rapidly closing in, it became a tense moment as the two drivers briefly played a game of “after you, no, after you” through the corner.
“It was certainly the slowest we’d gone through there,” said Scaler, “It was fun looking at each other, staring at one another, figuring out who was going to go first.”
Strategic politeness aside, the finish was typical Formula Vee – with both cars crossing the line side-by-side in a near photo finish.
Behind them, that rapidly-approaching battle for third was being fought by Andrew’s brothers – third-place finisher Zachary Whitston in the No. 27 Whitmore and Associates/LOA Roofing Protoform P2 Formula Vee and fourth-place finisher Steve Whitston in the No. 18 LOA Roofing/Alliance Auto/Rocket Motor Protoform P3 Formula Vee.
It was tough, a lot of work,” said Zachary, “it was a well fought battle, and me and Steve had a lot of fun.”
Completing the top six were Graham Loughead in fifth driving a Vortech, and Gavin Sweeney in sixth behind the wheel of a Protoform P4. The Sunoco hard charger was Quinn Posner, who started in 20th place and drove to 7th in his Protoform P3 Formula Vee.
Tire Rack Pole Award winner Andrew Abbot and fellow front-row starter Chris Jennerjahn each had mechanical trouble, failing to finish the race.
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 Formula Vee 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), Alex Scaler, South Jersey Region, Scaler Mk1, 13.
2, (4), Andrew Whitston, Milwaukee Region, Protoform P2, 13.
3, (5), Zachary Whitston, Lone Star Region, Protoform P2, 13.
4, (6), Steve Whitston, Milwaukee Region, Protoform P3, 13.
5, (9), Graham Loughead, Western Michigan Region, Vortech , 13.
6, (18), Gavin Sweeney, San Francisco Region, Protoform P4, 13.
7, (20), Quinn Posner, Northwest Region, Protoform P3, 13.
8, (21), Jeffrey Valeo, New England Region, Mysterian M2, 13.
9, (15), David Scaler, South Jersey Region, Vortech , 13.
10, (13), Colin Satterley, Western Michigan Region, Lazer Mk 2.5, 13.
11, (14), Ron Whitston, Milwaukee Region, Protoform P2, 13.
12, (22), Chase Johnson, New England Region, Mysterian M3, 13.
13, (16), Mark Richardson, Central Illinois Region, Mysterian M3, 13.
14, (25), Stuart Delaney, Detroit Region, Caracal C, 13.
15, (23), Anthony Henderson, Chattanooga Region, Vortech , 13.
16, (24), Michael Nitz, Milwaukee Region, Protoform P2, 13.
17, (26), Brian Styczynski, Chicago Region, Vortech , 13.
18, (28), Mace Gjerman, San Francisco Region, Dart II, 13.
19, (31), Donald Manthe, Cal Club Region, Caracal C, 12.
20, (19), Connor Loughead, Ohio Valley Region, Vortech , 11.
21, (29), Simon Stallings, Indianapolis Region, Adams Aero, 11.
22, (7), Brian Farnham, Neohio Region, Silver Bullet FR-S, 9.
23, (12), Brandon Abbott, Detroit Region, Vector AM-1, 8.
24, (17), Jon S Adams, Western Michigan Region, Adams V-2, 6.
DNF, (1), Andrew Abbott, Detroit Region, Vector AM-1, 5.
DNF, (2), Chris Jennerjahn, Indianapolis Region, Vortech , 4.
DNF, (8), Rick Shields, Steel Cities Region, VDF 2, 1.
DNF, (30), Marjorie Lundberg, San Francisco Region, Caracal C, 1.
DNF, (33), Ronnie Chuck, San Francisco Region, Mysterian M2, 1.
DNF, (10), Raymond Carmody, Glen Region, Mysterian M3, 0.
DNF, (34), Cameron Satterley, Detroit Region, Citation XTC-41, 0.
DNF, (27), Ethan Satterley, Western Michigan Region, Mysterian M2, 0.
DNF, (32), Rich Richardson, Central Illinois Region, Lazer 1, 0.
DNS, (11), Donnie Isley, Central Carolinas Region, Agitator 16, 0.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 52.62 miles
Overall Time of Race: 40:04.554 (avg. 78.787 mph)
Margin of Victory: 00.042 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:46.736 (87.400 mph)
Lap Leaders: #12, Laps 1-3, 7-11; #79, Laps 4-6, 12-13
Sunoco Hard Charger: #9 Quinn Posner
Photo by: Jay Bonvouloir
