More than 35 years after his last appearance in the 1980s, SCCA® Hall of Famer Peter Cunningham made a triumphant return to the National Championship Runoffs® Presented by Sunoco — and to victory lane for the first time — during the second of two Hagerty Race Days at Road America.
As Tire Rack Pole Award winner, Cunningham and his No. 42 Baird Sommersberger Group/Hoosier Honda Civic TCR machine led the Super Touring® Under field to the green flag for the morning’s contest. The multi-time World Challenge Champion was flanked by another accomplished pro driver in two-time reigning STU National Champion Chip Herr driving the No. 1 Autopark/Hoosier/Carbotech Audi RS3 LMS TCR.
The stage was set for an exciting battle around the legendary 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit in Wisconsin. Cunningham got the ball rolling, taking the early lead, with Herr slotting in behind. Taz Harvey was third, Richard Astacio fourth, and Jose Osiris Pena fifth in the No. 199 Honda CRX.
The second of 13 laps saw Astacio get into the rear of Harvey at the bottom of the Moraine Sweep heading into Turn 5, removing Astacio from the race. On the same lap in Canada Corner, Herr took the lead from Cunningham.
From there, Herr and Cunningham built a significant gap back to Pena who had moved around Harvey for the third spot. Those positions remained the same until lap five when Cunningham went by Herr in Turn 3 to regain the lead at America’s National Park of Speed.
Just past the halfway point, Cunningham and Herr began trading the lead, holding an 18-second advantage over third-place runner Pena. On lap eight, Herr reclaimed the top spot in Turn 1, as the duo worked through race traffic up the 4,405-foot frontstretch. One lap later, Cunningham countered with a move in Turn 5 to retake the lead.
The penultimate lap saw Herr turn up the pressure. He then made one final charge on the last lap at Turn 5, but went a little too deep into the corner and had to bail on the attempt. Cunningham held firm, crossing the line first to claim his first National Championship — and a bottle from Mazza Wines, the Official Sparkling Wine supplier to SCCA.
“I focused on pro racing and other stuff for all this time,” said an extremely jubilant Cunningham, who is from SCCA’s Milwaukee Region. “This was at my home track celebrating its 70th anniversary of existence, so this just seemed like the right time to come back and attempt this. But Chip made it awfully difficult.”
Herr hadn’t turned many laps in his new Audi before this National Championship. The runner-up finish was his third in six Runoffs starts, but the chance to mix it up again with Cunningham far outweighed any medal or trophy.
“Peter and I have a past,” Herr said while wearing his silver medal. “I showed up to World Challenge, and he was always the guy to look up to. I’m still watching him drive away. Clean, professional; he’s topnotch. I was honored to race against him.”
Pena was ecstatic to place third for his fifth bronze medal at the Runoffs.
“This feels fantastic,” Pena said. “I grew up in the Dominican Republic watching Peter and Chip compete. I dreamed to come watch them compete in the United States. This day is a dream come true.”
Harvey finished fourth, and Rylan Hazelton was fifth. The Sunoco Hard Charger award went to Michal Kuna, who started 10th and finished sixth.
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 Sunday's Super Touring Ultra 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), Peter Cunningham, Milwaukee Region, Honda Civic TCR, 13.
2, (2), Chip Herr, Susquehanna Region, Audi RS3 LMS TCR, 13.
3, (5), Jose Osiris Pena, Puerto Rico Region, Honda CR-X, 13.
4, (3), Taz Harvey, San Francisco Region, Honda Civic TCR, 13.
5, (7), Rylan Hazelton, San Francisco Region, Honda Civic TCR, 13.
6, (10), Michal Kuna, New England Region, BMW M3, 13.
7, (9), David Fiorelli, Texas Region, Ford Mustang, 13.
8, (12), James Slechta, Colorado Region, Nissan 300ZX, 13.
9, (11), Peter St Pierre, Atlanta Region, Honda Civic Si, 13.
10, (14), Peter Federlin, Lone Star Region, Toyota Supra, 13.
11, (13), Alan Orban, St Louis Region, Dodge Neon SRT4, 12.
12, (16), Michael Reece, New York Region, Honda S2000, 12.
DNF, (8), Jorge Nazario, Puerto Rico Region, Mazda MX-5, 5.
DNF, (4), Richard Astacio, New England Region, Lotus Exige, 1.
DNF, (6), Anthony Geraci, New York Region, Lotus Exige, 1.
DNS, (15), Whitfield Gregg, New York Region, Mazda Miata, 0.
DNS, (17), John Weisberg, Finger Lakes Region, BMW Z4, 0.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 52.62 miles
Overall Time of Race: 31:35.585 (avg. 99.941 mph)
Margin of Victory: 01.276 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:24.497 (100.852 mph)
Lap Leaders: #42-Laps 1, 5-7, 9-13; #1, Laps 2-4, 8
Sunoco Hard Charger: #74 Michal Kuna
Photo by: Jeff Loewe
