Racing at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs® Presented by Sunoco is one thing, and landing on the podium is another. For most, though, simply finishing is enough reason to celebrate. Somewhere between finishing and winning comes another award, called the Sonoco Hard Charger.

Presented to the driver gaining the most positions during each of the Runoffs races, the Sunoco Hard Charger title is one of those awards that is undeniably earned. Beyond the thrill of the race, the driver also receives $100 from Sunoco to spend on (hopefully) more go-fast goodies.

During the Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2025, SCCA Runoffs at Road America, 23 drivers earned the title of Sunoco Hard Charger, many with incredibly different stories on how they got there.

For example, GT-2 driver Jorge Nazario parlayed his ninth place starting position into a win. Meanwhile, GT-3U driver Jeff Dernehl didn’t start quite as far back, but his run from third to the win in GT-3U also earned him the Sunoco Hard Charger prize. Another driver who won the race and also earned the Sunoco Hard Charger award was Touring 2’s Charlie Peter – he started second and finished on the top step.

Prototype driver Perry Richardson’s run from sixth came close to Nazario’s, Dernehl’s, and Peter’s, although that race found him on the second step of the podium – which was still good enough to earn Sonoco’s prize.

Now let’s look at some of the big movers who didn’t land on the podium.

Mark Weber gained an impressive eight spots in E Production, running from 20^th on the grid to 12^th by the checker. In another Production class, specifically F, Paul Jensen’s charge involved 10 positions, finishing seventh after starting 17^th.

There were a pair of drivers who improved their positions by a remarkable 13 spots – even more impressively, they did it in two of the most hard-fought classes around. In Formula Vee, Quinn Posner charged from 20^th to seventh, while in Spec Miata, Jonathan Davis finished 10^th after beginning his race in 23^rd.

Yet if there were an award for the absolute top-gaining driver of the Runoffs – the Sunoco Hard Charger of Sunoco Hard Chargers – that honor would go to Matt Gray in Spec Racer Ford Gen3. Gray started in 32^nd place, then picked up an astounding 15 spots over the course of the race, crossing under the double checkers in 17^th.

That said, all of these top charges were impressive and deserve to be celebrated – which we do below, listed by class: driver; car; Region; starting position, and finishing position:

• American Sedan®: Roger Eagleton; Ford Mustang GT; San Francisco Region; Started 9^th, finished 5^th
• B-Spec: JB Swan; Chevrolet Sonic; New England Region; Started 19^th, finished 12^th
• E Production: Mark Weber; Mazda Miata; St. Louis Region; Started 20^th, finished 12^th
• F Production: Paul Jensen; Mazda Miata; Continental Divide Region; Started 17^th, finished 7^th
• H Production: Leana Wright; Mini Cooper; Tennessee Region; Started 16^th, finished 10^th
• Formula Atlantic®: David T. Burkett; Swift 014a Toyota; South Texas Border Region; Started 11^th, finished 4^th
• Formula Continental®: Carter Sheets; Van Diemen RF03; Steel Cities Region; Started 8^th, finished 4^th
• Formula Enterprises® 2: Paul Schneider; FE2; Central Carolinas Region; Started 7^th, finished 3^rd
• Formula F: Brandon Lavender; Van Diemen RF95 Honda; Ohio Valley Region; Started 12^th, finished 5^th
• Formula Vee®: Quinn Posner; Protoform P3; Northwest Region; Started 20^th, finished 7^th
• GT-1: Jason Fiorito; Dodge Challenger SRT; Northwest Region; Started 12^th, finished 7^th
• GT-2: Jorge Nazario; Chevrolet Corvette; Puerto Rico Region; Started 9^th, finished 1^st
• GT-3U: Jeff Dernehl; Mazda RX-7; Atlanta Region; Started 3^rd, finished 1^st
• Prototype: Perry Richardson; Stohr WF1 Suzuki; San Francisco Region; Started 6^th, finished 2^nd
• Spec Miata: Jonathan Davis; Mazda Miata; Neohio Region; Started 23^rd, finished 10^th
• Spec MX-5: Christian Hoagland; Mazda MX-5; Cal Club Region; Started 18^th, finished 11^th
• Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: Matt Gray; SRF3; Land O’Lakes Region; Started 32^nd, finished 17^th
• Super Touring® Lite: Jon Sewell; Acura Integra Rype R; Florida Region; Started 9^th, finished 5^th
• Super Touring Under: Michal Kuna; BMW M3; New England Region; Started 10^th, finished 6^th
• Touring 1: Drew Delmonico; BMW M4; San Francisco Region; Started 3^rd, finished 2^nd
• Touring 2: Charlie Peter; BMW M2CS Cup; Kansas City Region; Started 2^nd, finished 1^st
• Touring 3: Roger Eagleton; Ford Mustang GT; San Francisco Region; Started 12^th, finished 7^th
• Touring 4: Kevin Fryer; Mazda MX-5; Washington DC Region; Started 7^th, finished 5^th

Photo of Sunoco Hard Charger Matt Gray by Jay Bonvoloir