Where are you going to be on Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026? Watching the Mission Foods SCCA® National Championship Runoffs®, that’s where! The winner-take-all road races at Road America will soon hit the 4.048-mile, 14-mile circuit, and while we don’t know who will win the 24 championship races that are about to take place, we’re going to guess anyway. Why? Because it’s fun!
Today’s business is predicting Formula F, Formula Vee®, and Formula 600. Before that, though, check out these links.
There’s the Runoffs homepage, where you’ll find literally everything you need to know about the event. The Runoffs driver entry list and event schedule will be useful tools if you plan to follow the racing action. Then there’s a link to spectator tickets for those who want to view the racing on site, along with a link to SCCA’s YouTube channel, where Runoffs qualifying and Hagerty Race Days will be streamed live:
- Runoffs homepage
Keep reading to discover who WE think will win, then vote on who YOU think will take the gold.
Formula F
Fourteen-year-old David Ybarra is staring down his first Runoffs, and things are looking good. Leading the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour point race in Formula F with two wins each at Road Atlanta and Watkins Glen, plus a win and a second at the Chicago Region June Sprints®, you’d think he’d be our pick to win. After all, what a great story that would be. But no, we’re going to hang our hat on someone who finished 14th at last year’s Runoffs.
Jonathan Kotyk sits third in the Super Tour points and, yes, he finished 14th at last year’s Runoffs. But that 14th place represents unfinished business. The Tire Rack Polesitter in 2025, Kotyk could have won it all, as he could have in 2024 when he started second and finished eighth, and 2023 when he started and finished second. Go back to 2022, 2021, 2019, and 2018, though, and you’ll find that Kotyk can, indeed, win the Runoffs, and we think this is his year to up his Runoffs gold medal count to five.
Back to young Ybarra – we wouldn’t be shocked if he spoils that prediction. He’s on a roll, and there’s no doubt that he wants his rookie year to end in Runoffs glory.
Calvin Kautz is one of those drivers who you’re shocked to learn hasn’t won the Runoffs. He’s fast and often in the hunt. Remember how we said Kotyk started second at the 2024 Runoffs? That’s because Kautz took the pole that year. And in 2023 when Kotyk finished second? Kautz was only two spots back, setting a fast lap during the race that was just 0.186sec off Kotyk’s pace.
We think this race finishes with Kotyk up front, Ybarra second, and Kautz in third, but that’s with Tazio Stefanelli and Nathan Down ready to pounce.
But we could be wrong.
Formula Vee
Thirty nine. That’s the number of entries there are in Formula Vee this year (as of when we wrote this, anyway). And if you’ve ever watched a Formula Vee race a the Runoffs, you’ll know that I’m about to say that 39 is also the number of racers who could potentially win the class this year.
There’s a bit of hyperbole there, but it’s not far off.
Let’s jump to the punchline. Andrew Whitston will win. At least, he could. At least, that’s who we’re going to predict will win. But the winner could be Zachary Whitston. The winner could also be Alex Scaler. It’s one of those three. Probably. Maybe. Or Andrew Abbott. Or another Whitston – Steve. We’ll stop there and tell you our reasoning.
Andrew hasn’t finished worse than fifth in the class since 2015, landing on the podium eight times, winning three of those times. He’s also leading the Hoosier Super Tour with a number of wins, two of which came at Road America for the June Sprints. If you’re going to place a bet, he’s the one to go with.
Second in the Super Tour points is Zachary Whitston. He’s running strong this year, and while his Runoffs history doesn’t include a win, it has placed him on the podium three times. Zachary is our pick to finish second.
Third in Super Tour points is Steve Whitston. He doesn’t have as many podiums as the other Whitstons, but his one Runoffs podium was a win in 2024. But Steve is NOT our pick to finish third.
Being last year’s FV National Champion, Alex Scaler is the one with a target on his back, but this year we think he’ll be able to hold off only one of the Whitstons. That will place Scaler on the podium, but third this year.
Yes, we also mentioned Abbott as a potential for the win, and we’ll stick to that statement. He finished third at the Runoffs in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. He earned the Tire Rack Pole in 2025, but scored a DNF in the race. That sounds like unfinished business to us.
Formula 600
Formula 600 is back! And we think it picks up exactly where it left off at the Runoffs, although maybe in a slightly different finishing order.
James Weida won the class in 2024, and we don’t see any reason why the two-time class champ doesn’t add another notch to that belt, especially when you consider that those two Runoffs wins both came at Road America – and low and behold, the Runoffs is at Road America this year. Add in that he took a pair of wins at Road America earlier this year during the June Sprints, and things look pretty good for Weida.
Finishing second at the 2024 Runoffs was Calvin Stewart, with Aaron Ellis in third. That order could switch this year, putting Ellis in second and Stewart third. Why? Honestly, we’re just mixing things up because it seemed lazy to pick the exact same podium from 2024. Also, Ellis beat Stewart at the June Sprints, so if we’re looking to justify the switch, that would be it.
But really, we’re not going to even feign surprise if the podium is a complete repeat from two years ago. Or if Stewart or Ellis win and Weida is third. Or if Sven de Vries pokes his nose in and lands on the podium.
This one really is a tossup.
Photo by Jeff Loewe
