If you’ve missed any of the other articles in the series where we try to predict the winners of the Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026, Mission Foods SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® at Road America, you’ll definitely want to click here. We’ve taken a guess at many of the 24 total races, then asked you to vote for who you think will win.
Up for prognostication today is Formula Atlantic®, Formula Continental®, Prototype, and Prototype 2. These are fast race cars, putting down some of the quickest times around Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-mile circuit that’s a hop, skip, and jump west of Sheboygan, WI.
Sure, we have no clue who’ll win, but it’s fun to guess. And it’s also fun to have you vote on who you think will win – which is exactly what we’re going to do below. But before we get there, we have a handful of links that should prove helpful.
First up is the Runoffs homepage, where you’ll find everything there is to know about the event. Then there’s the driver entry list and event schedule, allowing you to discover who is racing and when they’ll be on track. Finally, there’s a link to spectator tickets for those who want to view the action on site, plus a link to SCCA’s YouTube channel, where Runoffs qualifying and Hagerty Race Days will be streamed live:
- Runoffs homepage
Formula Atlantic
Formula Atlantic is by far the fastest of the formula classes, which means keeping up at a Runoffs pace takes dedication by both the driver and their crew. From Dzus fasteners to the nut behind the wheel, everything needs to be perfect to score a win. This year, we think Dudley Fleck and his team are the ones who best fit that description, so we’re giving him the nod to win.
Admittedly, last year didn’t go as planned for Fleck. A third place starting position turned into a six-lap dash before making contact with a Prototype car, bringing his race to an end. It was heartbreak for the 2024 Formula Atlantic National Champion, but we think he’ll be channeling that into massive amounts of speed this year.
If you’ve been following along with this year’s “Who Will Win?” articles, you’ll know that multi-time Runoffs winner Tony Ave is running a lot of classes. One of those classes is Formula Atlantic. Ave’s relationship with the Runoffs and FA is probably best described as “love-hate.” His first Runoffs appearance in the class came in 1994, when he qualified second but finished 10th. Following a long break in the class, he stepped back into Runoffs FA competition in 2024, where he qualified third and finished third; in 2025, he one-upped that with a second-place qualifying run. That race didn’t go so hot, though, with him turning precisely zero laps. We suspect he’ll rectify that this year with a run to second place.
In third, we expect to see James French. French has had a bit of a struggle in the class recently, qualifying fourth in 2025 only to be caught up in the incident that also sidelined Fleck. The year prior? His 2024 fifth-place start turned into a DNF. But wind the clock back to 2021 and you’ll discover he not only scored the Tire Rack Pole in the class, but he also won. And 2020? He won the P1 National Championship.
Put another way, French is fast and could prove our winner’s prediction utterly wrong.
Who else will be running up front? If we had to name two who will be applying pressure, we’d say Shane Kennett (who finished second in 2025) and John McAleer (no Runoffs wins, but he’s always a contender).
Formula Continental
Brandon Dixon to win. Michael Varacins in second. Brian Tomasi third. There. Prediction done.
Want to know why?
When it comes to the Runoffs, Dixon gets the job done. In 12 trips to the Runoffs, he’s landed on the podium five times, with two of those being wins: 2012 in Formula 1000 and 2025 in Formula Continental. It’s the latter that makes him our pick to win, because not only did he win, he did so by qualifying on the Tire Rack Pole and running flag to flag. Second place Brendon Cronin was 2.6sec back, then it was a seven-second gap to Tim Minor in third. As of this writing, Cronin and Minor were vacant from the Runoffs entry list, which gives Dixon breathing room.
But not much, because Michael Varacins is on the entry list. After winning seven Runoffs titles in Formula Vee®, Varacins moved to Continental full time in 2019. He’s a fast learner, so nobody was surprised when he earned his first FC Runoffs podium in 2020. Then in 2024, he won the class. If anyone can stop Dixon from winning this year, it’s Varacins.
Or maybe Brian Tomasi.
Tomasi is a two-time FC Runoffs National Champion, winning in 2004 and 2010. He took a mini hiatus after 2011, but since his semi-regular return to the Runoffs in 2017, he’s scored three top fives in four attempts. Last year, he finished third. This year, we think he’ll land in third once more – but if Dixon and Varacins start battling, Tomasi will be there to take advantage.
Prototype
Bart Wolf knows his way around a Runoffs race. His journey began just after the millennium with 13 years racing in Sports 2000 – nearly half of those years he wrapped the race on the podium. He “retired” from Runoffs competition for about a decade, but when he returned in 2023, he did so in Prototype, earning a sixth-place P2 finish in 2023, followed by a P2 win in 2024, and a third-place finish in Prototype last year. So, yes, Wolf “only” has one win, but right now, he’s as dialed in as it gets, and we think that foreshadows a win in 2026.
Lee Alexander has run a number of classes through the years, including CSR, DSR, Formula Atlantic, and Prototype. And in every one, he’s seen success. His two Runoffs wins don’t tell the complete story, as you’ll discover that Alexander’s “default” is a top five at the Runoffs. That’s exactly why we expect to see him in contention for the win this year – his last two Runoffs races were fourth-place finishes. Missing the podium by such a tiny amount makes you want it even more.
Last year’s Prototype winner was Jason Miller. That was a loooooong journey with a huge payoff. Still, we don’t anticipate him backing up the win, although we’d love to see it happen.
Others who’ll be in contention for a podium finish? Five-time Runoffs Champ Lawrence Loshak should never be ignored, nor should last year’s second-place Prototype finisher Perry Richardson or past Protype Champ Todd Vanacore.
Prototype 2
We’re knee deep in our Runoffs predictions, and if it’s not obvious by now that we’re making wild guesses while hoping to sound intelligent, then you’ve not been reading close enough.
So who will win the Prototype 2 race? Uhh…let’s check the Magic 8 Ball…
Tim Day Jr! What an excellent guess!
Let’s look at his Runoffs stats: 12 trips to the Runoffs, two third-place finishes, four seconds, and two wins, all driving in a Protype class. Add in his three Tire Rack Poles along the way, and if ever there was a driver to bet on for P2 this year, it’s Day. He’s also had a good year in the Super Tour, landing three first-places and a second. Add in that he’s coming off a second-place Runoffs finish in 2023 and a third in 2024, and he’s our man!
Except Magic 8 Ball says Greg Gyann shouldn’t be counted out. His Runoffs stats are just as impressive, with seven podiums (two of them wins) in 10 Runoffs starts. His Super Tour year is going well, too.
And on a third shake, Magic 8 Ball turns up Mike Reupert. 2026 will mark his 31st Runoffs! In that time, he’s won the Runoffs twice, although those were in the 1990s. It’s unlikely he’ll have the pace to run with Day and Gyann, but if one of them falters, he’ll be there to capitalize.
Is our Magic 8 Ball wrong?
Photo by Jeff Loewe
