With an eye on defending his 2025 National Championship in the class at the 63rd Mission Foods SCCA® National Championship Runoffs®, Brandon Dixon claimed the Formula Continental® (FC) Tire Rack Pole with a vengeance. His qualifying time of 2:10.686 on his No. 7 Citation US2000 fell short of the Runoffs qualifying track record, but it was 1.4sec faster than second-place qualifier and 2024 FC National Champion Michael Varacins. Another second back sat Gavin Moore in third, with fourth-place starter Bill Johnson another 0.9sec behind. Big gaps, indeed, but qualifying is one thing and the race is another.
The 10-car field passed under the Mission Foods bridge on Oct. 3 looking for the green on the first of two Hagerty Race Days, and when the starter showed the flag, all throttles lit up. Dixon caught the green flag the best of the group, quickly getting a multi-car lead over Varacins, with a similar gap to Brian Tomasi (up to third from his sixth-place grid spot) and once more to Bill Johnson.
Moments later, Formula Enterprises® 2 also took the green in a split start (coverage of that race will be on SCCA.com as well).
Fast-forward 13 laps, and it was Dixon still out front taking the checker with an enviable lead over the field. “This has been a great week,” Dixon said after winning the race for the second straight year, adding that his team struggled a little bit earlier in the week. “We got some issues sorted and then the rest of the week has been sort of picture perfect.
“The Runoffs is always very special. I grew up watching this race in Turn 5 about 4 or 5 years old on my dad’s shoulders and never dreamed I’d wind up in this spot, much less to repeat. I couldn’t be happier.”
While Dixon ran away with the win, others were determined to spray Mazza sparkling wine with Dixon on the podium.
At the halfway point, it was Dixon, Varacins, and Tomasi with substantial gaps between them, which made the battle between Dean Kiriluk and Johnson the race to watch. Kiriluk made a smart pass on Johnson for fourth, but Johnson had fight in him, keeping Kiriluk in sight. Up front, Dixon had a 6.5sec lead over Varacins, with Tomasi another four seconds back. Kiriluk, now in fourth, faced an insurmountable 10-second deficit to third.
That 10-second gap was the least of Kiriluk’s concerns (although it would soon take care of itself), as Johnson was not content with fifth, passing teammate Kiriluk to put himself back into fourth. Then, with a few laps remaining, Tomasi’s race ended prematurely, with him retiring from the race, advancing Johnson to third and Kiriluk to fourth.
At the checker, it was Alabama Region’s Dixon with the win, followed nearly 13 seconds later by Varacins out of Chicago Region in his No. 65 Pepperball/Speed Sport/Hoosier Van Diemen RF00.
“It was really just a matter of keeping it clean, keep it on the track and get the thing to the finish line,” said Varacins. “I was hoping I could stay with for a lap or two just to kind of help me pull away from the rest of the group, and it kind of worked out that way a little bit.”
The battle for the final step on the podium was hot, coming down to Johnson vs. Kiriluk, with the two just a few tenths apart for several laps, swapping positions multiple times. Then, exiting the Carousel on the final lap, bad luck struck as the back left suspension on Kiriluk’s car gave way, putting him in the wall and allowing Johnson to cruise to the line in third in his No. 42 Portable Work Tools Van Diemen RF01.
“That was probably the best racing I’ve had in this class,” said Kansas City Region’s Johnson of the battle between him and his teammate. “He was faster in some spots, I was a little faster in some spots, and the draft actually played a huge role in how we got back and forth past each other. It was great, and it was a lot of fun.”
Chris Scharnow finished fourth with Christopher Campanale in fifth. Kiriluk finished sixth, one lap down. In seventh was the Sunoco Hard Charger Gary McDermott, who claimed that award by picking up three spots during the race.
The 63rd Mission Foods SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® 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 2026, two Hagerty Race Days at Wisconsin’s Road America decide 23 gold-medal winners.
The live, online Runoffs Broadcast presented by Mazda features video 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 provisional results for Saturday’s Formula Continental® race at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs; with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
- 1, (1), Brandon Dixon, Tuscaloosa, AL, Citation US2000, 13.
2, (2), Michael Varacins, Burlington, WI, Van Diemen RF00, 13.
3, (4), Bill Johnson, Leawood, KS, Van Diemen RF01, 13.
4, (5), Chris Scharnow, Saint Petersburg, FL, Van Diemen RF01, 13.
5, (8), Christopher Campanale, Orchard Lake, MI, Van Diemen RF05, 13.
6, (7), Dean Kiriluk, Orchard Lake, MI, Van Diemen RF01, 12.
7, (10), Gary McDermott, Beach Park, IL, Van Diemen DP08, 12.
8, (3), Gavin Moore, Monroe, MI, Van Diemen RF99, 12.
9, (6), Brian Tomasi, Elgin, IL, Van Diemen RF01, 10.
DNF, (9), Mark Hutchison, Mukwonago, WI, Van Diemen RF00, 2.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 52.62 miles
Overall Time of Race: 28:43.063 (avg. 109.947mph)
Margin of Victory: 17.477 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:11.389 (110.913 mph)
Lap Leaders: #7, Laps 1-13
Sunoco Hard Charger: #55 Gary McDermott
Photo by Jeff Loewe
