Formula Atlantic® (FA) is synonymous with fast, and qualifying certainly indicated the FA race at the 63rd Mission Foods SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® at Road America would live up to that reputation.
2024 FA National Champion Dudley Fleck had put his No. 74 Swift 016a Mazda on the Tire Rack pole, but not by much. With a qualifying time of 2:02.781, James French sat second on the grid, barely 0.3sec off Fleck’s time. Another 0.2sec off that time was Tony Ave, with John McAleer a little off their pace, but not by much. Without question, these four drivers were the class of the field – but which one would be able to pull off the win come FA’s Hagerty Race Day on Oct. 4, 2026?
FA shared a race group with Prototype and Prototype 2, taking the green flag first, with those two classes following in a combined start. Fleck had the most speed at the start with his flashy white Swift leading the field into Turn 1 with room to spare. One lap in, it was Fleck up front, just over half a second ahead of French, with McAleer barely a tick further back in third. Ave quickly faced a five-second deficit to the leader, but considering he was also two-plus seconds clear of Shane Kennett in fifth, Ave had nothing but clear track to concentrate on clean laps while hoping something would slow that lead pack.
On lap three, a stopped Prototype car and a Prototype 2 car collided on the front straight under the Mission Foods bridge. A full-course yellow quickly gave way to a red flag while workers cleared the damaged cars and debris. Race officials shortened the race, originally scheduled for 13 laps or 40 minutes, whichever came first, to finish in a two-lap sprint. After an extended delay, all three classes restarted together, with drivers again seeing the green flag, the white flag one lap later and then the checkered flag.
On the restart, Fleck once again got the jump, but the rest of the FA field was in a scramble. It was McAleer in second and French in third, with Ave shuffled back.
With the cars turning laps just over two minutes, the final lap came quick, and while the top three largely stayed in line, French looked aggressive in many of Road America’s 14 turns. In the drag race from the last turn to the checker, French appeared to get a run, but it wasn’t enough. Fleck took the win, followed by McAleer 0.453sec behind and French another 0.202sec back in third, all three getting to spray Mazza sparkling wine on the podium. Kennett finished in fourth, with Nathan Byrd fifth and David Burkett sixth.
“It was a little sketchy there,” Fleck said. “I didn’t know if I was going to make it through all that shrapnel and debris without a puncture, but we did, and it turned out the best.”
As for his being out front, it was exactly how Fleck prefers it. “I like being in the lead and where I can control the pace,” he said.
This gold medal is the second for Fleck, his first coming in 2024, also in Formula Atlantic.
McAleer thought everything lined up well for his race. “I had the best prep shop, Arms Up, the best mechanic, the best driver coach and engineer in Mirl , and I think we had the fastest car,” he said. “But it’s my first podium out of 10, so I’m happy with that.”
French would have liked to have seen the race go the distance. “It’s not really the number of laps we were hoping for … but thanks to the Forty 48 guys for giving me a fantastic car. It would have been quick there eventually, but just didn’t get the chance to show it.”
John Norton earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for his run from 10th on grid to seventh at the checker.
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 official results for Sunday's Formula Atlantic® race at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs; with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
- 1, (1), Dudley Fleck, Cedar Rapids, IA, Swift 016a Mazda, 6.
2, (4), John McAleer, Hixson, TN, Swift 016a Mazda, 6.
3, (2), James French, Sheboygan, WI, Swift 014a Mazda, 6.
4, (5), Shane Kennett, Golden, CO, Swift 016a Mazda, 6.
5, (7), Nathan Byrd, Indianpolis, IN, JDR F1000A Ford, 6.
6, (8), David T Burkett, Corpus Christi, TX, Swift 016a Mazda, 6.
7, (10), John Norton, Phoenix, AZ, Swift 016a Mazda, 6.
8, (9), Robert Albani, Glen Cove, NY, Swift 014a Mazda, 6.
9, (3), Tony Ave, Maiden, NC, Swift 016a Mazda, 6.
10, (6), Bill Johnson, San Marcos, TX, Elan Star Pro Mazda, 5.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 24.29 miles
Overall Time of Race: 58:02.622 (avg. 25.107mph)
Margin of Victory: 00.453 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:03.334 (118.157 mph)
Lap Leaders: #74, Laps 1-6
Sunoco Hard Charger: #02 John Norton
Photo by Jeff Loewe
