As the final afternoon of Hagerty Race Days at the 63rd Mission Foods SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® at Road America in Elkhart Lake came around, it was time for the Spec Racer® Ford Gen3 (SRF3) race, one of SCCA's most popular, enduring, and hotly contested classes.
When the Runoffs is held at Road America, races last 13 laps or 40 minutes, whichever elapses first. That proved to be a crucial fact in this year's SRF3 contest.
During qualifying, 15 drivers were assessed a yellow-flag-induced penalty, with their final three qualifying laps in Q3 discarded. This action changed the front of the grid, with four-time SCCA National Champion John Black claiming the Tire Rack Pole in his 40th Runoffs appearance driving the No. 17 Flat Out Racing SRF3. On the outside of the front row was Asad Nikadambaev, a 15-year-old Runoffs rookie. Quite the juxtaposition.
Behind the leaders sat two-time champion Bobby Sak and defending Spec Racer champion Caleb Shrader. On the third row were Caleb Roethel and Tyler Stephens in the No. 105 Hallett Race Shop SRF3. Notably, Stephens ran a pole-winning time before having that time struck from the qualifying record.
At the start, Black pulled out smartly, leading Nikadambaev and Sak into Turn 1. The experienced Sak moved into second position near Canada Corner. Shrader followed up in fourth place. In the second lap, a full-course caution and a safety car came out as track services repaired damage from an incident farther back in the 44-car field.
The race restarted for lap four, and while the field was green Stephens was working his way toward the leaders along with eighth place qualifier Jackson Diehl in his No. 92 Hallett Race Shop/Sabelt/AGR SRF3. Stephens and Diehl displaced Shrader and set their sights on the top three, but in the fifth lap, another full-course caution and safety car came out, this time for an incident in Road America's demanding Turn 11, the Kink. This caution proved pivotal in the race, as it lasted for three full laps, leaving just 10 minutes for racing.
At the second restart, Nikadambaev sprang past Sak to take up second position, with Stephens and Diehl occupying fourth and fifth place, respectively. Shrader sat in the sixth position as two-time SRF champion Brian Schofield in the No. 61 PM Racing SRF3 worked his way up from a 23rd place starting position to bring the leaders into view from seventh place.
The ninth lap began with just six minutes remaining, and saw Sak, Nikadambaev, and Stephens go three-wide into Turn 5, bringing Stephens to second place. Lap 10 began with 3:30 remaining, and Diehl replacing Nikadambaev in third position. Once again, Stephens and Diehl worked together to draft past Black heading into Turn 5, while a chaotic pack pushed Nikadambaev into the gravel, ending the young rookie's hopes for the day.
The starter showed the white flag at the beginning of lap 11, with Stephens and Diehl stretching out a substantial lead. A large pack was vying for the final podium position, shuffling Black back in the scrum, and Schofield emerged in third place, chasing the leaders. Coming off the final turn, Schofield pushed his accelerator a little harder and managed to pop out of the draft behind Diehl in time to claim the second-place podium spot, just 0.024sec ahead of Diehl, though Stephens held on for the win by 0.122sec. Caleb Roethel brought home fourth place, and two-time champion Robeson Clay Russell finished fifth. For his performance climbing from 23rd to second position, Schofield also earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award.
Stephens, who has been to the Runoffs two times before with both resulting in third-place finishes, was exultant after the race. "I got to the front when it mattered. We push-push-pushed and sure enough, we did it," he said before popping the cork on his victory bottle from Mazza Wines on the podium.
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 Sunday's Spec Racer® Ford Gen3 race at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs; with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
- 1, (6), Tyler Stephens, Bixby, OK, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
2, (23), Brian Schofield, Lakeland, FL, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
3, (8), Jackson Diehl, Granger, IN, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
4, (5), Caleb Roethel, West Bend, WI, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
5, (11), Robeson Clay Russell, Spartanburg, SC, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
6, (4), Caleb Shrader, Tigard, OR, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
7, (10), Simon Gamble, Lake Barrington, IL, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
8, (1), John Black, Olympic Valley, CA, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
9, (18), Isaac Roethel, West Bend, WI, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
10, (9), Zach Della, Hartland, WI, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
11, (17), Liam Kerper, Langhorne, PA, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
12, (14), Grant Heinig, Jenks, OK, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
13, (12), Justin Claucherty, Jackson, MI, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
14, (24), Alan Deininger, Mannford, OK, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
15, (28), Tyler Fox, Overland Park, KS, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
16, (15), Scott Monroe, Seabrook, TX, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
17, (21), Tom Burt, Shoreline, WA, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
18, (25), Steve Whitston, Georgetown, TX, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
19, (30), Steven Rehkemper, Chicago, IL, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
20, (27), Benjamin Anderson, Ramsey, MN, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
21, (32), Greg Miller, Lancaster, OH, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
22, (31), Mark Greb, Iowa City, IA, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
23, (26), Rob Pielsticker, Colorado Springs, CO, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
24, (36), Banks Monette, Milton, GA, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
25, (33), Tim Preble, Lake Worth, FL, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
26, (34), TJ Preble, Fort Lauderdale, FL, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
27, (35), Steven Greenhill, Libertyville, IL, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
28, (38), Kenneth Reilly, New Canaan, CT, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
29, (39), Richard Herman, Wayne, PA, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
30, (42), Peter Jankovskis, Lisle, IL, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
31, (40), Keith Clay, Springfield, OH, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
32, (44), Mark Hutchins, Lincoln, NE, SCCA Ent SRF3, 11.
33, (13), Chris Jennerjahn, Hartford City, IN, SCCA Ent SRF3, 10.
34, (19), Todd Vanacore, Ormond Beach, FL, SCCA Ent SRF3, 10.
35, (2), Asad Nikadambaev, Renton, WA, SCCA Ent SRF3, 9.
36, (3), Bobby Sak, Bloomfield Hills, MI, SCCA Ent SRF3, 9.
37, (7), Peyton Long, Conway, AR, SCCA Ent SRF3, 9.
38, (16), James Goughary, Jupiter, FL, SCCA Ent SRF3, 9.
39, (43), Nick Doinoff, North Lima, OH, SCCA Ent SRF3, 6.
DNF, (29), Scott Barr, Appleton, WI, SCCA Ent SRF3, 3.
DNF, (37), Nick Heinig, Jenks, OK, SCCA Ent SRF3, 3.
DNF, (41), Dwight Rider, Aurora, CO, SCCA Ent SRF3, 3.
DNF, (20), Sam Schechter, Boyds, MD, SCCA Ent SRF3, 0.
DNF, (22), S. Sandy Satullo III, Hillsboro Beach, FL, SCCA Ent SRF3, 0.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 44.53 miles
Overall Time of Race: 41:23.303 (avg. 64.551 mph)
Margin of Victory: 0.122 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:29.257 (97.636 mph)
Lap Leaders: #17, Laps 1-9; #105, Laps 10-11
Sunoco Hard Charger: #61 Brian Schofield
Photo by Jay Bonvouloir
