A trip across the country from past National Championship events brought extra levels of excitement to the 2026 SCCA® RallyCross® National Championship presented by Bingham Equipment Company, taking place Oct. 15-18 at the Camp Verde Equestrian Center in Camp Verde, AZ.
After two weeks of unusually heavy rain, SCCA’s Arizona Region crew and a field of competitors from across the country got all 13 runs in under the weekend’s absolutely beautiful weather.
It was a strong team effort, too. The Arizona Region RallyCross group arrived early Wednesday to prep the course areas after the wet stretch. Then on Thursday, the Region set up a practice course on each side of the site so competitors new to the surface could adjust their cars and driving.
Two areas, two personalities
The site had two designated course areas, which improved event flow, added variety, and spread out wear on the surface.
The East area hosted Friday’s four technical runs and two flowy, fast runs on Saturday afternoon. Its finer gravel tended to move where water flowed, but gripped up well in the drier spots. Drivers had to keep reading the surface, because a sudden change in grip could push or pull a car into a cone.
The West area hosted three runs of straights and switchbacks on Saturday morning, and four short-but-balanced runs on Sunday. It had more elevation change and a rockier surface that stayed well packed. A few brief, light showers fell, mostly during Heat 3’s Sunday runs, but not enough to change the surface. The site team kept the courses safe, fair, and fun all weekend.
And remember, for those who may be new to RallyCross – this isn’t a case of taking the best time from each course. Every single run counts toward the total time in this sport, meaning champions needed to be nearly perfect from start to finish.
Class results
Stock Front Wheel Drive
Taylour Wargo of Los Angeles, CA, won in a 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R, 2.036sec ahead of Gonzalo San Miguel of Draper, UT. Wargo ran a 200-treadwear front tire that worked well as the courses gripped up, and he acknowledged the choice contributed to his win.
Stock Rear Wheel Drive
Josh Armantrout of Mount Pleasant, WI, won by 7.178sec in a Lotus Elise, a car that was not easy to drive on these surfaces. Little weight on the front made turn-in difficult, and pushing the speed risked understeer into the loose “fluff” on the outside of turns. Skip DuCharme of Evanston, WY, was second.
Stock All Wheel Drive
Jan Gerber of Ralston, NE, won in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, 4.250sec ahead of Charles Wright of Decatur, AL. Shelton Wright, also of Decatur, finished third, 0.746sec behind. Shelton gave it a run on his final trip around the course, but a couple of cones left him third.
Prepared Front Wheel Drive
Sanjay Singh of Clovis, CA, won in a Mini Cooper S by 5.303sec over Dan Sanford of Colorado Springs, CO. Singh had struggled with mechanical problems this season, but overcame those at the right time to be quick all weekend and take the crown.
Prepared Rear Wheel Drive
Jeremiah Hemphill of Sanford, FL, won in his BMW Z3. He may have faced the most pressure during the event, as his “clown shoe” BMW was often featured right here on SCCA.com and its social channels over the past year. His flat-out style beat Rob Krider of Fresno, CA, by 13.624sec.
Prepared All Wheel Drive
Mark Hill of Lawrence, KS, won in a Mitsubishi Evo IX by just 1.222sec over Timothy Thompson of Leon, KS. Hill ran Hoosier H2Os for most runs, which handled the gripped-up sections well, and he survived a de-bead on Saturday that could have cost him the win.
Modified Front Wheel Drive
Dwight Wood of Walnut Creek, CA, won in a Nissan Sentra by 4.452sec over Benjamin Kittrell of Salt Lake City, UT. Wood came off his last run with a drivetrain issue, a well-timed breakdown considering it held on just long enough for his entire weekend.
Modified Rear Wheel Drive
Tyler Johnson-Williams of Arleta, CA, won in a BMW 330 by 9.302sec over Philip Mickleborough of nearby Phoenix, AZ, who drove a 1983 Volvo 242. Allison Sinosky of Camp Verde, this year’s SCCA Women on Track Scholarship winner, also competed in the class in her hometown event.
Modified All Wheel Drive
Austin Dowda of Taylorsville, UT, won in a lightweight 1989 Honda CRX by 0.524sec over Michael Tritt of Coweta, OK – that’s the closest finish in the field. Tritt and teammate Jason Baney of Tulsa, OK, had a power advantage in their Subaru Impreza WRX STI, and the mix of courses gave each car a time to shine. Their Subaru was sidelined after Friday with a failed lower control arm bushing. With help from locals, they found a replacement and fixed it during their Saturday-morning off heat, missing no runs. Baney finished third.
UTX Max
Kevin Jones of Porterville, CA, won UTX Max in a Can-Am X3. Jones won the class by just 2.943 seconds over Brent Longhurts of Spanish Fork, Utah in a Honda Talon. Rogerio Balbino and his Honda Talon was only 0.799sec behind Longhurts and was closing the gap, but remained third.
Specialty Awards
The Hagerty Keepin’ it Cool Award went to Sean Spring for his unwavering commitment to the event. He helped the group carry out its plans for course changes and prep while keeping things running smoothly enough to complete all 13 runs.
The True Grit Award went to Mark Macoubrie. After trouble with two of his own vehicles, a class switch, and a car breaking during practice, he found a ride with Kent Hamilton in Modified Rear Wheel Drive.
Unnamed for an official award but deserving of recognition is the AZRX volunteers for their hard work and hospitality, not to mention the presenting sponsor Bingham Equipment Company. Bingham supplied the ground equipment, side-by-sides, and other machinery that kept the courses in shape all weekend – an invaluable part of a RallyCross course.
Full results from the weekend are here:
Photos by Rick White-Pickett / Polymath Photography
