Without a doubt, Hagerty Race Days at the 60th anniversary SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco have delivered tons of thrills already. The Spec MX-5 (SMX) field continued the excitement Saturday afternoon with a 40-minute battle around Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit in Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine region.
The 2024 Runoffs is the first official SCCA National Championship for SMX as a Runoffs-eligible class. While the class saw track time during last year’s Runoffs at VIRginia International Raceway, those contests where showcases and didn’t crown a Champion.
Things were different this year at America’s National Park of Speed as 23 drivers set out to claim the first-ever SMX Runoffs gold medal. Ethan Lampe, in the No. 95 Mazda MX-5, led the field to the start after earning the Tire Rack Pole Award on Thursday. Beside him was Justin Adakonis in the No. 18 TKG Motorsports Mazda MX-5 machine.
With a stiff wind blowing, Lampe settled into the lead after the first turn. Cam Ebben slotted into second followed by Adakonis in third – then Cooper Hicks, Matthew Novak, Ethan Jacobs, Noah Harmon, Marcello Paniccia, Nico Bratz and Michael Borden filled out the top 10 positions.
Lampe, Ebben and Adakonis hooked up in a tight draft two laps later, perhaps hoping to keep Jacobs from joining the lead pack after he had moved up to fourth place. A double-yellow, however, foiled that plan as the field came back together in a single-file line behind the pace car.
It looked like the green flag would fly again on lap six, but several competitors in the middle of the field made contact with one another before reaching the start line. A few cars ended up pulling off in the grass a little more than 100 yards past the starter stand, and the contest continued under a full-course yellow for a few more laps.
Lampe, of SCCA’s San Francisco Region, led the field to a successful restart on lap eight. Adakonis was right with him, along with Ebben, Jacobs, Novak, Harmon, Borden, Harbir Dass, Michael Tinis and Paniccia running in the top ten.
The following lap, Lampe and Adakonis were mixing it up a bit, swapping the lead in a few corners. Behind them, Ebben was being hounded by Harmon after he had already been passed by Jacobs for fourth.
By lap 10, Lampe and Adakonis were hooked up again, attempting to decide a winner amongst themselves. Seeing this, Jacobs and Harmon – who had moved by Ebben – formed their own two-man train with a goal of catching the leaders.
It wasn’t long before Lampe, Adakonis, Jacobs and Harmon were all running nose-to-tail in a formation that hinted of excitement ahead.
Toward the end of lap 11, Jacobs had moved up a position to second. Then on lap 12, the white flag waived, and the four drivers knew they only had 14 corners left to execute as best they could. Things, however, didn’t change and Lampe came home winner of the first-ever SMX National Championship race – which also served as his first gold medal in his first Runoffs appearance.
“I expected a yellow at some point, but I didn’t expect it to last that long,” Lampe said before taking his victory lap. “It was tough. I knew I didn’t have enough pace with all the wind to pull away. So, I just tried my best to stay in the lead the entire time, blocked when I needed to, and held off the people I needed to at the right time, and we got the win.”
Jacobs ended up only 0.161sec behind in the runner-up position. Still, his drive in the No. 199 HRX/Slipstream/JDH Mazda MX-5 resulted in his first trip to victory podium in two Runoffs appearances.
“I started out the race a little bit far back, but halfway through I started gaining on that front pack,” Jacobs said. “Before the white flag, I was able to make that one pass for second place. Overall, I’m really happy with how the race went.”
Adakonis held on for the third and final podium position, earning his first Runoffs medal in his first National Championship race.
“We worked all year to be in this position,” Adakonis said about making it to the podium. “When you think SCCA, you think the Runoffs. It’s the one race everybody wants to win no matter how you do all year. Everybody gives 110 percent in this race.”
Harmon finished fourth just 0.191sec behind Adakonis. Borden held off Paniccia and Novak to claim the fifth finishing spot, which also earned him the Sunoco Hard Charger award after starting in the 13th position.
The 60th anniversary SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco is the pinnacle of American amateur motorsports and crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions this year at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, during Hagerty Race Days running Friday, Oct. 4, through Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024.
Live, online video coverage of Runoffs races, presented by Mazda, is available throughout the three days of competition at SCCA.com/runoffs-live. Live timing and scoring for each race are also available at SCCA.com/pages/runoffs-live-timing.
Below are final results for Saturday's Spec MX-5 race at the 2024 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
1, (1), Ethan Lampe, Hollister, CA, Mazda MX-5, 12.
2, (4), Ethan Jacobs, Oshkosh, WI, Mazda MX-5, 12.
3, (2), Justin Adakonis, Ridgefield, CT, Mazda MX-5, 12.
4, (9), Noah Harmon, Orlando, FL, Mazda MX-5, 12.
5, (13), Michael Borden, Lisbon, WI, Mazda MX-5, 12.
6, (6), Marcello Paniccia, Aurora, ON, Mazda MX-5, 12.
7, (7), Matthew Novak, Bartlett, IL, Mazda MX-5, 12.
8, (3), Cam Ebben, Appleton, WI, Mazda MX-5, 12.
9, (16), Chase McIntyre, Akron, OH, Mazda MX-5, 12.
10, (18), Aryton Grim, Hilliard, OH, Mazda MX-5, 12.
11, (11), Kamden Hibbitt, Galena, OH, Mazda MX-5, 12.
12, (20), Will Lucas, Dahlonega, GA, Mazda MX-5, 12.
13, (14), Michael Tinis, East Meadow, NY, Mazda MX-5, 12.
14, (12), Jason Fichter, Jupiter, FL, Mazda MX-5, 12.
15, (19), Harbir Dass, Solon, OH, Mazda MX-5, 12.
16, (22), Adrian Comstock, Beverly Hills, CA, Mazda MX-5, 12.
17, (17), Austin Hill, Frankfort, OH, Mazda MX-5, 12.
18, (23), Whitfield Gregg, Manson, WA, Mazda MX-5, 12.
DNF, (15), Will Robinson, Wilson, WY, Mazda MX-5, 5.
DNF, (5), Cooper Hicks, Simi Valley, CA, Mazda MX-5, 5.
DNF, (8), Nico Bratz, Nashotah, WI, Mazda MX-5, 5.
DNF, (21), David Pintaric, Canfield, OH, Mazda MX-5, 2.
DNF, (10), Camden Gruber, Winchester, VA, Mazda MX-5, 0.
DNS, (24), Jillian Fichter, Jupiter, FLA, Mazda MX-5, 0.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 48.58 miles
Overall Time of Race: 41:47.172 (avg. 69.749 mph)
Margin of Victory: 00.161 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:36.278 (93.249 mph)
Lap Leaders: #95, Laps 1-12
Sunoco Hard Charger: #42 Michael Borden
Photo by: Jeff Loewe
