There were 23 Sunoco Hard Chargers at the 2026 Runoffs, But These Drivers Gained the Most

There were 23 races during the Oct. 3-4 Hagerty Race Days at the 2026 Mission Foods SCCA® National Championship Runoffs®, and within each one, a driver was awarded the Sunoco Hard Charger award for picking up the most spots during the race. But while every Sunoco Hard Charger is worth celebrating (and we’ll do that below), there were certainly a few that took charging through the field to a whole new level.

If there were a Sunoco Hard Charger of Sunoco Hard Chargers, that award would go to Milwaukee Region’s Cam Ebben. Racing in Spec MX-5, Ebben would probably take the award for the ages, too, as he started the 13-lap race in a spec class in 22^nd position, and by the checker he was leading the field, claiming the win for his second Runoffs gold medal in the class.

Picking up the same number of positions was Central Florida Region’s Brian Schofield in Spec Racer® Ford Gen 3. Qualifying 23^rd, Schofield ran through the pack to finish a close second.

Other Sunoco Hard Chargers finishing on the podium include Paul Schneider from Central Carolinas Region who started fifth and finished second in Formula Enterprises® 2, as well as Florida Region’s Matt Strand, who took third in Prototype 2 after starting ninth, and Michael Kamalian from Atlanta Region who started fourth in American Sedan® and finished third.

Two Milwaukee Region members had a unique occurrence in their earning the Sunoco Hard Charger award. Steve Sargis earned the award in H Production, starting 11^th and finishing third, while his son Mark took the award in F Production by starting 26^th and finishing sixth.

Speaking of Milwaukee Region, if there were an award for the most Sunoco Hard Chargers from a specific Region, it would go to Milwaukee this year, with four. While Blackhawk Valley Region earned three, honorable mention would certainly go to Puerto Rico Region, with two of that Region’s drivers picking up the award, matching the two Sunoco Hard Chargers from Florida Region. Add in the one Sunoco Hard Charger from Central Florida Region, and you begin to think there must be something about America’s southeast corner.

And we’d be remiss if we did not also mention the Sunoco Hard Charger in Formula 600. Glen Thielke (one of those four Milwaukee Region members) started 13^th and finished ninth in the class. Why is that significant? Because Thielke is a past SCCA Worker of the Year and John McGill Award winner.

Below is a listing of all of the Sunoco Hard Charger winners from the 2026 Mission Foods SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Note that in some cases, certain drivers may have increased their positions more but due to penalties assessed in qualifying, they did not qualify as the Sunoco Hard Charger.

2026 Sunoco Hard Chargers

Listed by class: driver; Region of record; car; starting position, and finishing position.

American Sedan®: Michael Kamalian; Atlanta Region; Ford Mustang GT; Started 4^th, finished 3^rd
B-Spec: Kent Carter; Houston Region; Mazda 2; Started 14^th, finished 8^th
E Production: Don Tucker; Mid South Region; BMW Z3; Started 14^th, finished 8^th
F Production: Mark Sargis; Blackhawk Valley Region; Mazda Miata; Started 26^th, finished 6^th
H Production: Steve Sargis; Blackhawk Valley Region; Triumph Spitfire; Started 11^th, finished 3^rd
Formula 600: Glen Thielke; Milwaukee Region; Red Devil Rotax; Started 13^th, finished 9^th
Formula Atlantic®: John Norton; Arizona Region; Swift 016a Mazda; Started 10^th, finished 7^th
Formula Continental®: Gary McDermott; Milwaukee Region; Van Diemen DP08; Started 10^th, finished 7^th
Formula Enterprises® 2: Paul Schneider; Central Carolinas Region; SCCA Enterprises FE2; Started 5^th, finished 2^nd
Formula F: Nic Sheppard; Western Michigan Region; Swift DB1 Ford; Started 14^th, finished 9^th
Formula Vee®: Tad Lenhart; Blackhawk Valley Region; Citation 90V; Started 37^th, finished 20^th
GT-1: Todd Peterson; Colorado Region; Chevrolet Camaro; Started 13^th, finished 7^th
GT-2: Jorge Nazario; Puerto Rico Region; Chevrolet Corvette; Started 9^th, finished 5^th
Prototype: Tyler Thielmann; Milwaukee Region; Elan DP02 Mazda; Started 8^th, finished 5^th
Prototype 2: Matt Strand; Florida Region; Stohr WF1 Kawasaki; Started 9^th, finished 3^rd
Spec Miata: Francisco Barroso; Florida Region; 2004 Mazda Miata; Started 36^th, finished 18^th
Spec MX-5: Cam Ebben; Milwaukee Region; 2008 Mazda MX-5; Started 22^nd, finished 1^st
Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: Brian Schofield; Central Florida Region; SCCA Enterprises SRF3; Started 23^rd, finished 2^nd
Super Touring® Lite: Gonzalo Aponte; Puerto Rico Region; Honda S2000; Started 15^th, finished 5^th
Super Touring® Under: Whitfield Gregg; New York Region; Mazda Miata; Started 15^th, finished 9^th
Touring 2: Patrick Howe; San Diego Region; Chevrolet Corvette C5; Started 19^th, finished 10^th
Touring 3: Ben Sedler; Cincinnati Region; Mazda MX-5 Cup; Started 10^th, finished 5^th
Touring 4: Stephen Blethen; New England Region; Mazda RX-8; Started 8^th, finished 4^th