John Atwell, Tony Ave Claim National Championships at SCCA Runoffs

Several Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli competitors shined in the prestigious Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) National Championship Runoffs at Road America, which took place on October 1-4.

Two-time Trans Am Series champion Tony Ave claimed the GT-1 National Championship on Sunday afternoon. Ave started on the pole in his No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro, but lost the lead on the opening lap with an off-track excursion. Ave recovered, reclaiming the lead on the seventh lap as Dave Ruehlow fell out of the race with a mechanical issue.

Ave claimed his sixth SCCA National Championship with the win, fighting an ill-handling car for the duration of the championship race.

“I think we have a cracked rear-end housing or something. I could hardly drive it,” Ave said after the win. “The first lap, I almost went off exiting the Carousel, got really sideways in the Kink, and and then in 13 I threw it off the road.

"Dave was probably going to win. I don't know what happened to him, but he probably deserved to win. I got going okay, but at the end, it was really hard to drive. We had to really take it easy.

Ave also finished third in E Production

Full-time Trans Am Series competitor David Pintaric finished third in the GT-1 National Championship in his No. 57 Birds Eye View Project/Kryderacing Ford Mustang. Pintaric is currently fourth in the TA Driver's Championship Standings for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli.

He entered the final lap running fourth, passing a slowing Michael McAleenan coming to the checkered flag. It is the second time Pintaric has claimed a bronze medal at the SCCA Runoffs.

“You've got to keep on digging,” Pintaric said. “These are not easy races. The drivers are really good, and the cars are fast and very finicky."

John Atwell, piloting the No. 07 XRC/DFW Concrete/A&J Lab Portal Ford Mustang, won the GT-2 National Championship on Saturday. Atwell currently leads the TA Sprint Driver's Championship standings in the Trans Am Series.

Atwell started on the pole, but lost the lead early to Ave, who competed in five different divisions over the course of the Runoffs. Atwell moved back into the lead on lap three and stretched out his lead, winning by 19.114 seconds over Brad McAllister.

“It was fun. It was a really good weekend for us with XRC, Dustin and all of the guys,” Atwell said after the win. “We unloaded pretty fast, then we just improved on it. Eventually, it was like, it can't get any better. Let's just work on what we've got.

"This has always been a race that I haven’t been able to complete. Now I have, so I can check that off my list.”

The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli concludes its 2026 season on November 5-8 at Circuit of The Americas. Tickets are available now at RacingAmericaTickets.com.

-Photo credit: Chris Clark Photography