Alton, Va. (Aug. 23, 2026) – The current Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin championship leader extended his point lead with a race victory on Saturday at VIRginia International Raceway. Justin Adakonis (No. 23 McCumbee McAleer Racing) held off Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) and Jeremy Fletcher (No. 22 McCumbee McAleer Racing) to win his third race of the season.
Adakonis started from fourth on the grid, but was lucky enough to have his teammate, VIR ace Fletcher, starting in front of him. When the green flag waved, the pair worked together to move around polesitter William Wallis (No. 24 Advanced Autosports).
The MMR teammates couldn’t shake Wallis though, not until the restart from the first of three full-course cautions. That’s when Noah Harmon (No. 12 Hendricks Motorsports) started to fight with Wallis for the final podium position, which allowed Fletcher and Adakonis to build a little bit of breathing room.
The teammates played nice with each other up front, allowing each other to get clean air when they needed it. It was on the second restart from a full-course yellow when things got dicey.
Thomas had a great restart and was able to take away second place from Fletcher two laps later.
Adakonis was in Thomas’ crosshairs and just when it seemed like Thomas was about to take the lead, the final full-course caution came out. Thomas did complete the pass on track, but race officials ruled it happened after the full-course caution came out and instructed him to give the position back to Adakonis.
The race ended under yellow and Thomas never got a second chance to pass Adakonis.
“I was not told that there was a yellow coming out,” Adakonis said. “So, when I saw Jared [Thomas] pop for the move, I was like, ‘All right, he’s getting really aggressive, so I’m just trying to let him have it.’ I don’t want to get doored off the track, so I was trying to be smart with it. Then I saw the blinking yellow as soon as I went in the corner. I was like, ‘I think I might have been ahead of him.”
It is the third victory of the year for Adakonis, who scored his first win on the streets of St. Petersburg and his second at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
“Heat always affects the car. This car likes to get hot, especially when you’re pushing for as long as I was pushing Jeremy [Fletcher]. And it gets pretty hot inside the cockpit. So just try to keep air on the radiator as much as I can. I ended up getting really hot at the end. That’s why I made that move on Jeremy.
“We (Adakonis and Fletcher) kind of know each other long enough to this point where I know what he’s going to do, and he knows what I’m going to do. I think he trusts me enough that when I pop out for air, I’m not trying to pass him. We were in a really well managed race. I think we could definitely do that in tomorrow’s race for sure.”
As a two-time series champion, Thomas knows what it takes to win sweltering races at VIR and he put that experience to good use.
“You have this big racetrack with these long straits, but with the heat, the cars get hot and you lose power and it makes it harder to pass,” Thomas said. “Overall, there’s just the combination of corners here and you can defend, so it just is a tough place to pass. If you want a spot, you’ve really got to get your elbows out.
“At the beginning of that race, I was just biding my time, trying not to tear up my stuff. Honestly, I was sitting further back than I wanted, and then we had that first caution. I’m like, ‘okay, now it’s time to go.’ With the heat, the track gets slick too, so you’re trying to save your tires there for the end, and it’s not the easiest thing to do. So definitely the cream rises to the top at the end of these races.”
He wasn’t able to win his fifth VIR race in-a-row, but Fletcher did score a podium, which was a welcome result after two frustrating races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
“I think I just drive really well here- I like the flow of the track, and I like the way it races. You can really control everything from the front,” said Fletcher, who led the most laps. “I think we did pretty good today at that.
“At the end, we were three wide in the middle of Oaktree. If the caution would have come out 10 feet later, it would have been a different story. So close, but it’s another podium.”
Max Stallone (No. 3 Wheels America Racing) took home the Penske Shocking Performance Award by advancing an astounding 25 positions in the race. Stallone, the current MX-5 Cup Shootout Scholarship winner, had to start the race from last because he needed to change his engine after qualifying. He was 14th at the checkered flag.
Harmon, who was last year’s scholarship winner, finished the race in fourth. He was followed by Ethan Goulart (No. 29 Saito Motorsports Group), who is back in an MX-5 Cup car for the first time since St. Pete.
Christian Hodneland (No. 32 BSI Racing) collected the Takumi Award for drivers over the age of 40.
The highest finishing female award went to Ellie Gossett (No. 77 BSI Racing) who crossed the line in 23rd.
Sunday’s Round 10 race at VIR will go green at 3:30pm ET with live streaming on the IMSA and RACER YouTube channels.
About: The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The series has been operated by Andersen Promotions since 2017 and is currently sanctioned by IMSA. Mazda-powered grassroots champions can earn Mazda scholarships for this pro-level series. The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup awards more than $1 million in prizes and scholarships.
Find out more at http://www.mx-5cup.com.
