2026 Atlantic Championship

2026 Atlantic Championship Series season
Season
Races	14
Start date	March 12
End date	October 18
Awards
016 Class Champion Open Class Champion	Harbir Dass Nicho Vardis

The 2026 Atlantic Championship Series season was the thirteenth season of the revived Atlantic Championship. The series was organized by Formula Race Promotions and sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing.

The season was held over seven weekends from January to October 2026. K-Hill Motorsports driver Harbir Dass won the 016 Class championship title with three races to spare, while the title in the Open Class went to Vardis Motorsports' Nicho Vardis.

Drivers and teams

Drivers competed in two classes, after the USF Juniors class that was established in 2025 received no entries: The 016 Class was only open to Swift 016a cars, while the Open Class served all other eligible entries. All teams and drivers were American-registered.

Team	No.	Driver	Car	Rounds
016 Class entries
DrivenTires.com	8	Ryan Saari	2006 Swift 016	2, 5
		Vaughn Glace		4
K-Hill Motorsports	06	Harbir Dass	2006 Swift 016	3–6
	9			1–2
	15	Jean-Luc Liverato	2006 Swift 016	7
	74	Dudley Fleck	2006 Swift 016 Mazda	2–3
privateer	21	Clay DellaCava	2006 Swift 016	7
Zober Industries Inc.	66	Richard Zober	2006 Swift 016 Mazda	4
MotoNomaddicts	68	John McAleer	2006 Swift 016	1–3
Open Class entries
Johnston and Associates	3	Brett Johnston	2004 Mazda Pro Mazda	7
	73	James Johnston Sr.	2004 Swift 014	7
Arrive Drive Motorsports	3	Dustin Hodges	2018 JDR F1000	6
	33	Drew Holtgraewe	2018 JDR F1000	5–7
	07	Austin Holtgraewe	2025 JDR F1000	5
	33	Ayrton Houk	2018 JDR F1000	1
	39	Tim Pierce	2012 JDR F1000	1
		Pierce Krone		5
K-Hill Motorsports	4	Jean-Luc Liverato	2007 Dallara IPS	1
	06	Bruce Hamilton	2001 Swift 014 MZR	1, 5
	32	Kirk Kindsfater	2002 Swift 014.a	4
Forty 48 Competition	46	James French	2001 Swift 014/CSR	1, 3
	71	Jeffrey Antonelli	2006 Star Pro Mazda	3
TF Companies	21	Whitney Strickland	2025 Ligier JS F3	5
Home Tech Consultants	41	Robert Albani	2001 Swift 014 MZR	1, 5
Road Race Industries	72	Jim Johnston Jr.	2004 Mazda Pro Mazda	7
Eric Langbein Racing	80	Jim Kelleher	1980 March 80A	7
Vardis Motorsports	00	Nicho Vardis	2013 JDR F1000	2–4, 7
Team Tonis	09	J.R. Smart	2002 Swift 014.a	3
Sources:

Race calendar

The race schedule was announced on September 30, 2024. Pittsburgh International Race Complex dropped off the schedule after the track was closed down, and New Jersey Motorsports Park was also not featured, with the series instead debuting at the Carolina Motorsports Park and returning to Barber Motorsports Park for the first time since 2022.

Round		Circuit	Date	Support bill	Map of circuit locations
1	H1	Road Atlanta, Braselton	March 14	SVRA Sprint Series Trans-Am Series Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy USA	Road Atlanta Mid-Ohio Road America Watkins Glen Summit Point Kershaw Barber
	H2		March 15
	FR
2	H1	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington	April 25	FRP race weekend Formula Ford Challenge Series Formula Vee Challenge Cup Series Vintage Sports 2000 North America
	H2		April 26
	FR
3	H1	Road America, Elkhart Lake	June 27	Trans-Am Series Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy USA
	H2		June 28
	FR
4	H1	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen	July 18	Trans-Am Series Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy USA Formula Continental Challenge Series
	H2
	FR		July 19
5	H1	Summit Point Motorsports Park, Summit Point	August 8	FRP race weekend
	H2		August 9
	FR
6	H1	Carolina Motorsports Park, Kershaw	August 29	FRP race weekend
	H2		August 30
	FR
7	H1	Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham	October 18	SVRA Sprint Series Formula Regional Americas Championship
	FR

Race results

Round		Circuit	016 Class				Open Class
			Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team
1	H1	Road Atlanta	Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	John McAleer	MotoNomaddicts	James French	James French	James French	Forty 48 Competition
	H2			Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports		James French	James French	Forty 48 Competition
	FR			Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports		James French	James French	Forty 48 Competition
2	H1	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports	Nicho Vardis	Nicho Vardis	Nicho Vardis	Vardis Motorsports
	H2			Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports		Nicho Vardis	Nicho Vardis	Vardis Motorsports
	FR			John McAleer	John McAleer	MotoNomaddicts		Nicho Vardis	Nicho Vardis	Vardis Motorsports
3	H1	Road America	Harbir Dass	Dudley Fleck	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports	Nicho Vardis	Nicho Vardis	J.R. Smart	Team Tonis
	H2			Dudley Fleck	Dudley Fleck	K-Hill Motorsports		J.R. Smart	J.R. Smart	Team Tonis
	FR			Dudley Fleck	Dudley Fleck	K-Hill Motorsports		no starters
4	H1	Watkins Glen International	Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports	Nicho Vardis	Nicho Vardis	Nicho Vardis	Vardis Motorsports
	H2			declared non-race after delay due to a crash				declared non-race after delay due to a crash
	FR			Vaughn Glace	Vaughn Glace	DrivenTires.com		Nicho Vardis	Nicho Vardis	Vardis Motorsports
5	H1	Summit Point Motorsports Park	Harbir Dass	race cancelled due to inclement weather			Bruce Hamilton	race cancelled due to inclement weather
	H2			Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports		Bruce Hamilton	Bruce Hamilton	K-Hill Motorsports
	FR			Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports		Bruce Hamilton	Bruce Hamilton	K-Hill Motorsports
6	H1	Carolina Motorsports Park	Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports	Dustin Hodges	Dustin Hodges	Drew Holtgraewe	Arrive Drive Motorsports
	H2			Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports		Dustin Hodges	Dustin Hodges	Arrive Drive Motorsports
	FR			Harbir Dass	Harbir Dass	K-Hill Motorsports		Dustin Hodges	Dustin Hodges	Arrive Drive Motorsports
7	H1	Barber Motorsports Park	Jean-Luc Liverato	Clay DellaCava	Clay DellaCava		James Johnston Sr.	James Johnston Sr.	Brett Johnston
	FR			Jean-Luc Liverato	Jean-Luc Liverato	K-Hill Motorsports		Nicho Vardis	Nicho Vardis	Vardis Motorsports

Season report

The opening round of the 2026 Atlantic Championship was held at Road Atlanta. K-Hill Motorsports driver Harbir Dass claimed pole position in the 016 Class, but mechanical issues meant he was unable to finish the first heat race, with MotoNomaddicts driver John McAleer, the only other entrant in class, taking the win. Dass bounced back in heat race two, before then also winning the feature race to close up in the standings. The Open Class saw James French sweep the weekend in his Forty 48 Competition entry. He took pole position in qualifying before beating Arrive Drive Motorsports’ Ayrton Houk and K-Hill Motorsports’ Bruce Hamilton to victory in heat race one. He doubled up in race two, with Hamilton second this time, before going three for three in the feature race to end the weekend with a 23-point advantage over Hamilton, who came second once again.

Round two of the season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course saw two more entries join the 016 class in Ryan Saari, competing for DrivenTires.com, and K-Hill Motorsports driver Dudley Fleck. Dass took his second pole position of the year before dominating the first heat race ahead of Fleck and Saari. He repeated the feat in the second heat race, with Fleck second again and McAleer this time taking third. He looked set to remain unbeaten in the feature race, but retired with a car issue after leading the first ten laps. McAleer took over at the front to take victory and remain 39 points ahead of Dass in the standings as Saari took second as the only other finisher in class. The Open Class meanwhile saw just a single entrant for round two: Vardis Motorsports' Nicho Vardis therefore swept the weekend, taking maximum points to draw equal with pre-event class leader French.

Road America hosted round three, and Dass took 016 class pole position once again ahead of his competitors Fleck and McAleer. He converted his advantage into victory in the first heat race as McAleer had to retire with a technical issue. Dass's luck turned in the second heat race, as this time he hit technical trouble and finished third, with the win going to Fleck. The latter then doubled up in the feature race and took another victory as McAleer grew his points lead with another second place. Competition in the Open class began with pole position for Vardis, before he was bested by French, Team Tonis driver J.R. Smart and Forty 48's Jeffrey Antonelli in the race. French was then disqualified, handing victory to Smart, who then also won the second heat race as the sole finisher. None of the four Open class entrants started the feature race, so Vardis took over the class lead.

Round four at Watkins Glen International saw disruptions and delays caused by weather throughout, leading to the series' races being combined with the F2000 Championship Series races. Dass was among only a few drivers completing laps in the wet qualifying session to start the first race from pole position, and he converted that into a lights-to-flag victory. DrivenTires' series debutant Vaughn Glace was the only other 016 competitor to start the first race. A heavy crash for two F2000 competitors and the subsequent delays saw the second race declared a non-event, before Glace doubled up on his race 1 podium and took victory in the feature race. Dass retired after just two laps, but still took the championship lead over the absent McAleer. Vardis was the only Open Class driver starting any of the two races, so he took two more victories to extend his points lead to 107.

The next weekend, held at Summit Point Motorsports Park, saw similar disruptions caused by wet weather: After Dass and Hamilton took pole positions in qualifying for the 016 class and the open class, respectively, a lightning storm hit the area, causing the first race of the weekend to be cancelled. The second heat race, held in dry conditions on Sunday, saw Dass take victory in dominant fashion as he lapped the whole field and set a new track record. Saari came second as Hamilton led Home Tech Consultants' Robert Albani and Arrive Drive Motorsports’ Pierce Krone in the Open Class. With Saari not starting the feature race, Dass was without competition in the 016 Class, so he grew his points lead to 94 points. Hamilton swept the weekend in the Open Class to move within 49 points of Vardis, with Krone and TF Companies' Whitney Strickland completing the class podium.

The Atlantic Championship debuted at Carolina Motorsports Park for the penultimate weekend of its season, but only three drivers entered the two classes. Dass was the only entrant in the 016 class, and therefore took pole position and won all three races. With both McAleer and Fleck absent since round three, Dass was able to take the class championship title with one race weekend to spare. Holtgraewe was joined by Arrive Drive Motorsports' Dustin Hodges in the Open Class, and the latter was fastest in qualifying. Holtgraewe had the superior pace in the first heat race, however, and was able to pass Hodges to win. Hodges bounced back with a win in the second heat race, before also claiming victory in the feature race. Two second races still meant Holtgraewe rose to third in the standings, with the title battle still open heading into the final round.

Standings

Scoring system

The weekend format and with it the points system were overhauled for the 2026 season. Each weekend now comprised three races, the first two of which were designated as Heat Races and awarded points per class according to the following scale.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th+
Points	25	23	21	19	17	15	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

The third race of the weekend, called the Feature Race, awarded more points:

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	25th+
Points	50	42	37	34	31	29	27	25	23	21	19	17	15	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Three points were awarded for pole position in each class, as well as two more points for the fastest lap per race per class. Each driver's three worst results were dropped.

Drivers' standings

Pos Driver ATL MOH ROA WGL SUM CAR BAR Pts R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 016 Class standings 1 Harbir Dass Ret 1 1 1 1 (Ret) 1 3 3 1 C Ret C 1 1 1 1 1 450 2 John McAleer 1 2 2 4 3 1 Ret 2 2 248 3 Dudley Fleck 2 2 DNS 2† 1 1 150 4 Ryan Saari 3 4 2 WD WD WD C 2 DNS 105 5 Jean-Luc Liverato 2 1 78 6 Vaughn Glace 2 C 1 75 7 Clay DellaCava 1 2 69 — Richard Zober DNS C DNS 0 Open Class standings 1 Nicho Vardis 1 1 1 3 DNS DNS 1 C 1 6 1 284 2 Drew Holtgraewe C 6 4 1 2 2 5 5 187 3 Dustin Hodges 2 1 1 3 2 170 4 Bruce Hamilton 3 2 2 C 1 1 168 5 James French 1 1 1 DSQ Ret DNS 110 6 Pierce Krone C 3 2 63 7 Brett Johnston 1 4 59 8 James Johnston Sr. 7 3 55 9 Whitney Strickland C 5 3 54 10 J.R. Smart 1 1 DNS 52 11 Jim Johnston Jr. 2 7 50 12 Austin Holtgraewe C 4 5 50 13 Jim Kelleher 4 6 48 14 Ayrton Houk 2 3 DNS 44 15 Jeffrey Antonelli 2 Ret DNS 24 16 Robert Albani DNS WD WD C 2 Ret 24 — Jean-Luc Liverato DNS DNS DNS 0 — Rocco Magni DNS WD WD 0 — Tim Pierce DNS WD WD 0 — Kirk Kindsfater DNS C DNS 0 Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 Pts ATL MOH ROA WGL SUM CAR BAR

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap * – Penalty

See also

• 2026 F2000 Championship Series
• 2026 F1600 Championship Series

External links

• Official website: Formula Race Promotions