Two rounds of the 2026 Mazda MX-5 Cup were contested this weekend at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), with Justin Adakonis expanding his championship lead by capturing Saturday’s Race No. 1 victory aboard the No. 23 McCumbee McAleer Racing Mazda MX-5. Noah Harmon, driving the No. 12 Hendricks Motorsports MX-5, closed out the VIR weekend with a victory in Sunday afternoon’s Race No. 2.
Race No. 1
The early battle for the lead featured McCumbee McAleer Racing teammates Jeremy Fletcher, who started from pole aboard the No. 22 MX-5, and Adakonis in the brightly colored No. 23 entry.
The intrasquad battle lasted through the opening minutes until a significant incident involving Capers Zentmeyer in the No. 33 Spark Performance MX-5 brought out the first full-course yellow with just over 30 minutes remaining.
The cleanup effort took several minutes, with the field returning to green-flag racing with more than 20 minutes remaining.
Once the green flag waved, Fletcher continued to lead the field as Adakonis and Harmon applied pressure in the battle for the top spot and the podium.
Drama unfolded behind the leaders as rookie William Wallis was sent into the grass aboard the No. 24 Advanced Autosports MX-5, while 14-year-old Jensen Mechelke became stuck in the grass in the No. 41 Parker Delong Racing MX-5, bringing out the second full-course yellow of the afternoon.
The brief caution reignited the battle for the lead with fewer than 15 minutes remaining, with Fletcher continuing to pace the field. However, Adakonis would pounce with less than 10 minutes left, making his move for the lead over Fletcher, who had been strong throughout the race.
The championship leader would ultimately fend off his challengers, while Fletcher slipped to third behind Jared Thomas in the No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering MX-5.
Thomas and Fletcher continued their battle in the closing minutes, but a late-race incident involving Nathan Nicholson in the No. 56 Advanced Autosports MX-5 brought out the final full-course yellow, ending the race behind the pace car.
Adakonis claimed the victory following his late-race pass on Fletcher, while Thomas split the McCumbee McAleer Racing teammates to finish second. Fletcher rounded out the podium in third.
Race No. 2
Jeremy Fletcher once again led the field to green in Sunday’s weekend finale following his strong performance on Saturday.
Fletcher maintained the lead through the opening corners as incidents unfolded deeper in the field. Spencer Bucknum went off track in the No. 6 BSI Racing MX-5, while Cam Ebben took a wild ride through the grass aboard the No. 55 “Screamin’ Sicilian” Advanced Autosports MX-5.
Shortly after Ebben’s incident, the first full-course yellow of the race was displayed for debris on track, just two minutes into the contest.
The race quickly returned to green, with Fletcher leading the field with less than 40 minutes remaining.
Fletcher continued to fend off Saturday’s race winner Adakonis, but Nicholson, looking to rebound from his race-ending incident Saturday, made his move for the lead with just over 30 minutes remaining.
Nicholson’s stay at the front was short-lived, as Fletcher pushed Harmon into the lead with 30 minutes remaining.
Harmon immediately found himself under pressure from a group of pursuers, with Fletcher, Nicholson, Matt Novak in the No. 11 Advanced Autosports MX-5, Thomas and Adakonis forming a tightly packed train behind him.
Nicholson soon powered from third to first, reclaiming the lead with more than 25 minutes remaining and the six-car group still tightly bunched together.
As Thomas and Harmon pushed toward the front, Harmon regained the lead before Thomas used the draft to make his move, placing the No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering MX-5 at the head of the field.
Harmon soon found another drafting partner in Nicholson, allowing him to reclaim the lead with more than 15 minutes remaining.
Harmon remained at the front as the clock dipped under 15 minutes, but Nicholson once again regained control of the race. Harmon refused to let him get away, staying on Nicholson’s bumper before reemerging as the leader with 10 minutes remaining.
Harmon held the lead through the final 10 minutes until the second full-course yellow was displayed when Wallis became stuck alongside the tire barrier.
With fewer than five minutes remaining, the track crew worked quickly to clear the incident and give the 39-car field a one-lap shootout to determine the winner.
As the field returned to green and white flags, Harmon held off his challengers, with Thomas trailing closely behind. Thomas made a daring move through the final turns, briefly going into the grass in an attempt to get around Harmon, but the Hendricks Motorsports driver held firm to secure the victory.
Thomas finished second following his late charge, while Ethan Lampe completed the podium in third.
Weekend Review
Leaving VIR, Adakonis remains atop the championship standings following an up-and-down weekend for the McCumbee McAleer Racing driver. Thomas made significant gains in the title fight, moving into second in the championship standings.
The series now has two race weekends remaining on the 2026 calendar, with the penultimate pair of rounds scheduled for September 18-20 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the famed “Yard of Bricks.”
Many Mazda MX-5 Cup competitors got their first look at the Indianapolis circuit during the series’ sanctioned test in April, as the single-make series prepares to return to the track for the first time since 2020.
