The Skip Barber oval races came to Richmond Raceway on Thursday, July 3. For the first time in series history, the Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series moved away from road courses and onto an oval. Two 15-minute races followed, each producing a different winner. Ayden Young won Race 1 to claim his second series victory of 2026. Martin Kadlečík won Race 2 for his fourth. As a result, five drivers are now separated by just 16 points entering the COTA season finale on July 16.
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Brandon Hawkin set the fastest time in qualifying for Race 1, taking his first pole position of the season. He led the field to the green flag, but the lead was gone almost immediately. Young started second, and the front of the field went three-wide on the first lap.
Young, Hawkin, and Matt Caruana all cycled through the top spot while running close together at the front. Hawkin held the lead through eight laps. However, Young gradually found his advantage as the race moved into the final minutes.
Traffic played a key role in the closing laps, and Young had the better read on which lanes to use. As a result, he held on for the win, 0.154 seconds ahead of Hawkin at the line. Caruana was third.
Young started Race 2 on pole, and Hawkin pushed hard from the outside lane early. Young retook the lead on Lap 8, and for a long stretch it looked like he would sweep the night. Meanwhile, Kadlečík was working steadily through the field from his fourth-place starting spot.
With only a few laps remaining, he cleared Caruana for third. Then he made his move. Kadlečík took the lead on Lap 35, and from there he did not look back.
Young dropped to fifth as the field shuffled behind the leaders. Hawkin finished 0.160 seconds back in second. It was Kadlečík’s fourth win of the season and arguably his most important.
The two-race result changed the standings significantly when drops come into play. Kadlečík leads with 248 total points. Caruana is 10 back, Young is 12 back, Hawkin is 15 back, and Callegari trails by 16 points.
Without drops, Hawkin is the points leader, having accumulated more raw points than anyone in the field across 10 races. However, a pair of zeroes from Laguna Seca push him to fourth once those results drop off. Kadlečík, by contrast, has no zeroes remaining but also no safety net. His weakest result on record is now on the table if anything goes wrong at COTA.
However, the championship is not the only thing on the line at COTA. The top three finishers in the final standings will also earn an invitation to compete for a real-world racing seat through the Skip Barber Racing School. That means the gap between third and fifth, currently four points, carries real weight that goes beyond sim racing points.
The season finale at Circuit of the Americas is scheduled for July 16 at 7 p.m. ET. It will be live on iRacing’s social channels and iRacing.com/live. Additionally, Hot Lap Qualifying for COTA begins July 10 and runs through July 12. The entry fee is $50, and the top 20 qualifiers on the leaderboard advance to run both races. Because Skip Barber Racing School instructors will also be on hand for an open test session, drivers get a chance to dial in before the title is decided. For the five drivers still in contention, each of those two final races is worth up to 35 points.
