DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jason Miller, winner of the Prototype SCCA® National Championship in 2025, was named the recipient of the Road Racing Drivers Club’s (RRDC) Mark Donohue Award.
Miller was honored at the annual RRDC member’s dinner on January 21, 2026, prior to the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season-opening round of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Selected by members of the RRDC each year since 1971, the award recognizes the driver exhibiting the most outstanding performance at the annual Sports Car Club of America National Championship Runoffs in terms of personal spirit and skill behind the wheel.
Originally called the “Outstanding Performance Award,” the honor was later named after Mark Donohue, a former SCCA Champion, an inductee in the SCCA Hall of Fame and past president of the RRDC, following his death in 1975.
With 27 SCCA National Championship Runoffs starts to his name, Miller is no stranger to SCCA’s annual winner-take-all event. Coming into the 2025 Runoffs race in October at Road America, Miller qualified his No. 0 Kohler/Millennium/Hoosier Wynnfurst West Kohler 2-Stroke in third, one step back from his qualifying position the year prior. Miller’s 2025 race, however, would yield a different result from his 2024 attempt, where he qualified on the outside pole but finished seventh.
“I knew we had an incredibly fast car – I felt confident that we had a shot to win,” Miller said of his and his team’s pre-Runoffs prep. “Mentally, I was prepared to do whatever it took to make sure the car got to the front row. My crew and I went through the car meticulously to ensure that it was prepared for battle.”
When the green flag flew, he kept to the plan – and when the unexpected happened, he assessed, adapted, and put his head down.
“For me, I was trying to let the car and the tires warm up before I really started to push it,” he said. “I was having a few things in the car in terms of a porpoising issue as well as inconsistency in the brakes, but was able to remedy both with a few adjustments in the cockpit. I focused on the problem and was able to resolve it, and I knew we were on the right track, especially if we received a restart.”
Ultimately the race finished under caution – something he was happy about because, as he explained, “I was in front.”
With 11 previous top five finishes at the Runoffs, five of which placed him on the podium, Miller’s ability to put his car in a position to win has never been in question. This victory was undeniably the culmination of years of design, engineering, and utter determination.
For this success, Miller was quick to praise his crew. “I had an amazing team that put their heart and souls into making sure that I had a car that I could showcase,” he said. “I did everything I could to make sure that car was in the front row. With a little bit of luck and God on my side, we won.”
It doesn’t hurt that Miller is also a local to Road America, calling nearby Plymouth, Wisconsin, home.
“I probably have had over 70 races at Road America,” he revealed. “Honestly, to win the Runoffs at the best track in the United States in my backyard with all my friends and family watching, it just doesn’t get any better. I am so thankful to the SCCA, the fans, my family, and my wonderful crew.”
Miller found out that he had been selected for the Mark Donohue Award via a phone call from RRDC President Bobby Rahal.
“I was actually in Walmart with my wife when I got the call. She was picking up a TV remote trying to talk to me as I took the call from Bobby, and I signaled to her that I can’t talk right now – she gave me that look,” Miller laughed.
“I was honored to talk to Bobby – it meant a lot. We had a great conversation. He asked if I was related to Jeff Miller, who he had watched for many years racing. I told Bobby that he is my father.
“I am honored to be chosen for the Mark Donohue Award,” he said.
