CRANDALL, TX (September 25, 2026) — In a season packed with adversity, Ryder Laplante has risen above setbacks to enjoy his best statistical year in Sprint Car racing.
The American Sprint Car Series sophomore began the first eight races of the year with two top-10 finishes between Volusia Speedway Park and Central Arizona Speedway. Then, an injury at Texas Motor Speedway forced him to miss the Series event at Benton Speedway in May.
Since the Calera, OK native returned to racing in June, he’s enjoyed a career-high stretch as an ASCS National Tour driver, including a current fifth-place points standing, top-10s in nine of the last 10 races, and a podium appearance in the Frontier Speedweek opener at Big Sky Speedway.
The 19-year-old pilot credits his second-half success to the team’s welcoming of veteran crew chief Bobby Craft when Laplante returned to the seat in June.
“Well, he’s a legend,” Laplante said. “It’s no good way to explain it, but just his knowledge. Like, he knows more than I’ll ever know probably in this industry. His work ethic for his age as well, I think most people at his age would want to step back and have other people doing it for him. But he’s always hands-on with it, always trying to teach me and my dad something new.
“Most crew guys and crew chiefs can’t tell a driver what to do and can’t explain it well. But he’s always been able to explain it to me; he can tell me how to position my car and where to put it on the track to find the most speed, and he’s helped out a lot more than he’ll probably ever know.”
Laplante took his first Series top-five of the season in July at Batesville Motor Speedway, then followed up with his first Sprint Car win of 2026 in IMCA competition at Abilene Speedway one week later.
While Laplante kept building the Series top-10 streak with a fourth-place finish at Viking Speedway, he also showed out in the first 360 Sprint Car race at Marshalltown Speedway in August, finishing runner-up to Garrett Benson.
“That all was a pretty big deal for us,” Laplante said. “First off, of course, it keeps the seat warm when you’re not racing with the Series. Every time we’ve tried to learn something on the off-races, it works out. At Marshalltown, Abilene, and all the others, it helps us find speed going into the ASCS races and having complete nights in general.”
Through the last 12 Series races, Laplante recorded personal-best marks that top both his 2024 and 2025 statistics. Before Batesville, he possessed one podium and seven career top-10 finishes.
So far this year, he’s scored three top-five finishes, 12 top-10s, and tied his career-best Feature result of third at Big Sky. His current fifth-place standing in points is the highest he’s ever been in the champion standings with three events remaining.
“It’s been amazing,” Laplante said. “It has really boosted our confidence, knowing that you’re meant to be where you’re at and showing that you can put in the results. The team as a whole, we’re really clicking well.
“If you’re consistent, which is really hard to do going up and down the road with the guys we race, it does get aggravating to a point because you’re too consistent. Like, you want to be better in the heat of it, but once you look at the big picture, you realize you’re not doing too bad.”
RPM Speedway awaits the Series on Saturday, Oct. 10, as the penultimate weekend of the campaign. Laplante has logged many laps at the Crandall, TX track, with two Micro Sprint wins in 2017 and 2018, then competed in 360 and 410 Sprint Cars from 2024-25.
Before the Series visits, he’ll gain more laps at the 1/4-mile track on Saturday night in a 305 Sprint Car for the Smiley Sitton Memorial.
“I mean, we’ve always had bad luck there every time we go,” Laplante said. “We shouldn’t, though, because I have more laps there than anyone. It’s a fun bullring; it’s my type of track, so we’ll put our cards on the table, and hopefully it works out. We’re going there this weekend for the 305 show to get laps ahead of the ASCS weekend.”
Closing his 2026 season at Creek County Speedway the following week for the Fuzzy’s Fall Fling, Laplante looks to finish with a smooth run between the two nights for his first top-five Series points finish as prep for the 2027 Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals awaits.
“If we can get through Creek County with the same parts we show up with, I’ll be more than happy,” Laplante said. “It was a good year for us, especially with how it started for me. We bounced back, and we’re finally getting consistent again.
“We’ll try to carry that into next year and going into Volusia (Speedway Park), where we had a good showing to start. If we can find a couple tenths in the shop through the off-season, I think we’ll be in for an even better year.”
Laplante will close out his second season of ASCS National Tour racing at RPM Speedway on Oct. 10, then Creek County on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17.
How can you find info for RPM? Click here
How can you find info for Creek County? Click here
Where can you watch every lap of the American Sprint Car Series? Live on DIRTVision.
Laplante Riding Wave of Career-Best Results in Closing Stages of Sophomore Year CRANDALL, TX (September 25, 2026) — In a season packed with adversity, Ryder Laplante has risen above setbacks to enjoy his best statistical year in Sprint Car racing.
The American Sprint Car Series sophomore began the first eight races of the year with two top-10 finishes between Volusia Speedway Park and Central Arizona Speedway. Then, an injury at Texas Motor Speedway forced him to miss the Series event at Benton Speedway in May.
Since the Calera, OK native returned to racing in June, he’s enjoyed a career-high stretch as an ASCS National Tour driver, including a current fifth-place points standing, top-10s in nine of the last 10 races, and a podium appearance in the Frontier Speedweek opener at Big Sky Speedway.
The 19-year-old pilot credits his second-half success to the team’s welcoming of veteran crew chief Bobby Craft when Laplante returned to the seat in June.
“Well, he’s a legend,” Laplante said. “It’s no good way to explain it, but just his knowledge. Like, he knows more than I’ll ever know probably in this industry. His work ethic for his age as well, I think most people at his age would want to step back and have other people doing it for him. But he’s always hands-on with it, always trying to teach me and my dad something new.
“Most crew guys and crew chiefs can’t tell a driver what to do and can’t explain it well. But he’s always been able to explain it to me; he can tell me how to position my car and where to put it on the track to find the most speed, and he’s helped out a lot more than he’ll probably ever know.”
Laplante took his first Series top-five of the season in July at Batesville Motor Speedway, then followed up with his first Sprint Car win of 2026 in IMCA competition at Abilene Speedway one week later.
While Laplante kept building the Series top-10 streak with a fourth-place finish at Viking Speedway, he also showed out in the first 360 Sprint Car race at Marshalltown Speedway in August, finishing runner-up to Garrett Benson.
“That all was a pretty big deal for us,” Laplante said. “First off, of course, it keeps the seat warm when you’re not racing with the Series. Every time we’ve tried to learn something on the off-races, it works out. At Marshalltown, Abilene, and all the others, it helps us find speed going into the ASCS races and having complete nights in general.”
Through the last 12 Series races, Laplante recorded personal-best marks that top both his 2024 and 2025 statistics. Before Batesville, he possessed one podium and seven career top-10 finishes.
So far this year, he’s scored three top-five finishes, 12 top-10s, and tied his career-best Feature result of third at Big Sky. His current fifth-place standing in points is the highest he’s ever been in the champion standings with three events remaining.
“It’s been amazing,” Laplante said. “It has really boosted our confidence, knowing that you’re meant to be where you’re at and showing that you can put in the results. The team as a whole, we’re really clicking well.
“If you’re consistent, which is really hard to do going up and down the road with the guys we race, it does get aggravating to a point because you’re too consistent. Like, you want to be better in the heat of it, but once you look at the big picture, you realize you’re not doing too bad.”
RPM Speedway awaits the Series on Saturday, Oct. 10, as the penultimate weekend of the campaign. Laplante has logged many laps at the Crandall, TX track, with two Micro Sprint wins in 2017 and 2018, then competed in 360 and 410 Sprint Cars from 2024-25.
Before the Series visits, he’ll gain more laps at the 1/4-mile track on Saturday night in a 305 Sprint Car for the Smiley Sitton Memorial.
“I mean, we’ve always had bad luck there every time we go,” Laplante said. “We shouldn’t, though, because I have more laps there than anyone. It’s a fun bullring; it’s my type of track, so we’ll put our cards on the table, and hopefully it works out. We’re going there this weekend for the 305 show to get laps ahead of the ASCS weekend.”
Closing his 2026 season at Creek County Speedway the following week for the Fuzzy’s Fall Fling, Laplante looks to finish with a smooth run between the two nights for his first top-five Series points finish as prep for the 2027 Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals awaits.
“If we can get through Creek County with the same parts we show up with, I’ll be more than happy,” Laplante said. “It was a good year for us, especially with how it started for me. We bounced back, and we’re finally getting consistent again.
“We’ll try to carry that into next year and going into Volusia (Speedway Park), where we had a good showing to start. If we can find a couple tenths in the shop through the off-season, I think we’ll be in for an even better year.”
Laplante will close out his second season of ASCS National Tour racing at RPM Speedway on Oct. 10, then Creek County on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17.
How can you find info for RPM? Click here
How can you find info for Creek County? Click here
Where can you watch every lap of the American Sprint Car Series? Live on DIRTVision.