Baggsy takes on Bathurst, thrilling 55,000 fans as the Bathurst 12 Hour race sets a record attendance.

Click the image to watch Baggsy’s full lap of the famous Bathurst Circuit!

Baggsy and the GTR kicked off the Bathurst weekend in style with a police-escorted drive through the streets of Bathurstalongside all the GT3 cars, joined the fan signing session, and then headed to the iconic Bathurst 12 Hour for what turned out to be a record-breaking weekend.With three drift demos planned across Friday and Saturday, the team had plenty of track time at one of the most famous circuits in the world. Bathurst stretches 6.2km, with the mountain sitting 574ft higher than the start/finish line, creating one of the most unique and best settings in global motorsport.

Despite a few laps in a hire car beforehand, the circuit was still a serious challenge to learn. The tight, twisting corners across the top of the mountain demand real precision to avoid the concrete walls that line this part of the track. They also make it an incredible place to put on a show, making it the perfect venue to showcase the GTR.The event also saw a record attendance of 55,231 fans, adding to the atmosphere across the entire weekend. In addition to those trackside, a further 335,000 people tuned in via the live stream.Most importantly, the GTR ran flawlessly, completing all three demos without missing a beat. To have the car performing on such an iconic circuit was a proud moment for the whole team.

BAGGSY & THE GTR TAKE ON BATHURST 12 HOUR

Baggsy takes on Bathurst, thrilling 55,000 fans as the Bathurst 12 Hour race sets a record attendance.

Click the image to watch Baggsy’s full lap of the famous Bathurst Circuit!

Baggsy and the GTR kicked off the Bathurst weekend in style with a police-escorted drive through the streets of Bathurstalongside all the GT3 cars, joined the fan signing session, and then headed to the iconic Bathurst 12 Hour for what turned out to be a record-breaking weekend.With three drift demos planned across Friday and Saturday, the team had plenty of track time at one of the most famous circuits in the world. Bathurst stretches 6.2km, with the mountain sitting 574ft higher than the start/finish line, creating one of the most unique and best settings in global motorsport.

Despite a few laps in a hire car beforehand, the circuit was still a serious challenge to learn. The tight, twisting corners across the top of the mountain demand real precision to avoid the concrete walls that line this part of the track. They also make it an incredible place to put on a show, making it the perfect venue to showcase the GTR.The event also saw a record attendance of 55,231 fans, adding to the atmosphere across the entire weekend. In addition to those trackside, a further 335,000 people tuned in via the live stream.Most importantly, the GTR ran flawlessly, completing all three demos without missing a beat. To have the car performing on such an iconic circuit was a proud moment for the whole team.

It was a pleasure to be part of such a famous event and to run the GTR on one of the best circuits in the world.SB Motorsport would like to extend a big thanks to Scuderia Autoart, ST Suspensions, and Monster Energy for making the weekend possible. Thanks also to all our sponsors for supporting the team and playing their part in making events like this happen.Next stop: Sweden for a Monster Energy project — and some ice driving. More on that soon.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 17, 2026) – Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, is thrilled to announce a special Quarters for Kids Campaign that will fund $27,000 in bike learning programs through All Kids Bike. During the 2026 Progressive AFT Season, $0.25 from every race ticket will help fund new All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride programs. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, All Kids Bike provides schools with everything they need to teach kids how to ride a bike – from balancing to pedaling – as part of their Kindergarten PE class. The comprehensive, ready-to-teach program is currently teaching over 180,000 students across the US how to ride this school year. “As huge fans of Progressive American Flat Track racing, we truly believe that inspiring the next generation of racers starts by empowering children to ride at the youngest age possible,” said All Kids Bike Executive Director Lisa Weyer. “The amazing part of this Quarters for Kids campaign is that it enables AFT fans to help fund the future of the sport. Even if you attend just one race this season, you’ll help 3,000 Kindergarteners discover the confidence and joy of riding a bike.” Twenty-five cents from every ticket this season will help fund the $9,000 All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride Program in three (3) new schools. Because each program remains in a school for 10 years, this single season can ultimately help approximately 3,000 children learn to ride a bike. If the program falls short of its $27,000 goal, a donation from Tim Estenson will offset the difference to ensure all programs are fully funded, proving that Progressive AFT racing teams truly believe in the power of the All Kids Bike Program. Don’t miss the start of the 2026 Progressive American Flat Track season. The series kicks off the year with the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I & II at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6.  To purchase tickets to the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I & II, visit:https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack. Following the season opener, the series travels to Senoia Raceway for the Yamaha Atlanta Short Track on March 21.  To purchase tickets for the Yamaha Atlanta Short Track, visit:https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/2026-atlanta-short-track-165280.

American Flat Track, All Kids Bike partner on Quarters for Kids campaign to fund $27,000 in learn-to-ride bike programsDAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 17, 2026) – Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, is thrilled to announce a special Quarters for Kids Campaign that will fund $27,000 in bike learning programs through All Kids Bike. During the 2026 Progressive AFT Season, $0.25 from every race ticket will help fund new All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride programs. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, All Kids Bike provides schools with everything they need to teach kids how to ride a bike – from balancing to pedaling – as part of their Kindergarten PE class. The comprehensive, ready-to-teach program is currently teaching over 180,000 students across the US how to ride this school year. “As huge fans of Progressive American Flat Track racing, we truly believe that inspiring the next generation of racers starts by empowering children to ride at the youngest age possible,” said All Kids Bike Executive Director Lisa Weyer. “The amazing part of this Quarters for Kids campaign is that it enables AFT fans to help fund the future of the sport. Even if you attend just one race this season, you’ll help 3,000 Kindergarteners discover the confidence and joy of riding a bike.” Twenty-five cents from every ticket this season will help fund the $9,000 All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride Program in three (3) new schools. Because each program remains in a school for 10 years, this single season can ultimately help approximately 3,000 children learn to ride a bike. If the program falls short of its $27,000 goal, a donation from Tim Estenson will offset the difference to ensure all programs are fully funded, proving that Progressive AFT racing teams truly believe in the power of the All Kids Bike Program. Don’t miss the start of the 2026 Progressive American Flat Track season. The series kicks off the year with the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I & II at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6.  To purchase tickets to the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I & II, visit:https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack. Following the season opener, the series travels to Senoia Raceway for the Yamaha Atlanta Short Track on March 21.  To purchase tickets for the Yamaha Atlanta Short Track, visit:https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/2026-atlanta-short-track-165280.

CLEWISTON, FL (February 17, 2026) – The end of the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park has typically meant heading back north. This year, it means going further south.

For the first time ever, the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision will extend their stay in Florida for the inaugural visit to the southernmost dirt track in the United States. Hendry County Motorsports Park will host the first national Late Model event in its history this weekend with the Swamp Cabbage 100 on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21.

On-track action kicks off with a practice night on Thursday before The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet go 40 laps for $12,000 on Friday. A 60-lap main event is set for Saturday, with $20,000 going to the winner.

In addition to the Late Models, 4.6 Ford Crown Vics will also be on the card for both nights.

GET TICKETS

WATCH LIVE ON DIRTVISION

Here are this week’s top storylines:

KING OF THE GATORS: No one on the World of Outlaws roster is rolling into Hendry County with more momentum than Nick Hoffman.

A week that included three wins, five top fives and a 3.1 average finish in six nights at Volusia Speedway Park earned Hoffman his first Late Model Big Gator after winning seven in a row in a DIRTcar UMP Modified between 2016 and 2022. That gives him a 27-point advantage in the standings over his closest full-time challenger in Bobby Pierce, who could have found himself much further back if he wasn’t able to charge from 21st to third on Friday or 19th to second on Saturday at Volusia.

Thursday’s practice night will be a crucial one for Hoffman, as it will be his only chance to refine a Hendry County setup that can keep him out front at a track he’s never seen before. The only experience he’ll have to lean on will come from his Elite Chassis customers, many of whom were at Hendry County’s DIRTcar UMP Modified Florida Speedweeks event in January.

WILD CARD: Hoffman is far from the only one heading to Hendry County with a blank notebook. Ask any driver about what they expect this weekend, and most responses will include a shrug and “I have no idea.”

Nine Super Late Model drivers were in attendance at an open practice night last month – Boom Briggs, Tristan Chamberlain, Ryan Gustin, Eli Johnson, Brent Larson, Matthew Larson, Tim McCreadie, Trey Mills and Drake Troutman. Outside of those competitors, no one in this weekend’s field has ever wheeled an open-motor car around “The Fastest Sand Pit in the South.”

A leveled playing field can often result in some underdogs having a moment in the spotlight, and a prime candidate for that role could be Tristan Chamberlain. The Richmond, IN native laid down the fastest lap of the test session with a 14.148, and he’ll look to put those notes to good use as he chases his first top 10 of the new World of Outlaws season.

CRATE CARRYOVER: Super Late Models may be an unknown commodity at Hendry County, but it has hosted plenty of high-level racing in the Crate Late Model world.

Crate Racin’ USA has made the track a regular stop each winter, and a trio of Outlaws were in attendance last month for the 2026 visit. Leading the charge was Daulton Wilson in third in the main event, while Eli Johnson and Cody Overton faded to finish 19th and 21st, respectively.

Sam Seawright finished fourth that night, and he also plans to be in attendance this weekend alongside Coltman Farms Racing teammate Luke Morey as both drivers continue to settle into their new team.

HOME COOKING: For Eli Johnson, Hendry County is more than just a track he knows from his Crate Late Model years – it’s home.

The World of Outlaws rookie lives right down the road in Clewiston, FL, and the city is the home base for the family business, Clyde Johnson Contracting & Roofing. Johnson is one of many Hendry County regulars who have dreamed about seeing their home track showcased on the national stage, and he’ll make it happen this week not just as a local favorite, but as one of the touring stars invading the facility.

The Swamp Cabbage 100 will be Johnson’s only chance all year to have the upper hand in experience over the rest of the field, with plenty of starts to his name in both the 604 Late Model and Factory Stock divisions. He won six times at Hendry County in 2023 and once more in 2024 before beginning to travel more in 2025 in preparation for his jump to full-time World of Outlaws racing.

SOUTH FLORIDA FUN: The activities this week aren’t limited to the racetrack, as the World of Outlaws has partnered with the Hendry County Tourism Development Council to create a full week of entertainment for locals and travelers alike.

Wednesday morning brings a fishing tournament on Lake Okeechobee, allowing fans to reel in bass alongside some of their favorite World of Outlaws drivers. Thursday is practice day at the track, followed by an after-party at the on-site Turn 5 Bar from 9-11 p.m.

The Swamp Cabbage Festival takes center stage in downtown LaBelle, FL – 20 minutes from the track – on Saturday and Sunday. Events include live music, an air show, car corrals, as well as a parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday that will feature Late Models rolling through town.

WHEN AND WHERE:
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 20-21, at Hendry County Motorsports Park in Clewiston, FL

CURRENT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Nick Hoffman (732 points)
2. Brandon Sheppard (-14)
3. Bobby Pierce (-27)
4. Tim McCreadie (-38)
5. Ricky Thornton Jr. (-45)
6. Tyler Erb (-46)
7. Drake Troutman (-63)
8. Hudson O’Neal (-79)
9. Ryan Gustin (-80)
10. Brandon Overton (-82)

FEATURE WINNERS (5):
Nick Hoffman – 2
Brandon Sheppard – 1
Tim McCreadie – 1
Hudson O’Neal – 1
Chris Madden – 1

FEATURE TOP FIVES (12):
Nick Hoffman – 5
Brandon Sheppard – 4
Tim McCreadie – 3
Bobby Pierce – 3
Tyler Erb – 3
Hudson O’Neal – 2
Chris Madden – 2
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 2
Dennis Erb Jr. – 2
Drake Troutman – 2
Brandon Overton – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1

FEATURE LAPS LED (8):
Nick Hoffman – 90
Chris Madden – 36
Hudson O’Neal – 35
Tim McCreadie – 28
Ryan Gustin – 22
Brandon Sheppard – 18
Michael Leach – 10
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 2

BILSTEIN POLE AWARDS (5):
Nick Hoffman – 2
Chris Madden – 1
Brandon Overton – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1
Michael Leach – 1

SIMPSON QUICK TIME AWARDS (2):
Chris Madden – 3
Tyler Erb – 1
Brandon Overton – 1
Cody Overton – 1

HEAT RACE WINS (17):
Chris Madden – 5
Nick Hoffman – 4
Tyler Erb – 4
Brandon Sheppard – 2
Ryan Gustin – 2
Brandon Overton – 2
Hudson O’Neal – 1
Bobby Pierce – 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 1
Drake Troutman – 1
Blair Nothdurft – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Dan Ebert – 1
Austin Smith – 1
Dustin Sorensen – 1
Donald McIntosh – 1
Michael Leach – 1

LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (9):
Josh Rice – 3
Ethan Dotson – 2
Tim McCreadie – 1
Bobby Pierce – 1
Dennis Erb Jr. – 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Dallon Murty – 1
Tristan Chamberlain – 1

2026 WORLD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODEL SERIES PRESENTED BY DIRTVISION SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Jan. 21 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL (Practice)
Thursday, Jan. 22 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Chris Madden (1)
Friday, Jan. 23 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Hudson O’Neal (1)
Saturday, Jan. 24 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Tim McCreadie (1)
Thursday, Feb. 12 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Nick Hoffman (1)
Friday, Feb. 13 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Nick Hoffman (2)
Saturday, Feb. 14 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Brandon Sheppard (1)
Thursday, Feb. 19 / Hendry County Motorsports Park / Clewiston, FL (Practice)
Friday, Feb. 20 / Hendry County Motorsports Park / Clewiston, FL
Saturday, Feb. 21 / Hendry County Motorsports Park / Clewiston, FL
Friday, March 13 / Volunteer Speedway / Bulls Gap, TN
Saturday, March 14 / Smoky Mountain Speedway / Maryville, TN
Friday, March 20 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS
Saturday, March 21 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS
Friday, March 27 / East Alabama Motor Speedway / Phenix City, AL
Saturday, March 28 / Senoia Raceway / Senoia, GA
Thursday, April 9 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL (Practice)
Friday, April 10 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL
Saturday, April 11 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL
Friday, April 24 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL
Saturday, April 25 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL
Tuesday, April 28 / Independence Motor Speedway / Independence, IA
Thursday, April 30 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Friday, May 1 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Saturday, May 2 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Wednesday, May 13 / Georgetown Speedway / Georgetown, DE
Thursday, May 14 / Selinsgrove Speedway / Selinsgrove, PA
Friday, May 15 / Marion Center Raceway / Marion Center, PA
Saturday, May 16 / Marion Center Raceway / Marion Center, PA
Sunday, May 17 / Bedford Speedway / Bedford, PA
Thursday, May 28 / Wayne County Speedway / Orrville, OH
Friday, May 29 / Mansfield Speedway / Mansfield, OH
Saturday, May 30 / Mansfield Speedway / Mansfield, OH
Friday, June 12 / West Virginia Motor Speedway / Mineral Wells, WV
Saturday, June 13 / West Virginia Motor Speedway / Mineral Wells, WV
Friday, June 19 / 141 Speedway / Maribel, WI
Saturday, June 20 / 141 Speedway / Maribel, WI
Monday, June 22 / Ogilvie Raceway / Ogilvie, MN
Wednesday, June 24 / I-94 emr Speedway / Fergus Falls, MN
Friday, June 26 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND
Sunday, June 28 / Nodak Speedway / Minot, ND
Tuesday, June 30 / Norman County Raceway / Ada, MN
Thursday, July 2 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Friday, July 3 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Saturday, July 4 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Wednesday, July 8 / Stateline Speedway / Busti, NY
Friday, July 10 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Saturday, July 11 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Friday, July 24 / Fairbury Speedway / Fairbury, IL
Saturday, July 25 / Fairbury Speedway / Fairbury, IL
Thursday, July 30 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Friday, July 31 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Saturday, Aug. 1 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Thursday, Aug. 20 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA (Practice)
Friday, Aug. 21 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA
Saturday, Aug. 22 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA
Wednesday, Aug. 26 / Southern Iowa Speedway / Oskaloosa, IA
Friday, Aug, 28 / Adams County Speedway / Corning, IA
Saturday, Aug. 29 / Shelby County Speedway / Harlan, IA
Friday, Sept. 25 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO
Saturday, Sept. 26 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO
Friday, Oct. 2 / Boothill Speedway / Greenwood, LA
Saturday, Oct. 3 / Boothill Speedway / Greenwood, LA
Friday, Oct. 23 / Modoc Speedway / Modoc, SC
Saturday, Oct. 24 / Modoc Speedway / Modoc, SC
Wednesday, Nov. 4 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Thursday, Nov. 5 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Friday, Nov. 6 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Saturday, Nov. 7 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC

TOP FIVE STORYLINES: World of Outlaws Making First Venture to Hendry County for Swamp Cabbage 100

CLEWISTON, FL (February 17, 2026) – The end of the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park has typically meant heading back north. This year, it means going further south.

For the first time ever, the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision will extend their stay in Florida for the inaugural visit to the southernmost dirt track in the United States. Hendry County Motorsports Park will host the first national Late Model event in its history this weekend with the Swamp Cabbage 100 on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21.

On-track action kicks off with a practice night on Thursday before The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet go 40 laps for $12,000 on Friday. A 60-lap main event is set for Saturday, with $20,000 going to the winner.

In addition to the Late Models, 4.6 Ford Crown Vics will also be on the card for both nights.

GET TICKETS

WATCH LIVE ON DIRTVISION

Here are this week’s top storylines:

KING OF THE GATORS: No one on the World of Outlaws roster is rolling into Hendry County with more momentum than Nick Hoffman.

A week that included three wins, five top fives and a 3.1 average finish in six nights at Volusia Speedway Park earned Hoffman his first Late Model Big Gator after winning seven in a row in a DIRTcar UMP Modified between 2016 and 2022. That gives him a 27-point advantage in the standings over his closest full-time challenger in Bobby Pierce, who could have found himself much further back if he wasn’t able to charge from 21st to third on Friday or 19th to second on Saturday at Volusia.

Thursday’s practice night will be a crucial one for Hoffman, as it will be his only chance to refine a Hendry County setup that can keep him out front at a track he’s never seen before. The only experience he’ll have to lean on will come from his Elite Chassis customers, many of whom were at Hendry County’s DIRTcar UMP Modified Florida Speedweeks event in January.

WILD CARD: Hoffman is far from the only one heading to Hendry County with a blank notebook. Ask any driver about what they expect this weekend, and most responses will include a shrug and “I have no idea.”

Nine Super Late Model drivers were in attendance at an open practice night last month – Boom Briggs, Tristan Chamberlain, Ryan Gustin, Eli Johnson, Brent Larson, Matthew Larson, Tim McCreadie, Trey Mills and Drake Troutman. Outside of those competitors, no one in this weekend’s field has ever wheeled an open-motor car around “The Fastest Sand Pit in the South.”

A leveled playing field can often result in some underdogs having a moment in the spotlight, and a prime candidate for that role could be Tristan Chamberlain. The Richmond, IN native laid down the fastest lap of the test session with a 14.148, and he’ll look to put those notes to good use as he chases his first top 10 of the new World of Outlaws season.

CRATE CARRYOVER: Super Late Models may be an unknown commodity at Hendry County, but it has hosted plenty of high-level racing in the Crate Late Model world.

Crate Racin’ USA has made the track a regular stop each winter, and a trio of Outlaws were in attendance last month for the 2026 visit. Leading the charge was Daulton Wilson in third in the main event, while Eli Johnson and Cody Overton faded to finish 19th and 21st, respectively.

Sam Seawright finished fourth that night, and he also plans to be in attendance this weekend alongside Coltman Farms Racing teammate Luke Morey as both drivers continue to settle into their new team.

HOME COOKING: For Eli Johnson, Hendry County is more than just a track he knows from his Crate Late Model years – it’s home.

The World of Outlaws rookie lives right down the road in Clewiston, FL, and the city is the home base for the family business, Clyde Johnson Contracting & Roofing. Johnson is one of many Hendry County regulars who have dreamed about seeing their home track showcased on the national stage, and he’ll make it happen this week not just as a local favorite, but as one of the touring stars invading the facility.

The Swamp Cabbage 100 will be Johnson’s only chance all year to have the upper hand in experience over the rest of the field, with plenty of starts to his name in both the 604 Late Model and Factory Stock divisions. He won six times at Hendry County in 2023 and once more in 2024 before beginning to travel more in 2025 in preparation for his jump to full-time World of Outlaws racing.

SOUTH FLORIDA FUN: The activities this week aren’t limited to the racetrack, as the World of Outlaws has partnered with the Hendry County Tourism Development Council to create a full week of entertainment for locals and travelers alike.

Wednesday morning brings a fishing tournament on Lake Okeechobee, allowing fans to reel in bass alongside some of their favorite World of Outlaws drivers. Thursday is practice day at the track, followed by an after-party at the on-site Turn 5 Bar from 9-11 p.m.

The Swamp Cabbage Festival takes center stage in downtown LaBelle, FL – 20 minutes from the track – on Saturday and Sunday. Events include live music, an air show, car corrals, as well as a parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday that will feature Late Models rolling through town.

WHEN AND WHERE:
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 20-21, at Hendry County Motorsports Park in Clewiston, FL

CURRENT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Nick Hoffman (732 points)
2. Brandon Sheppard (-14)
3. Bobby Pierce (-27)
4. Tim McCreadie (-38)
5. Ricky Thornton Jr. (-45)
6. Tyler Erb (-46)
7. Drake Troutman (-63)
8. Hudson O’Neal (-79)
9. Ryan Gustin (-80)
10. Brandon Overton (-82)

FEATURE WINNERS (5):
Nick Hoffman – 2
Brandon Sheppard – 1
Tim McCreadie – 1
Hudson O’Neal – 1
Chris Madden – 1

FEATURE TOP FIVES (12):
Nick Hoffman – 5
Brandon Sheppard – 4
Tim McCreadie – 3
Bobby Pierce – 3
Tyler Erb – 3
Hudson O’Neal – 2
Chris Madden – 2
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 2
Dennis Erb Jr. – 2
Drake Troutman – 2
Brandon Overton – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1

FEATURE LAPS LED (8):
Nick Hoffman – 90
Chris Madden – 36
Hudson O’Neal – 35
Tim McCreadie – 28
Ryan Gustin – 22
Brandon Sheppard – 18
Michael Leach – 10
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 2

BILSTEIN POLE AWARDS (5):
Nick Hoffman – 2
Chris Madden – 1
Brandon Overton – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1
Michael Leach – 1

SIMPSON QUICK TIME AWARDS (2):
Chris Madden – 3
Tyler Erb – 1
Brandon Overton – 1
Cody Overton – 1

HEAT RACE WINS (17):
Chris Madden – 5
Nick Hoffman – 4
Tyler Erb – 4
Brandon Sheppard – 2
Ryan Gustin – 2
Brandon Overton – 2
Hudson O’Neal – 1
Bobby Pierce – 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 1
Drake Troutman – 1
Blair Nothdurft – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Dan Ebert – 1
Austin Smith – 1
Dustin Sorensen – 1
Donald McIntosh – 1
Michael Leach – 1

LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (9):
Josh Rice – 3
Ethan Dotson – 2
Tim McCreadie – 1
Bobby Pierce – 1
Dennis Erb Jr. – 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Dallon Murty – 1
Tristan Chamberlain – 1

2026 WORLD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODEL SERIES PRESENTED BY DIRTVISION SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Jan. 21 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL (Practice)
Thursday, Jan. 22 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Chris Madden (1)
Friday, Jan. 23 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Hudson O’Neal (1)
Saturday, Jan. 24 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Tim McCreadie (1)
Thursday, Feb. 12 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Nick Hoffman (1)
Friday, Feb. 13 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Nick Hoffman (2)
Saturday, Feb. 14 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Brandon Sheppard (1)
Thursday, Feb. 19 / Hendry County Motorsports Park / Clewiston, FL (Practice)
Friday, Feb. 20 / Hendry County Motorsports Park / Clewiston, FL
Saturday, Feb. 21 / Hendry County Motorsports Park / Clewiston, FL
Friday, March 13 / Volunteer Speedway / Bulls Gap, TN
Saturday, March 14 / Smoky Mountain Speedway / Maryville, TN
Friday, March 20 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS
Saturday, March 21 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS
Friday, March 27 / East Alabama Motor Speedway / Phenix City, AL
Saturday, March 28 / Senoia Raceway / Senoia, GA
Thursday, April 9 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL (Practice)
Friday, April 10 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL
Saturday, April 11 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL
Friday, April 24 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL
Saturday, April 25 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL
Tuesday, April 28 / Independence Motor Speedway / Independence, IA
Thursday, April 30 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Friday, May 1 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Saturday, May 2 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Wednesday, May 13 / Georgetown Speedway / Georgetown, DE
Thursday, May 14 / Selinsgrove Speedway / Selinsgrove, PA
Friday, May 15 / Marion Center Raceway / Marion Center, PA
Saturday, May 16 / Marion Center Raceway / Marion Center, PA
Sunday, May 17 / Bedford Speedway / Bedford, PA
Thursday, May 28 / Wayne County Speedway / Orrville, OH
Friday, May 29 / Mansfield Speedway / Mansfield, OH
Saturday, May 30 / Mansfield Speedway / Mansfield, OH
Friday, June 12 / West Virginia Motor Speedway / Mineral Wells, WV
Saturday, June 13 / West Virginia Motor Speedway / Mineral Wells, WV
Friday, June 19 / 141 Speedway / Maribel, WI
Saturday, June 20 / 141 Speedway / Maribel, WI
Monday, June 22 / Ogilvie Raceway / Ogilvie, MN
Wednesday, June 24 / I-94 emr Speedway / Fergus Falls, MN
Friday, June 26 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND
Sunday, June 28 / Nodak Speedway / Minot, ND
Tuesday, June 30 / Norman County Raceway / Ada, MN
Thursday, July 2 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Friday, July 3 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Saturday, July 4 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Wednesday, July 8 / Stateline Speedway / Busti, NY
Friday, July 10 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Saturday, July 11 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Friday, July 24 / Fairbury Speedway / Fairbury, IL
Saturday, July 25 / Fairbury Speedway / Fairbury, IL
Thursday, July 30 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Friday, July 31 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Saturday, Aug. 1 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Thursday, Aug. 20 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA (Practice)
Friday, Aug. 21 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA
Saturday, Aug. 22 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA
Wednesday, Aug. 26 / Southern Iowa Speedway / Oskaloosa, IA
Friday, Aug, 28 / Adams County Speedway / Corning, IA
Saturday, Aug. 29 / Shelby County Speedway / Harlan, IA
Friday, Sept. 25 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO
Saturday, Sept. 26 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO
Friday, Oct. 2 / Boothill Speedway / Greenwood, LA
Saturday, Oct. 3 / Boothill Speedway / Greenwood, LA
Friday, Oct. 23 / Modoc Speedway / Modoc, SC
Saturday, Oct. 24 / Modoc Speedway / Modoc, SC
Wednesday, Nov. 4 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Thursday, Nov. 5 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Friday, Nov. 6 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Saturday, Nov. 7 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/top-five-storylines-world-of-outlaws-making-first-venture-to-hendry-county-for-swamp-cabbage-100/

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Roars into Ocala Speedway

BATAVIA, Ohio (February 16, 2026) – The nation’s premier dirt late model drivers are set to invade Ocala Speedway for a massive week of racing as the Wieland Winter Nationals continue, February 23rd through 28th. Teams will tackle the 3/8-mile oval beginning Monday, February 23rd, for an Open Practice. Beyond, each race night will feature a complete Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing program, including Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and an A-Main that promises edge-of-your-seat excitement. Pit gates are scheduled to open at 2:00 PM each day, with grandstand gates opening at 5:00 PM. On-track action will begin with Dirt Draft Hot Laps at 6:00 PM. Ocala Speedway is the longest continuously running dirt track in Florida, beginning operations in 1952. Ocala Speedway is located at 9050 N.W. Gainesville Road in Ocala, Florida, just minutes from I-75 at Exit 354. To purchase tickets or find more information, please visit OcalaSpeedway.com. For the latest news, results, championship standings, and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing, please visit LucasDirt.com. Ocala Speedway Purses:Tuesday, February 24: 1. $7,000, 2. $3,500, 3. $2,000, 4. $1,500, 5. $1,400, 6. $1,300, 7. $1,200, 8. $1,100, 9. $1,000, 10. $950, 11. $900, 12. $850, 13. $800, 14. $750, 15. $725, 16. $700, 17. $700, 18. $700, 19. $650, 20. $625, 21. $625, 22. $600, 23. $600, 24. $600 = $30,775 Wednesday, February 25: 1. $7,000, 2. $3,500, 3. $2,000, 4. $1,500, 5. $1,400, 6. $1,300, 7. $1,200, 8. $1,100, 9. $1,000, 10. $950, 11. $900, 12. $850, 13. $800, 14. $750, 15. $725, 16. $700, 17. $700, 18. $700, 19. $650, 20. $625, 21. $625, 22. $600, 23. $600, 24. $600 = $30,775 Thursday, February 26: 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800 = $48,575 Friday, February 27: 1. $12,000, 2. $6,000, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,800, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,100, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000 = $52,800 Saturday, February 28: 1. $25,000, 2. $10,000, 3. $6,000, 4. $4,000, 5. $3,500, 6. $2,700, 7. $2,500, 8. $2,300, 9. $2,200, 10. $2,100, 11. $2,000, 12. $1,900, 13. $1,800, 14. $1,700, 15. $1,600, 16. $1,500, 17. $1,500, 18. $1,500, 19. $1,500, 20. $1,500, 21. $1,500, 22. $1,500, 23. $1,500, 24. $1,500 = $82,800 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:Fronts/Left Rear – Hoosier (90) NLMT2Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) NLMT3 About WielandIn addition to supporting motorsports, Wieland Metal Services offers one of the most extensive selections of permanently available metal products in the industry today. Our portfolio includes copper, copper alloys, aluminum, and other high-performance metals in strip and cut-to-length forms. We maintain a full range of copper and brass alloys, aluminum alloys, and stainless steel in strip, sheet, coil, and foil forms, complemented by extruded and cast semi-finished products such as rods, bars, tubes, wires, and profiles. With over twenty specialized service options across North America, we provide custom finishing capabilities and value-added services including precision metal slitting, blanking, plate cutting, tinning, and electroplating, metal coatings, traverse winding, and cut-to-size services for bars, rods, and tubes. These solutions serve customers across diverse technology sectors with uncompromising demands for precision and performance.

Event: DAYTONA 500

Location: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2026

Start: 14th

Finish: 9th

Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team rallied from being a lap down at the end of Stage 1 and navigated late-race chaos on the frontstretch to secure a ninth-place finish in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Berry, driving a Ford Mustang Dark Horse styled to resemble the Mercury David Pearson piloted to victory in the Great American Race 50 years ago to the day, took the green flag from 14th. He cracked the top 10 by Lap 3 and climbed into the top five within the first 15 circuits.

Following a green-flag pit stop on Lap 50, Berry cycled back to 36th and ultimately finished Stage 1 in 37th, one lap down. He remained in position for the Free Pass until a caution on Lap 85 allowed him to return to the lead lap.

Berry avoided a 20-car crash with seven laps remaining in Stage 2 and closed that segment in 15th. The Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew bolted on four fresh tires and added fuel during the Stage break, allowing Berry to restart Stage 3 in sixth after several teams pitted late for fuel.

He spent much of the final Stage inside the top 10 and made his last pit stop from second place on Lap 185 of 200. Berry then led a pack of primarily Mustangs back toward the front and was running fourth with 10 laps remaining.

The No. 21 Ford remained in the top 10 through another incident that set up a four-lap dash to the finish. Berry briefly slipped to 16th on the restart but powered back through a multi-car crash near the finish line to earn the 16th top-10 result of his 85-race NASCAR Cup Series career.

Berry said he worked to stay aligned with his Ford teammates in the closing laps, though the draft didn’t quite come together as hoped.

“We really just tried to stay with Chris [Buescher] and Brad [Keselowski] the best I could, but it seemed like I could stay pretty close to them but whoever was behind me would lose me and we couldn’t get it going like we wanted,” Berry said. “All in all, it was a solid final Stage. We had a complete disaster in the first Stage and rebounded really well and gave ourselves a chance at it at the end.

“You can see how much happens in the last couple of laps, but all in all, we ran a good race, and we had a really good Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang.

“I’m really proud of the guys.”

Event: DAYTONA 500

Location: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2026

Start: 14th

Finish: 9th

Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team rallied from being a lap down at the end of Stage 1 and navigated late-race chaos on the frontstretch to secure a ninth-place finish in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Berry, driving a Ford Mustang Dark Horse styled to resemble the Mercury David Pearson piloted to victory in the Great American Race 50 years ago to the day, took the green flag from 14th. He cracked the top 10 by Lap 3 and climbed into the top five within the first 15 circuits.

Following a green-flag pit stop on Lap 50, Berry cycled back to 36th and ultimately finished Stage 1 in 37th, one lap down. He remained in position for the Free Pass until a caution on Lap 85 allowed him to return to the lead lap.

Berry avoided a 20-car crash with seven laps remaining in Stage 2 and closed that segment in 15th. The Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew bolted on four fresh tires and added fuel during the Stage break, allowing Berry to restart Stage 3 in sixth after several teams pitted late for fuel.

He spent much of the final Stage inside the top 10 and made his last pit stop from second place on Lap 185 of 200. Berry then led a pack of primarily Mustangs back toward the front and was running fourth with 10 laps remaining.

The No. 21 Ford remained in the top 10 through another incident that set up a four-lap dash to the finish. Berry briefly slipped to 16th on the restart but powered back through a multi-car crash near the finish line to earn the 16th top-10 result of his 85-race NASCAR Cup Series career.

Berry said he worked to stay aligned with his Ford teammates in the closing laps, though the draft didn’t quite come together as hoped.

“We really just tried to stay with Chris [Buescher] and Brad [Keselowski] the best I could, but it seemed like I could stay pretty close to them but whoever was behind me would lose me and we couldn’t get it going like we wanted,” Berry said. “All in all, it was a solid final Stage. We had a complete disaster in the first Stage and rebounded really well and gave ourselves a chance at it at the end.

“You can see how much happens in the last couple of laps, but all in all, we ran a good race, and we had a really good Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang.

“I’m really proud of the guys.”

Berry and the Wood Brothers team now turn their attention to EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta for next Sunday’s Autotrader 400.

NASCAR Cup Series Daytona International Speedway Daytona 500 Team Chevy Post-Race Report February 15, 2026

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Stage One: For the first time in his championship-earning career, Kyle Busch led NASCAR’s top division to the green flag from the pole position for the 68th running of the DAYTONA 500. The speed of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet prevailed on the start with Busch taking over the top position to lead the official opening lap of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. Busch maintained a top-five running position throughout the first-half of the opening stage, but a loose-handling Chevrolet saw the Richard Childress Racing driver fall out of the top-10 as the team approached its first trip to pit road of the day. Busch was among the first group of cars to make the dive to pit road with 15 laps to go in the stage for a fuel-only stop. Among those electing to stretch their fuel mileage included the trio of Spire Motorsports Chevrolet’s with Carson Hocevar leading the Bowtie brigade to the first green-white checkered flag with a fourth-place stage finish.  Stage Two: The No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team followed up a strong opening stage with a win in the race off pit road – gaining three spots to earn a fourth-place starting spot for Stage Two. In true Daytona fashion, a new pack of cars took quick command of the field that featured a strong contingency of Chevrolet-powered machines, with Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain finding the lead to bring the race to the halfway mark. Re-entering the battle for the lead was the polesitter, Kyle Busch, who progressively navigated his No. 8 Chevrolet back into the top-five. Despite an accident at the lead, Busch narrowly made his way through the carnage with minimal damage to salvage a fourth-place finish in the stage.  Final Stage: While what looked to be the final green flag pit cycle of the race, a caution flew with less than 10 laps remaining – leaving Team Chevy’s Michael McDowell in the catbird seat as one of the lone cars that had yet to hit pit road. Radio transmission from atop the No. 71 pit stop indicates that the Spire Motorsports Chevrolet was three laps to the good on fuel as the former DAYTONA 500 Champion led the field to the green flap for the restart with four laps to go. But it was the superspeedway ace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., that survived a last-lap crash to lead Chevrolet with a runner-up finish.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos.     Driver 2nd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 4th – Chase ElliottChevrolet’s season statistics with one NASCAR Cup Series races complete: Wins: 0Poles: 1Top-Fives: 2Top 10s: 2Stage Wins: 0

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at EchoPark Speedway with the Autotrader 400 on Sunday, February 22, at 3:00 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 37th “Not how we wanted to start the season. The Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet was really fast this week and that’s a testament to all of the work that everyone does at RCR, ECR, and CT Spring Company. We were in a good position when the wreck happened in front of me. I bailed to pit road and unfortunately the No. 19 was there in the smoke. Proud of the guys for hustling to fix the car so we could go gain a few positions. That is going to pay dividends in this points format.” Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 4th “It seemed really fortunate to get through the first crash, and that opened the door to somehow get to the lead. But then I got pushed clear and I think the No. 38 was behind me and pushed me clear by everybody down the back, and then it was just he and I. We got a good ways out there and we were just in a lot of trouble because momentum had shifted. At that point, I was just on extreme defense, and then from there, I was just trying to defend as best I could without crashing myself, but everybody else ended up crashing anyway. Maybe I should have just wrecked myself trying to block. But, yeah, I hate that. Obviously very close but close doesn’t cut it.”  Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 14th“I feel really good about the day for our No. 10 Grizzly Nicotine Pounches Chevrolet team. A top-15 finish to start the year is nothing to frown about. Our Grizzly Camaro was strong. We were able to lead laps in the DAYTONA 500 again and run up front most of the day. We just have to clean some things up so we can keep ourselves up front at the right times. I’m proud of this team’s effort. Everyone worked hard all week to continue to chip away at this race car. By the time we got to the last stage, it was the best it was all weekend. That’s all you can ask for and we’ll go onto Atlanta with some momentum.”   AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 18th “Just one of those races where you are just trying to be smart and be patient. Just trying to be smart the first two-thirds of the race and not getting in anything.  Did a good job of that.  We had to wait a little longer and I was basically at the tail end of the pack and we made a call there to try to do tires and it’s just hard to go anywhere on those restarts. I felt like every lane I would get in, I would get checked up and go to the back again. Technically, we missed the wreck, didn’t save it and did a 360 and that cost us some spots. But, yeah, just happy to come out unscathed and all in one piece and go do this again in Atlanta.”   William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 12th“We had a lot of damage on our car from the Stage One incident. Our right-front suspension was bent, so the car was driving really weird and it was just super, super loose, as well as tight as the same time. I couldn’t believe we had a shot there at the end. I thought that was amazing. It was a great strategy with the fuel sequence, and I thought, man, we have a shot with lining up on the front two rows. That’s all you can ask for. I thought Tyler (Reddick) was out to a pretty decent lead on the restart, and I thought the bottom was the place to be. There was one time I got clear and I probably could have taken the middle, but I didn’t know if the balance of my car could handle being there. I just had to keep my car straight, so I thought if I tried to make a block, I would wreck. It was just incredible that we had a shot at it there at the end.” Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident at the end of Stage Two. Finished: 38th “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to take 100 percent of the responsibility for that one. I hate it for everyone that got caught up in it. I felt like our No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet was incredible all day. Greg Ives (crew chief) and this whole team have done a phenomenal job building a race car that we felt like we could come here and not only run up front, but be able to lead laps. I got to the top lane there and I watched the run coming on the top with Denny (Hamlin). I thought he was going to push. I thought the lane was closed up just enough that he wouldn’t try to go up there, but when I realized he was going up there, it was just too late. Once the air kind of got on the spoiler, it just turned me to the right. I hate it for everyone that got caught up in it because it wasn’t what we wanted. But hats-off to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, everyone at JR Motorsports, for this opportunity. To have Traveller Whiskey and Chris Stapleton back on board, it was great to be out front and be able to lead the DAYTONA 500. Thank you to all of our partners and the Hendrick Engine Shop. We had big power today and that was really what it came down to. We’ll go back and regroup. I’m going to watch this video back a lot and really try to figure out what I could have done better.”   Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 2nd“It’s never bad to finish in the top-five in the Daytona 500. It’s a big race and we have left here finishing in the 30s and have been pretty down about that. So, on one hand, it’s good because our strategy worked out perfectly today. We stuck to it. It was brutal riding around there for a while. Not sure what the Toyota’s were doing, but I think that made the race pretty boring there for a while for the fans. It was chaos after they pitted, so yeah, our No. 47 Chef Boyardee Chevrolet was as strong as I needed it to be. It did the things I wanted, but we just came up one spot short.”   Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident at the end of Stage Two. Finished: 40th “It’s just unfortunate – wrong place, wrong time. We made some good moves to gain some positions back that we lost when we got stuck on pit road. I had a little thought to bail earlier, but right as I thought, I gained a lot of track position through the middle, and I was going to stick with it and see if we could get some stage points. Just wrong decision on that one. It is what it is. We will keep digging; go to Atlanta next week and try to win.” How were the Chevrolet’s handling with the new nose? “I think everybody’s cars are driving pretty bad from where I sat, especially off of Turn Four. I felt like I could push really well, so everything on the Chevy end was great there. It was just a lot of getting off of the throttle off Turn Four and that made the bottom really difficult to run, and it kind of brought the two grooves up the racetrack. Even the middle could get pretty sketchy. I was far enough back that I couldn’t really see what started it. I could see the No. 40 (Justin Allgaier) try and get up in front of the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin), and that is probably what caused it. But for us, just wrong place at the wrong time.” Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing ChevroletFinished: 17th “I think the No. 51 Jacob Construction Chevrolet was a super-fast car and we were able to get to the front; lead some laps and just continue to build on the awesome improvements we have had with Chevrolet. I think our result didn’t show the speed, but still an awesome day. Stayed on the lead lap and mitigated some mistakes we had on pit road, and I think it gives us a lot of confidence going into Atlanta next weekend.”   Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 22nd“I’m not really sure what happened. We had two Spire Motorsports Chevrolet’s out front there, and I thought we would have a great shot to have everyone covered there. It just didn’t work out. It’s unfortunate. I feel like we put ourselves in position to win and we just didn’t get there.”   Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 33rd “It was a long day after the wreck, but our No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet was getting better as the race went on and as the sun went down. We struggled a little bit when it was really hot out, but as the shade came in, we definitely started to excel a little more. We were able to get up to the front and lead a lane. But right when we got up there, that’s when we wrecked. Overall, it was a good day for me. I learned a lot and I got to experience my first DAYTONA 500. I know there will be more to come.”

NASCAR Cup SeriesDaytona International SpeedwayDaytona 500Team Chevy Post-Race ReportFebruary 15, 2026

Stenhouse Jr., Elliott Lead Chevrolet with Top-Five Finishes in the “Great American Race“

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Stage One: For the first time in his championship-earning career, Kyle Busch led NASCAR’s top division to the green flag from the pole position for the 68th running of the DAYTONA 500. The speed of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet prevailed on the start with Busch taking over the top position to lead the official opening lap of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. Busch maintained a top-five running position throughout the first-half of the opening stage, but a loose-handling Chevrolet saw the Richard Childress Racing driver fall out of the top-10 as the team approached its first trip to pit road of the day. Busch was among the first group of cars to make the dive to pit road with 15 laps to go in the stage for a fuel-only stop. Among those electing to stretch their fuel mileage included the trio of Spire Motorsports Chevrolet’s with Carson Hocevar leading the Bowtie brigade to the first green-white checkered flag with a fourth-place stage finish.  Stage Two: The No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team followed up a strong opening stage with a win in the race off pit road – gaining three spots to earn a fourth-place starting spot for Stage Two. In true Daytona fashion, a new pack of cars took quick command of the field that featured a strong contingency of Chevrolet-powered machines, with Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain finding the lead to bring the race to the halfway mark. Re-entering the battle for the lead was the polesitter, Kyle Busch, who progressively navigated his No. 8 Chevrolet back into the top-five. Despite an accident at the lead, Busch narrowly made his way through the carnage with minimal damage to salvage a fourth-place finish in the stage.  Final Stage: While what looked to be the final green flag pit cycle of the race, a caution flew with less than 10 laps remaining – leaving Team Chevy’s Michael McDowell in the catbird seat as one of the lone cars that had yet to hit pit road. Radio transmission from atop the No. 71 pit stop indicates that the Spire Motorsports Chevrolet was three laps to the good on fuel as the former DAYTONA 500 Champion led the field to the green flap for the restart with four laps to go. But it was the superspeedway ace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., that survived a last-lap crash to lead Chevrolet with a runner-up finish.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos.     Driver 2nd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 4th – Chase ElliottChevrolet’s season statistics with one NASCAR Cup Series races complete: Wins: 0Poles: 1Top-Fives: 2Top 10s: 2Stage Wins: 0

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at EchoPark Speedway with the Autotrader 400 on Sunday, February 22, at 3:00 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 37th “Not how we wanted to start the season. The Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet was really fast this week and that’s a testament to all of the work that everyone does at RCR, ECR, and CT Spring Company. We were in a good position when the wreck happened in front of me. I bailed to pit road and unfortunately the No. 19 was there in the smoke. Proud of the guys for hustling to fix the car so we could go gain a few positions. That is going to pay dividends in this points format.” Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 4th “It seemed really fortunate to get through the first crash, and that opened the door to somehow get to the lead. But then I got pushed clear and I think the No. 38 was behind me and pushed me clear by everybody down the back, and then it was just he and I. We got a good ways out there and we were just in a lot of trouble because momentum had shifted. At that point, I was just on extreme defense, and then from there, I was just trying to defend as best I could without crashing myself, but everybody else ended up crashing anyway. Maybe I should have just wrecked myself trying to block. But, yeah, I hate that. Obviously very close but close doesn’t cut it.”  Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 14th“I feel really good about the day for our No. 10 Grizzly Nicotine Pounches Chevrolet team. A top-15 finish to start the year is nothing to frown about. Our Grizzly Camaro was strong. We were able to lead laps in the DAYTONA 500 again and run up front most of the day. We just have to clean some things up so we can keep ourselves up front at the right times. I’m proud of this team’s effort. Everyone worked hard all week to continue to chip away at this race car. By the time we got to the last stage, it was the best it was all weekend. That’s all you can ask for and we’ll go onto Atlanta with some momentum.”   AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 18th “Just one of those races where you are just trying to be smart and be patient. Just trying to be smart the first two-thirds of the race and not getting in anything.  Did a good job of that.  We had to wait a little longer and I was basically at the tail end of the pack and we made a call there to try to do tires and it’s just hard to go anywhere on those restarts. I felt like every lane I would get in, I would get checked up and go to the back again. Technically, we missed the wreck, didn’t save it and did a 360 and that cost us some spots. But, yeah, just happy to come out unscathed and all in one piece and go do this again in Atlanta.”   William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 12th“We had a lot of damage on our car from the Stage One incident. Our right-front suspension was bent, so the car was driving really weird and it was just super, super loose, as well as tight as the same time. I couldn’t believe we had a shot there at the end. I thought that was amazing. It was a great strategy with the fuel sequence, and I thought, man, we have a shot with lining up on the front two rows. That’s all you can ask for. I thought Tyler (Reddick) was out to a pretty decent lead on the restart, and I thought the bottom was the place to be. There was one time I got clear and I probably could have taken the middle, but I didn’t know if the balance of my car could handle being there. I just had to keep my car straight, so I thought if I tried to make a block, I would wreck. It was just incredible that we had a shot at it there at the end.” Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident at the end of Stage Two. Finished: 38th “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to take 100 percent of the responsibility for that one. I hate it for everyone that got caught up in it. I felt like our No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet was incredible all day. Greg Ives (crew chief) and this whole team have done a phenomenal job building a race car that we felt like we could come here and not only run up front, but be able to lead laps. I got to the top lane there and I watched the run coming on the top with Denny (Hamlin). I thought he was going to push. I thought the lane was closed up just enough that he wouldn’t try to go up there, but when I realized he was going up there, it was just too late. Once the air kind of got on the spoiler, it just turned me to the right. I hate it for everyone that got caught up in it because it wasn’t what we wanted. But hats-off to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, everyone at JR Motorsports, for this opportunity. To have Traveller Whiskey and Chris Stapleton back on board, it was great to be out front and be able to lead the DAYTONA 500. Thank you to all of our partners and the Hendrick Engine Shop. We had big power today and that was really what it came down to. We’ll go back and regroup. I’m going to watch this video back a lot and really try to figure out what I could have done better.”   Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 2nd“It’s never bad to finish in the top-five in the Daytona 500. It’s a big race and we have left here finishing in the 30s and have been pretty down about that. So, on one hand, it’s good because our strategy worked out perfectly today. We stuck to it. It was brutal riding around there for a while. Not sure what the Toyota’s were doing, but I think that made the race pretty boring there for a while for the fans. It was chaos after they pitted, so yeah, our No. 47 Chef Boyardee Chevrolet was as strong as I needed it to be. It did the things I wanted, but we just came up one spot short.”   Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident at the end of Stage Two. Finished: 40th “It’s just unfortunate – wrong place, wrong time. We made some good moves to gain some positions back that we lost when we got stuck on pit road. I had a little thought to bail earlier, but right as I thought, I gained a lot of track position through the middle, and I was going to stick with it and see if we could get some stage points. Just wrong decision on that one. It is what it is. We will keep digging; go to Atlanta next week and try to win.” How were the Chevrolet’s handling with the new nose? “I think everybody’s cars are driving pretty bad from where I sat, especially off of Turn Four. I felt like I could push really well, so everything on the Chevy end was great there. It was just a lot of getting off of the throttle off Turn Four and that made the bottom really difficult to run, and it kind of brought the two grooves up the racetrack. Even the middle could get pretty sketchy. I was far enough back that I couldn’t really see what started it. I could see the No. 40 (Justin Allgaier) try and get up in front of the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin), and that is probably what caused it. But for us, just wrong place at the wrong time.” Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing ChevroletFinished: 17th “I think the No. 51 Jacob Construction Chevrolet was a super-fast car and we were able to get to the front; lead some laps and just continue to build on the awesome improvements we have had with Chevrolet. I think our result didn’t show the speed, but still an awesome day. Stayed on the lead lap and mitigated some mistakes we had on pit road, and I think it gives us a lot of confidence going into Atlanta next weekend.”   Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 22nd“I’m not really sure what happened. We had two Spire Motorsports Chevrolet’s out front there, and I thought we would have a great shot to have everyone covered there. It just didn’t work out. It’s unfortunate. I feel like we put ourselves in position to win and we just didn’t get there.”   Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 33rd “It was a long day after the wreck, but our No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet was getting better as the race went on and as the sun went down. We struggled a little bit when it was really hot out, but as the shade came in, we definitely started to excel a little more. We were able to get up to the front and lead a lane. But right when we got up there, that’s when we wrecked. Overall, it was a good day for me. I learned a lot and I got to experience my first DAYTONA 500. I know there will be more to come.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 15, 2026

Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident at the end of Stage Two.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 15, 2026

Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident at the end of Stage Two.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

“Unfortunately, I’m going to have to take 100 percent of the responsibility for that one. I hate it for everyone that got caught up in it. I felt like our No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet was incredible all day. Greg Ives (crew chief) and this whole team have done a phenomenal job building a race car that we felt like we could come here and not only run up front, but be able to lead laps. I got to the top lane there and I watched the run coming on the top with Denny (Hamlin). I thought he was going to push. I thought the lane was closed up just enough that he wouldn’t try to go up there, but when I realized he was going up there, it was just too late. Once the air kind of got on the spoiler, it just turned me to the right. I hate it for everyone that got caught up in it because it wasn’t what we wanted. But hats-off to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, everyone at JR Motorsports, for this opportunity. To have Traveller Whiskey and Chris Stapleton back on board, it was great to be out front and be able to lead the DAYTONA 500. Thank you to all of our partners and the Hendrick Engine Shop. We had big power today and that was really what it came down to. We’ll go back and regroup. I’m going to watch this video back a lot and really try to figure out what I could have done better.”

No. 99 Corvette earns podium finish in car’s Bathurst debut; No. 2 fastest in the race BATHURST, New South Wales, Australia (February 15, 2026) – Johor Motorsports Racing (JMR) and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R drove to a podium finish Sunday in the Bathurst 12 Hour – the first appearance for the team and the Corvette GT3 car at the event.

The quartet of Ben Green, Jordan Love, Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and Prince Jefri Ibrahim placed second in the Pro Am class and 14th overall with their No. 99 Corvette. They rebounded from 25th on the grid and climbed as high as 10th in the overall order in a wild and attrition-filled race. None of the four drivers set a foot wrong in what also served as the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. It was a large reason why three of the teammates – Green, Love and Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim – finished on the podium for the first time in Bathurst. In addition, Prince Jefri Ibrahim recorded his best career finish in the 12 Hour after third-place class finishes each of the last three years.

Corvette Racing Media Resources Documents | Statistics | Photos | Factory Driver Bios | Chevrolet Newsroom

Both of JMR’s Corvettes were the race’s biggest movers early. The No. 2 Z06 GT3.R of Alexander Sims, Nicky Catsburg and Earl Bamber rocketed up the standings from the start and ran toward the front for most of the event before having to retire inside the final two hours. The No. 2 Corvette played the strategy game early and made it pay off. Bamber qualified 25th but made up six spots before the first of eight full-course yellows. The JMR team elected to stop for a fuel fill to go off-strategy which eventually cycled Bamber into the top-five at the time of the race’s second FCY near the 90-minute mark. From that point on, the No. 2 Corvette was a constant at the front of the field. Sims stormed to the lead near the end of his stint, and Catsburg ran at the front for the entirety of his stint. The three drivers cycled back through with the Corvette part of the lead fight into the final two hours. As he did at Suzuka last year, Catsburg starred in the race’s latter half, and Sunday he posted the fastest lap of the race in his final stint. The chase for an overall victory came to an end as Bamber stopped on track with a little more than 90 minutes left in the race. The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday, March 21.

CORVETTE RACING AT BATHURST: Runner-Up Class Finish for JMRNo. 99 Corvette earns podium finish in car’s Bathurst debut; No. 2 fastest in the race BATHURST, New South Wales, Australia (February 15, 2026) – Johor Motorsports Racing (JMR) and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R drove to a podium finish Sunday in the Bathurst 12 Hour – the first appearance for the team and the Corvette GT3 car at the event.

The quartet of Ben Green, Jordan Love, Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and Prince Jefri Ibrahim placed second in the Pro Am class and 14th overall with their No. 99 Corvette. They rebounded from 25th on the grid and climbed as high as 10th in the overall order in a wild and attrition-filled race. None of the four drivers set a foot wrong in what also served as the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. It was a large reason why three of the teammates – Green, Love and Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim – finished on the podium for the first time in Bathurst. In addition, Prince Jefri Ibrahim recorded his best career finish in the 12 Hour after third-place class finishes each of the last three years.

Corvette Racing Media Resources Documents | Statistics | Photos | Factory Driver Bios | Chevrolet Newsroom

Both of JMR’s Corvettes were the race’s biggest movers early. The No. 2 Z06 GT3.R of Alexander Sims, Nicky Catsburg and Earl Bamber rocketed up the standings from the start and ran toward the front for most of the event before having to retire inside the final two hours. The No. 2 Corvette played the strategy game early and made it pay off. Bamber qualified 25th but made up six spots before the first of eight full-course yellows. The JMR team elected to stop for a fuel fill to go off-strategy which eventually cycled Bamber into the top-five at the time of the race’s second FCY near the 90-minute mark. From that point on, the No. 2 Corvette was a constant at the front of the field. Sims stormed to the lead near the end of his stint, and Catsburg ran at the front for the entirety of his stint. The three drivers cycled back through with the Corvette part of the lead fight into the final two hours. As he did at Suzuka last year, Catsburg starred in the race’s latter half, and Sunday he posted the fastest lap of the race in his final stint. The chase for an overall victory came to an end as Bamber stopped on track with a little more than 90 minutes left in the race. The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday, March 21.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTESALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The JMR team operated on a really high level and our Corvette was fast. We had a very strong race apart from the obvious issues that raised their head. We executed a really good race and we had the speed. I honestly didn’t expect the race pace to be what it was. It seemed to be when we did many laps that the tires switched on. We didn’t really see that performance in practice and maybe doing lots of shorter runs was part of the reason for that. It was the same in qualifying… not having a long enough run. Earl’s fastest lap was his last one. It was a what-could-have-been weekend. The win was on, so that was a huge positive. But at the same time we come here to win and you have to execute the race and finish it perfectly. A lot of good things done by the team.”My first Bathurst has been fantastic. It took me a little bit of time to feel comfortable with the track. In the race having two stints doing fuel-saving and pushing with other cars around, I started to feel really comfortable. It’s been a really enjoyable process for me to go through. There aren’t so many new experiences in motor racing any more for me. To have one of those is fantastic.” NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We can be pretty proud. We did a good job throughout all the practice sessions to get the car into the window for the race. We clearly had a fast car. I feel like we should have been fighting for the win today. We were up and down and were close to coming away with a good result here. Unfortunately we had a mechanical issue that took us out. That’s a real shame but that’s part of it. The sport is like this. We are not very nice on the cars here. We’re hammering them over curbs and against other cars. It’s not easy but this happens. But I would have loved to have been on the podium here. It’s a special event. It was good to work with the JMR guys again. I’ve now worked with them twice – Suzuka and now Bathurst. I feel like we were always fast. Everyone with the team is so nice, and working with Simsy and Earl is always a pleasure. It was a lot of fun but no result.”The problem was that we didn’t really have a lot of tires for practice. We needed to prep the car with pretty much one set only. The engineers did an awesome job and we made the right decisions for the race. It worked out for us, but these mechanical issues are part of it and unfortunately we had one of those today.” EARL BAMBER, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “To be honest it was a really good weekend. I’m really proud we could lead so many laps with the Corvette coming here with it for the first time. We learned so much and I’m so proud of it. It’s a shame we had the ending we did, but that’s racing and that’s the mountain for you. We’ll come back again. We found a really good window with the car, and I had no complaints with it. It was great to be back in the Corvette. We just chipped away at it. A great job by the team.” BEN GREEN, NO. 99 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s obviously great to get on the podium. I’m very happy to get the first podium for JMR at Bathurst with the Corvette. It’s great to debut the car here. I really enjoyed it and working with JMR and GM. Big tanks to those collective groups for their hard work this week. I guess we have to come back next year to try and win it!” JORDAN LOVE, NO. 99 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Obviously I always love coming back to this place so it was a very enjoyable weekend. To drive the Corvette around here for the first time around here was pretty special. It was super exciting and the race was really good. We had a few little issues with the car that cost us a little bit of time, but it was an absolute rocket. The boys did an amazing job getting the car ready and set up for the first race. It was super, super nice to drive throughout and one of the best cars I’ve ever driven around this track. I had really good fun and got to start the race, which I’ve never done before but was super exciting. After the last few weeks, it’s really nice to get a good result. I’m really happy to spray a little bit of champagne at the end of the weekend.” HH PRINCE ABU BAKAR IBRAHIM, NO. 99 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m honored to be part of the debut of Corvette at Bathurst. I’m really happy to finish on the podium. It’s been a tough day, but the team and all the drivers did a great job to finish second.” HH PRINCE JEFRI IBRAHIM, NO. 99 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s been a long day for us with many challenges. But the team did an incredible job for both cars. We were hoping to get two cars on the podium but unfortunately our sister car had a mechanical problem and we had to retire it. I’m really grateful to the team, and thanks to GM for all the support and GM Australia as well. This is a debut for us and we couldn’t ask for more. Hopefully we’ll come back next year. I’m also super-proud of my younger brother doing his first-ever Bathurst 12 and getting on the podium. Kudos to all the drivers involved and everyone else. Lastly I’d like to thank everyone who came and supported us for this race in Bathurst and also elsewhere. We really appreciate the support and we hope that when we come back next time, we can give them a better result.”

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 14, 2026) – In Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals finale, Brandon Sheppard did what can sometimes feel like an impossible task at Volusia Speedway Park – pass Nick Hoffman.

The driver of the NOS Energy Drink No. 9 had been victorious in his last three starts, and led the opening laps in pursuit of his fourth win in a row. But past halfway, the 2024 champion of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision had something to say about that.

With 18 laps remaining in the 50-lap main event, Sheppard found some grip on the bottom of Turns 1 and 2 while Hoffman slid his way through the middle. The two raced side-by-side down the backstretch before Hoffman drove it deep into Turn 3, leaving Sheppard room to keep it low and take the lead at the flag stand.

From then on, it was all Sheppard en route to his record-extending 88th World of Outlaws triumph. Seven of those have come at DIRTcar Nationals as part of his 10 overall wins in the event between World of Outlaws and DIRTcar competition.

“I was able to run second for a long time there, kind of see what Nick was doing,” Sheppard said. “Where he was struggling at compared to what I was doing and where I was struggling at. Just kind of compensate for that, and I was able to find a couple lines that I could make a little time on him. I kind of waited and got him to move around a little bit by showing him the nose. I felt really good through [Turns] 1 and 2, so we were just able to capitalize.”

Sheppard’s overall performance across the six nights of Late Model racing at DIRTcar Nationals wasn’t enough for his fourth Big Gator, as that honor went to the driver he passed in Hoffman. “The Thrill From Mooresville” crossed the line fourth to finish the week with three wins, five top fives and a worst finish of seventh. After winning the award seven years in a row in the DIRTcar UMP Modified ranks, Hoffman joins Tim McCreadie as the second driver in DIRTcar Nationals history to win the Big Gator in more than one division.

“To race for a whole week here, it takes a lot,” Hoffman said. “Not having any issues, no DNFs or anything, it went about as smooth as it could, I feel like.”

Bobby Pierce raced his way forward from his 19th starting spot to finish second, while Hudson O’Neal took the last spot on the podium in third.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision continues their stay in Florida by heading further south to Hendry County Motorsports Park for the Swamp Cabbage 100 on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 20-21. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

Want to watch the World of Outlaws? Stream every race live on DIRTVision.

RACE NOTES:

Sam Seawright set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Chris Madden won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Chris Madden won Heat 1.

Ryan Gustin won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Nick Hoffman won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Brandon Sheppard won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Tyler Erb won Heat 5.

Blair Nothdurft won Heat 6.

Bobby Pierce and Josh Rice won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Nick Hoffman won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Bobby Pierce won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Bobby Pierce was the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher.

Hudson O’Neal was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Nick Hoffman was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Ricky Thornton Jr. was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Max Blair was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Garrett Alberson was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Ryan Gustin was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Tim McCreadie was the Lifeline Ninth-Place Finisher.

Dustin Sorensen was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Drake Troutman was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Ethan Dotson was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Carson Ferguson was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Josh Rice was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Cody Overton was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (50 Laps): 1. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[19]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[10]; 4. 9-Nick Hoffman[1]; 5. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[13]; 6. 111-Max Blair[18]; 7. 58-Garrett Alberson[14]; 8. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 9. 9M-Tim McCreadie[25]; 10. 19-Dustin Sorensen[12]; 11. 22*-Drake Troutman[21]; 12. 74X-Ethan Dotson[28]; 13. 93-Carson Ferguson[11]; 14. 11R-Josh Rice[20]; 15. 16S-Sam Seawright[16]; 16. 76-Brandon Overton[9]; 17. 13-Dallon Murty[17]; 18. 97-Cody Overton[27]; 19. 49-Jake Timm[29]; 20. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[30]; 21. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[2]; 22. 19M-Brenden Smith[7]; 23. 18-Chase Junghans[22]; 24. 44-Chris Madden[5]; 25. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[26]; 26. 60-Dan Ebert[8]; 27. 16-Tyler Bruening[15]; 28. 8S-Kyle Strickler[23]; 29. 24-Tyler Wyant[24]; 30. 1-Tyler Erb[4]; 31. B1-Brent Larson[31]

Sheppard Wins DIRTcar Nationals Finale, Hoffman Claims First Late Model Big Gator

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 14, 2026) – In Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals finale, Brandon Sheppard did what can sometimes feel like an impossible task at Volusia Speedway Park – pass Nick Hoffman.

The driver of the NOS Energy Drink No. 9 had been victorious in his last three starts, and led the opening laps in pursuit of his fourth win in a row. But past halfway, the 2024 champion of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision had something to say about that.

With 18 laps remaining in the 50-lap main event, Sheppard found some grip on the bottom of Turns 1 and 2 while Hoffman slid his way through the middle. The two raced side-by-side down the backstretch before Hoffman drove it deep into Turn 3, leaving Sheppard room to keep it low and take the lead at the flag stand.

From then on, it was all Sheppard en route to his record-extending 88th World of Outlaws triumph. Seven of those have come at DIRTcar Nationals as part of his 10 overall wins in the event between World of Outlaws and DIRTcar competition.

“I was able to run second for a long time there, kind of see what Nick was doing,” Sheppard said. “Where he was struggling at compared to what I was doing and where I was struggling at. Just kind of compensate for that, and I was able to find a couple lines that I could make a little time on him. I kind of waited and got him to move around a little bit by showing him the nose. I felt really good through [Turns] 1 and 2, so we were just able to capitalize.”

Sheppard’s overall performance across the six nights of Late Model racing at DIRTcar Nationals wasn’t enough for his fourth Big Gator, as that honor went to the driver he passed in Hoffman. “The Thrill From Mooresville” crossed the line fourth to finish the week with three wins, five top fives and a worst finish of seventh. After winning the award seven years in a row in the DIRTcar UMP Modified ranks, Hoffman joins Tim McCreadie as the second driver in DIRTcar Nationals history to win the Big Gator in more than one division.

“To race for a whole week here, it takes a lot,” Hoffman said. “Not having any issues, no DNFs or anything, it went about as smooth as it could, I feel like.”

Bobby Pierce raced his way forward from his 19th starting spot to finish second, while Hudson O’Neal took the last spot on the podium in third.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision continues their stay in Florida by heading further south to Hendry County Motorsports Park for the Swamp Cabbage 100 on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 20-21. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

Want to watch the World of Outlaws? Stream every race live on DIRTVision.

RACE NOTES:

Sam Seawright set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Chris Madden won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Chris Madden won Heat 1.

Ryan Gustin won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Nick Hoffman won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Brandon Sheppard won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Tyler Erb won Heat 5.

Blair Nothdurft won Heat 6.

Bobby Pierce and Josh Rice won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Nick Hoffman won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Bobby Pierce won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Bobby Pierce was the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher.

Hudson O’Neal was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Nick Hoffman was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Ricky Thornton Jr. was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Max Blair was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Garrett Alberson was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Ryan Gustin was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Tim McCreadie was the Lifeline Ninth-Place Finisher.

Dustin Sorensen was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Drake Troutman was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Ethan Dotson was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Carson Ferguson was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Josh Rice was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Cody Overton was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (50 Laps): 1. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[19]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[10]; 4. 9-Nick Hoffman[1]; 5. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[13]; 6. 111-Max Blair[18]; 7. 58-Garrett Alberson[14]; 8. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 9. 9M-Tim McCreadie[25]; 10. 19-Dustin Sorensen[12]; 11. 22*-Drake Troutman[21]; 12. 74X-Ethan Dotson[28]; 13. 93-Carson Ferguson[11]; 14. 11R-Josh Rice[20]; 15. 16S-Sam Seawright[16]; 16. 76-Brandon Overton[9]; 17. 13-Dallon Murty[17]; 18. 97-Cody Overton[27]; 19. 49-Jake Timm[29]; 20. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[30]; 21. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[2]; 22. 19M-Brenden Smith[7]; 23. 18-Chase Junghans[22]; 24. 44-Chris Madden[5]; 25. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[26]; 26. 60-Dan Ebert[8]; 27. 16-Tyler Bruening[15]; 28. 8S-Kyle Strickler[23]; 29. 24-Tyler Wyant[24]; 30. 1-Tyler Erb[4]; 31. B1-Brent Larson[31]

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/sheppard-wins-dirtcar-nationals-finale-hoffman-claims-first-late-model-big-gator/

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 13, 2026) – Nick Hoffman is no stranger to dominant weeks at Volusia Speedway Park. But none of them have been as meaningful as the one he’s having at the 2026 Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

For the third night in a row and the second as part of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision, the Mooresville, NC driver ended up in Victory Lane. That win streak has the seven-time Big Gator champion on the DIRTcar UMP Modified side headed toward his first as a Late Model driver, as he carries a 48-point lead in the weeklong standings into the final night of action on Saturday.

The path to Hoffman’s record-extending 35th Gator trophy started in the fourth spot, but he wouldn’t stay put for long. He cleared Austin Smith for third on Lap 2, and soon found himself in the middle of a three-way battle for the lead against Michael Leach and Ricky Thornton Jr. Hoffman disposed of Leach exiting Turn 2 with 11 laps complete, and two circuits later, he got around the No. 20RT for the lead.

A flurry of cautions kept the field together throughout the 35-lap contest, but Hoffman remained in control time and time again. Thornton proved to be Hoffman’s closest challenger, but he fell out of contention when he pounded the outside wall in Turn 2 with six laps to go, allowing Hoffman to cruise home uncontested.

“It’s just a matter of how you hit [Turn 1] and if you get tight,” Hoffman said. “I was so scared a couple times that I would get in there and just not be bent enough and get myself in a push, and then they would swarm me down the backstretch. Luckily I was able to get good restarts. The guys behind me, I knew which lanes they were choosing, but sometimes they would go bottom, top. I was trying to figure out if they were going to have a run on me or anything. I tried to change a little bit of where I was taking off so I could try and dictate that a little.”

Brandon Overton stood on the podium for the third time this week with a second-place run, while Bobby Pierce moved up from 21st to finish third for the second-straight night.

UP NEXT: Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals concludes on Saturday, Feb. 14, with a $20,000-to-win Feature for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision at Volusia Speedway Park. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

Want to watch the World of Outlaws? Stream every race live on DIRTVision.

RACE NOTES:

Cody Overton set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Tyler Erb won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Tyler Erb won Heat 1.

Nick Hoffman won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Austin Smith won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Ricky Thornton Jr. won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Michael Leach won Heat 5.

Dan Ebert won Heat 6.

Dallon Murty and Tristan Chamberlain won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Michael Leach won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Dustin Sorensen won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Daulton Wilson won the MD3 Rookie of the Race Award.

Brandon Overton was the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher.

Bobby Pierce was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Tyler Erb was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Drake Troutman was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Dustin Sorensen was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Cody Overton was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Ricky Thornton Jr. was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Kyle Bronson was the Lifeline Ninth-Place Finisher.

Dan Ebert was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Brandon Sheppard was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Daulton Wilson was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Jake Timm was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Dennis Erb Jr. was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Frank Heckenast Jr. was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (35 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[9]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[21]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[6]; 5. 22*-Drake Troutman[26]; 6. 19-Dustin Sorensen[28]; 7. 97-Cody Overton[12]; 8. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 9. 40B-Kyle Bronson[23]; 10. 60-Dan Ebert[5]; 11. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[15]; 12. 58V-Daulton Wilson[22]; 13. 49-Jake Timm[29]; 14. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[25]; 15. 111-Max Blair[18]; 16. 11R-Josh Rice[8]; 17. 74X-Ethan Dotson[27]; 18. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[16]; 19. B1-Brent Larson[30]; 20. 11-Austin Smith[3]; 21. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[20]; 22. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[7]; 23. 16S-Sam Seawright[17]; 24. 19R-Ryan Gustin[10]; 25. 09-Michael Leach[1]; 26. 9M-Tim McCreadie[24]; 27. 157-Mike Marlar[13]; 28. 44-Chris Madden[11]; 29. 16-Tyler Bruening[14]; 30. 13-Dallon Murty[19]

Hoffman Grabs Third Gator of 2026 With Friday Victory at DIRTcar Nationals

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 13, 2026) – Nick Hoffman is no stranger to dominant weeks at Volusia Speedway Park. But none of them have been as meaningful as the one he’s having at the 2026 Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

For the third night in a row and the second as part of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision, the Mooresville, NC driver ended up in Victory Lane. That win streak has the seven-time Big Gator champion on the DIRTcar UMP Modified side headed toward his first as a Late Model driver, as he carries a 48-point lead in the weeklong standings into the final night of action on Saturday.

The path to Hoffman’s record-extending 35th Gator trophy started in the fourth spot, but he wouldn’t stay put for long. He cleared Austin Smith for third on Lap 2, and soon found himself in the middle of a three-way battle for the lead against Michael Leach and Ricky Thornton Jr. Hoffman disposed of Leach exiting Turn 2 with 11 laps complete, and two circuits later, he got around the No. 20RT for the lead.

A flurry of cautions kept the field together throughout the 35-lap contest, but Hoffman remained in control time and time again. Thornton proved to be Hoffman’s closest challenger, but he fell out of contention when he pounded the outside wall in Turn 2 with six laps to go, allowing Hoffman to cruise home uncontested.

“It’s just a matter of how you hit [Turn 1] and if you get tight,” Hoffman said. “I was so scared a couple times that I would get in there and just not be bent enough and get myself in a push, and then they would swarm me down the backstretch. Luckily I was able to get good restarts. The guys behind me, I knew which lanes they were choosing, but sometimes they would go bottom, top. I was trying to figure out if they were going to have a run on me or anything. I tried to change a little bit of where I was taking off so I could try and dictate that a little.”

Brandon Overton stood on the podium for the third time this week with a second-place run, while Bobby Pierce moved up from 21st to finish third for the second-straight night.

UP NEXT: Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals concludes on Saturday, Feb. 14, with a $20,000-to-win Feature for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision at Volusia Speedway Park. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

Want to watch the World of Outlaws? Stream every race live on DIRTVision.

RACE NOTES:

Cody Overton set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Tyler Erb won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Tyler Erb won Heat 1.

Nick Hoffman won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Austin Smith won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Ricky Thornton Jr. won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Michael Leach won Heat 5.

Dan Ebert won Heat 6.

Dallon Murty and Tristan Chamberlain won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Michael Leach won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Dustin Sorensen won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Daulton Wilson won the MD3 Rookie of the Race Award.

Brandon Overton was the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher.

Bobby Pierce was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Tyler Erb was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Drake Troutman was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Dustin Sorensen was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Cody Overton was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Ricky Thornton Jr. was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Kyle Bronson was the Lifeline Ninth-Place Finisher.

Dan Ebert was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Brandon Sheppard was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Daulton Wilson was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Jake Timm was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Dennis Erb Jr. was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Frank Heckenast Jr. was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (35 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[9]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[21]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[6]; 5. 22*-Drake Troutman[26]; 6. 19-Dustin Sorensen[28]; 7. 97-Cody Overton[12]; 8. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 9. 40B-Kyle Bronson[23]; 10. 60-Dan Ebert[5]; 11. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[15]; 12. 58V-Daulton Wilson[22]; 13. 49-Jake Timm[29]; 14. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[25]; 15. 111-Max Blair[18]; 16. 11R-Josh Rice[8]; 17. 74X-Ethan Dotson[27]; 18. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[16]; 19. B1-Brent Larson[30]; 20. 11-Austin Smith[3]; 21. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[20]; 22. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[7]; 23. 16S-Sam Seawright[17]; 24. 19R-Ryan Gustin[10]; 25. 09-Michael Leach[1]; 26. 9M-Tim McCreadie[24]; 27. 157-Mike Marlar[13]; 28. 44-Chris Madden[11]; 29. 16-Tyler Bruening[14]; 30. 13-Dallon Murty[19]

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/hoffman-grabs-third-gator-of-2026-with-friday-victory-at-dirtcar-nationals/

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 13, 2026) — Another year older, another year wiser, another year on the trail of the American Sprint Car Series for Brogan Carder.

The 15-year-old racer from Sioux Falls, SD, is taking on his second full-time season at the controls of a 360 Sprint Car in 2026, following the full national Series schedule after the completion of his rookie campaign last year.

Carder came into 2025 with the intent to make laps, get his first experiences at new tracks, and sample a taste for the grind of an all-year schedule. Now that’s in the rearview, he’s ready to start building on the foundation he forged in the seat of the Wyndham Resorts & Hotels, Shaver Specialties Racing Engines-powered Triple-X Chassis No. 88C.

“Last year, I was still trying to get used to the speed and how the car handled and everything,” Carder said. “This year, with a few more races on big tracks like Belleville and a second year at Volusia, I feel a lot more comfortable because I know what the speed’s gonna do. I know how quickly things can happen, and I think I can anticipate it a little bit more and be ready for it.”

Two weeks ago, Carder made his return to Volusia Speedway Park for the season opener and saw vast improvements in his speed, skills, and results at the historic 1/2-mile oval after failing to qualify for any of the Features run during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals the year before. This time around, in a field of over 45 cars, he earned a starting spot in the Feature of both the Friday and Monday programs and showed competence with the high speeds.

“I learned a lot from last year — driving style, setup, pretty much everything,” Carder said. “The car was a lot easier to handle and drive through the corner than it was last year.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Carder will take his improved skills and blossoming confidence with him on the national 360 Sprint Car circuit once again as he continues his climb up the open-wheel racing ladder.

“I’m excited, to say the least,” Carder said. “I’m really pumped up because we’re going back to some of the tracks we went to last year and we have a little bit bigger of a notebook.”

Carder resumes competition in the next American Sprint Car Series events — Feb. 21–22, Feb. 28–March 1 — at Central Arizona Raceway in the inaugural Sonoran Clash. Tickets for both weekends of the event will be sold at the track on race day.

Brogan Carder Continues Growth with American Sprint Car Series in 2026

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 13, 2026) — Another year older, another year wiser, another year on the trail of the American Sprint Car Series for Brogan Carder.

The 15-year-old racer from Sioux Falls, SD, is taking on his second full-time season at the controls of a 360 Sprint Car in 2026, following the full national Series schedule after the completion of his rookie campaign last year.

Carder came into 2025 with the intent to make laps, get his first experiences at new tracks, and sample a taste for the grind of an all-year schedule. Now that’s in the rearview, he’s ready to start building on the foundation he forged in the seat of the Wyndham Resorts & Hotels, Shaver Specialties Racing Engines-powered Triple-X Chassis No. 88C.

“Last year, I was still trying to get used to the speed and how the car handled and everything,” Carder said. “This year, with a few more races on big tracks like Belleville and a second year at Volusia, I feel a lot more comfortable because I know what the speed’s gonna do. I know how quickly things can happen, and I think I can anticipate it a little bit more and be ready for it.”

Two weeks ago, Carder made his return to Volusia Speedway Park for the season opener and saw vast improvements in his speed, skills, and results at the historic 1/2-mile oval after failing to qualify for any of the Features run during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals the year before. This time around, in a field of over 45 cars, he earned a starting spot in the Feature of both the Friday and Monday programs and showed competence with the high speeds.

“I learned a lot from last year — driving style, setup, pretty much everything,” Carder said. “The car was a lot easier to handle and drive through the corner than it was last year.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Carder will take his improved skills and blossoming confidence with him on the national 360 Sprint Car circuit once again as he continues his climb up the open-wheel racing ladder.

“I’m excited, to say the least,” Carder said. “I’m really pumped up because we’re going back to some of the tracks we went to last year and we have a little bit bigger of a notebook.”

Carder resumes competition in the next American Sprint Car Series events — Feb. 21–22, Feb. 28–March 1 — at Central Arizona Raceway in the inaugural Sonoran Clash. Tickets for both weekends of the event will be sold at the track on race day.

Where can you watch every American Sprint Car Series event? Live on DIRTVision.

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 13, 2026) — Another year older, another year wiser, another year on the trail of the American Sprint Car Series for Brogan Carder.

The 15-year-old racer from Sioux Falls, SD, is taking on his second full-time season at the controls of a 360 Sprint Car in 2026, following the full national Series schedule after the completion of his rookie campaign last year.

Carder came into 2025 with the intent to make laps, get his first experiences at new tracks, and sample a taste for the grind of an all-year schedule. Now that’s in the rearview, he’s ready to start building on the foundation he forged in the seat of the Wyndham Resorts & Hotels, Shaver Specialties Racing Engines-powered Triple-X Chassis No. 88C.

“Last year, I was still trying to get used to the speed and how the car handled and everything,” Carder said. “This year, with a few more races on big tracks like Belleville and a second year at Volusia, I feel a lot more comfortable because I know what the speed’s gonna do. I know how quickly things can happen, and I think I can anticipate it a little bit more and be ready for it.”

Two weeks ago, Carder made his return to Volusia Speedway Park for the season opener and saw vast improvements in his speed, skills, and results at the historic 1/2-mile oval after failing to qualify for any of the Features run during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals the year before. This time around, in a field of over 45 cars, he earned a starting spot in the Feature of both the Friday and Monday programs and showed competence with the high speeds.

“I learned a lot from last year — driving style, setup, pretty much everything,” Carder said. “The car was a lot easier to handle and drive through the corner than it was last year.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Carder will take his improved skills and blossoming confidence with him on the national 360 Sprint Car circuit once again as he continues his climb up the open-wheel racing ladder.

“I’m excited, to say the least,” Carder said. “I’m really pumped up because we’re going back to some of the tracks we went to last year and we have a little bit bigger of a notebook.”

Carder resumes competition in the next American Sprint Car Series events — Feb. 21–22, Feb. 28–March 1 — at Central Arizona Raceway in the inaugural Sonoran Clash. Tickets for both weekends of the event will be sold at the track on race day.

Brogan Carder Continues Growth with American Sprint Car Series in 2026

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 13, 2026) — Another year older, another year wiser, another year on the trail of the American Sprint Car Series for Brogan Carder.

The 15-year-old racer from Sioux Falls, SD, is taking on his second full-time season at the controls of a 360 Sprint Car in 2026, following the full national Series schedule after the completion of his rookie campaign last year.

Carder came into 2025 with the intent to make laps, get his first experiences at new tracks, and sample a taste for the grind of an all-year schedule. Now that’s in the rearview, he’s ready to start building on the foundation he forged in the seat of the Wyndham Resorts & Hotels, Shaver Specialties Racing Engines-powered Triple-X Chassis No. 88C.

“Last year, I was still trying to get used to the speed and how the car handled and everything,” Carder said. “This year, with a few more races on big tracks like Belleville and a second year at Volusia, I feel a lot more comfortable because I know what the speed’s gonna do. I know how quickly things can happen, and I think I can anticipate it a little bit more and be ready for it.”

Two weeks ago, Carder made his return to Volusia Speedway Park for the season opener and saw vast improvements in his speed, skills, and results at the historic 1/2-mile oval after failing to qualify for any of the Features run during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals the year before. This time around, in a field of over 45 cars, he earned a starting spot in the Feature of both the Friday and Monday programs and showed competence with the high speeds.

“I learned a lot from last year — driving style, setup, pretty much everything,” Carder said. “The car was a lot easier to handle and drive through the corner than it was last year.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Carder will take his improved skills and blossoming confidence with him on the national 360 Sprint Car circuit once again as he continues his climb up the open-wheel racing ladder.

“I’m excited, to say the least,” Carder said. “I’m really pumped up because we’re going back to some of the tracks we went to last year and we have a little bit bigger of a notebook.”

Carder resumes competition in the next American Sprint Car Series events — Feb. 21–22, Feb. 28–March 1 — at Central Arizona Raceway in the inaugural Sonoran Clash. Tickets for both weekends of the event will be sold at the track on race day.

Where can you watch every American Sprint Car Series event? Live on DIRTVision.

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 13, 2026) – When Jordan Koehler made his fourth visit to Volusia Speedway Park for Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, his primary goal was simple: win a little Gator trophy. 

To do so, the 24-year-old had to compete against 100 of the best DIRTcar UMP Modifieds in the country around the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.” So, how did he fare? 

Koehler not only accomplished his goal, he exceeded it with three little Gator trophies, a Big Gator trophy for winning Saturday’s Gator Championship Feature, and the prestigious Big Gator Championship trophy. 

Those accomplishments looked far out of reach at the start of his DIRTcar Nationals run, though. During Week 1, he had results of 16th, DNF, and 18th. But when the hunt for the Big Gator title officially began during Week 2, Koehler found another gear. He earned a fourth-place finish and then rattled off four straight victories. 

“Man, it’s awesome,” Koehler said. “We probably didn’t think I was going to get it done there, but the guys never gave up on me. I’m definitely one to get down pretty easy when I get into my own head. My guys, I can’t thank them enough. They give me the best race car.” 

To win the Gator Championship Feature, Koehler had to hold off the likes of 2023 Modified Big Gator champion Kyle Stricker and teammate and 2025 Late Model Big Gator champion Ricky Thornton Jr.  

Koehler started from the pole and held the lead over Kyle Strickler and Ricky Thornton Jr. while experimenting with different lanes around the 1/2-mile oval in the early stages. 

Thornton kept the pressure on his younger Koehler Motorsports teammate by arcing his No. 20RT to the bottom and sliding to the top at the exit of each corner. While it helped Thornton keep a half-second distance through the first half of the 30 laps, it had a negative effect in the final circuits as Koehler sped away to a 2.7-second lead by driving through the middle lane towards the checkered flag. 

“I just found that line that I really liked that I’ve been running all week,” Koehler said. “I steered away from it the first couple laps, but when I could hit it, it was choppy in (Turns 1-2), and I could skate across, go to the bottom, and get a really good run.” 

Koehler’s work isn’t done as he kept his DIRTcar Nationals run going during Week 3 with the Super Late Models – on track to compete in every day of DIRTcar Nationals, along with this Koehler Motorsports teammates Thornton and brother Evan Koehler. 

“I kind of take it with a grain of salt,” Koehler said. “I love racing, but I love coming out here with my family to race. That’s more fun to me than anything. We’ve been able to do really good and win races while we’re here. Heck, we were going to be happy if we won one little gator. But that just shows how good this Koehler Motorsports team is.
We’ve got a kick ass team.” 

You can see Jordan Koehler race at Volusia Speedway Park for the remainder of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals with the World of Outlaws Late Models presented by DIRTVision, Friday-Saturday, Feb. 13-14. 

Jordan Koehler Completes Personal Milestone with DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator Championship in 2026

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 13, 2026) – When Jordan Koehler made his fourth visit to Volusia Speedway Park for Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, his primary goal was simple: win a little Gator trophy. 

To do so, the 24-year-old had to compete against 100 of the best DIRTcar UMP Modifieds in the country around the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.” So, how did he fare? 

Koehler not only accomplished his goal, he exceeded it with three little Gator trophies, a Big Gator trophy for winning Saturday’s Gator Championship Feature, and the prestigious Big Gator Championship trophy. 

Those accomplishments looked far out of reach at the start of his DIRTcar Nationals run, though. During Week 1, he had results of 16th, DNF, and 18th. But when the hunt for the Big Gator title officially began during Week 2, Koehler found another gear. He earned a fourth-place finish and then rattled off four straight victories. 

“Man, it’s awesome,” Koehler said. “We probably didn’t think I was going to get it done there, but the guys never gave up on me. I’m definitely one to get down pretty easy when I get into my own head. My guys, I can’t thank them enough. They give me the best race car.” 

To win the Gator Championship Feature, Koehler had to hold off the likes of 2023 Modified Big Gator champion Kyle Stricker and teammate and 2025 Late Model Big Gator champion Ricky Thornton Jr.  

Koehler started from the pole and held the lead over Kyle Strickler and Ricky Thornton Jr. while experimenting with different lanes around the 1/2-mile oval in the early stages. 

Thornton kept the pressure on his younger Koehler Motorsports teammate by arcing his No. 20RT to the bottom and sliding to the top at the exit of each corner. While it helped Thornton keep a half-second distance through the first half of the 30 laps, it had a negative effect in the final circuits as Koehler sped away to a 2.7-second lead by driving through the middle lane towards the checkered flag. 

“I just found that line that I really liked that I’ve been running all week,” Koehler said. “I steered away from it the first couple laps, but when I could hit it, it was choppy in (Turns 1-2), and I could skate across, go to the bottom, and get a really good run.” 

Koehler’s work isn’t done as he kept his DIRTcar Nationals run going during Week 3 with the Super Late Models – on track to compete in every day of DIRTcar Nationals, along with this Koehler Motorsports teammates Thornton and brother Evan Koehler. 

“I kind of take it with a grain of salt,” Koehler said. “I love racing, but I love coming out here with my family to race. That’s more fun to me than anything. We’ve been able to do really good and win races while we’re here. Heck, we were going to be happy if we won one little gator. But that just shows how good this Koehler Motorsports team is.
We’ve got a kick ass team.” 

You can see Jordan Koehler race at Volusia Speedway Park for the remainder of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals with the World of Outlaws Late Models presented by DIRTVision, Friday-Saturday, Feb. 13-14. 

DIRTCAR NATIONALS INFO

-CLICK ON THE LOGO/LINK ABOVE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA-THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO STAY UP TO DATE ON WHAT IS COMING UP AT MATSLV

2026 Guests of Honor Automotive experts and friendly fun talent something for everyone

SPECIAL GUESTJOE ZOLPER Multi talented builder from Garage Squad TV Show. Joe is both an accomplished Builder, Fabricator, Mechanic and Automotive Painter as well as the turner, driver and owner of a Blown 69 Dodge Daytona Bodied HEMI Drag Car.

SPECIAL GUESTJOE (DOMINATOR) WOODS One of the favorite builder/fabricators and drivers from the Hit Discovery Tv Show Street Outlaws.

SPECIAL GUEST – LOU SANTIAGO TV Host and Automotive Enthusiast Extraordinaire

SPECIAL GUEST – PETER BROCK Legendary automotive designer Peter Brock, under the direction of GM Styling Director Bill Mitchell, drew the sketch that became the original 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window Coupe.

Attention Drag RacersImmediately following MuscleCars At The Strip is the Spring Fling Bracket Race. Stating March 31-April 4th. Also held at the Strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  A Racecation for Drag Racers BOUNTY OFFERED!If you win 1st place at MuscleCars At The Strip in Pro or Super Pro on Sunday March 29th, tell us in the winner circle and at our pay out window you are competing in the Spring Fling Friday Big Money Race. If you Win the Big Money Race on Fridays Million, we will double your payout you won at MuscleCars At The Strip in Pro or Super Pro class.   https://www.bracketraces Note, this is for seasoned Bracket Racers!Yes it runs all week long. So if this is your type of action, get signed up for the Spring Fling after you make your reservations at http://www.matslv.com for MuscleCars At The Strip.

AutoCross under the lights both Friday & Saturday Nights under the direction of Racing Byrds. REGISTER HERE

Experienced, Knowledgeable, Car Show Judges needed in Las Vegas at the MuscleCars At The Strip Car Show.Looking for Ford, GM-Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Mopar in both Modern & Vintage Categories.This is your chance to contribute to the automotive culture and have a great time experiencing great vehicle and owners.Send your request to Steve_Hinckley @ yahoo.com or @shinckley6

*Survival Guide* Restaurant Recommendations:Chicago Joe’s Restaurant- Phil’s recommendationItalian 820 S 4th StReservations – 702-382-5637 hours 5pm-9:30pm, chicagojoesrestaurant.comPizza Rock – Jill’s Recommendation201 N 3rd St.702-385-0838 hours 11:30-midnight on weekends, pizzarocklasvegas.com HOTELS WE RECOMMENDED:

South Point Hotel & CasinoWeek Day Rate: $79Weekend Rate: $125Resort Fee: $22Group Code: MUS0327 (must give group code to get rate)Phone: 702-797-7111 The South Point is located in the southern part of Las Vegas, approximately 25 miles from LVMS. Here is why it is worth the drive. 1. A local’s favorite, if the locals like it, you will too.2. Consistent World Class Hospitality that made Las Vegas Famous.3. Full of entertainment options. Restaurants, Bowling Alley, Movie Theatre, Live Gaming.4. Friday Night, all you can eat Seafood Buffet.5. One of a few Buffets in operation.6. Free self-parking.7. Clean 8. Privately owned.9. Huge supporters of all forms of racing.10. Original Old School Management Style, Friendly professional staff that want you to have a great time as their guest.W

Plaza Hotel & CasinoWeek Day Rate: $75Weekend Rate: $125NO RESORT FEEGroup Code: SMUSCAR (must give group code to get rate)Phone: 1-800-634-6575Reservation Link-Click Here Centrally located in Historic Fremont Street District. 1. Updated Rooms, Optional suites with direct patio access.2. Privately owned.3. Oscars Steak House. (Must Experience)4. HASH HOUSE “Twisted Farm Food”5. PINK BOX Donuts.6. Hogs & Heifers Outpost Saloon.7. Full Food Court8. Clean 9. Guest Free self-parking.10. NEW roof top Pickleball Courts & So Much More.Y

-CLICK ON THE LOGO/LINK ABOVE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA-THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO STAY UP TO DATE ON WHAT IS COMING UP AT MATSLV

2026 Guests of HonorAutomotive experts and friendly fun talent something for everyone

SPECIAL GUESTJOE ZOLPER Multi talented builder from Garage Squad TV Show. Joe is both an accomplished Builder, Fabricator, Mechanic and Automotive Painter as well as the turner, driver and owner of a Blown 69 Dodge Daytona Bodied HEMI Drag Car.

SPECIAL GUESTJOE (DOMINATOR) WOODS One of the favorite builder/fabricators and drivers from the Hit Discovery Tv Show Street Outlaws.

SPECIAL GUEST – LOU SANTIAGO TV Host and Automotive Enthusiast Extraordinaire

SPECIAL GUEST – PETER BROCK Legendary automotive designer Peter Brock, under the direction of GM Styling Director Bill Mitchell, drew the sketch that became the original 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window Coupe.

Attention Drag RacersImmediately following MuscleCars At The Strip is the Spring Fling Bracket Race. Stating March 31-April 4th. Also held at the Strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  A Racecation for Drag Racers BOUNTY OFFERED!If you win 1st place at MuscleCars At The Strip in Pro or Super Pro on Sunday March 29th, tell us in the winner circle and at our pay out window you are competing in the Spring Fling Friday Big Money Race. If you Win the Big Money Race on Fridays Million, we will double your payout you won at MuscleCars At The Strip in Pro or Super Pro class.   https://www.bracketraces Note, this is for seasoned Bracket Racers!Yes it runs all week long. So if this is your type of action, get signed up for the Spring Fling after you make your reservations at http://www.matslv.com for MuscleCars At The Strip.

AutoCross under the lights both Friday & Saturday Nights under the direction of Racing Byrds. REGISTER HERE

Experienced, Knowledgeable, Car Show Judges needed in Las Vegas at the MuscleCars At The Strip Car Show.Looking for Ford, GM-Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Mopar in both Modern & Vintage Categories.This is your chance to contribute to the automotive culture and have a great time experiencing great vehicle and owners.Send your request to Steve_Hinckley @ yahoo.com or @shinckley6

*Survival Guide* Restaurant Recommendations:Chicago Joe’s Restaurant- Phil’s recommendationItalian 820 S 4th StReservations – 702-382-5637 hours 5pm-9:30pm, chicagojoesrestaurant.comPizza Rock – Jill’s Recommendation201 N 3rd St.702-385-0838 hours 11:30-midnight on weekends, pizzarocklasvegas.com HOTELS WE RECOMMENDED:

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BARBERVILLE, FL (February 12, 2026) – Nick Hoffman still has a long way to go to match his DIRTcar UMP Modified success at Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals in a Late Model, but he’s made plenty of inroads this week.

After collecting his first Gator of the week on Wednesday at Volusia Speedway Park in DIRTcar Late Model competition, “The Thrill From Mooresville” backed it up on Thursday, winning for the first time this season with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.

“You get that first one out of the way and it just makes these come a little easier,” Hoffman said. “Not that any of them are easy. Our car’s really good, as long as I don’t do nothing stupid, get myself qualified early in the night, it just makes the whole night a lot easier.”

The driver of the NOS Energy Drink No. 9 took control on the opening lap when Bilstein Pole Award winner Chris Madden slid too high exiting Turn 2, allowing Hoffman to cross underneath him going down the backstretch. A pair of cautions prevented Hoffman from getting too comfortable in the first half of the race, but he stood his ground on both occasions and ultimately crossed the line more than five seconds clear of the field.

“It’s so hard to slide somebody in Turn 1 here because it leaves yourself hanging off Turn 2,” Hoffman said. “[Madden] had no choice but to try and slide me, and I anticipated that and was able to cross and have enough grip down the back straightaway. Then once you get out front, I was just trying to save my tires just a little bit just in case we get a late caution. Was able to stretch it out and just kind of cruise.”

Hoffman entered the night as the World of Outlaws points leader and maintained his spot on top by eight points over runner-up Tim McCreadie. In the short term, he also took over the Big Gator points lead by 21 markers over Cody Overton, who was leading the weeklong points until recording a DNF on Thursday. Should Hoffman be able to hold on over the final two nights, it would be his first Big Gator in a Late Model to go with his seven from his Modified days.

McCreadie’s second-place run didn’t come easy, as he charged forward from 22nd in the starting order to earn FOX Factory Hard Charger honors in his 500th World of Outlaws Feature start. Bobby Pierce came home third for his best Series finish of the young 2026 season, while Tyler Erb and Madden made up the rest of the top five.

UP NEXT: Two more nights remain for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision at Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, beginning with a $12,000-to-win main event on Friday, Feb. 13. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

Want to watch the World of Outlaws? Stream every race live on DIRTVision.

RACE NOTES:

Tyler Erb set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Cody Overton won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Cody Overton won Heat 1.

Chris Madden won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Nick Hoffman won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Brandon Sheppard won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Tyler Erb won Heat 5.

Drake Troutman won Heat 6.

Josh Rice and Ethan Dotson won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Chris Madden won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Tim McCreadie won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Tim McCreadie was the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher.

Bobby Pierce was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Tyler Erb was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Chris Madden was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Ethan Dotson was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Ricky Thornton Jr. was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Brandon Sheppard was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Drake Troutman was the Lifeline Ninth-Place Finisher.

Josh Rice was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Hudson O’Neal was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Ryan Gustin was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Daulton Wilson was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Garrett Alberson was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Brent Larson was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (35 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[2]; 2. 9M-Tim McCreadie[22]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[10]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[5]; 5. 44-Chris Madden[1]; 6. 74X-Ethan Dotson[20]; 7. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[7]; 8. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 9. 22*-Drake Troutman[3]; 10. 11R-Josh Rice[19]; 11. 71-Hudson O’Neal[8]; 12. 19R-Ryan Gustin[14]; 13. 58V-Daulton Wilson[9]; 14. 58-Garrett Alberson[15]; 15. 49-Jake Timm[24]; 16. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[11]; 17. 14-Trey Mills[27]; 18. B1-Brent Larson[25]; 19. 1Z-Logan Zarin[26]; 20. 7-Ross Robinson[18]; 21. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[23]; 22. 19-Dustin Sorensen[21]; 23. 157-Mike Marlar[17]; 24. 16-Tyler Bruening[16]; 25. 55E-Eli Johnson[28]; 26. 19M-Brenden Smith[12]; 27. 8S-Kyle Strickler[13]; 28. 97-Cody Overton[6]

Hoffman Wins On Back-to-Back Nights at Volusia, Scores First World of Outlaws Victory of 2026

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 12, 2026) – Nick Hoffman still has a long way to go to match his DIRTcar UMP Modified success at Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals in a Late Model, but he’s made plenty of inroads this week.

After collecting his first Gator of the week on Wednesday at Volusia Speedway Park in DIRTcar Late Model competition, “The Thrill From Mooresville” backed it up on Thursday, winning for the first time this season with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.

“You get that first one out of the way and it just makes these come a little easier,” Hoffman said. “Not that any of them are easy. Our car’s really good, as long as I don’t do nothing stupid, get myself qualified early in the night, it just makes the whole night a lot easier.”

The driver of the NOS Energy Drink No. 9 took control on the opening lap when Bilstein Pole Award winner Chris Madden slid too high exiting Turn 2, allowing Hoffman to cross underneath him going down the backstretch. A pair of cautions prevented Hoffman from getting too comfortable in the first half of the race, but he stood his ground on both occasions and ultimately crossed the line more than five seconds clear of the field.

“It’s so hard to slide somebody in Turn 1 here because it leaves yourself hanging off Turn 2,” Hoffman said. “[Madden] had no choice but to try and slide me, and I anticipated that and was able to cross and have enough grip down the back straightaway. Then once you get out front, I was just trying to save my tires just a little bit just in case we get a late caution. Was able to stretch it out and just kind of cruise.”

Hoffman entered the night as the World of Outlaws points leader and maintained his spot on top by eight points over runner-up Tim McCreadie. In the short term, he also took over the Big Gator points lead by 21 markers over Cody Overton, who was leading the weeklong points until recording a DNF on Thursday. Should Hoffman be able to hold on over the final two nights, it would be his first Big Gator in a Late Model to go with his seven from his Modified days.

McCreadie’s second-place run didn’t come easy, as he charged forward from 22nd in the starting order to earn FOX Factory Hard Charger honors in his 500th World of Outlaws Feature start. Bobby Pierce came home third for his best Series finish of the young 2026 season, while Tyler Erb and Madden made up the rest of the top five.

UP NEXT: Two more nights remain for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision at Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, beginning with a $12,000-to-win main event on Friday, Feb. 13. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

Want to watch the World of Outlaws? Stream every race live on DIRTVision.

RACE NOTES:

Tyler Erb set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Cody Overton won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Cody Overton won Heat 1.

Chris Madden won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Nick Hoffman won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Brandon Sheppard won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Tyler Erb won Heat 5.

Drake Troutman won Heat 6.

Josh Rice and Ethan Dotson won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Chris Madden won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Tim McCreadie won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Tim McCreadie was the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher.

Bobby Pierce was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Tyler Erb was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Chris Madden was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Ethan Dotson was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Ricky Thornton Jr. was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Brandon Sheppard was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Drake Troutman was the Lifeline Ninth-Place Finisher.

Josh Rice was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Hudson O’Neal was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Ryan Gustin was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Daulton Wilson was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Garrett Alberson was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Brent Larson was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (35 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[2]; 2. 9M-Tim McCreadie[22]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[10]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[5]; 5. 44-Chris Madden[1]; 6. 74X-Ethan Dotson[20]; 7. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[7]; 8. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 9. 22*-Drake Troutman[3]; 10. 11R-Josh Rice[19]; 11. 71-Hudson O’Neal[8]; 12. 19R-Ryan Gustin[14]; 13. 58V-Daulton Wilson[9]; 14. 58-Garrett Alberson[15]; 15. 49-Jake Timm[24]; 16. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[11]; 17. 14-Trey Mills[27]; 18. B1-Brent Larson[25]; 19. 1Z-Logan Zarin[26]; 20. 7-Ross Robinson[18]; 21. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[23]; 22. 19-Dustin Sorensen[21]; 23. 157-Mike Marlar[17]; 24. 16-Tyler Bruening[16]; 25. 55E-Eli Johnson[28]; 26. 19M-Brenden Smith[12]; 27. 8S-Kyle Strickler[13]; 28. 97-Cody Overton[6]

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/hoffman-wins-on-back-to-back-nights-at-volusia-scores-first-world-of-outlaws-victory-of-2026/

Event: Duel at DaytonaLocation: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FloridaDate: Thursday, February 13, 2026Start: 13thFinish: 6th Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team saved their best for the last of Thursday’s second America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona, charging from 17th to sixth place to earn the 14th starting spot for Sunday’s Daytona 500.Berry started Thursday’s 150-mile qualifying race from 13th place and ran in the back half of the field for most of the race that ran under the green flag from start to finish.He was in the final group to make a green-flag pit stop with 12 laps remaining. He briefly pulled up in front of a pack of oncoming leaders but wound up dropping to 17th. He moved into the outside line initially and steadily weaved his way forward.“The top was just faster, and we had to stay up there to make it happen,” Berry said.Overall, Berry said his Thursday night ride in the No. 21 painted, to look like the Mercury that David Pearson drove to victory in the Daytona 500 fifty years ago this Sunday was a great time.“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “We finally got up to the front there the last few laps. I’m pretty happy with the decisions I made the last five to ten laps of the race to get us up there and just needed a little more time.“It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot. The team did a great job and the car is in one piece and we didn’t wreck so it was a good day.”Berry and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team will have two more practice sessions to tune their Mustang Dark Horse for the 500. The first is scheduled for Friday at 5:35 p.m. and the final one for Saturday at 3 p.m.Sunday’s race is set to start just after 2:30 p.m. with Stage breaks planned for Laps 65 and 130.FS1 will carry the TV broadcast of the preliminary events, with coverage switching to FOX on Sunday.

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-DUELS REPORT FEBRUARY 12, 2026

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Team Chevy Unofficial Duel #1 ResultsPos.     Driver3rd – Austin Dillon6th – Shane van Gisbergen7th – Daniel Suarez10th – Alex Bowman11th – Cole Custer17th – Cody Ware18th – Kyle Busch20th – AJ Allmendinger21st – Ross Chastain22nd – William Byron

Duel #1: Post-Race Driver QuotesAustin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Finished: 3rd“Everyone at RCR and ECR Engines did a great job in the offseason. Our Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet was fast tonight. The new Chevy Camaro has shown some speed for sure, and it’s nice to be able to shove a line. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to fight those Penske guys up there, and that was kind of fun tonight. We can work on some stuff to help me when getting pushed, but past that, really happy with the speed. The biggest thing for Sunday is to execute. I have to sharpen up some moves but it’s nice to have the feeling that you can go out there and play offense.”  Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 6th“We obviously didn’t qualify as well as we would have liked. We missed it a little bit. But once the race started, our No. 97 SuperFile Chevy was really nice. We were just patient at the start; saving fuel and riding in the back being safe. Once we were ready to go, I could creep up the pack quite nicely. It was really fun to be competitive and put ourselves in a good spot. We got close to a couple of wrecks, but missed them. We had a good pit stop and it worked out really well. It’s a good starting spot for Sunday.”  Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing ChevroletFinished: 17th “Just really proud of this team. We had a really fast No. 51 Jacob Construction Chevrolet for the DAYTONA 500 on Sunday. I got to really have my first race on a full-size track in a Chevrolet, so to be out there, know the horsepower and the speed, it was great. The car feels like it’s drafting really well, so I feel like we have all the pieces of the puzzle to go have a phenomenal Sunday afternoon.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Finished: 18th “Thanks to the hard work of everyone at RCR and ECR we brought an extremely fast No. 8 zone Jalapeno Lime Chevrolet to Daytona and I’ll start the 500 on the pole for the first time in my career. While we didn’t get the finish in the Duels we wanted, we finished with a clean car and are ready to go chase a win that’s eluded me in 20 prior starts.”  Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 21stChastain on how the new Chevy body felt: “I got pushed really well. Chandler (Smith) pushed me early in the race, and yeah, it was better than in the past. I don’t know if that’s our rear tail or if he was just taking care of me, but I felt good. We were all saving fuel during the first stint, and then when we went hard, I felt competitive around people. I got pushed better than I probably remember, but that’s also the first time I’ve been pushed in five-six months, so it’s been awhile.” What happened there at the end? “I don’t know. I just saw a car spinning and somebody ran into the back of me a couple of times. I was just slowing down and I got turned.” Did you learn anything that you feel like will help you on Sunday? “Not really, nothing crazy. The No. 1 Busch Light Chevy drove good. It seemed like it burnt through the tires evenly through that first fuel run.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 20th“It just looked like Corey (LaJoie) just got touched, nothing malicious. It looked like whoever was behind him, maybe the No. 7 (Daniel Suarez), was trying to push him and it just turned Corey straight up into me. I just happened to be the lucky guy that was right next to him when it happened. I thought I almost had it saved up on the banking, but when the banking caught it, it spun me back down. I don’t know how much damage is on the car. I didn’t really get hit a lot. Maybe the splitter is going to have to be redone, but we’ll see. Unfortunately, I got hit right at the end in the back of the car that did some damage. Just tried to play it smart and be there at the end, like usual, but it’s just kind of the way it’s going here.” William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 22ndByron on the incident that ended the No. 24 team’s night early in Duel #1: “I felt like I was in a good spot and moving forward in the middle. The No. 23 (Bubba Wallace) got squirrely on the bottom. It looked like he kind of saved it, I’m not exactly sure. And then, whoever was next to me, hit me in the left rear. I kind of straightened it out against the wall, and then they hit me again and I spun.  It’s just a bummer. We’ve won this race with a backup car, so I’m not super worried on that aspect. But it does suck that you put a lot of work into the primary and you don’t get to race it. Maybe we will, who knows. In front of the left rear tire, it was pretty hurt, so I don’t know if that’s fixable. But we’ll see. It just stinks to start in the back and not get the points tonight, but we’ll just move on and get ready for Sunday.” Did you learn anything on the new Chevy body? “I didn’t really push or get pushed as much as I would have liked to. Honestly, it looked like a lot of the cars were just super unstable getting pushed. I noticed that from the beginning. It just seemed like guys were moving around a lot. My car felt fine, but yeah, I never got a chance to get up there and control it.”

Team Chevy Unofficial Duel #2 ResultsPos.     Driver1st – Chase Elliott2nd – Carson Hocevar3rd – Kyle Larson4th – Michael McDowell7th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 15th – Connor Zilisch16th – Ty Dillon18th – Anthony Alfredo19th – BJ McLeod21st – Justin Allgaier22nd – JJ Yeley

Duel #2: Post-Race Driver QuotesChase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 1stChase, you said you wanted to get after it in this Duel. New body, feel it out. What is your opinion of it?“A great way to get the blood pumping for sure on a Thursday night. There was a lot going on those last handful, really ever since we came off of pit road after the cycle, we were getting after it. It was a lot of fun. Had some great support there. Carson did a great job helping me control those lanes, helping get Team Chevy for Victory Lane tonight. Certainly, owe him an appreciation for just kind of sticking with it, also pushing me well. It’s real easy to get people out of control. So, appreciate that and its nice to get the NAPA Chevy a win. Not a 500. I’ve been here before and not the other one, so you have to kind of learn to take it a day at a time. Look, a great way to start the speed week for our team. Really proud of our effort, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, the boss, from top to bottom. Their commitment and will to win, is pretty darn high. Proud to be a part of their team. Good night. Looking forward to Sunday.” How does getting this win, knowing how your team executed, set you guys up for Sunday, trying to win your first Daytona 500?“Yeah, it’s been a little bit of a rocky road. We’ve had a couple close opportunities. Fortunately, we’ve won this race here tonight before, like I said. I’m excited, but I’m also kind of cautiously realizing what Sunday brings. Obviously, that’s the big prize we all want. Certainly, will enjoy tonight and we’ll think about what we can do to do better. Definitely some things we can improve on before Sunday. The track is going to deteriorate. It’s going to be a bit warmer, sunshine being out. A lot to think about between now and then, but appreciate effort. We’ll be ready to come to work come Sunday.” Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 2nd“First of all, it’s great to see the Hendrick Engine Shop go one-two-three, and then I had a Spire Motorsports teammate (Michael McDowell) try to push me to the win. It was just a great execution by us. We got nine points and that’s very important for us. We wanted eight and we got nine, so we overachieved on this No. 77 team. Our Spectrum Chevy was really good. I would have loved to have won, but it’s only a one-point difference and the DAYTONA 500 pays a lot more.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com ChevroletFinished: 3rd“We were just kind of saving fuel the majority of that first run there. I think we were just kind of pacing off each other, and then the two in front of me were probably pacing off of me. We had the pace really slow. I kind of fell back further than I wanted to be during the green-flag cycle, but our pit crew did a great job. Our gas man did a great job to get us efficiently through our pit stop to still leap frog a lot of the guys we pitted with. And then, yeah, it got crazy there for a while. I’m not really sure how we ended up shaking out into third in line there, but was happy when it finally got single file. I knew it would be difficult to get to the lead. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I just wanted to be ready to be able make a move.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 4th“I learned that our No. 71 Modo Casino Chevrolet was fast. Those Spire Chevy’s were very fast. I was hoping that I could push Carson (Hocevar) there to the win. I know it’s just the Duel, but it’s fun to get a trophy. There are a few things I think we can make better, but overall, the car drove really well and it pushed well. Everybody at the Hendrick Engine Shop did a great job. There were four Chevy’s up front there. It was a little tricky because obviously the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) was trying to get a run and I knew his run could possibly jeopardize Carson not getting there, but we had four Chevy’s up front and we were able to control it and not let the Toyota’s get around us. I felt like we did a good job with the execution.” Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 15th “I don’t think I made the most of what I had. I was running probably fifth or sixth in line on the top, and when I got down, I just didn’t get the pushes I needed to make the lane go. But overall, we ran up front and I felt everything I wanted to. I did what I came here to accomplish. We get to race this car on Sunday, so I’m excited for it with his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team and everybody that makes this happen. I’m glad I got to run upfront. I think I led a lap or two. I ran at the back and ran at the front. I saved fuel, so I checked a lot of boxes tonight, which is what I wanted to do. Although the result isn’t quite what we wanted, Sunday is a long race.” Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 16th “I felt like our No. 10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevy was strong. It handled pretty well and it pushed well. We did everything we could. Just with our pit cycle, we kind of came out in the back end of our group and almost the draft there. We were kind of fighting from behind at that point. I had a big run and tried to make something happen and get some spots, but it just didn’t fall through. The first superspeedway with everybody is good to shake-off the rust. I felt like we did things well, and we have a car in one piece to make better for the DAYTONA 500.” Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 18th “I definitely don’t love being in that position. Making it in on time is a lot easier, but this is the third time and it’s really cool. My first race ever and I was sitting right there.  My career has had its ups and downs, and you never know when you are going to get another shot to race on any Sunday, especially the Daytona 500 the Great American Race. So, I have all my family here, my baby girl Everleigh. I think I have only been chocked up this much in my life, when she was born and qualify for the Daytona 500. It wouldn’t be possible without Beard Motorsports, it’s just a tremendous family and the only women-owned NASCAR team carrying on with a dream of Mark Beard Sr.’s legacy.  And Dude Wipes, I wouldn’t be where I am at in my career without them. They have been my flagship partner in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and we have done some Cup races together and excelled, but to come here and to make the Daytona 500 together, it’s a dream come true. Missing it last year has haunted me until this very moment. This is the only thing that could blow that black cloud over.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500TEAM CHEVY POST-DUELS REPORTFEBRUARY 12, 2026

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Team Chevy Unofficial Duel #1 ResultsPos.     Driver3rd – Austin Dillon6th – Shane van Gisbergen7th – Daniel Suarez10th – Alex Bowman11th – Cole Custer17th – Cody Ware18th – Kyle Busch20th – AJ Allmendinger21st – Ross Chastain22nd – William Byron

Duel #1: Post-Race Driver QuotesAustin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Finished: 3rd“Everyone at RCR and ECR Engines did a great job in the offseason. Our Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet was fast tonight. The new Chevy Camaro has shown some speed for sure, and it’s nice to be able to shove a line. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to fight those Penske guys up there, and that was kind of fun tonight. We can work on some stuff to help me when getting pushed, but past that, really happy with the speed. The biggest thing for Sunday is to execute. I have to sharpen up some moves but it’s nice to have the feeling that you can go out there and play offense.”  Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 6th“We obviously didn’t qualify as well as we would have liked. We missed it a little bit. But once the race started, our No. 97 SuperFile Chevy was really nice. We were just patient at the start; saving fuel and riding in the back being safe. Once we were ready to go, I could creep up the pack quite nicely. It was really fun to be competitive and put ourselves in a good spot. We got close to a couple of wrecks, but missed them. We had a good pit stop and it worked out really well. It’s a good starting spot for Sunday.”  Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing ChevroletFinished: 17th “Just really proud of this team. We had a really fast No. 51 Jacob Construction Chevrolet for the DAYTONA 500 on Sunday. I got to really have my first race on a full-size track in a Chevrolet, so to be out there, know the horsepower and the speed, it was great. The car feels like it’s drafting really well, so I feel like we have all the pieces of the puzzle to go have a phenomenal Sunday afternoon.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Finished: 18th “Thanks to the hard work of everyone at RCR and ECR we brought an extremely fast No. 8 zone Jalapeno Lime Chevrolet to Daytona and I’ll start the 500 on the pole for the first time in my career. While we didn’t get the finish in the Duels we wanted, we finished with a clean car and are ready to go chase a win that’s eluded me in 20 prior starts.”  Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 21stChastain on how the new Chevy body felt: “I got pushed really well. Chandler (Smith) pushed me early in the race, and yeah, it was better than in the past. I don’t know if that’s our rear tail or if he was just taking care of me, but I felt good. We were all saving fuel during the first stint, and then when we went hard, I felt competitive around people. I got pushed better than I probably remember, but that’s also the first time I’ve been pushed in five-six months, so it’s been awhile.” What happened there at the end? “I don’t know. I just saw a car spinning and somebody ran into the back of me a couple of times. I was just slowing down and I got turned.” Did you learn anything that you feel like will help you on Sunday? “Not really, nothing crazy. The No. 1 Busch Light Chevy drove good. It seemed like it burnt through the tires evenly through that first fuel run.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 20th“It just looked like Corey (LaJoie) just got touched, nothing malicious. It looked like whoever was behind him, maybe the No. 7 (Daniel Suarez), was trying to push him and it just turned Corey straight up into me. I just happened to be the lucky guy that was right next to him when it happened. I thought I almost had it saved up on the banking, but when the banking caught it, it spun me back down. I don’t know how much damage is on the car. I didn’t really get hit a lot. Maybe the splitter is going to have to be redone, but we’ll see. Unfortunately, I got hit right at the end in the back of the car that did some damage. Just tried to play it smart and be there at the end, like usual, but it’s just kind of the way it’s going here.” William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 22ndByron on the incident that ended the No. 24 team’s night early in Duel #1: “I felt like I was in a good spot and moving forward in the middle. The No. 23 (Bubba Wallace) got squirrely on the bottom. It looked like he kind of saved it, I’m not exactly sure. And then, whoever was next to me, hit me in the left rear. I kind of straightened it out against the wall, and then they hit me again and I spun.  It’s just a bummer. We’ve won this race with a backup car, so I’m not super worried on that aspect. But it does suck that you put a lot of work into the primary and you don’t get to race it. Maybe we will, who knows. In front of the left rear tire, it was pretty hurt, so I don’t know if that’s fixable. But we’ll see. It just stinks to start in the back and not get the points tonight, but we’ll just move on and get ready for Sunday.” Did you learn anything on the new Chevy body? “I didn’t really push or get pushed as much as I would have liked to. Honestly, it looked like a lot of the cars were just super unstable getting pushed. I noticed that from the beginning. It just seemed like guys were moving around a lot. My car felt fine, but yeah, I never got a chance to get up there and control it.”

Team Chevy Unofficial Duel #2 ResultsPos.     Driver1st – Chase Elliott2nd – Carson Hocevar3rd – Kyle Larson4th – Michael McDowell7th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 15th – Connor Zilisch16th – Ty Dillon18th – Anthony Alfredo19th – BJ McLeod21st – Justin Allgaier22nd – JJ Yeley

Duel #2: Post-Race Driver QuotesChase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 1stChase, you said you wanted to get after it in this Duel. New body, feel it out. What is your opinion of it?“A great way to get the blood pumping for sure on a Thursday night. There was a lot going on those last handful, really ever since we came off of pit road after the cycle, we were getting after it. It was a lot of fun. Had some great support there. Carson did a great job helping me control those lanes, helping get Team Chevy for Victory Lane tonight. Certainly, owe him an appreciation for just kind of sticking with it, also pushing me well. It’s real easy to get people out of control. So, appreciate that and its nice to get the NAPA Chevy a win. Not a 500. I’ve been here before and not the other one, so you have to kind of learn to take it a day at a time. Look, a great way to start the speed week for our team. Really proud of our effort, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, the boss, from top to bottom. Their commitment and will to win, is pretty darn high. Proud to be a part of their team. Good night. Looking forward to Sunday.” How does getting this win, knowing how your team executed, set you guys up for Sunday, trying to win your first Daytona 500?“Yeah, it’s been a little bit of a rocky road. We’ve had a couple close opportunities. Fortunately, we’ve won this race here tonight before, like I said. I’m excited, but I’m also kind of cautiously realizing what Sunday brings. Obviously, that’s the big prize we all want. Certainly, will enjoy tonight and we’ll think about what we can do to do better. Definitely some things we can improve on before Sunday. The track is going to deteriorate. It’s going to be a bit warmer, sunshine being out. A lot to think about between now and then, but appreciate effort. We’ll be ready to come to work come Sunday.” Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 2nd“First of all, it’s great to see the Hendrick Engine Shop go one-two-three, and then I had a Spire Motorsports teammate (Michael McDowell) try to push me to the win. It was just a great execution by us. We got nine points and that’s very important for us. We wanted eight and we got nine, so we overachieved on this No. 77 team. Our Spectrum Chevy was really good. I would have loved to have won, but it’s only a one-point difference and the DAYTONA 500 pays a lot more.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com ChevroletFinished: 3rd“We were just kind of saving fuel the majority of that first run there. I think we were just kind of pacing off each other, and then the two in front of me were probably pacing off of me. We had the pace really slow. I kind of fell back further than I wanted to be during the green-flag cycle, but our pit crew did a great job. Our gas man did a great job to get us efficiently through our pit stop to still leap frog a lot of the guys we pitted with. And then, yeah, it got crazy there for a while. I’m not really sure how we ended up shaking out into third in line there, but was happy when it finally got single file. I knew it would be difficult to get to the lead. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I just wanted to be ready to be able make a move.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 4th“I learned that our No. 71 Modo Casino Chevrolet was fast. Those Spire Chevy’s were very fast. I was hoping that I could push Carson (Hocevar) there to the win. I know it’s just the Duel, but it’s fun to get a trophy. There are a few things I think we can make better, but overall, the car drove really well and it pushed well. Everybody at the Hendrick Engine Shop did a great job. There were four Chevy’s up front there. It was a little tricky because obviously the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) was trying to get a run and I knew his run could possibly jeopardize Carson not getting there, but we had four Chevy’s up front and we were able to control it and not let the Toyota’s get around us. I felt like we did a good job with the execution.” Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 15th “I don’t think I made the most of what I had. I was running probably fifth or sixth in line on the top, and when I got down, I just didn’t get the pushes I needed to make the lane go. But overall, we ran up front and I felt everything I wanted to. I did what I came here to accomplish. We get to race this car on Sunday, so I’m excited for it with his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team and everybody that makes this happen. I’m glad I got to run upfront. I think I led a lap or two. I ran at the back and ran at the front. I saved fuel, so I checked a lot of boxes tonight, which is what I wanted to do. Although the result isn’t quite what we wanted, Sunday is a long race.” Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 16th “I felt like our No. 10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevy was strong. It handled pretty well and it pushed well. We did everything we could. Just with our pit cycle, we kind of came out in the back end of our group and almost the draft there. We were kind of fighting from behind at that point. I had a big run and tried to make something happen and get some spots, but it just didn’t fall through. The first superspeedway with everybody is good to shake-off the rust. I felt like we did things well, and we have a car in one piece to make better for the DAYTONA 500.” Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 18th “I definitely don’t love being in that position. Making it in on time is a lot easier, but this is the third time and it’s really cool. My first race ever and I was sitting right there.  My career has had its ups and downs, and you never know when you are going to get another shot to race on any Sunday, especially the Daytona 500 the Great American Race. So, I have all my family here, my baby girl Everleigh. I think I have only been chocked up this much in my life, when she was born and qualify for the Daytona 500. It wouldn’t be possible without Beard Motorsports, it’s just a tremendous family and the only women-owned NASCAR team carrying on with a dream of Mark Beard Sr.’s legacy.  And Dude Wipes, I wouldn’t be where I am at in my career without them. They have been my flagship partner in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and we have done some Cup races together and excelled, but to come here and to make the Daytona 500 together, it’s a dream come true. Missing it last year has haunted me until this very moment. This is the only thing that could blow that black cloud over.”

From Calder Park to the Bathurst 12 Hour

Baggsy is back in Australia with the GTR

From Calder Park to the Bathurst 12 Hour

Baggsy is back in Australia for the second round of events with the GTR, and the team has already had a strong start.Last Friday night, Baggsy attended Keep It Reet Friday Night Drifts at Calder Park in Melbourne, putting on multiple demos in front of approximately 3,500 drifting fans. He also gave passenger rides to competition winners, and the overall event was a great success. Thank you to the guys at Keep It Reet for the invite and their hospitality.Next on the calendar is the Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race weekend. Baggsy will be heading from Melbourne to Sydney, then out to Bathurst, where he will take part in the Scuderia Autoart drift sessions, performing in front of more than 50,000 fans across the weekend. Driving the GTR on Bathurst, one of the most famous and iconic tracks in the world, is a dream come true for the team.The GTR will first feature in the parade through the streets of Bathurst on Thursday, lined by fans, before taking part in three on-track demo sessions on Friday and Saturday. Baggsy and the SB Motorsport would like to give a big thanks to Monster Energy, Scuderia Autoart, and ST Suspensions for making this happen, and to all our sponsors for supporting the team and helping make events like this possible.

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT FEBRUARY 12, 2026

Rick Hendrick, Jeffrey “JB” Brown, Kyle Larson and Cliff Daniels met with the media following the announcement of the long-term contract extension for the reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Kyle Larson; majority sponsor HendrickCars.com; and crew chief, Cliff Daniels.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes:   You said in the press release this decision was a no-brainer.  What made your decision so clear?  Jeffrey J.B. Brown, President of Hendrick Automotive Group: “Good afternoon, everyone, so great to have so many people here that are fans of racing and we are so excited for the start of the season and Daytona being here. Back to the quote you heard in the press release. First, I am going to start with – Reigning NASCAR Champions. And so, what that does to our brand, to the traffic that we get to our sites on a daily basis, you couldn’t have two better representatives than Kyle (Larson) and Cliff (Daniels). And so, as we explored during the last several months with Mr. Hendrick about continuing this partnership, again, it was really a no-brainer. You know, for our organization last year, we sold 213,760 cars. And while you can’t necessarily attribute that to the direct numbers to what Kyle and Cliff do on a weekly basis, we see over 1 million visitors to Hendrickcars.com every single month. And you see the surge in that traffic after a win and certainly after a championship like these guys delivered.  So, when we come back and think about what it does for the brand, it’s just an incredible representation. Just for a moment more, I just say what more fantastic leaders they are. It really galvanizes the Hendrick Automotive Group when we get our partnership and our partners at Hendrick Motorsports coming together. I think back to a leadership summit that we had in January, where Cliff, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews came and spoke.  And that partnership of bringing our organizations together is just fantastic.  So, for us again, we feel very fortunate and grateful that Mr. Hendrick allows us to deploy capital in this manner and these guys are simply the best.” Mr. Hendrick, as you think about the # 5 team, what do Kyle, Cliff, and that group represent as the kind of people that it takes to win championships? Rick Hendrick: “When I think about both of these guys, I think about excellence and that is the part that rings true for me. I have watched Cliff in a leadership position, and everybody knows Kyle’s talent on the track. Just the way he builds his team, the way he leads his people, and they are there to win every week.  And that is what, if you are on a car, sponsoring a car, or you own a car, you want to go out and have an opportunity to win. With these guys, we know every time we show up to the racetrack we can win.” For a fan-building perspective, how big is it to have 35 of 38 races to have that distinctive scheme in an era where everyone is switching sponsors every single week? Rick Hendrick: “Well, we have had a lot of people as you can imagine want to sponsor that car and I go to J.B. and to Brian and I say, ‘we can replace you’ and (they say) ‘no, it works too well for us’. The consistency when we tie the advertising together and see that we are getting 3-4 times the return on the investment and the fans see the same paint scheme and the same car every week with no confusion. So, I think I really like it and these guys probably want to change the paint scheme sometimes, but I love the paint scheme. I just think when you see Kyle Larson, you see him in that car, with that uniform and I think that makes a big difference.” Kyle Larson: “Just echoing what he said, I think for me, I love having that brand identity of me being attached to the blue Hendrickcars.com 5 car. It’s hard to kind of relate a driver to a brand I feel like anymore, but when you look at us and our team, there is that connection and identity. I love it and I feel a part of the family with that too, so hopefully we can continue on and on forever.” For Rick and Kyle, was this a straightforward, simplistic negotiation considering that the team feels like such a good fit for everybody? Rick Hendrick: “Well, it was expensive. (laughter) No, I wanted these guys in place, and I didn’t want to race against them, and they are part of the family and the fabric of Hendrick Automotive and Hendrick Motorsports.  And when you are that involved, and I look at Jeff Gordon standing over here, or Jimmie Johnson. I remember Jeff and I had a lifetime deal, and I know what he meant to our company, and I know what he still means to our company as Vice Chairman. I think Kyle….I wanted to make sure that we were going to have a long, long future together. I would have gone more than that if he wanted to, and I think with these two guys, I want them to retire with me. I wanted to get something on paper so it would take all the questions away.  So, for the next five or six years, we could put that in a drawer. We are going to race to win championships and win races.” Cliff, it’s rare for a crew chief to have a part in an announcement like this and even more rare to have a multi-year deal like this. What does it mean for you to be part of all of this? Cliff Daniels: “First, thanks for the question.  And like J.B. said, thanks to everyone for being here and it’s great to be back in Daytona. Kyle has mentioned it, and Mr. Hendrick has mentioned it, the honor that we have to be a part of the Hendrick family, the brand of Hendrickcars.com, Hendrick Automotive Group and what we do at Hendrick Motorsports, for me, it’s really special and just an honor. Very humbling to be part of such a great group of people that strive for excellence for the brand that we put in dealerships and the brand that we put on the racetrack. To be the leader of the group that is at the racetrack, for me, it’s a lot of fun and to know that J.B., Mr. Hendrick, Kyle and myself, we all have belief in what we are building with the 5 team. Its inspiring and fun to be a part of and certainly happy to keep it going now and into the future.” Rick Hendrick: “I want to say one thing about Cliff too. He had his guys reading books and we have Hendrick University. And we have management by strengths and how we evaluate how you work with each other. He took his whole organization, and I think most everybody in motorsports has gone now. But the integration of the two and the leadership that Cliff has shown in standing up in front of 100 dealers, and actually teaching, is impressive.  I have never seen a crew chief with that talent, drive and enthusiasm.  So, we are very lucky to have him not only on the racetrack, not in motorsports, but what he has done as a spokesman on the automobile side.” Cliff, we have seen occasions where very talented drivers and very talented crew chief combinations just don’t work for whatever reason. What is it about you guys that has really made this click? Cliff Daniels: “I think it starts with the bedrock of trust. And really, Kyle is so talented behind the wheel, and he is so dedicated and passionate to racing.  We see it that he races 90-somthing times a year between Cup and dirt and all the series that he does – that I know his dedication to be excellent and to be great. I think in our relationship together, he has learned that I always want to make myself better, our team better and the journey that we are walking evolve every year. Every year you may have accomplishments, but those are in the rear-view mirror, and the rear-view mirror is small for a reason. You have to look out the windshield. So I think our common pursuit of racing and being really good at it, brings us together and we trust that we are going to do our job, and do it right.” Cliff, what does this sort of extension do for you as a leader of this group that as long as you achieve what you aim to achieve together, that this can be a longstanding place of stability within the garage? Cliff Daniels: “I would honestly go back to how Mr. Hendrick leads the companies.  We are two years removed from celebrating the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports and this year is the 50thanniversary of the Hendrick Automotive Group and when Mr. Hendrick and I were on the phone talking about that, he just celebrated his 53rd wedding anniversary. Mr. Hendrick is the true leader of bringing people together, establishing great relationships, and keeping them for a long time.  And so what that does for us is just empower us to continue his legacy and the excellence of that. You know, we bring in new team members, and we teach them to do great things, but he has known how to do great things for a long time. And that is what Mr. Hendrick has established in business and family and racing, so for us, we get to continue that. What an honor and what an opportunity.” Kyle, what have you seen from Cliff not only as how he leads you as a driver, but in how he leads the guys that work on that 5 car? Kyle Larson: “Yeah, it’s a lot of I feel like the same. He holds everybody to a high level and like I have said before he is always evolving himself, but he is evolving us as individuals working with him. So, like Rick had mentioned, the book studies, the different things we did together as a team.  Last year flag football, paintball – which I wasn’t there for,  other events, go cart events, team bonding, sort of things that just unite us. I think it is important and helps us all work better together. I appreciate the work and the effort that he puts into not only building fast race cars, but I think all the other bits and pieces that it takes to be successful. I think that is why we have had the success we have had in a relatively short amount of time.” For Kyle, is there any reason you wouldn’t sign a lifetime contract if one appeared on your table and for Cliff is there any reason that would make you want to leave Hendrick Motorsports? Kyle Larson: “For me, I don’t need the contract to know that I will hopefully be there for the rest of my life.  I don’t ever foresee a reason for me to want to entertain being a part of another group. I know what I have at Hendrick Motorsports and I know what I have with a great leader with Rick, J.B., Cliff and everybody else – the Jeffs, Chad, you could go on and on. So, maybe a lifetime contract will be the next one. But I am not too worried about it. I am pretty confident in where I am at and don’t have any plans to think about going anywhere else.” Cliff Daniels: “Yeah and honestly a really similar answer for me. Very grateful for Mr. Hendrick, J.B. and everybody that helped put this together. And then we have Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews, Chad, and a whole leadership staff at Hendrick Motorsports.  We are trying to be excellent on the racetrack now, but we are also looking into the future of people, talent, and resources of what its going to take. Its really exciting to be a part of and to have a small piece of being able to build that in ways that they have included me in the conversation and looking ahead to the future for all the reasons that I just mentioned. Its inspiring and I am certainly happy to be a part of it and hope to be a big part of it for a long time.” Kyle, what is the benefit for you to have a five-year deal as opposed to a three-year deal?  Kyle Larson: “I don’t get too wrapped up in the duration or all of that, I really just….its nice to know that I will be here for at least five years and hopefully more. And that is kind of it. I just get to work on trying to win more races and win more championships in the time that I am there. So, yeah, grateful and I feel like it’s a very long-term contract compared to what you see these days. So, I am very happy with all of that and yeah, I think that gets me close to 40 and then we will see after that.” For J.B., what makes you happy to have these guys represent Hendrickcars.com every week? J.B. Brown: “On top of being a great driver and a great crew chief, they are great leaders and they are great people. And you heard both of the guys mention the family atmosphere and the trust that is inside our organizations, that is so critically important for us. So, these guys just represent the best of the best of the Hendrick family and of the Hendrick enterprise overall. So, for us we are just thrilled. And back to the leadership comments that we made, when Cliff and Jeff and Jeff and Chad came to our leadership summit, the power of what they talked about – even the perseverance. It’s back to their focus on this constant excellence. But you think back to the last two or three laps of the championship that they delivered, and what these guys went through, and what those lessons of perseverance and thriving under pressure, what that can bring back to the entire Hendrick organization is very, very powerful. So, again, just great representatives and we are just thrilled to have them for a long, long time.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYTEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTFEBRUARY 12, 2026

Rick Hendrick, Jeffrey “JB” Brown, Kyle Larson and Cliff Daniels met with the media following the announcement of the long-term contract extension for the reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Kyle Larson; majority sponsor HendrickCars.com; and crew chief, Cliff Daniels.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes:   You said in the press release this decision was a no-brainer.  What made your decision so clear?  Jeffrey J.B. Brown, President of Hendrick Automotive Group: “Good afternoon, everyone, so great to have so many people here that are fans of racing and we are so excited for the start of the season and Daytona being here. Back to the quote you heard in the press release. First, I am going to start with – Reigning NASCAR Champions. And so, what that does to our brand, to the traffic that we get to our sites on a daily basis, you couldn’t have two better representatives than Kyle (Larson) and Cliff (Daniels). And so, as we explored during the last several months with Mr. Hendrick about continuing this partnership, again, it was really a no-brainer. You know, for our organization last year, we sold 213,760 cars. And while you can’t necessarily attribute that to the direct numbers to what Kyle and Cliff do on a weekly basis, we see over 1 million visitors to Hendrickcars.com every single month. And you see the surge in that traffic after a win and certainly after a championship like these guys delivered.  So, when we come back and think about what it does for the brand, it’s just an incredible representation. Just for a moment more, I just say what more fantastic leaders they are. It really galvanizes the Hendrick Automotive Group when we get our partnership and our partners at Hendrick Motorsports coming together. I think back to a leadership summit that we had in January, where Cliff, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews came and spoke.  And that partnership of bringing our organizations together is just fantastic.  So, for us again, we feel very fortunate and grateful that Mr. Hendrick allows us to deploy capital in this manner and these guys are simply the best.” Mr. Hendrick, as you think about the # 5 team, what do Kyle, Cliff, and that group represent as the kind of people that it takes to win championships? Rick Hendrick: “When I think about both of these guys, I think about excellence and that is the part that rings true for me. I have watched Cliff in a leadership position, and everybody knows Kyle’s talent on the track. Just the way he builds his team, the way he leads his people, and they are there to win every week.  And that is what, if you are on a car, sponsoring a car, or you own a car, you want to go out and have an opportunity to win. With these guys, we know every time we show up to the racetrack we can win.” For a fan-building perspective, how big is it to have 35 of 38 races to have that distinctive scheme in an era where everyone is switching sponsors every single week? Rick Hendrick: “Well, we have had a lot of people as you can imagine want to sponsor that car and I go to J.B. and to Brian and I say, ‘we can replace you’ and (they say) ‘no, it works too well for us’. The consistency when we tie the advertising together and see that we are getting 3-4 times the return on the investment and the fans see the same paint scheme and the same car every week with no confusion. So, I think I really like it and these guys probably want to change the paint scheme sometimes, but I love the paint scheme. I just think when you see Kyle Larson, you see him in that car, with that uniform and I think that makes a big difference.” Kyle Larson: “Just echoing what he said, I think for me, I love having that brand identity of me being attached to the blue Hendrickcars.com 5 car. It’s hard to kind of relate a driver to a brand I feel like anymore, but when you look at us and our team, there is that connection and identity. I love it and I feel a part of the family with that too, so hopefully we can continue on and on forever.” For Rick and Kyle, was this a straightforward, simplistic negotiation considering that the team feels like such a good fit for everybody? Rick Hendrick: “Well, it was expensive. (laughter) No, I wanted these guys in place, and I didn’t want to race against them, and they are part of the family and the fabric of Hendrick Automotive and Hendrick Motorsports.  And when you are that involved, and I look at Jeff Gordon standing over here, or Jimmie Johnson. I remember Jeff and I had a lifetime deal, and I know what he meant to our company, and I know what he still means to our company as Vice Chairman. I think Kyle….I wanted to make sure that we were going to have a long, long future together. I would have gone more than that if he wanted to, and I think with these two guys, I want them to retire with me. I wanted to get something on paper so it would take all the questions away.  So, for the next five or six years, we could put that in a drawer. We are going to race to win championships and win races.” Cliff, it’s rare for a crew chief to have a part in an announcement like this and even more rare to have a multi-year deal like this. What does it mean for you to be part of all of this? Cliff Daniels: “First, thanks for the question.  And like J.B. said, thanks to everyone for being here and it’s great to be back in Daytona. Kyle has mentioned it, and Mr. Hendrick has mentioned it, the honor that we have to be a part of the Hendrick family, the brand of Hendrickcars.com, Hendrick Automotive Group and what we do at Hendrick Motorsports, for me, it’s really special and just an honor. Very humbling to be part of such a great group of people that strive for excellence for the brand that we put in dealerships and the brand that we put on the racetrack. To be the leader of the group that is at the racetrack, for me, it’s a lot of fun and to know that J.B., Mr. Hendrick, Kyle and myself, we all have belief in what we are building with the 5 team. Its inspiring and fun to be a part of and certainly happy to keep it going now and into the future.” Rick Hendrick: “I want to say one thing about Cliff too. He had his guys reading books and we have Hendrick University. And we have management by strengths and how we evaluate how you work with each other. He took his whole organization, and I think most everybody in motorsports has gone now. But the integration of the two and the leadership that Cliff has shown in standing up in front of 100 dealers, and actually teaching, is impressive.  I have never seen a crew chief with that talent, drive and enthusiasm.  So, we are very lucky to have him not only on the racetrack, not in motorsports, but what he has done as a spokesman on the automobile side.” Cliff, we have seen occasions where very talented drivers and very talented crew chief combinations just don’t work for whatever reason. What is it about you guys that has really made this click? Cliff Daniels: “I think it starts with the bedrock of trust. And really, Kyle is so talented behind the wheel, and he is so dedicated and passionate to racing.  We see it that he races 90-somthing times a year between Cup and dirt and all the series that he does – that I know his dedication to be excellent and to be great. I think in our relationship together, he has learned that I always want to make myself better, our team better and the journey that we are walking evolve every year. Every year you may have accomplishments, but those are in the rear-view mirror, and the rear-view mirror is small for a reason. You have to look out the windshield. So I think our common pursuit of racing and being really good at it, brings us together and we trust that we are going to do our job, and do it right.” Cliff, what does this sort of extension do for you as a leader of this group that as long as you achieve what you aim to achieve together, that this can be a longstanding place of stability within the garage? Cliff Daniels: “I would honestly go back to how Mr. Hendrick leads the companies.  We are two years removed from celebrating the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports and this year is the 50thanniversary of the Hendrick Automotive Group and when Mr. Hendrick and I were on the phone talking about that, he just celebrated his 53rd wedding anniversary. Mr. Hendrick is the true leader of bringing people together, establishing great relationships, and keeping them for a long time.  And so what that does for us is just empower us to continue his legacy and the excellence of that. You know, we bring in new team members, and we teach them to do great things, but he has known how to do great things for a long time. And that is what Mr. Hendrick has established in business and family and racing, so for us, we get to continue that. What an honor and what an opportunity.” Kyle, what have you seen from Cliff not only as how he leads you as a driver, but in how he leads the guys that work on that 5 car? Kyle Larson: “Yeah, it’s a lot of I feel like the same. He holds everybody to a high level and like I have said before he is always evolving himself, but he is evolving us as individuals working with him. So, like Rick had mentioned, the book studies, the different things we did together as a team.  Last year flag football, paintball – which I wasn’t there for,  other events, go cart events, team bonding, sort of things that just unite us. I think it is important and helps us all work better together. I appreciate the work and the effort that he puts into not only building fast race cars, but I think all the other bits and pieces that it takes to be successful. I think that is why we have had the success we have had in a relatively short amount of time.” For Kyle, is there any reason you wouldn’t sign a lifetime contract if one appeared on your table and for Cliff is there any reason that would make you want to leave Hendrick Motorsports? Kyle Larson: “For me, I don’t need the contract to know that I will hopefully be there for the rest of my life.  I don’t ever foresee a reason for me to want to entertain being a part of another group. I know what I have at Hendrick Motorsports and I know what I have with a great leader with Rick, J.B., Cliff and everybody else – the Jeffs, Chad, you could go on and on. So, maybe a lifetime contract will be the next one. But I am not too worried about it. I am pretty confident in where I am at and don’t have any plans to think about going anywhere else.” Cliff Daniels: “Yeah and honestly a really similar answer for me. Very grateful for Mr. Hendrick, J.B. and everybody that helped put this together. And then we have Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews, Chad, and a whole leadership staff at Hendrick Motorsports.  We are trying to be excellent on the racetrack now, but we are also looking into the future of people, talent, and resources of what its going to take. Its really exciting to be a part of and to have a small piece of being able to build that in ways that they have included me in the conversation and looking ahead to the future for all the reasons that I just mentioned. Its inspiring and I am certainly happy to be a part of it and hope to be a big part of it for a long time.” Kyle, what is the benefit for you to have a five-year deal as opposed to a three-year deal?  Kyle Larson: “I don’t get too wrapped up in the duration or all of that, I really just….its nice to know that I will be here for at least five years and hopefully more. And that is kind of it. I just get to work on trying to win more races and win more championships in the time that I am there. So, yeah, grateful and I feel like it’s a very long-term contract compared to what you see these days. So, I am very happy with all of that and yeah, I think that gets me close to 40 and then we will see after that.” For J.B., what makes you happy to have these guys represent Hendrickcars.com every week? J.B. Brown: “On top of being a great driver and a great crew chief, they are great leaders and they are great people. And you heard both of the guys mention the family atmosphere and the trust that is inside our organizations, that is so critically important for us. So, these guys just represent the best of the best of the Hendrick family and of the Hendrick enterprise overall. So, for us we are just thrilled. And back to the leadership comments that we made, when Cliff and Jeff and Jeff and Chad came to our leadership summit, the power of what they talked about – even the perseverance. It’s back to their focus on this constant excellence. But you think back to the last two or three laps of the championship that they delivered, and what these guys went through, and what those lessons of perseverance and thriving under pressure, what that can bring back to the entire Hendrick organization is very, very powerful. So, again, just great representatives and we are just thrilled to have them for a long, long time.”

CONCORD, NC (February 12, 2026) – Championships require time.

Only 11 drivers through 48 seasons of World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series racing can call themselves a champion. It’s the sport’s toughest mountain to summit.

David Gravel is the latest to add his name to that exclusive list. It took commitment and patience. The Watertown, CT native made his presence felt on the national scene in the early 2010s. Rides with some of the sport’s most elite organizations like Roth Motorsports, CJB Motorsports, and Jason Johnson Racing pushed him toward the pinnacle.

But it wasn’t until he teamed with Tod Quiring that he was finally able to hoist the trophy at season’s end. In 2024, Gravel’s fourth season driving the Big Game Motorsports No. 2, he claimed an elusive title. Bricks laid in the foundation of what’s shaping up to be a historic run.

Gravel wasn’t done there. A dominant 2025 led him to standing atop the World Finals stage for the second year in a row. Along with the two titles, Gravel and the Big Game crew have racked up 62 wins, 155 podiums, 229 top fives, and 309 top 10s in 354 Features together.

They’ve shown no signs of slowing so far in 2026, clocking the quickest time in their Qualifying Flight all three nights during the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals last week and picking up a pair of podiums.

Longevity has proven to be a vital piece of a championship. The record books seldom show a driver and team meshing right off the bat to the point of beating the best the sport has to offer. After several years of switching rides, Gravel found the comfortable home he sought. Everything has come together, and now he’s ready to go after a three-peat.

“Early in my years I didn’t want to bounce around, but it was just kind of the cards that I was dealt and the situations I was in,” Gravel recalled. “I think when you’re a very young driver you don’t get the respect from certain people while you’re there because you’re young and there’s always that potential to be better or more mature, stuff like that. I felt like I raced for a lot of great car owners with great equipment, and we accomplished cool things with nearly every single one of them.

“But it’s great to finally get somewhere. Look at the World of Outlaws champions. Daryn Pittman is like the only one that I can think of that the first year he came to a team he won the championship. Other than that, it’s like these guys have been with their team a long time before they won championships. Even though Donny (Schatz) won with Tony (Stewart) there, it was the same equipment, same mechanic, same engines, very similar. That just shows you’ve got to be consistent and work on the small things, and it seems like championships come.”

It’s not enough to simply pair a driver with a powerful organization. There are other important pieces to put in place. For Gravel and Big Game, one of the biggest is crew chief Cody Jacobs. Quiring hired the Ohio native in 2020, and he’s turned the wrenches on the No. 2 ever since. Zach Patterson filled a gap as the Tire Specialist in 2022, and that’s where he remains today.

The one position on the road crew that’s been slightly inconsistent is car chief. While they’ve always had a capable set of hands, the name has changed over each of the last several years. But they won’t have to worry about introducing someone new in 2026 as Pete Stephens will continue to operate in the role. And on top of that, they’ve added Luke Vaughn full-time. Vaughn came to lend a hand over the last month of the 2025 season after departing Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing.

“It’s definitely a good feeling. It’s the first time we’re going to bring back the same three guys that we had in the previous season in my six years here, so that’s a comforting feeling,” Gravel said. “I feel like Pete grew into his role very well. He’s done this a long time, but he didn’t do it for five or 10 years. Within the first month, it was like riding a bike. It’s a great feeling, and then adding Luke adds a young, fiery guy.”

They’ve won the last two. They’ve built a proven core. But that doesn’t mean they can get complacent. Names like Michael Kofoid, Carson Macedo, Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild, and more are all hungry to dethrone Gravel. He was once in their position. The 33-year-old knows he’s got to stay on top of his game.

“It’s tough to say,” Gravel said of how he fends off the challengers. “I feel like there’s times you have to be that championship driver and do some amazing things to bring some things out of the car that maybe aren’t there sometimes. And then there’s times where Cody’s going to step up and give me an unbelievable car in a long race to be able to get the job done in the last five or 10 laps. You’ve just got to stay levelheaded and cool.

“I think when you haven’t done it before, it ups the nerves a little bit. Leading and being the champion is still nerve-wracking, but you have that confidence that you’ve done it before and you know how to do it. It’s hard to say, but I just think the champion is leading the pack, so everybody wants to beat the champion. Those guys are going to try really, really hard to beat you night in and night out. You’re the hunted. It’s just do your job and stay focused on what you’re doing. You’ve got to be consistent to be a champion.”

History is within reach for Gravel in 2026. Only a trio of competitors – Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, and Brad Sweet – have ever been able to string together three straight championships. Like any competitor, the latest triumph fuels the hunger for the next. The No. 2 team wants this run to be remembered for generations to come.

Gravel’s settled now. The years of moving around are far behind him. He’s found a home with Big Game Motorsports and is well within his prime. The rest of the roster won’t make it easy, but the champion has given little reason to doubt him in 2026.

“It would be very cool,” Gravel said of a potential three-peat. “I think there’s a lot of good guys gunning for us. For only three other people to do that in the history of the sport is pretty damn cool. I look back at the history books, and Donny is a 10-time champion, but I think he only had a big streak one time. Brad did five in a row. And obviously Steve has every record.

“It’s a cool thing, and we’d be super proud to do that. We know it’s not going to be easy. We just keep trying to build and build our program. I truly think we’re still getting better. Take away a couple things last year like me crashing on the final night, I think we had a pretty remarkable season barring two parts failures and me crashing on the last night. You take those away it was a pretty unbelievable season. Our goal is to eliminate those, try to run just as good as we did in the previous year, and see where it leads us.”

Gravel and Big Game Motorsports continue their hunt for a third consecutive World of Outlaws title at Volusia Speedway Park’s Bike Week Jamboree on March 1-2 in Barberville, FL. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

Where can you see the World of Outlaws in 2026? Click to see the full schedule.

Where can you watch every World of Outlaws race? Live on DIRTVision.

FINDING A HOME: Gravel’s Big Game Longevity Leading Toward Historic Tenure

CONCORD, NC (February 12, 2026) – Championships require time.

Only 11 drivers through 48 seasons of World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series racing can call themselves a champion. It’s the sport’s toughest mountain to summit.

David Gravel is the latest to add his name to that exclusive list. It took commitment and patience. The Watertown, CT native made his presence felt on the national scene in the early 2010s. Rides with some of the sport’s most elite organizations like Roth Motorsports, CJB Motorsports, and Jason Johnson Racing pushed him toward the pinnacle.

But it wasn’t until he teamed with Tod Quiring that he was finally able to hoist the trophy at season’s end. In 2024, Gravel’s fourth season driving the Big Game Motorsports No. 2, he claimed an elusive title. Bricks laid in the foundation of what’s shaping up to be a historic run.

Gravel wasn’t done there. A dominant 2025 led him to standing atop the World Finals stage for the second year in a row. Along with the two titles, Gravel and the Big Game crew have racked up 62 wins, 155 podiums, 229 top fives, and 309 top 10s in 354 Features together.

They’ve shown no signs of slowing so far in 2026, clocking the quickest time in their Qualifying Flight all three nights during the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals last week and picking up a pair of podiums.

Longevity has proven to be a vital piece of a championship. The record books seldom show a driver and team meshing right off the bat to the point of beating the best the sport has to offer. After several years of switching rides, Gravel found the comfortable home he sought. Everything has come together, and now he’s ready to go after a three-peat.

“Early in my years I didn’t want to bounce around, but it was just kind of the cards that I was dealt and the situations I was in,” Gravel recalled. “I think when you’re a very young driver you don’t get the respect from certain people while you’re there because you’re young and there’s always that potential to be better or more mature, stuff like that. I felt like I raced for a lot of great car owners with great equipment, and we accomplished cool things with nearly every single one of them.

“But it’s great to finally get somewhere. Look at the World of Outlaws champions. Daryn Pittman is like the only one that I can think of that the first year he came to a team he won the championship. Other than that, it’s like these guys have been with their team a long time before they won championships. Even though Donny (Schatz) won with Tony (Stewart) there, it was the same equipment, same mechanic, same engines, very similar. That just shows you’ve got to be consistent and work on the small things, and it seems like championships come.”

It’s not enough to simply pair a driver with a powerful organization. There are other important pieces to put in place. For Gravel and Big Game, one of the biggest is crew chief Cody Jacobs. Quiring hired the Ohio native in 2020, and he’s turned the wrenches on the No. 2 ever since. Zach Patterson filled a gap as the Tire Specialist in 2022, and that’s where he remains today.

The one position on the road crew that’s been slightly inconsistent is car chief. While they’ve always had a capable set of hands, the name has changed over each of the last several years. But they won’t have to worry about introducing someone new in 2026 as Pete Stephens will continue to operate in the role. And on top of that, they’ve added Luke Vaughn full-time. Vaughn came to lend a hand over the last month of the 2025 season after departing Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing.

“It’s definitely a good feeling. It’s the first time we’re going to bring back the same three guys that we had in the previous season in my six years here, so that’s a comforting feeling,” Gravel said. “I feel like Pete grew into his role very well. He’s done this a long time, but he didn’t do it for five or 10 years. Within the first month, it was like riding a bike. It’s a great feeling, and then adding Luke adds a young, fiery guy.”

They’ve won the last two. They’ve built a proven core. But that doesn’t mean they can get complacent. Names like Michael Kofoid, Carson Macedo, Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild, and more are all hungry to dethrone Gravel. He was once in their position. The 33-year-old knows he’s got to stay on top of his game.

“It’s tough to say,” Gravel said of how he fends off the challengers. “I feel like there’s times you have to be that championship driver and do some amazing things to bring some things out of the car that maybe aren’t there sometimes. And then there’s times where Cody’s going to step up and give me an unbelievable car in a long race to be able to get the job done in the last five or 10 laps. You’ve just got to stay levelheaded and cool.

“I think when you haven’t done it before, it ups the nerves a little bit. Leading and being the champion is still nerve-wracking, but you have that confidence that you’ve done it before and you know how to do it. It’s hard to say, but I just think the champion is leading the pack, so everybody wants to beat the champion. Those guys are going to try really, really hard to beat you night in and night out. You’re the hunted. It’s just do your job and stay focused on what you’re doing. You’ve got to be consistent to be a champion.”

History is within reach for Gravel in 2026. Only a trio of competitors – Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, and Brad Sweet – have ever been able to string together three straight championships. Like any competitor, the latest triumph fuels the hunger for the next. The No. 2 team wants this run to be remembered for generations to come.

Gravel’s settled now. The years of moving around are far behind him. He’s found a home with Big Game Motorsports and is well within his prime. The rest of the roster won’t make it easy, but the champion has given little reason to doubt him in 2026.

“It would be very cool,” Gravel said of a potential three-peat. “I think there’s a lot of good guys gunning for us. For only three other people to do that in the history of the sport is pretty damn cool. I look back at the history books, and Donny is a 10-time champion, but I think he only had a big streak one time. Brad did five in a row. And obviously Steve has every record.

“It’s a cool thing, and we’d be super proud to do that. We know it’s not going to be easy. We just keep trying to build and build our program. I truly think we’re still getting better. Take away a couple things last year like me crashing on the final night, I think we had a pretty remarkable season barring two parts failures and me crashing on the last night. You take those away it was a pretty unbelievable season. Our goal is to eliminate those, try to run just as good as we did in the previous year, and see where it leads us.”

Gravel and Big Game Motorsports continue their hunt for a third consecutive World of Outlaws title at Volusia Speedway Park’s Bike Week Jamboree on March 1-2 in Barberville, FL. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

Where can you see the World of Outlaws in 2026? Click to see the full schedule.

Where can you watch every World of Outlaws race? Live on DIRTVision.

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/finding-a-home-gravels-big-game-longevity-leading-toward-historic-tenure/