Chevy Racing–NASCAR–North Wilkesboro Post Race

July 20, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

NASCAR Cup Series North Wilkesboro Speedway Window World 450 Team Chevy Post-Race Report July 19, 2026

Van Gisbergen Leads Chevrolet with Top-Five Finish at North Wilkesboro Speedway
Matches Career-Best Oval Finish in NASCAR’s Premier Series

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

In a historic night under the lights at North Wilkesboro Speedway, it was Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen that led Chevrolet to the checkered flag with a fifth-place finish in the Window World 450. The impressive run matched the New Zealand native’s career-best oval finish in NASCAR’s top division, with it also marking his first top-five result on a short-track. The effort was accompanied by 49 laps led – the second highest of the race – and a pair of top-five stage points to leave the North Carolina short-track with a 54-point advantage over the Chase cutline. Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suarez rallied to a ninth-place finish – his sixth top-10 of the season – to round out the Team Chevy top-10.

RACE RECAP:

Stage One: With the starting lineup set by the rulebook, Carson Hocevar led Team Chevy to the green flag from the fourth position for a historic night under the lights at North Wilkesboro Speedway. A stellar start for the Michigan native saw the No. 77 Chevrolet reach the second position on the opening lap of Stage One. With a long green flag run to open the race, the leaders were well into lap traffic when the first caution of the day flew right at the halfway mark of the stage for a spinning John H. Nemechek. Early pit strategy came into play as the top-10 saw a split call for two versus four tire stops. Shane van Gisbergen, who maintained a top-10 running position throughout the run, opted for a pair of right-side tires only to jump up into the second row for the restart. Prime track position saw the New Zealand native get to second on the restart and takeover the lead just a few laps later. The top-three drivers pulled away to a 3.5-second lead with Van Gisbergen seeing a hard-charging Ty Gibbs and Joey Logano in his rearview mirror. Continuing to pace the field until the final lap of the stage, a side-by-side battle with Gibbs saw Van Gisbergen just miss the stage win by a mere 0.074-seconds.

Stage Two: With a four-tire call by crew chief Stephen Doran, a clutch stop by the No. 97 pit crew saw the New Zealand back on the front row to lead the field to the green flag for Stage Two. The restart saw Van Gisbergen on the door of Logano for three laps around the .625-mile circuit before clearing the driver to inherit the lead once again. The effort saw the driver surpass 600 career laps led in NASCAR’s premier series, making him the 126th driver in history to accomplish the feat. With another long green flag run at hand, Logano was able to capitalize on lap traffic to trade positions with Van Gisbergen. In the meantime, his Team Chevy teammate, Chase Elliott, made a quiet climb into the top-five to reach up to the runner-up position near the one-third mark of the stage. While struggling with the handling of his Chevrolet in lap traffic, Elliott fell to the fourth position as the first green flag pit cycle got underway. But amidst the cycle saw the second natural caution of the evening, ultimately resulting in just the top-15 cars remaining on the lead lap. Among those on the positive side of the cycle were Van Gisbergen and Hocevar. Making their stops under the caution, the pair rejoined the top-five for the restart. With 30 laps to go in the stage, Hocevar made a quick report that he was struggling with the handling of his Chevrolet on the long runs. While holding onto a sixth-place finish in the stage, it was Van Gisbergen that continued his impressive run by collecting back-to-back top-five stage points and lead the Bowtie brigade to the second green-white checkered flag.

Final Stage: The inside lane continued to be a strong suit for Van Gisbergen with the Team Chevy driver quickly finding the top-five once again on the opening lap of the final stage. With the race falling into a long green flag run once again, Van Gisbergen held onto a running position within the top-six as then race leader, Logano, began the green flag pit cycle as the race hit 90 laps to go. Just five laps into the run, Doran made the call to bring his driver to pit road for four tires and fuel, ultimately cycling back up into the fourth position. Going caution-free to the end, Van Gisbergen navigated through lap traffic to lead Team Chevy with a top-five finish and his career-best short-track showing.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos. Driver
5th – Shane van Gisbergen9th – Daniel Suarez

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 21 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 6Poles: 4Top-Fives: 38Top 10s: 73Stage Wins: 15

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 26, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on TNT Sports and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

NASCAR Cup SeriesNorth Wilkesboro SpeedwayWindow World 450Team Chevy Post-Race ReportJuly 19, 2026

Van Gisbergen Leads Chevrolet with Top-Five Finish at North Wilkesboro Speedway
Matches Career-Best Oval Finish in NASCAR’s Premier Series

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos. Driver
5th – Shane van Gisbergen9th – Daniel Suarez

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 21 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 6Poles: 4Top-Fives: 38Top 10s: 73Stage Wins: 15

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 27th “We dug ourselves a little hole for tonight by having to serve a pass-thru penalty on Lap One. We worked our way back onto the lead lap at the first stage break, but the handling of the Busch Light Chevy just wasn’t what we needed on the long green flag runs. It makes it difficult when you don’t have much time to make adjustments. The guys worked hard to make some changes and we gambled on some pit strategy that didn’t fall our way. It makes for a tough day of short-track racing.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 23rd “I’m proud of the fight from everyone on the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Supreme Long Range Chevrolet team tonight at North Wilkesboro Speedway. We had a fast Chevy and raced our way into the top-10 but unfortunately an untimely caution after our first green flag stop put us two laps down. We were battling our way back, making the corrections needed to combat the looseness the car was developing, and were hoping for a caution late in the run, but didn’t catch the break we were hoping for. We’ll leave here with the 23rd place finish and focus on the upcoming short tracks on the schedule.” Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 9thIt was a quiet night for the No. 7 team. What was it like running 450 laps around North Wilkesboro Speedway? “It kind of reminded me a little bit like Bristol (Motor Speedway). It was a grind-type of day. The car was never perfect, but you had to get the most out of it that you could. A ninth-place finish, that’s not what we’re here for, but the No. 7 Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation Chevrolet team did a good job and executed all night. We didn’t have a car to win or run top-five, but we had a top-10 car and that’s where we ended up. Proud of the effort by the whole team. Ryan (Sparks, crew chief) did a good job on the strategy and they made good calls on adjustments. We just have to keep pushing.” With the field as tight as it was, were you surprised that it went green the entire last stage? “No, not really because everyone is just really good, especially when you start getting into a run. Very few people make mistakes, so I’m not surprised.” Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 16th“Honestly, we didn’t do much different than what we’ve been doing. Since the All-Star Race at Dover (Motor Speedway), we’ve just had good execution. We had one little slip up on a pit stop, but we rebounded really well. We had some things go our way. I think that’s why it’s so important to focus on the recipes of success and don’t be so focused on the results because you can’t really control the results. They’ll swing like a pendulum and it’s in our favor right now. This is who we really are when things go right, so it’s nice to see the fruits of our labor.” Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 33rd“Tough night for our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen team. Our Chevrolet was tight, really tight, from the start. Andy (Street, crew chief) and the guys kept making adjustments throughout the night but nothing seemed to help get it on the loose side. It was a grind out there, but there will be nights like this in the learning process. We will shift our focus to next week.” Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 5th“It was an awesome night for the No. 97 Wendy’s Chevrolet team. It was pretty cool to get the lead. I just wasn’t good enough on the long run. But overall, I had a lot of fun. Thank you to Wendy’s, Chevrolet, everyone at Trackhouse Racing for the support. Everyone on this team did a great job. It was a good points race, which is what we really needed. Just like in the Truck race, I could roll the bottom really well. I was loose-in, which hurt. We had one good stage where I could run up in the top lane, but I was married to the bottom for most of it. It just seemed to work for our car.” What is it about North Wilkesboro Speedway that suits your driving style? “Yeah, it’s a bit like a road course. I tried right-foot braking for a bit. Half of the race, I right-foot braked and I just feel comfortable doing that. It’s a real balance track and you can really effect the car with your driving technique, so I felt comfortable doing that.”

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HYDE ADVANCES TO QUARTERFINALS WITH NEW SPONSOR MAGEST IN SONOMA

July 20, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

SONOMA, CALIF. (July 19, 2026) — Spencer Hyde, the driver of the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car, advanced to the quarterfinals of the uber competitive DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge. He entered race day from the No. 6 qualifying position, based on a pass that was the quickest run of his 2026 season thus far.

“It was great to see the car get in the low 3.9s this weekend,” said Hyde. “We brought on a new sponsor this weekend, Magest, and you always want to perform well for the people who have opened up their checkbooks for you.”

Three straight sellout days saw Spencer Hyde post solid numbers and race to the quarterfinals at Sonoma Raceway, photo credit Innovation Creative Experts

Magest is a partner of Hyde’s family company Hyde Construction. They are constantly expanding their reach within the steel industry and are introducing new product lines/vendor relationships to provide their clients with the most economical and advanced building solutions. Owners Brock and Amanda Martin attended Sonoma Raceway this weekend to show their support for Hyde.

Hyde’s best run of the weekend came during the second round of qualifying on Friday night, a qualifying session that is known for producing high speeds. His 3.915 second, 325.92 mph pass was enough to get him in the top half of the qualified field, at the No. 6 spot. This was also his quickest pass that he’s made so far in 2026. With 18 viable cars on the property this weekend, it made the high qualifying position even more impressive.

“The Sonoma race is a trek for almost all of the teams, so pretty much any Funny Car team that adds themselves on the entry list has a shot at taking home a Wally,” said Hyde. “You have to take everyone you line up against seriously and give it your all with every pass.”

On Sunday, Hyde was first up against No. 11 qualifier Dave Richards. Unfortunately for the BlueBird Turf team, Richards’ car broke on the starting line and Hyde essentially had a single in the first round.

“You hate to see a guy break, because it doesn’t make for the best race for the fans,” said Hyde. “But this was an instance where the luck went our way. The silver lining was it guaranteed us a trip to the quarterfinals, meaning the fans got to see our car with the Magest, Hyde Construction, OUTLAW Light Beer and Caine Group decals on it another time.”

In the quarterfinals, Hyde faced Richards’ SCAG Racing teammate Daniel Wilkerson, another driver who entered race day looking to win his first Wally. Wilkerson, the No. 3 qualifier, was first off the starting line, and Hyde wasn’t able to catch him. The second-generation Funny Car driver went on to advance to the finals.

“Everyone keeps saying that Dan and I are the next guys up,” said Hyde. “He’s a great guy and the fans love him. Hopefully both of our first wins come soon.”

Despite his quarterfinal exit, Hyde still believes this race carries a lot of good mojo for him. It was here last year when he advanced to his first final round in a Funny Car, a move that propelled him to winning the 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year award. And as a driver who is about to become a first-time dad, the ‘Kids Only’ autograph session now holds an even more special place in his heart.

“This is a beautiful track, and I am thrilled that it appears we will be coming back again next year,” said Hyde. “In my short Funny Car career, I’ve created a lot of cool memories here, and I can’t wait to keep making more. Next year Courtney and I will have our own participant in the ‘Kids Only’ autograph session.”

Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will be back in competition next week at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals on July 24-26 at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, July 24 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, July 25. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Northwest Nationals visit nhra.com.

Qualifying Results – Funny Car
Q1: 4.495 sec, 179.97 mph; Qual. 13
Q2: 3.915 sec, 325.92 mph; Qual. 6
Q3: 4.722 sec, 172.06 mph; Qual. 6
Q4: 4.572 sec, 188.23 mph; Qual. 6
Bonus Points: 0

Race Results
First Round
Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car, (.119), 4.241 sec, 222.11 mph def. Dave Richards, Wellington, Fla., SCAG Racing/BlueBird Turf/Versatran Ford Mustang, Broke

Second Round
Daniel Wilkerson, Springfield, Ill., Scag Power Equipment Ford Shelby Mustang, (.054), 4.255 sec, 217.88 mph def. Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car, (.092), 4.327 sec, 250.92 mph

Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings – Funny Car

HYDE ADVANCES TO QUARTERFINALS WITH NEW SPONSOR MAGEST IN SONOMA

SONOMA, CALIF. (July 19, 2026) — Spencer Hyde, the driver of the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car, advanced to the quarterfinals of the uber competitive DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge. He entered race day from the No. 6 qualifying position, based on a pass that was the quickest run of his 2026 season thus far.

“It was great to see the car get in the low 3.9s this weekend,” said Hyde. “We brought on a new sponsor this weekend, Magest, and you always want to perform well for the people who have opened up their checkbooks for you.”

Three straight sellout days saw Spencer Hyde post solid numbers and race to the quarterfinals at Sonoma Raceway, photo credit Innovation Creative Experts

Magest is a partner of Hyde’s family company Hyde Construction. They are constantly expanding their reach within the steel industry and are introducing new product lines/vendor relationships to provide their clients with the most economical and advanced building solutions. Owners Brock and Amanda Martin attended Sonoma Raceway this weekend to show their support for Hyde.

Hyde’s best run of the weekend came during the second round of qualifying on Friday night, a qualifying session that is known for producing high speeds. His 3.915 second, 325.92 mph pass was enough to get him in the top half of the qualified field, at the No. 6 spot. This was also his quickest pass that he’s made so far in 2026. With 18 viable cars on the property this weekend, it made the high qualifying position even more impressive.

“The Sonoma race is a trek for almost all of the teams, so pretty much any Funny Car team that adds themselves on the entry list has a shot at taking home a Wally,” said Hyde. “You have to take everyone you line up against seriously and give it your all with every pass.”

On Sunday, Hyde was first up against No. 11 qualifier Dave Richards. Unfortunately for the BlueBird Turf team, Richards’ car broke on the starting line and Hyde essentially had a single in the first round.

“You hate to see a guy break, because it doesn’t make for the best race for the fans,” said Hyde. “But this was an instance where the luck went our way. The silver lining was it guaranteed us a trip to the quarterfinals, meaning the fans got to see our car with the Magest, Hyde Construction, OUTLAW Light Beer and Caine Group decals on it another time.”

In the quarterfinals, Hyde faced Richards’ SCAG Racing teammate Daniel Wilkerson, another driver who entered race day looking to win his first Wally. Wilkerson, the No. 3 qualifier, was first off the starting line, and Hyde wasn’t able to catch him. The second-generation Funny Car driver went on to advance to the finals.

“Everyone keeps saying that Dan and I are the next guys up,” said Hyde. “He’s a great guy and the fans love him. Hopefully both of our first wins come soon.”

Despite his quarterfinal exit, Hyde still believes this race carries a lot of good mojo for him. It was here last year when he advanced to his first final round in a Funny Car, a move that propelled him to winning the 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year award. And as a driver who is about to become a first-time dad, the ‘Kids Only’ autograph session now holds an even more special place in his heart.

“This is a beautiful track, and I am thrilled that it appears we will be coming back again next year,” said Hyde. “In my short Funny Car career, I’ve created a lot of cool memories here, and I can’t wait to keep making more. Next year Courtney and I will have our own participant in the ‘Kids Only’ autograph session.”

Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will be back in competition next week at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals on July 24-26 at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, July 24 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, July 25. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Northwest Nationals visit nhra.com.

Qualifying Results – Funny Car
Q1: 4.495 sec, 179.97 mph; Qual. 13
Q2: 3.915 sec, 325.92 mph; Qual. 6
Q3: 4.722 sec, 172.06 mph; Qual. 6
Q4: 4.572 sec, 188.23 mph; Qual. 6
Bonus Points: 0

Race Results
First Round
Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car, (.119), 4.241 sec, 222.11 mph def. Dave Richards, Wellington, Fla., SCAG Racing/BlueBird Turf/Versatran Ford Mustang, Broke

Second Round
Daniel Wilkerson, Springfield, Ill., Scag Power Equipment Ford Shelby Mustang, (.054), 4.255 sec, 217.88 mph def. Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car, (.092), 4.327 sec, 250.92 mph

Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings – Funny Car

Ron Capps, 852
Jordan Vandergriff, 778
Jack Beckman, 764
Matt Hagan, 744
J.R. Todd, 721
Chad Green, 667
Alexis DeJoria, 644
Austin Prock, 597
Spencer Hyde, 544
Daniel Wilkerson, 543

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Thornton Takes First Career Silver Dollar Nationals Win at Shelby County

July 20, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

HARLAN, IA (July 18, 2026) – Ricky Thornton Jr. won the 16th Annual Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals on Saturday night at Shelby County Speedway, leading all 80 laps to become the 12th different driver to win the crown jewel event. Thornton, a Chandler, Arizona, native who now resides in Indianola, Iowa, earned $52,000 for the victory in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned event. Jonathan Davenport, the only three-time winner in the event’s history, which began in 2011, gained two positions after the race’s lone caution with 70 laps complete. Davenport, who was running fourth before the yellow, passed both Brian Shirley and Bobby Pierce to earn the runner-up finish and $53,000. Pierce, who entered the event having won 12 of his previous 14 feature starts, ran second for 71 laps before Davenport slipped past him late, relegating him to third at the finish. Shirley finished fourth, while championship points leader and Thursday night’s Go 50 winner Brandon Sheppard completed the top five. In Wieland Victory Lane for the 60th time in his career and the fourth time this season, Thornton joined an elite group of Silver Dollar Nationals champions. “At the start I didn’t know whether I needed to be on the bottom or the top. I felt like that first lap I moved out in three and four and I was like, ‘Man, that didn’t feel very good.’ I ran about four or five laps there, tried it again, and I don’t know if they were going in too hard above the cushion. It was weird because it was really fluffed up there, so I backed down and just rode around. Then we got to lapped traffic and I felt like I really wanted to move up and try to blow by those cars.” “I was trying to get myself clear of Hoffman and McCreadie. I stayed beside them for what felt like 50 laps, and I figured the top wasn’t any better, so I just kept rolling around the bottom. Hats off to everyone at Koehler Motorsports. It’s a little sigh of relief because I feel like we got our old selves back. I love coming to this place, and thanks to all of the fans for coming out. It’s pretty awesome to win this since I’m only an hour and a half away.” Davenport, who started ninth, quickly climbed to third before settling into fourth for much of the race. He passed Pierce and Shirley late to secure second. “The track just went away. We could never get it packed in under green. I floated out there a few times and just slid. Before that caution came out I went all the way to the top because we’re not running for points, so I was going to try something. I thought Bobby might try the top on the restart, and if that happened it would give Shirley clean air on the bottom. Then maybe I could roll the middle just right and get a run on him. It kind of worked out, just not exactly the way I drew it up.” Pierce, the 2019 Silver Dollar Nationals winner, rounded out the Big River Steel podium in third. “I looked at the scoreboard and thought we were almost done because the race went by so fast. Congratulations to Ricky. He drove a heck of a race and did a great job getting through lapped traffic. I didn’t have anything for him. The last time we were here it was a barnburner, so we set up for that. We made a couple of changes I didn’t really like, but now I think we know a little better for next year.”
“I thought the top was going to be fast for a long time, but once they dropped the green the bottom was the preferred lane and the top just turned to crumbs. It caught a lot of us by surprise. I thought the track crew did everything right, and just like with a race car, you take notes for next time. I’m sure we’ll get another barnburner next year.” The winning Koehler Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis was powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Knight’s Companies, Hoker Trucking, Capital Waste, Coltman Farms Racing, Certified Inspection Services, Strange Oval, Sunoco Race Fuels, Elite Ready Mix, D&E Outside Service, and SI Towing and Recovery. Completing the top 10 were Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair, Clay Stuckey, and Ryan Gustin. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals | Night 2Saturday, July 18, 2026Shelby County Speedway | Harlan, IA Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 3. 11-Josh Rice[5]; 4. 44M-Chris Madden[6]; 5. 17SS-Brenden Smith[4]; 6. 01-Jacob Hobscheidt[2]; 7. 17SR-Brody Smith[13]; 8. 53-Andrew Kosiski[10]; 9. 51W-JT Wasmund[8]; 10. 10T-Jeff Tharp[7]; 11. 15C-Curt Schroeder[11]; 12. 71M-Mike Morton Jr[12]; 13. (DNS) 24C-Brandon Conkwright
UNOH B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 93-Carson Ferguson[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 3. 13-Dallon Murty[4]; 4. Z76-Zach Zeitner[2]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 6. 43-Derrick Stewart[6]; 7. 4-JC Wyman[8]; 8. 21H-Brett Hopp[9]; 9. 35D-Dylan Sillman[11]; 10. 3-Mike Collins[13]; 11. 45D-Dan Battaglia[12]; 12. 4TW-Tim Ward[7]; 13. 22M-Charlie McKenna[10] MyRacePass B-Main Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 6-Clay Harris[2]; 2. 9-Tim McCreadie[1]; 3. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[6]; 4. 93L-Cory Lawler[3]; 5. 15D-Justin Duty[8]; 6. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[4]; 7. 25-Chad Simpson[5]; 8. 80-Allan Hopp[10]; 9. 99 18-Jesse Sobbing[7]; 10. 32X-Chris Simpson[9]; 11. 56-Chris Spieker[11]; 12. 10-Junior Coover[12] All Makes Collision Non-Qualifier Race Finish (20 Laps):1. 13-Dallon Murty[1]; 2. 44M-Chris Madden[2]; 3. 25-Chad Simpson[12]; 4. 15D-Justin Duty[6]; 5. 4-JC Wyman[11]; 6. 93L-Cory Lawler[4]; 7. 99 18-Jesse Sobbing[18]; 8. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 9. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[9]; 10. 01-Jacob Hobscheidt[7]; 11. 3-Mike Collins[20]; 12. 80-Allan Hopp[15]; 13. 10T-Jeff Tharp[19]; 14. 43-Derrick Stewart[8]; 15. 21H-Brett Hopp[14]; 16. 53-Andrew Kosiski[13]; 17. 51W-JT Wasmund[16]; 18. Z76-Zach Zeitner[3]; 19. 17SR-Brody Smith[10]; 20. 32X-Chris Simpson[21]; 21. (DNS) 35D-Dylan Sillman Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals | Feature Finish (80 Laps):Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings1 – 1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $53,2002 – 9 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $53,0003 – 2 – 32 – Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – $15,0004 – 7 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $10,8005 – 3 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $9,9006 – 4 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $9,2007 – 5 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $8,2008 – 11 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $6,8009 – 6 – 15 – Clay Stuckey – Shreveport, LA – $5,00010 – 8 – 19R – Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – $4,80011 – 15 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $5,50012 – 22 – 9 – Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY – $4,60013 – 12 – 18J – Chase Junghans – Manhattan, KS – $4,50014 – 26 – 13 – Dallon Murty – Chelsea, IA – $4,40015 – 21 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $5,10016 – 17 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – $4,20017 – 10 – 9H – Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – $4,10018 – 18 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $4,80019 – 23 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $4,80020 – 19 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $4,60021 – 20 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $4,50022 – 14 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $4,40023 – 16 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $4,30024 – 13 – 4 – Tad Pospisil – Norfolk, NE – $3,50025 – 24 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $4,30026 – 25 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $100 Race Statistics Entrants: 54Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.MD3 Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 1-80)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Margin of Victory: 0.697 secondsHellraizer Jacks Cautions: Debris (Lap 70)MyRacePass Series Provisional: Josh Rice; Daniel HilsabeckFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisionals: Brenden SmithTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Bobby PiercePenske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Bobby Pierce, Brian Shirley, Brandon SheppardBehrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Bobby PiercePEM 4th Place Feature: Brian ShirleyDiversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Brandon SheppardWilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Hudson O’NealWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Dan EbertVelocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Chase JunghansXS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Garrett AlbersonHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Dallon Murty (Advanced 12 positions)MD3 Most Laps Led: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (80 Laps)Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Brandon SheppardO’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Josh RicePro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Bobby Pierce | Lap 4 | 14.055 secondsFK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Brenden SmithVictory Fuel Power Move of the Race: Jonathan DavenportOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony BurroughsARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 13.3894 secondsTime of Race: 25 minutes 36 seconds Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Earnings1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 5610 – $241,3002 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 5475 – $216,0503 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 5380 – $280,5244 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 5080 – $118,9005 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 5055 – $130,5756 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 4975 – $189,8257 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 4840 – $110,9258 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 4760 – $94,0509 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 4695 – $97,17510 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 4485 – $73,47511 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 4395 – $86,05012 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 4360 – $74,40013 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 4230 – $73,15014 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – 4215 – $96,50015 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 3845 – $55,87516 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – 3570 – $39,62517 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 3305 – $27,775

Thornton Takes First Career Silver Dollar Nationals Win at Shelby County

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KING ANTHONY XLIII: Anthony Macri Makes History with Second Straight Eldora Kings Royal Crown

July 20, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

Macri drives by Williamson in the closing laps to become only the second driver to sit atop the throne two years in a row

ROSSBURG, OH (July 18, 2026) – The Posse-Posse chants rocked the Eldora Speedway stands on Saturday night.

The huge crowd had just seen history made after a thrilling conclusion to the 43rd running of the Kings Royal. Anthony Macri wore the crown for the second year in a row, but the path to the throne proved to be much more difficult in 2026.

The Dillsburg, PA native led the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series field to green for the 40-lapper and paced the opening dozen circuits. But it was Garet Williamson surging to the front on Lap 13 in the Fischer Motorsports No. 23. Williamson was a rocket out front as he wasted no time pulling away from the field. Behind him, the war began for second as 10th-starting Rico Abreu was on the move in the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 14 and took the spot, but Macri got it back with seven laps to go and set his sights on Williamson.

The laps clicked away, and Williamson remained committed to the cushion while Macri built speed through the middle. Coming to two laps to go, Macri snuck by to regain the lead and set sail. A yellow flag for a stopped Spencer Bayston on the final circuit set up a green-white-checkered finish. Macri stayed composed when the green flag flew and drove away to his second straight Kings Royal title.

“I’m speechless,” Macri said. “Joe (Mooney) gave me a good car. These guys gave me a good car. I’m worked up. I can barely breathe. When you’re out front, you’ve got to run time trial laps early in the race. I wasn’t really sure where to be. I was starting to get to lapped traffic there, and my car wasn’t handling great with the fuel load and probably where I had the wing. He (Williamson) passed me, and I didn’t want that to happen obviously. I tried to pace him then Rico got by me, and I knew it was time to turn the wick up because you can only lose so many positions and get so many back. So, I got my wing back further, which I didn’t think was the right move. But I pulled it back, and we just started pounding the middle there and got really good.”

Macri put his name in elite company by joining Donny Schatz as only the second driver to win consecutive Kings Royals. He’s also the ninth competitor with multiple victories in the crown jewel alongside Steve Kinser (seven), Donny Schatz (six), Jac Haudenschild (three), Sammy Swindell (three), Doug Wolfgang (two), Dave Blaney (two), Joey Saldana (two), and Brad Sweet (two). The 27-year-old is the first from the state of Pennsylvania to reach the feat.

It’s also a continuation of Macri’s amazing recovery. After a back injury sidelined him for months earlier this year, he’s returned to the seat of the Macri Motorsports No. 39M and been on a tear. The Kings Royal was his fifth win since getting back behind the wheel to go along with the four he picked up during Pennsylvania Speedweek last month. Overall, he’s got eight checkered flags in 2026, including three with the World of Outlaws.

Rico Abreu wheeled his way to second on the final restart. It gave him two consecutive runner-ups in the Kings Royal and three overall as he continues to come so close to the crown he wants to wear so bad.

“Thinking about it all over again, I probably would’ve tried to get the middle working a little more,” Abreu admitted. “But I just was running the top so hard and getting my tires really hot and trying to process what I needed to do at that time in the race. Restarting on the bottom hurt me some until the end when I got the guys to come back out and adjust my tire pressures. I was able to take off there on that last restart. It’s just such hard racing. Hats off to the 39M guys.”

Giovanni Scelzi made a late run to the podium in the Spire Motorsports No. 77. His third place effort marked his best in the Kings Royal.

Corey Day came home fourth while Garet Williamson slipped to a tough to swallow fifth after leading the most laps. The Columbia, MO native continues to beat on the door of his first World of Outlaws win, and the Kings Royal would’ve been the ideal time.

“It sucks,” Williamson said. “First win at the Kings Royal would’ve been something I’d never forget. Hats off to my guys. We’ve had a great car the last two nights. I think I probably just got beat there by experience. I probably pushed a little too hard in the beginning of that race getting passed those guys, something probably I shouldn’t have done. I probably knew better, but I had a really good car and just wanted to get to the lead and set my own pace.”

NIGHTLY NOTES

David Gravel set the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night for the 13th time this year.

Chase Dietz clocked Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Carson Macedo (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Kerry Madsen (Knoxville Bound Heat Two), Garet Williamson (WIX Filters Heat Three), Chris Windom (Golf Cart Services Heat Four), Brent Marks (Tub O’ Towels Heat Five), and Anthony Macri (Air National Guard Heat Six).

The SPA Technique Pole Award went to Anthony Macri.

Joel Myers Jr. topped the Toyota C-main.

Cole Macedo won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid moved from 17th to sixth to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Logan Schuchart was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

Emerson Axsom was the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.

Anthony Macri clocked the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Brent Marks.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series head to Canada for two nights (Tuesday-Wednesday, July 21-22) at Ohsweken Speedway for the Federated Auto Parts Six Nations Showdown. For tickets, CLICK HERE. Then it’s over to New York’s Weedsport Speedway for the Empire State Challenge on Saturday-Sunday, July 25-26. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 39M-Anthony Macri[1]; 2. 14-Rico Abreu[10]; 3. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[8]; 4. 14M-Corey Day[9]; 5. 23-Garet Williamson[4]; 6. 83-Michael Kofoid[17]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart[15]; 8. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[16]; 9. 7S-Chris Windom[3]; 10. 13-Tanner Holmes[14]; 11. 2-David Gravel[20]; 12. 27-Emerson Axsom[12]; 13. 55-Kerry Madsen[5]; 14. 41-Carson Macedo[6]; 15. 15-Donny Schatz[7]; 16. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[24]; 17. 2C-Cole Macedo[21]; 18. 21-Brian Brown[13]; 19. 51-Ashton Torgerson[18]; 20. 19-Brent Marks[2]; 21. 17-Spencer Bayston[22]; 22. 87-Aaron Reutzel[23]; 23. 101-Kalib Henry[11]; 24. 23D-Chase Dietz[19]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

KING ANTHONY XLIII: Anthony Macri Makes History with Second Straight Eldora Kings Royal Crown

Macri drives by Williamson in the closing laps to become only the second driver to sit atop the throne two years in a row

ROSSBURG, OH (July 18, 2026) – The Posse-Posse chants rocked the Eldora Speedway stands on Saturday night.

Giovanni Scelzi made a late run to the podium in the Spire Motorsports No. 77. His third place effort marked his best in the Kings Royal.

NIGHTLY NOTES

David Gravel set the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night for the 13th time this year.

Chase Dietz clocked Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

The SPA Technique Pole Award went to Anthony Macri.

Joel Myers Jr. topped the Toyota C-main.

Cole Macedo won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid moved from 17th to sixth to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Logan Schuchart was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

Emerson Axsom was the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.

Anthony Macri clocked the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Brent Marks.

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

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/king-anthony-xliii-anthony-macri-makes-history-with-second-straight-eldora-kings-royal-crown/

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JOHN FORCE RACING–SONOMA Saturday

July 20, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

VANDERGRIFF BAGS SONOMA NATS NO. 1 QUALIFIERBeckman runner up in #2FAST2TASTY, DeJoria 7^th, Hart 8^th

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

VANDERGRIFF BAGS SONOMA NATS NO. 1 QUALIFIERBeckman runner up in #2FAST2TASTY, DeJoria 7^th, Hart 8^th

SONOMA, Calif. (July 18, 2026) – Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team earned their second No. 1 Qualifier spot of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season by capturing the top spot for Sunday’s elimination rounds of the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Jack Beckman wheeled his PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car to the No. 2 spot and also finished runner-up in Saturday’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge special events race. Alexis DeJoria qualified the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car seventh while Josh Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster qualified eighth. Vandergriff’s Q2 pass Friday night of 3.849 seconds at 332.43 mph was the quickest of his Funny Car career and the overall quickest run of the year in the category. He’ll face No. 16 qualifier Jason Rupert (4.048 seconds) in Sunday’s first round of eliminations. His previous top spot came at the NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, N.H. Beckman used his Friday Q2 run of 3.873 seconds at 333.16 mph to capture the No. 2 spot and will face No. 15 qualifier Jeff Arend (4.019 seconds) in Round 1. The 2012 NHRA Funny Car World Champion lined up against Austin Prock in their Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty semifinal matchup. Prock got away first and looked headed for victory before losing traction nearing the finish line, allowing the PEAK Chevy to flash by for the win. Beckman’s run of 3.951 seconds at 318.92 mph was the third-quickest run of Q3 and set him up for the final round against Ron Capps. In the final, the two left almost dead even (Beckman’s .083 to Capps’ .085) and stayed the same to halftrack before both cars spun the tires and got out of shape. Capps took the win with a run of 4.429 seconds to Beckman’s 4.856 seconds. DeJoria used her Friday Q1 pass of 3.917 seconds at 329.26 mph to qualify seventh and will face No. 10 qualifier Cruz Pedregon (3.952 seconds) in the first round. In Saturday’s Q3, Dejoria faced Capps in the #2Fast2Tasty other semifinal but the Bandero Café Chevy lost traction just past halftrack, slowing to a run of 4.860 seconds at 161.34 mph, while Capps took the win with his run of 3.941 seconds at 329.26 mph. Hart used his Friday Q1 run of 3.763 seconds at 336.82 mph to earn the No. 8 qualifying position. Due to only 14 entries, No. 7 qualifier Jasmine Salinas (3.751 seconds) will have lane choice for Sunday’s first round matchup. Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car: “We made some wholesale changes to the Cornwell Quality Tools Chevy after Norwalk and they seem to be working out. We can push it a little bit and we’ve been really good these last three sessions, I think we’ve got a hot rod this weekend and it’s been a great weekend for us thus far. I love racing here. Each time I come here, I’m reminded of the memories of the last two years, and what I was doing then, and what I’m doing now. I’m just super grateful to have this opportunity.” Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car: “We’ve qualified first, first, second, third, fourth, and second in the last six races. That’s six races where we’re averaging just over No. 2 qualifier. This PEAK Chevy’s not just been quick, we’re consistently quick and we got bonus points in two of this week’s four qualifying sessions. In the last session, the car was actually running quicker than we had tuned it for. Sometimes those little miscues point out something that helps you be more consistent later so I’m not concerned that we overpowered the track. I’m thinking it will be something that will help Tim and Dan (crew chiefs Fabrisi and Hood) out as soon as tomorrow because we’re going to be in similar conditions tomorrow. I seem to do really well coming off runner-up finishes, which we just did in Norwalk, and here we are back as the No. 2 qualifier, ready to go back into race day.” Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car: “Before I even started to pack my suitcases for this race, I was determined. We’ve come so close. We have such a good Bandero Café Chevy and I have so much faith in our capabilities of being successful at every one of these races. I just feel it in my bones that we’re going to win soon and we’ll be gunning for it tomorrow.” Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster: “We’re not where we want to be, for sure. I had been looking forward to the night run here for a year so I’m really bummed that we missed that opportunity when last night’s session was cancelled. My confidence in this Speedmaster team is not shaken. We’re learning each other, learning the race car, and getting this thing on track.” TV Schedule

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Chevy Racing–InDYCAR–Nashville Qualifying

July 20, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

Team Penske teammates Josef Newgarden (right) and Scott McLaughlin (left) celebrate a win and third place finish in the 2025 Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix

Team Penske teammates Josef Newgarden (right) and Scott McLaughlin (left) celebrate a win and third place finish in the 2025 Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix

Chevrolet and General Motors history at Nashville Superspeedway Chevrolet wins at Nashville Superspeedway: 2
2025 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2002 – Alex Baron – Blair Racing
Oldsmobile wins at Nashville Superspeedway: 1
2001 – Buddy Lazier – Hemelgarn Racing
Chevrolet poles at Nashville Superspeedway: 2
2025 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren2005 – Tomas Scheckter – Panther Racing
Oldsmobile poles at Nashville Superspeedway: 1
2001 – Greg Ray – Team Menard
Chevrolet podiums at Nashville Superspeedway: 7
Chevrolet podiums at Nashville Superspeedway by driver:  Josef Newgarden (2), Alex Barron (1), Gil de Ferran (1), Sam Hornish (1), Scott McLaughlin (1), Pato O’Ward (1)
Chevrolet podiums at the Nashville Superspeedway by team: Team Penske (4), Arrow McLaren (1), Blair Racing (1), Panther Racing (1)
Oldsmobile podiums at Nashville Superspeedway: 3
Oldsmobile podiums at Nashville Superspeedway by driver: Billy Boat (1), Buddy Lazier (1), Jaques Lazier (1)
Oldsmobile podiums at Nashville Superspeedway by team: Curb-Agajanian-Beck Motorsports, Hemelgarn Racing (1), Sam Schmidt Motorsports (1)
Chevrolet laps led at Nashville Superspeedway: 481
Chevrolet laps led at Nashville Superspeedway by driver: Pato O’Ward (137), Josef Newgarden (114), Sam Hornish (99), Alexander Rossi (48), Tony Renna (35), Scott Sharp (16), Alex Barron (11), Scott McLaughlin (7), Will Power (7), Conor Daly (2), David Malukas (1)
Chevrolet laps led at Nashville Superspeedway by team:  Panther Racing (103), Team Penske (54), Arrow McLaren (53), Kelley Racing (51), Blair Racing (11)
Oldsmobile laps led at Nashville Superspeedway: 200
Oldsmobile laps led at Nashville Superspeedway by driver: Sam Hornish, Jr. (86), Buddy Lazier (71), Billy Boat (26), Eliseo Salazar (8), Greg Ray (6), Robbie McGehee (2), Jaques Lazier (1)
Oldsmobile laps led Nashville Superspeedway by team: Panther Racing (86), Hemelgarn Racing (71), Curb-Agajanian-Beck Mortorsports (26), A.J. Foyt Racing (8), Team Menard (6) Cahill Racing (2), Sam Schmidt Motorsports (1)

Manufacturer History at Nashville Superspeedway Wins (with competition):
3 – Honda (2024, 2005, 2004)3 – General Motors (Chevrolet/Oldsmobile)2 – Chevrolet (2025, 2002)1 – Oldsmobile (2001)1 – Toyota (2003)
Poles (with competition):
3 – General Motors (Chevrolet/Oldsmobile)2 – Honda (2024, 2004)2 – Chevrolet (2025, 2005)1 – Infiniti (2002)1 – Oldsmobile (1)1 – Toyota (2003)

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PAY DAY: Corey Day Dominates Eldora’s Knight Before the Kings Royal

July 20, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

Day fends off Reutzel for second Eldora win this week and builds momentum heading into the Kings Royal

ROSSBURG, OH (July 17, 2026) – Corey Day doesn’t get to drive Sprint Cars too often these days, but he sure makes the most of the opportunities when they come.

The Clovis, CA native spends most weekends wheeling for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series as he climbs through the elite levels of pavement racing. But he’ll never forget where he came from. Sprint Cars remain close to heart, and he jumps back in the Jason Meyers Racing ride whenever time permits.

As luck would have it, Day’s duties with “Mr. H” weren’t required this weekend with the tour taking it off. The timing couldn’t be better with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series invading Eldora Speedway for the 43rd Kings Royal. Action opened on Friday with The Knight Before the Kings Royal, and Day’s 2026 season debut with The Greatest Show on Dirt ended in Victory Lane.

The 20-year-old survived several restarts during a chaotic 30-lapper and fended off a charge from Aaron Reutzel to get the job done and bank $25,000. Reutzel took one peek to Day’s inside midway through the race, but Day closed the door, got his elbows up, and took off after the challenge on his way to the win.

“Yeah, it was tough,” Day said. “When you lead those races like that, you get to lapped traffic for only a couple laps and it’s really hard to gauge how good where you’re running on the track is. I thought that when I got to traffic and moved to the top I made really good speed, but it was close enough to what I was doing on the bottom that I was really unsure. Then someone got a run on me on the bottom of (Turn) 1 there before the last caution. I didn’t know if it came from the top. I kind of missed the bottom, so I also didn’t know if it came from them hitting the bottom. But I would’ve rather had my speed up around the top, and if I would’ve seen a nose I could’ve gotten down rather than the other way.”

Day’s triumph was his fourth in only 10 Sprint Car races this year. It was his second this week at Eldora to go along with a Wednesday Double Down Duel$ main event. He’s now got four career victories in 44 career World of Outlaws starts. Momentum is on Day’s side as his focus now turns to chasing the Kings Royal crown and $200,000 in riches.

Aaron Reutzel finished second in the Ridge and Sons Racing No. 87 after starting in the third row. Like Day, he’ll chase his first Kings Royal title Saturday.

Garet Williamson continues to bang on the door of his first career World of Outlaws win as he put the Fischer Motorsports No. 23 on the final step of the podium. It’s his fourth top three in the last seven Series races.

Brady Bacon and Rico Abreu completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

Ashton Torgerson clocked the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.

Sheldon Haudenschild set Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Brady Bacon (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Tyler Courtney (Knoxville Bound Heat Two), Sheldon Haudenschild (WIX Filters Heat Three), and Garet Williamson (Golf Cart Services Heat Four).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Corey Day.

Day also topped the Toyota Dash.

Emerson Axsom won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

Logan Schuchart wheeled from 25th to eighth to pick up KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors.

David Gravel was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

Ashton Torgerson was the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.

Corey Day laid down the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Buddy Kofoid.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will crown a King and hand out $200,000 to the winner at Eldora Speedway’s 43rd Kings Royal on Saturday, July 18. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 14M-Corey Day[1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[5]; 3. 23-Garet Williamson[2]; 4. 21H-Brady Bacon[3]; 5. 14-Rico Abreu[10]; 6. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[4]; 7. 2-David Gravel[15]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart[25]; 9. 9-Daison Pursley[17]; 10. 17GP-Brock Zearfoss[18]; 11. 10-Ryan Timms[7]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz[26]; 13. 5B-Karter Sarff[19]; 14. 41-Carson Macedo[11]; 15. (DNF) 21-Brian Brown[8]; 16. (DNF) 51-Ashton Torgerson[12]; 17. (DNF) 7BC-Tyler Courtney[6]; 18. (DNF) 19-Brent Marks[16]; 19. (DNF) 27-Emerson Axsom[21]; 20. (DNF) 26-Justin Peck[14]; 21. (DNF) 5-Brenham Crouch[9]; 22. (DNF) 24D-Danny Sams III[24]; 23. (DNF) 55-Kerry Madsen[13]; 24. (DNF) 42-Sye Lynch[20]; 25. (DNF) 83-Michael Kofoid[23]; 26. (DNF) 17-Spencer Bayston[27]; 27. (DNS) 13-Tanner Holmes

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

PAY DAY: Corey Day Dominates Eldora’s Knight Before the Kings Royal

Day fends off Reutzel for second Eldora win this week and builds momentum heading into the Kings Royal

ROSSBURG, OH (July 17, 2026) – Corey Day doesn’t get to drive Sprint Cars too often these days, but he sure makes the most of the opportunities when they come.

Aaron Reutzel finished second in the Ridge and Sons Racing No. 87 after starting in the third row. Like Day, he’ll chase his first Kings Royal title Saturday.

Brady Bacon and Rico Abreu completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

Ashton Torgerson clocked the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.

Sheldon Haudenschild set Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Corey Day.

Day also topped the Toyota Dash.

Emerson Axsom won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

Logan Schuchart wheeled from 25th to eighth to pick up KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors.

David Gravel was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

Ashton Torgerson was the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.

Corey Day laid down the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Buddy Kofoid.

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

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/pay-day-corey-day-dominates-eldoras-knight-before-the-kings-royal/

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John Force Racing–Sonoma Friday

July 20, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

FRIDAY RECAP – SONOMA Race 11 of 20

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

VANDERGRIFF DROPS HAMMER ON SONOMA FUNNY CAR FIELDVandergriff sets season low ET, Beckman 2^nd, DeJoria and Hart 7^th

FRIDAY RECAP – SONOMARace 11 of 20

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

VANDERGRIFF DROPS HAMMER ON SONOMA FUNNY CAR FIELDVandergriff sets season low ET, Beckman 2^nd, DeJoria and Hart 7^th

SONOMA, Calif. (July 17, 2026) – Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS team made the quickest Funny Car pass of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season to capture the provisional No.1 qualifying spot during Friday night qualifying for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The John Force Racing driver ran 3.849 seconds at 332.43 mph in the first pair of Funny Cars down the track in the session. In doing so, the Funny Car rookie earned the $4,000 Deecell Power Systems “After Dark Low Qualifier” bonus, ironically an award he presented last season as a member of the NHRA on FOX announce team. Jack Beckman and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team moved up one spot, to second, in the night session with their run of 3.874 seconds at 333.16 mph which also was their second-quickest run of the season. Tire shake early in the night qualifying run forced Alexis DeJoria to shut off early and use her second-place performance in Q1, 3.917 seconds at 329.26 mph, to put the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car in the seventh position at the end of the day. Josh Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel team were sixth quickest in Q1 with their run of 3.763 seconds at 336.82 mph. Unfortunately, they were unable to make the Q2 pass due to a car ahead of them oiling down the track with not enough time to clean it up before Sonoma Raceway’s noise curfew. Those teams that did run were able to keep their times which moved Hart to seventh place. Saturday’s two qualifying sessions are scheduled for 11:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. PT. Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car: “To be the quickest Funny Car of the year so far is a huge accomplishment, especially with how competitive this class is. And I’m a rookie—I don’t even know what I’m doing yet,” Vandergriff said. “We fumbled a little in Q1, but I knew we had something figured out. The early numbers looked really good, so I believed we were going to run quick no matter when we went down the track. “I knew the team wanted to push a little. We’ve run well this year, we’ve won a race, we’ve qualified No. 1 before, but we hadn’t really leaned on it. Tonight we did. I knew we were going to run well. I just didn’t know we were going to run that good.” Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car: “Danny and Tim (crew chiefs Hood and Fabrisi) are calling the shots on this and they get an A plus. We were third quickest in the first session and that’s the session where, with 18 cars here, you don’t want to take a hero swing at it. You want to be sensible and that’s exactly what they did. We had made another change in the bell housing that we think will speed up our 60-foot time a little bit without taking away anything else from the run. So, it should make this car quicker overall and it did exactly what they asked it to do in Q1. We then turned the screws on it when the track got better for the second session and went out there and went to No. 2 trailing only our teammate in the Cornwell car. So, we got bonus points in both sessions and ran our second-quickest run of the entire year. For, tomorrow, assuming that the conditions don’t get better than they were today, which is very doubtful, our goal is to get good data and qualifying bonus points and I have no reason to think we won’t get both. Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car: “We were definitely loaded for bear in Q2. Our 60-foot time was an .858 or .856. Yeah, so we were ready to lay one down and continue our consistent top qualifying runs We made a solid first run, but we just missed it. We’re still in the top half of the field and today is only Friday so we have two more runs tomorrow.” Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster: “First of all, I really hate it for the race fans and the teams that came from the East Coast. Everybody’s aggravated, but it is what it is. Q1 was the first run with our brand new car, so I’m really proud of this team. It’s just another testament to how capable our Speedmaster team is and what confidence I have in them to go 336 miles per hour in a brand new car, never even been tested. So, I’m confident and, hopefully, tomorrow we’ll bring much better vibes from everybody and for everybody. The guys worked their tails off. I mean, they really did a great job. It looks amazing and we’re trying to optimize everything we can to perform as good as we can. I’m confident and, hopfully, tomorrow we’ll bring much better vibes from everybody and for everybody.”

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Thornton Jr. Earns Pole Position for 16th Silver Dollar Nationals

July 20, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

HARLAN, IA (July 17, 2026) – Friday night’s Silver Dollar Nationals passing points format featured double heat races, each paying $2,000 to win, for the 54 competitors signed in for the event. With 10 heat races contested, there were no repeat winners as Ricky Thornton Jr. and Bobby Pierce emerged as the front-row starters for Saturday night’s 16th Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals finale. Pierce and Thornton finished tied atop the passing points standings among the 16 drivers who locked themselves into Saturday night’s feature at Shelby County Speedway, which is hosting the Silver Dollar Nationals for the first time. Thornton earned the pole position by winning the tiebreaker based on his faster heat race lap time, while Pierce will start alongside him on the front row. The opening heat race of round one produced an exciting finish as two-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion and 2017 Silver Dollar Nationals winner Tim McCreadie of Watertown, New York, took the lead from Brian Shirley on the final lap to claim the $2,000 victory. Shirley had led the previous 12 laps and appeared to be on his way to the win before McCreadie made the winning pass on the white-flag lap. Shirley finished second, followed by Chase Junghans and Kyle Bronson. The second heat of round one belonged to defending Silver Dollar Nationals champion Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Indiana, who led wire-to-wire to earn the $2,000 victory. Ryan Gustin finished second, followed by Brandon Overton and Brandon Sheppard. Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Illinois, the 2019 Silver Dollar Nationals winner, captured the third heat of round one. Pierce led the final seven laps to earn the $2,000 payday. Cory Lawler finished second, with Tim Ward and Carson Ferguson completing the top four. Defending Malvern Bank West Series champion Tad Pospisil of Norfolk, Nebraska, led all 13 laps to win the fourth heat of round one and collect $2,000. Dan Ebert crossed the line second, followed by Nick Hoffman and Blair Nothdurft. Defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio, won the fifth heat of round one, narrowly edging Ricky Thornton Jr., who charged from the ninth starting position. Moran claimed the victory by approximately half a car length. Brenden Smith finished third, followed by Derrick Stewart in fourth. The opening heat of round two featured passing points leader Ricky Thornton Jr. and Mike Marlar battling for the lead. Each driver led six laps before Thornton prevailed to earn another $2,000 victory. Marlar finished second, followed by Jacob Hobscheidt and Clay Harris. The second heat of round two saw Thursday’s Go 50 winner Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Illinois, rally from the fifth starting position to take the lead from Chad Simpson, who had paced the field for the first 10 laps. Josh Rice finished second, followed by Simpson and Devin Moran. Dallon Murty of Chelsea, Iowa, captured the third heat of round two as he drove the Skyline Motorsports entry to the $2,000 victory by leading all 12 laps. Garrett Alberson advanced from the sixth starting position to finish second. Clay Stuckey charged from 10th to third to gain valuable passing points, while J.T. Wasmund finished fourth. Three-time Silver Dollar Nationals winner Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Georgia, dominated the fourth heat of round two. The three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion led all 13 laps and crossed the finish line nearly six seconds ahead of Max Blair. Dillon McCowan finished third, with Dennis Erb Jr. completing the top four as Davenport earned the $2,000 winner’s check. The fifth and final heat race featured an exciting battle between Zach Zeitner of Bellevue, Nebraska, and Bobby Pierce. Zeitner, the reigning and current Shelby County Speedway Late Model points leader, outdueled Pierce to score a popular $2,000 victory. Pierce finished second, followed by Chase Junghans and Nick Hoffman. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals | Night 1Friday, July 17, 2026Shelby County Speedway | Harlan, IA Penske Shocks Round 1 – Heat Race #1 Finish (13 Laps): 1. 9-Tim McCreadie[3]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 3. 15-Clay Stuckey[2]; 4. 18J-Chase Junghans[5]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[8]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport[11]; 7. 01-Jacob Hobscheidt[4]; 8. 22M-Charlie McKenna[7]; 9. Z76-Zach Zeitner[10]; 10. 56-Chris Spieker[9]; 11. 3-Mike Collins[6] Summit Racing Products Round 1 – Heat Race #2 Finish (13 Laps): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin[1]; 3. 76-Brandon Overton[8]; 4. 1-Brandon Sheppard[7]; 5. 15D-Justin Duty[4]; 6. 10T-Jeff Tharp[3]; 7. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[9]; 8. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 9. 58-Garrett Alberson[6]; 10. 51W-JT Wasmund[11]; 11. 80-Allan Hopp[10]
Cool-It Thermo-Tec Round 1 – Heat Race #3 Finish (13 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 2. 93L-Cory Lawler[1]; 3. 4TW-Tim Ward[6]; 4. 93-Carson Ferguson[8]; 5. 8-Dillon McCowan[9]; 6. 6-Clay Harris[7]; 7. 44M-Chris Madden[10]; 8. 53-Andrew Kosiski[5]; 9. 25-Chad Simpson[11]; 10. 15C-Curt Schroeder[4]; 11. 17SR-Brody Smith[2]
Simpson Race Products Round 1 – Heat Race #4 Finish (13 Laps): 1. 04-Tad Pospisil[1]; 2. 60-Dan Ebert[3]; 3. 9H-Nick Hoffman[2]; 4. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[5]; 5. 111-Max Blair[8]; 6. 99 18-Jesse Sobbing[4]; 7. 157-Mike Marlar[11]; 8. 32X-Chris Simpson[6]; 9. 11-Josh Rice[10]; 10. 13-Dallon Murty[9]; 11. 10-Junior Coover[7]
MyRacePass Round 1 – Heat Race #5 Finish (12 Laps): 1. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[9]; 3. 17SS-Brenden Smith[5]; 4. 43-Derrick Stewart[2]; 5. 4-JC Wyman[8]; 6. 21H-Brett Hopp[6]; 7. 35D-Dylan Sillman[7]; 8. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[10]; 9. 71M-Mike Morton Jr[4]; 10. 45D-Dan Battaglia[1] Penske Shocks Round 1 – Heat Race #1 Finish (13 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 3. 01-Jacob Hobscheidt[8]; 4. 6-Clay Harris[5]; 5. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 6. 04-Tad Pospisil[10]; 7. 10T-Jeff Tharp[9]; 8. 32X-Chris Simpson[6]; 9. 56-Chris Spieker[3]; 10. 71M-Mike Morton Jr[7]; 11. (DNS) 17SR-Brody Smith Summit Racing Products Round 1 – Heat Race #2 Finish (13 Laps): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 2. 11-Josh Rice[2]; 3. 25-Chad Simpson[1]; 4. 99-Devin Moran[8]; 5. 71-Hudson O’Neal[10]; 6. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 7. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[7]; 8. 9-Tim McCreadie[9]; 9. 93L-Cory Lawler[11]; 10. 4-JC Wyman[3]; 11. 4TW-Tim Ward[6]
Cool-It Thermo-Tec Round 1 – Heat Race #3 Finish (13 Laps): 1. 13-Dallon Murty[3]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[5]; 3. 15-Clay Stuckey[9]; 4. 51W-JT Wasmund[1]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin[10]; 6. 44M-Chris Madden[2]; 7. 99 18-Jesse Sobbing[7]; 8. 43-Derrick Stewart[8]; 9. 53-Andrew Kosiski[6]; 10. 22M-Charlie McKenna[4]; 11. (DNS) 35D-Dylan Sillman
Simpson Race Products Round 1 – Heat Race #4 Finish (13 Laps): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 111-Max Blair[4]; 3. 8-Dillon McCowan[3]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley[11]; 6. 60-Dan Ebert[9]; 7. 80-Allan Hopp[2]; 8. 15C-Curt Schroeder[8]; 9. 21H-Brett Hopp[5]; 10. 45D-Dan Battaglia[10]; 11. 3-Mike Collins[6]
MyRacePass Round 1 – Heat Race #5 Finish (12 Laps): 1. Z76-Zach Zeitner[2]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[8]; 3. 18J-Chase Junghans[6]; 4. 9H-Nick Hoffman[9]; 5. 93-Carson Ferguson[4]; 6. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[3]; 7. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[1]; 8. 17SS-Brenden Smith[10]; 9. 15D-Justin Duty[7]; 10. 10-Junior Coover[5]
16th Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals Line-Up (80 Laps):Start – No. – Competitor – Hometown1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ2 – 32 – Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL3 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL4 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH5 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN6 – 15 – Clay Stuckey – Shreveport, LA7 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL8 – 19R – Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA9 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA10 – 9H – Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC11 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA12 – 18J – Chase Junghans – Manhattan, KS13 – 4 – Tad Pospisil – Norfolk, NE14 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA15 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN16 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Line-Up (10 Laps | Top 2 Transfer):Start – No. – Competitor – Hometown1 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN2 – 1 – Jacob Hobscheidt – Plattsmouth, NE3 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL4 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL5 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY6 – 44M – Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC7 – 10T – Jeff Tharp – Sherrill, IA8 – 51W – J.T. Wasmund – Pine Island, MN9 – 24C – Brandon Conkwright – Wamego, KS10 – 53 – Andrew Kosiski – Lavista, NE11 – 15C – Curt Schroeder – Newton, IA12 – 71M – Mike Morton Jr – Omaha, NE13 – 17SR – Brody Smith – Dade City, FL UNOH B-Main #2 Line-Up (10 Laps | Top 2 Transfer):Start – No. – Competitor – Hometown1 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC2 – Z76 – Zach Zeitner – Bellevue, NE3 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM4 – 13 – Dallon Murty – Chelsea, IA5 – 28 – Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL6 – 43 – Derrick Stewart – Ainsworth, IA7 – 4TW – Tim Ward – Harcourt, IA8 – 4 – JC Wyman – Griswold, IA9 – 21H – Brett Hopp – Harlan, IA10 – 22M – Charlie McKenna – Ames, IA11 – 35D – Dylan Sillman – Alvo, NE12 – 45D – Dan Battaglia – Gretna, NE13 – 3 – Mike Collins – New Orleans, LA MyRacePass B-Main #3 Line-Up (10 Laps | Top 2 Transfer):Start – No. – Competitor – Hometown1 – 9 – Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY2 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL3 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA4 – 76N – Blair Nothdurft – Renner, SD5 – 25 – Chad Simpson – Mt. Vernon, IA6 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA7 – 99-18 – Jesse Sobbing – Malvern, IA8 – 15D – Justin Duty – Molalla, OR9 – 32X – Chris Simpson – Oxford, IA10 – 80 – Allan Hopp – Harlan, IA11 – 56 – Chris Spieker – Massena, IA12 – 10 – Junior Coover – Norfolk, NE 16th Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals Points:POS – Car # – First Name – Last Name – RND 1 – RND 2 – Points – Tie Breaker (Fastest Lap)1 – 20RT – Ricky – Thornton – 67.32 – 60.76 – 128.08 – 13.6882 – 32 – Bobby – Pierce – 62.52 – 65.56 – 128.08 – 13.8623 – 1 – Brandon – Sheppard – 52.28 – 66.04 – 118.32 – 4 – 99 – Devin – Moran – 62.52 – 54.04 – 116.56 – 5 – 71 – Hudson – O’Neal – 60.76 – 51.80 – 112.56 – 6 – 15 – Clay – Stuckey – 51.00 – 61.56 – 112.56 – 7 – 3S – Brian – Shirley – 55.00 – 53.56 – 108.56 – 13.4918 – 19R – Ryan – Gustin – 55.00 – 51.80 – 106.80 – 13.7999 – 49 – Jonathan – Davenport – 47.80 – 59.00 – 106.80 – 14.03510 – 9H – Nick – Hoffman – 51.00 – 55.80 – 106.80 – 14.21711 – 111 – Max – Blair – 48.28 – 58.52 – 106.80 – 14.54512 – 18J – Chase – Junghans – 48.76 – 56.28 – 105.04 – 13.84913 – 04 – Tad – Pospisil – 59.00 – 46.04 – 105.04 – 14.15314 – 76 – Brandon – Overton – 59.80 – 43.00 – 102.80 – 15 – 60 – Dan – Ebert – 56.76 – 44.28 – 101.04 – 14.17916 – 8 – Dillon – McCowan – 50.04 – 51.00 – 101.04 – 14.41417 – 157 – Mike – Marlar – 42.04 – 55.00 – 97.04 – 13.74418 – 93 – Carson – Ferguson – 54.04 – 43.00 – 97.04 – 14.13719 – 9 – Tim – McCreadie – 62.52 – 32.76 – 95.28 – 20 – 01 – Jacob – Hobscheidt – 35.00 – 59.80 – 94.80 – 21 – Z76 – Zach – Zeitner – 28.76 – 60.76 – 89.52 – 13.95722 – 6 – Clay – Harris – 40.76 – 48.76 – 89.52 – 13.97823 – 40B – Kyle – Bronson – 48.28 – 39.00 – 87.28 – 24 – 58 – Garrett – Alberson – 27.00 – 60.28 – 87.28 – 25 – 93L – Cory – Lawler – 55.00 – 30.52 – 85.52 – 14.10426 – 17SS – Brenden – Smith – 54.52 – 31.00 – 85.52 – 14.56127 – 13 – Dallon – Murty – 23.00 – 62.52 – 85.52 – 14.6128 – 76N – Blair – Nothdurft – 48.76 – 35.00 – 83.76 – 14.20229 – 11 – Josh – Rice – 28.76 – 55.00 – 83.76 – 14.64530 – 28 – Dennis – Erb – 31.00 – 52.28 – 83.28 – 31 – 25 – Chad – Simpson – 30.52 – 51.00 – 81.52 – 32 – 44M – Chris – Madden – 40.28 – 39.00 – 79.28 – 33 – 43 – Derrick – Stewart – 47.00 – 31.00 – 78.00 – 34 – 22 – Daniel – Hilsabeck – 38.52 – 39.00 – 77.52 – 14.09735 – 10T – Jeff – Tharp – 39.00 – 38.52 – 77.52 – 14.12336 – 4TW – Tim – Ward – 56.28 – 19.00 – 75.28 – 37 – 99-18 – Jesse – Sobbing – 39.00 – 35.00 – 74.00 – 38 – 51W – J.T. – Wasmund – 24.76 – 47.00 – 71.76 – 39 – 4 – JC – Wyman – 48.28 – 23.00 – 71.28 – 40 – 15D – Justin – Duty – 43.00 – 27.00 – 70.00 – 41 – 24C – Brandon – Conkwright – 34.52 – 35.00 – 69.52 – 42 – 21H – Brett – Hopp – 39.00 – 27.00 – 66.00 – 43 – 32X – Chris – Simpson – 31.00 – 31.00 – 62.00 – 44 – 53 – Andrew – Kosiski – 31.00 – 27.00 – 58.00 – 45 – 22M – Charlie – McKenna – 31.00 – 23.00 – 54.00 – 14.14146 – 80 – Allan – Hopp – 19.00 – 35.00 – 54.00 – 14.25447 – 15C – Curt – Schroeder – 23.00 – 31.00 – 54.00 – 14.40248 – 35D – Dylan – Sillman – 35.00 – 19.00 – 54.00 – 15.11249 – 56 – Chris – Spieker – 23.00 – 27.00 – 50.00 – 14.44650 – 71M – Mike – Morton – 27.00 – 23.00 – 50.00 – 14.67951 – 45D – Dan – Battaglia – 23.00 – 23.00 – 46.00 – 52 – 10 – Junior – Coover – 19.00 – 23.00 – 42.00 – 53 – 17SR – Brody – Smith – 19.00 – 19.00 – 38.00 – 13.99554 – 3 – Mike – Collins – 19.00 – 19.00 – 38.00 – 14.621

Thornton Jr. Earns Pole Position for 16th Silver Dollar Nationals

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SUNSHINE ALUMNI: Tracking National Icons from Volusia Speedway Park History

July 20, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

BARBERVILLE, FL (July 17, 2026) – After nearly 60 years, Volusia Speedway Park has established itself as one of the top dirt racing venues in the country and a premier learning ground for launching drivers and teams into the national spotlight.

The track has enjoyed a storied history of attracting a large group of local racers, many of whom have taken the lessons learned from the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” and applied them to successful careers outside the “Sunshine State.”

Let’s revisit who’s grown through Volusia:

Dick Murphy (DeLand, FL)

Before Florida provided dirt-racing talent among drivers, Volusia’s owner from 1982-92 and 1998-05 reached the heights as a pioneering car owner in Super Late Model competition.

Dick Murphy made heavy investments in the sport when he purchased the track from Benny Corbin in 1982 while fielding a Late Model for Gaffney, SC’s Mike Duvall. That same year, Duvall and Murphy found success by scoring the National Dirt Racing Association (NDRA) championship, and Duvall drove the iconic “Flintstone F1yer” machine to his only World 100triumph at Eldora Speedway.

Murphy continued his partnership with Duvall while running a VSP-sponsored No. M14, driven by Larry Moore in 1983. Moore won multiple races for Murphy across the NDRA, along with scoring the 1986 STARS Racing Series title.

While Murphy scaled back his Super Late Model efforts by the end of the decade, he spent the years after focusing on the 1/2-mile track’s growth by expanding Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals into a two-week extravaganza while managing between dirt and asphalt racing on the same property.

Murphy and Duvall’s contributions to the sport forever marked their place in history, each receiving an induction to the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.

Jason Garver (Starke, FL)

As the reigning track champion in the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, 602 Late Models, and Factory Stocks, Garver is a seasoned Volusia veteran who hasn’t been afraid to take his talents to unfamiliar territories.

The 49-year-old spent most of his career as a regional driver between Florida, Georgia, and Alabama while competing for track championships across several divisions on dirt and asphalt. Garver made his first start at Volusia in 2015 with an E-Mod, then started competing annually with a UMP Modified in 2018 for DIRTcar Nationals and the Emil and Dale Reutimann Memorial.

Garver won his first race at the track with a Factory Stock in 2021, then won his first Golden Gator in 2022. From 2021-2024, He had sporadic starts that placed him out of championship contention, but he’s visited Volusia Victory Lane each year since 2021.

In 2025, Garver took his first visit to the Midwest for a seven-race stretch with the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals between Clarksville Speedway and Duck River Raceway Park. In that span, he earned four top 10s and his first top-five finish at Duck River.

“Racin’ Jason” has kept himself in the track title conversation at Volusia in 2026, leading the 602 points while sitting within the top three of the UMP and 604 Late Model standings. He returned for a week with the Hell Tour and earned his first win at Harrisburg, AR’s Old No. 1 Speedway on June 30.

Trey Mills (St. Augustine, FL)

Before Trey Mills became known as “The Future” in dirt Late Model racing, he was once a local hotshot who looked to build his name in the Florida ranks.

Before racing at the 1/2-mile, Mills started his career in go-karts at the former karting track, picking up multiple Feature wins before stepping up the ladder to 602 Late Models at the start of 2020. In his fourth career start on the high-speed oval, a 12-year-old Mills bagged his first Feature win and went on to finish third in the standings.

In 2022, Mills made scattered starts in both 602 and 604 competition across the “Sunshine State” while turning his first laps in a Super Late Model at Volusia, Golden Isles Speedway, and All-Tech Raceway. In 2023, Mills made his first step into regional racing by joining the Hunt The Front Super Dirt Series, winning his first Feature at Whynot Motorsports Park and earning Rookie of the Year honors.

Mills continued racing on the southeastern circuit while venturing toward the Midwest with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals and crown jewels like the Dirt Late Model Dream, World 100, and the Prairie Dirt Classic. Mills made his first full campaign with the Hell Tour in 2025 and scored his first victory in the Herald & Review 100 at Macon. His chain of success helped him form an MD3 Rookie of the Year hunt with the World of Outlaws Late Models presented by DIRTVision, where he sits ninth in the standings.

Kyle Bronson (Brandon, FL)

Bronson made his venture into dirt racing with karts around Florida in the 2000s, then joined the UMP Modified ranks in 2012, winning the DIRTcar Southeast UMP Modified title in his first year.

The Brandon, FL native competed in the United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series (UDLMCS) throughout the year, winning his first race at Volusia in November 2013. Bronson had a memorable debut at DIRTcar Nationals in 2014 with Golden Gator scores in the UMP Modified on Feb. 13, then with the World of Outlaws on Feb. 22. He and Kyle Strickler (2021) are the only drivers to score wins with the two divisions in the same year.

His Volusia accomplishments continued with his sweep of the three Crate Racin’ USA Features during the inaugural DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals in 2020. A year later, he picked up his second World of Outlaws victory and another Crate Racin’ USA win during the second running of the event.

Bronson has become a regular on the national tour circuit, trading years with the World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. But Volusia will also be an annual stomping ground for him.

Clay Harris (Jupiter, FL)

Similar to Bronson, Clay Harris raced karts around the “Sunshine State” in the beginning stages of his racing career, winning 13 championships across multiple sanctioning bodies before climbing up to Late Models and UMP Modifieds in 2018.

Harris made his first trip to Volusia since racing karts in 2019 for the Emil and Dale Reutimann Memorial, then returned in 2020 to score his first three wins on the 1/2-mile aboard his No. 6 Rocket Chassis Late Model. “The Shark” started 2021 with his first Sunshine Nationals Feature win in a 602 Late Model, then his first DIRTcar Nationals Golden Gator in 2021 with the Modified.

The next year, Harris visited Volusia Victory Lane with the 604 Late Model and Modified in the Labor Day Classic – joining Joe Belkey and Jason Garver as the only drivers to win twice in more than one division on the same night.

Harris began dipping his toes into Super Late Models in 2023 by following southeastern-based leagues, then plunged into a national schedule with the Lucas Oil Late Models in 2024. While he is seeking his first win, Harris has had his best run on the tour in 2026, with a career-best seven top-fives and 12 top-10s.

Tyler Clem (St. Petersburg, FL)

Tyler Clem has evolved into a Florida dirt track favorite since he arrived with a dirt Late Model at 10 years old in 2012.

The St. Petersburg, FL native grew his skillset in the Late Model categories until an offer to drive a Top Gun Sprint Car arose in 2015. Clem split his time between the two disciplines across the state, winning his first Feature at the track with the Sprint Car in 2021 en route to a Top Gun championship.

Clem’s prowess at Volusia shined when he won the inaugural Battle in Barberville to close 2022, then won the first Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout in 2023. That same year, Clem gained the chance to drive for Big Frog Motorsports in the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. Between 2023 and 2024, Clem earned a combined five top fives and 18 top-10 finishes aboard the No. 58V through his two Hell Tour expeditions.

Clem has continued to find success in 2026 with the Big Frog Late Model and the Smith Racing No. 6S 360 Sprint Car, winning the 604 Late Model Feature at the Summer Sizzler and leading the Top Gun Sprints points in his quest for a second title.

You can see the local and future stars of Florida racing at Volusia Speedway Park in 2026 when the Top Gun Classic takes place on Friday, Aug. 28. The night will feature a lineup of Top Gun Sprint Cars, 604 Late Models, DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, and Factory Stocks.

TOP GUN CLASSIC INFO

How can you watch every lap of racing at Volusia Speedway Park? Live on DIRTVision.

SUNSHINE ALUMNI: Tracking National Icons from Volusia Speedway Park History

Let’s revisit who’s grown through Volusia:

Dick Murphy (DeLand, FL)

Before Florida provided dirt-racing talent among drivers, Volusia’s owner from 1982-92 and 1998-05 reached the heights as a pioneering car owner in Super Late Model competition.

Murphy and Duvall’s contributions to the sport forever marked their place in history, each receiving an induction to the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.

Jason Garver (Starke, FL)

Trey Mills (St. Augustine, FL)

Before Trey Mills became known as “The Future” in dirt Late Model racing, he was once a local hotshot who looked to build his name in the Florida ranks.

Kyle Bronson (Brandon, FL)

Bronson made his venture into dirt racing with karts around Florida in the 2000s, then joined the UMP Modified ranks in 2012, winning the DIRTcar Southeast UMP Modified title in his first year.

Bronson has become a regular on the national tour circuit, trading years with the World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. But Volusia will also be an annual stomping ground for him.

Clay Harris (Jupiter, FL)

Tyler Clem (St. Petersburg, FL)

Tyler Clem has evolved into a Florida dirt track favorite since he arrived with a dirt Late Model at 10 years old in 2012.

TOP GUN CLASSIC INFO

How can you watch every lap of racing at Volusia Speedway Park? Live on DIRTVision.

ARTICLE:https://volusiaspeedwaypark.com/news/sunshine-alumni-tracking-national-icons-from-volusia-speedway-park-history/

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TUNE-IN ALERT! DuQuoin Mile Airs Saturday, July 18 on FS1

July 17, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

The Drag Specialties DuQuoin Mile presented by Parts Unlimited makes its broadcast premiere this Saturday, July 18, at 9:00 a.m. ET on FS1. Tune in to relive the first Mile race of the Progressive American Flat Track season from the legendary Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, featuring high-speed drafting and close racing at the Magic Mile. Watch Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. ET on FS1.

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Chevy Racing–NASCAR–North Wilkesboro– Chase elliott

July 17, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

NASCAR CUP SERIES NORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 17, 2026

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 and the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Silverado RST, met with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESNORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESJULY 17, 2026

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes: You have a very busy schedule this weekend. A lot of racing for you in different series. Just talk a little bit about why you’re looking forward to this weekend.“Yeah, it’s definitely been a been a busy couple days, for sure, but it’s been fun. I haven’t done a lot of short track racing, like late model cars, in a while, so it’s just kind of neat to have that opportunity and go and run. Appreciate Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) asking me to drive his late model stock, and then obviously the FR8 Racing guys for letting me get in their straight rail car. I figured if I was going to be here, might as well try and do them both. And then, yeah, totally separate from that, the truck opportunity came up to run that, as well. So yeah, I’m going to have plenty of laps on track this weekend, and hopefully they go alright. We’ll see.” Now that you’re potentially just two rounds away from the million-dollar prize, how much attention are you going to pay to Todd Gilliland this weekend?“Oh, yeah, it’d be nice to win, for sure. You know, over the last couple of seasons being involved in the In-Season Challenge, it’s not something that I’m overly consumed over, you know? I can say that with a lot of confidence. You just know in the back of your mind, kind of similar to the points situation in general, if you’re going out and you’re doing your job and you’re performing at a high level, then you’re likely going to take care of the other things. So I kind of look at that in a really similar light, but I do think it is really fun. I think it’s a really good thing for just the sport, in general, to kind of have something else going on in the middle of the year. I know we’re getting close to the Chase cutoff, but still, it’s kind of neat to have another little side quest going on. I think it’d be cool to win it. We made a good run at it last year, but couldn’t quite get it done, so hopefully we can make it happen this season.” We mentioned earlier the quadruple-header, the two CARS Tour races, the Trucks tomorrow, and obviously, the Cup car on Sunday. How are you kind of handling the weekend physically and mentally as far as preparation and compartmentalizing the four races?“Yeah, I mean, definitely the Cup stuff has my main focus, right? That’s just kind of where my head is at mentally and just making sure that I’m not letting anything else pull me away from what I’m kind of looking for in my car for Sunday night. So, I’ve kind of been using it a little bit as just extra laps on track and just helping me think about how I can be better Sunday, I think, more than anything else. But certainly, you know, all the cars drive different — like the pro car drives different than the late model stock, and the truck is going to be different than both of those. And then certainly, the Cup car drives like nothing out there that they have to offer. So, I think all those things, it’s a fun challenge and one that I haven’t really done a lot of. I did some of it early on. I remember jumping back and forth between, you know, Saturday and Sunday cars there early in my Cup career, but I don’t know that I’ve ever done four in a weekend and in four different cars. So, yeah, just trying to balance all that.” It’s been a while since I’ve driven a late model stock car – like, I don’t even know, probably 10 years. It’s been a minute. The last time I did it, Denny used to do his showdown race back in the day. He did it once at Richmond that I ran, and then he did it a couple times at South Boston, if I’m not mistaken, and I ran two or three of those and that was it. I had a lot of fun with it. It was cool, it just wasn’t the path that I came up on. The pro cars, the straight rail late model cars, that’s more of kind of my background and what I grew up racing the most of. So, it’s been kind of fun jumping back and forth; seeing the difference in those two cars directly during the same day. I had a lot of fun with that yesterday. It’s been a challenge. It’s been tough. Those guys are really good. You know, they do it all the time. They’re really, really, really good drivers and teams that are super competitive, and all that’s been a lot of fun. So, yeah, just kind of figuring out as I go. I haven’t driven a truck in a minute either. I’m not sure why I got hired for all this, but I’m here and I’m going to give it my best go.” I know for Cup car and the Truck, with Chevy, you have plenty of sim time and things you can do to prepare. This late model stock deal, Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) talked about how it came about when Kyle (Busch) was supposed to be in the car, and you mentioned this Fr8 Racing deal was almost completely last second. How have you been preparing for the late model side of things?“Really, just yesterday. It’s a little easier, I think from my standpoint, coming into it knowing that – hey, we have two or three practice sessions that I can get acclimated with the cars, actually get some laps on track and get myself up to speed. I know with the Truck stuff, we have more of a full practice today, but normally it would be like 20 minutes or something on the Cup side. So I think that probably drives some of those things a little more than anything else… the amount of time on-track. So for me, it was fine. I knew I was going to have some laps to kind of get myself readjusted. I leaned on that more than anything.” Did you feel comfortable going from the pro straight rail to a late model stock chassis throughout practice yesterday? Do you feel comfortable through tonight, Saturday and the rest of the weekend with jumping constantly to completely different cars? “I do, yeah. I mean, it’s been a challenge, like I said, for sure. But I’ve had fun with it. Again, I think for me, my mindset is all about Cup car. In the back of my mind, I’m like, okay, how can I be better on Sunday? Just the extra laps and all that I think will hopefully help. But yeah, the rest of it has just been kind of learning as I go. I felt like by the end of the day yesterday, I felt a lot better about jumping back and forth and kind of what I needed to do differently between the two cars to at least do the best I could. Certainly wasn’t where I wanted to be, but it was an improvement throughout the day, so hopefully tonight is another step of that.” There’s a new front bumper package in place on the Cup side this weekend that’s designed to have a little bit more give to it on contact. Do you have any anticipation of how you’ll manage that and how it’ll react, or is it just going to be kind of wait and see once you get out there?“Yeah, I think probably a wait and see situation. I mean, they’re pretty stout. You know, I had to remind myself a couple weeks ago at Chicago running the Saturday race just how fragile those cars are and how easy it used to be to destroy a front bumper, like on a restart stack, or even just hitting somebody too hard, trying to give them a shove. I remember going into that race thinking, you know, I need to not just run over somebody like we can on Sunday. It’s crazy how hard you can hit someone on a restart or bump drafting at the speedway’s. Atlanta was a great example of that. I mean, you’re running over the person in front of you and you would think it would destroy your car, but it doesn’t. The harder you hit them on a drafting track like that, the further you push them out. So, I’m not sure. I think the margin was so far down the road of just durability and really strong. I’m not sure how far you have to detune that to make a difference, but we’ll see.” There are several adjustments for Daytona next month to try to improve the racing. Do you wish you had a little bit of a practice maybe before the race, instead of just going out and qualifying and racing?“Not being super familiar with all the details, I think it’s a little hard for me to say. But it just seems like every time we have practice at the speedways, everybody will run for a few minutes and then you wind up sitting there for 45 minutes or something. So I can see both sides of that. To your point, you know, maybe with a change, it might be a good idea. But also at the same time, I could also see people not participating, which obviously leads us down the road of being on TV and not having cars on track. That ends up being a bad result, which has led us to where we are today, which I totally understand that too. So see both sides of the coin. For me personally, I’m good either way. Do you have any expectation of how Sunday’s race is going to unfold in terms of tire wear, just the cautions, anything like that?“I mean, I would have to imagine pretty similar to the All-Star Race last year. You know, the top became super dominant and it became really hard to pass. You saw that with kind of how (Christopher) Bell won the race and he had to get pretty aggressive there to do it. But look, I think that the racetrack is going to promote that type of physicality, just by the way it’s shaped. When you get these racetracks that the top lane and momentum becomes king throughout a run, I think you’re going to have some of that. As far as the tire wear goes, you know, the marbles on the racetrack last year, I remember that kind of being a big thing and how dirty the grooves got that you weren’t running in. That became a challenge because as we started pushing the groove up, you were doing it at pretty high risk because if you got just a little too high, you were going to get sucked up into the dirt. So, yeah, I’m not sure what the cutoff is of when tires are going to become more important. I don’t think you’re going to pit from the top-five; put on four tires, start last and drive back up to the lead. I could be totally wrong, but I think at some point in time you will have a period of tire wear and heat that will equalize some older tires to some fresher ones. So, as always, that’s a balance every week. That’s just something you have to kind of figure out as we go and see what the race feels like. But it’s hot and that’ll play a factor, as well.” Historically, races at North Wilkesboro Speedway, and even in the All-Star Race, there’s been long green flag runs, so I’m curious if you guys had any conversations about maybe going to have to make some green flag pit stops and what that’s going to be like here because that’s not something you guys have done here…“Yeah, I think we will, for sure, at some point in time. I mean, it’s 450 laps, right? That’s a lot of laps, so I would have to imagine at some point in time, you’re going to have to have a green flag stop in there. Might not, but I could see it. I mean, we have them at Martinsville, and that’s a 500 lap race. It’s doesn’t happen a lot, but it does happen from time to time. And on a racetrack like this too where, again, you kind of get that outside lane motoring, you get some momentum rolling and we get strung out a little bit; I could see some green flag stops coming into play. I kind of hope it does. I feel like it ends up being a pretty good race when you have that and you’re taking the risk. It seems like the risk is always higher at short tracks to come and stop and be one of the first guys to put on tires because you’re exposed for so long, right? And I think that’s why you see people avoid that for a longer period of time because you’re going to go two laps, maybe more, down if you’re doing a four tire green flag stop. And if a caution flies during that period of time, you’re up the creek pretty bad, right? A wave around doesn’t fix that, where at a lot of mile-and-a-halves, a wave around would fix your problem because you’re only one lap down versus being more than one. That’s why I think the risk reward becomes a little bit more of a question, but I think it also makes it entertaining. You’ll have guys that are aggressive on that and rightfully so.” Are you pleased that the Indy race is back on the oval as opposed to the road course? And secondly, what would it mean to you to be the first father son, if you won the Brickyard, to have that accolade?“First off, I’m glad it’s back on the big track. I certainly understood the reason for the change, and I respect the effort to try and do something different. It just kind of felt, from my seat at least, that the Brickyard is a really big deal and it always has been in our sport ever since I was a kid. I just felt like that race belongs on the big track. I just think it feels better. Whether the race is good or not, suck it up and we’ll just run it on the big track. And if it’s a good show, it’s a good show. And if it’s not, it’s not. And at the end of the day, I think that race winner should come from the big track itself. I totally support that decision, regardless of what the race looks like. That was one of the very few races that I was old enough to even have a few memories from or even just be in the pictures of dad’s wins, which was really, really neat. Even then, I knew how big of a deal that was. It was evident in the way he acted and in the way that race was portrayed. Even as a child, you could telling the meaning behind it. So I think for that reason, it always has carried a little more weight than some of the others. I would love to check that box for a lot of reasons, with that one being the number one. But I have never won a big crown jewel race. I’ve been close on a handful of occasions, but never gotten across that bridge, so it would be as good of a place, if not the best, to make that happen.”

You were on Bussin with the Boys, and while you were there, you stumped for more Saturday night races as opposed to Sunday night races, which we’ve kind of come to have here. You mentioned in particular how it puts fans in a pretty tough spot. Could you just expand on that? Have you heard things from fans like that directly, or I guess, what are your overall thoughts on Saturday night versus Sunday night?“Yeah, honestly, those comments came directly from people that I know personally that either went to the race and weren’t super thrilled about their Monday morning and probably won’t do it again, or people that chose not to go because they had to go to work on Monday morning. So it stemmed directly from fans of our sport; people that aren’t just watching on TV, people that are spending their money to come support us at the track in-person and in the stands. That was why I said that, just because I have heard it directly. And while I totally get that TV runs the show in a lot of ways, there are still a lot of people that like coming to the races and also probably would like a day at home to recover and kind of get their affairs in order to go back to work on Monday. So I think there’s room for middle ground in that. I think Saturday night races have always been a really big deal. Growing up, for me, I always thought they were the most fun, like as a kid, as a fan, coming to the races. I mean, heck, even if I wasn’t there, I was watching it on TV and I was at home. I was fired up to have a Saturday night race. I thought it was great. The only downside was I didn’t have anything to watch on Sunday, but that was part of it, right? Like you were bummed about that when Sunday afternoon rolled around and the race wasn’t on, but the lead in, the excitement and energy for a Saturday night show, I thought, was pretty darn elite. You know, right now, you’re up against regional baseball and I think it would be a great time for us to take advantage of Saturday night races, especially in the summer. It’s hot, so we need to be under the lights. There’s no need to be racing during the day? Do you think that hurts Atlanta, in particular, given the things that you mentioned, like the Braves, and the fact that we’re in a market where people have to go to work the next morning, or is it more general? “I think it’s just in general. I mean, I think people travel from a lot of different areas for our races, and the further they travel, the harder that is to do. No one has told me what the exact reason is for that, so I’m reaching a little bit there. I’m assuming it’s for TV. But yeah, I just think it makes a lot of sense. I think there’s room for it in our sport. We don’t have a lot of Saturday night races, in general, so if you had a couple extra, I’m not sure what that’s hurting really at the end of the day. And again, you’ve had the World Cup on TV, which it’s winding down right now. There are some other sports here and there, but you know, baseball is probably the biggest thing that’s kind of going on right now and the push to their playoffs. But it can be difficult to watch. Like even as a Braves fan, it may be on TV at certain points in time. Maybe if they’re on the west coast, they have some kind of weird TV stuff, so if you’re not living in that particular region, you’re probably not even eligible to watch. So I think we have a unique opportunity with the networks that we’re on to take advantage of the ability to watch this across the country on the good broadcast partners that we have. I think a Saturday night race is super healthy for people at home watching. And also, the people that are here, it’s an opportunity for them to get home on Sunday and reset and go back to work on Monday.” You haven’t ran a truck since 2023, but you’ve always done pretty well in that series. When the opportunity from Spire Motorsports came, were you excited? Hesitant? What was the initial reaction?“Yeah, excited. I mean, it’s one of those opportunities where I wish I wasn’t considering the circumstances. But when Jeff (Dickerson) reached out to me, I don’t know, a few weeks ago about it, he just said, hey, would you have any interest in doing this? Kyle (Busch) was intended to run this race. And I said, yeah, I’d be honored to run it and I would love to do it. If I can help, let me know. And he said, okay, we’ll do it… done. So that was really about it. It was a short exchange. I don’t get asked a lot to do that stuff, so I appreciated him thinking of me and being willing to let me come drive their stuff.”

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Chevy Racing–NASCAR–North Wilkesboro–Carson Hocevar

July 17, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

NASCAR CUP SERIES NORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 17, 2026

Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Camaro ZL1 and the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Silverado RST, met with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESNORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESJULY 17, 2026

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes:
What was your trip to New York like? It looked like you did a lot and met a lot of cool people…“It was fun. There were a lot of cool people – like LeBron (James) walked by and I was like, should I get a photo? And then I was like, no… I walked over and he was at his table. I sat at a table far away from him and some guy came up to ask for a seat. He happened to know who I was and I knew him. He was like, hey, I’m taking this seat over to LeBron, why don’t you walk over? And so, I walked over and you could tell his security guards just started to swarm in, and then all of a sudden, the guy put his hand up and that’s when LeBron stood up, took his glasses off and then we talked for a while. And then I was like, man, I have to get a photo. It was cool. And then, I met Prince Harry. I think I was like, man, I wouldn’t make my mom proud if I didn’t ask for a photo. That’s who she loves.”
In these instances, are you introducing yourself and saying who you are? Did LeBron have an idea after hearing your name?“Yeah, he mentioned that his train’s kid races and he’s starting to get into big cars and stuff. He knew who I was, so I thought that was super cool.”
You’ve been North Wilkesboro Speedway a couple times now. Last week, you kind of talked about the nostalgia. What do you like about the racing here?“I like that the track seems like it moves around a lot. You can run like right against the fence or you can run the bottom and move around. This place tends to rubber up too, so I just enjoy that there’s so many different ways to go about it. If your car is not very good, there’s probably about four or five different options you can try to go find to make your stuff at least a little bit better because there’s just so many ways to attack the track. It goes downhill and uphill. Part of it is more banked than the other. It just does a lot of weird things that allows us to do different things.”
  I saw a video of you on racing simulators, as well. Just beyond who you got to meet, what was the whole Fanatics Fest experience like?“Yeah, it was just fun to just walk around. I did a bunch of podcasts and ran around New York. Just got to enjoy it. Unfortunately, with all the smoke, it wasn’t super pretty or anything, but it was just fun. I’m not a big city guy, but when you fly private, roll in and have a chauffeur, it’s really not that bad at all. I enjoyed it.”
I know you went to the Met Gala before you were at this event. You’re kind of being the main person going all these, I guess you could say, high-key events, representing yourself and NASCAR. What’s it like going from being this kid running on short track ovals to becoming one of the faces of the sport or true superstar?“Yeah, it’s great for me. You know, like I say all the time, my favorite driver was Dale Jr. I saw him everywhere, right? You saw him on MTV, the music awards and doing all these really cool things, so I just always thought that’s really what NASCAR drivers do. In the 2000s, it was probably a lot more realistic that they all do it.  It’s really cool for me that. There’s a lot of times where I’m like, I don’t understand why I’m invited to these, but I’m definitely taking advantage of it, enjoying it, embracing it and just trying to have as much fun with it as possible, knowing that obviously it’s a really cool and once-in-a-life experience for me at a lot of these events. But also, too, it’s obviously great for the sport.”
With you running double-duty this weekend, are you taking any extra precautions with the heat this weekend?“I’ll probably just drink a little bit more water. I’m probably more reactive than proactive at a lot of this stuff. But luckily, I’m reminded a lot that I’m 23 and I can get away with it now. I was like, yeah, but it’s right now. I think I’ll be just fine. I’m excited to run both races this weekend.”
You were in the TIME100. What is it like kind of emerging as a face of the sport and how are you kind of dealing with that?“It’s been super cool for me. I think Denny (Hamlin) and Michael (Jordan) were in it, as well. But, you know, being the solo (NASCAR driver) in it, I guess, is super fun for me. Obviously, I want to win more, but I think it’s been proven a lot within the sport that you can win multiple races in a row and that doesn’t make you outside the NASCAR bubble, right? If our viewership was based off the racing production, we’d have 10 million live viewers for Atlanta every single time, I think. Ultimately, it’s just getting people to care who’s in the cars. You can have the greatest finish of all time, but if you don’t care who’s involved in the finish, you might as well go watch iRacing, AI Racing, an animation, any kind of motorsport. It’s been super humbling for me to have a lot of people ultimately care about who’s in my car.”
You did the t-shirt exchange thing. Were you surprised by how many people turned in shirts? What was your reaction to how that went?“Yeah, I was surprised a little bit. I was more so surprised of the numbers for each driver. I was shocked how many it was just for almost everybody. But ultimately, I was just hoping it was going to be a cool experience. I had some buddies that were out there that kind of handled it for me. And I was like, man, I think you guys would enjoy doing it. They were kind of like, I don’t know. And by the end of it, when they came back, they were like, that was so much fun. They had people chanting. When people would walk up with a different shirt, it was like a viewing party just to watch. They would start chants to trade it in, take it off, the whole thing. It seemed like everybody that was there just had a lot of fun with it.”

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Sheppard Seizes Control Late in Shelby County Sizzler

July 17, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

HARLAN, Iowa (July 16, 2026) – Brandon Sheppard capitalized on a fierce battle between Ryan Gustin and Devin Moran, slipping past both drivers with six laps remaining to capture Thursday night’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Malvern Bank Go 50 at Shelby County Speedway. Much like the previous two Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events at Shelby County Speedway, the outcome wasn’t decided until the closing laps. Sheppard pocketed the $15,000 winner’s prize while earning his series-leading eighth victory of the season. Nick Hoffman, who ran fourth for much of the race, charged to second during the closing laps. Gustin, who paced the field for 42 of the race’s 50 laps, rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third.Moran, who briefly wrestled the lead away from Gustin on laps 40 and 43, finished fourth, while Brian Shirley completed the top five. The victory marked the 43rd Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph of Sheppard’s career and extended his championship points lead. It also marked the fourth consecutive LOLMDS event to feature at least three different race leaders during the feature. “I was getting a heck of a show watching those two (Gustin and Moran) out front,” Sheppard said. “They were racing each other hard there, and I just felt myself slipping in the top. At some point, I knew I was going to have to move down, and there was no better time than when those two were racing each other like that. I was running around trying to see if there was anything in the bottom because, in turns one and two especially, I was losing time up there. Then we got so deep into lapped traffic that it became harder to pass on the top. The bottom started to come in, and that’s when I found a clean spot in turns three and four.” Hoffman rebounded from a heartbreaking finish Tuesday night at Adams County Speedway, where he led the majority of the race before trailing smoke over the final 10 laps and finishing third in Corning, Iowa. “It was getting pretty western up there,” Hoffman said. “I looked at the board, and we had about 10 laps to go, and I thought we still weren’t out of this deal. Depending on what they were going to do, they were throwing some haymakers and elbows. It was getting pretty aggressive. Sheppy was able to snooker them there to get by them, and then I was there a couple of laps later. I just wasn’t good enough. Once I cleared them, I fell in line behind Sheppy. Our stuff was really good. I don’t know what we could have done differently. We were fast around the top early, and then finally we got to move around. Man, that was one of the funnest races I’ve run all year.” Gustin, who was looking for his second career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory, settled for third after battling Moran throughout the second half of the race. The pair ran one-two for much of the feature before Sheppard capitalized on their side-by-side fight during the closing laps. “It was just really full-contact late model racing,” Gustin said. “It’s not the way I try to race. I try to race clean, but man, he (Moran) didn’t really do anything wrong. You’ve got to log that stuff in the back of your head when you get run over time and time again, and when it’s time to give it back, you give it back.” The winning Mark Richards Racing, Rocket Chassis was powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ace Metal Works, Performance Grading, Petroff Towing, Franklin Enterprises, Sunoco Race Fuels, FOX Shocks, Gunter’s Honey, Stiles Marine and Maintenance, and Collins Brothers Towing. Completing the top 10 were Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Josh Rice, Max Blair, and Dennis Erb Jr. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Malvern Bank Go 50Thursday, July 16, 2026Shelby County Speedway | Harlan, IA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Devin Moran | 14.264 seconds (Overall)Fast Time Group B: Ryan Gustin | 14.408 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[5]; 3. 44M-Chris Madden[3]; 4. 99 18-Jesse Sobbing[4]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 6. 22M-Charlie McKenna[8]; 7. 6-Clay Harris[2]; 8. 4-JC Wyman[6]; 9. 10-Junior Coover[9] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 17SS-Brenden Smith[2]; 3. 53-Andrew Kosiski[3]; 4. 18J-Chase Junghans[4]; 5. 17SR-Brody Smith[5]; 6. 35D-Dylan Sillman[8]; 7. 93L-Cory Lawler[6]; 8. 4TW-Tim Ward[7]; 9. (DNS) 45D-Dan Battaglia
Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 111-Max Blair[3]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[5]; 3. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[1]; 4. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[2]; 5. 10T-Jeff Tharp[7]; 6. 32X-Chris Simpson[4]; 7. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[6]; 8. 80-Allan Hopp[8]
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[1]; 2. 15D-Justin Duty[3]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 4. 15-Clay Stuckey[6]; 5. 25-Chad Simpson[5]; 6. 60-Dan Ebert[2]; 7. 93-Carson Ferguson[7]; 8. 43-Derrick Stewart[9]; 9. 51W-JT Wasmund[8]
MyRacePass Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 9H-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[2]; 4. 13-Dallon Murty[5]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 6. Z76-Zach Zeitner[7]; 7. 9-Tim McCreadie[6]; 8. 21H-Brett Hopp[8]; 9. 3-Mike Collins[9] Lucas Oil Products Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 8-Dillon McCowan[2]; 3. 04-Tad Pospisil[3]; 4. 58-Garrett Alberson[7]; 5. 11-Josh Rice[4]; 6. 01-Jacob Hobscheidt[6]; 7. 15C-Curt Schroeder[8]; 8. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[5] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[3]; 2. 18J-Chase Junghans[2]; 3. 17SR-Brody Smith[5]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 5. 32X-Chris Simpson[9]; 6. 93L-Cory Lawler[11]; 7. 10T-Jeff Tharp[6]; 8. 6-Clay Harris[10]; 9. 4-JC Wyman[13]; 10. 99 18-Jesse Sobbing[1]; 11. 35D-Dylan Sillman[8]; 12. 4TW-Tim Ward[14]; 13. 22M-Charlie McKenna[7]; 14. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[12]; 15. 80-Allan Hopp[15]; 16. 45D-Dan Battaglia[17]; 17. 10-Junior Coover[16]
UNOH B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 2. 15-Clay Stuckey[1]; 3. 11-Josh Rice[6]; 4. 49-Jonathan Davenport[5]; 5. 13-Dallon Murty[2]; 6. 60-Dan Ebert[7]; 7. 01-Jacob Hobscheidt[9]; 8. 9-Tim McCreadie[11]; 9. 93-Carson Ferguson[10]; 10. Z76-Zach Zeitner[8]; 11. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[15]; 12. 43-Derrick Stewart[13]; 13. 51W-JT Wasmund[16]; 14. 21H-Brett Hopp[14]; 15. 15C-Curt Schroeder[12]; 16. 3-Mike Collins[17]; 17. 25-Chad Simpson[4] Malvern Bank Go 50 | Feature Finish (50 Laps):Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings1 – 6 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $15,0002 – 4 – 9H – Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – $8,0003 – 2 – 19R – Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – $5,0004 – 1 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $3,5005 – 3 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $3,0006 – 23 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $2,7007 – 14 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $2,5008 – 24 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $2,4009 – 5 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $2,10010 – 10 – 28 – Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – $2,00011 – 7 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – $1,90012 – 9 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $1,80013 – 25 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $60014 – 11 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $1,60015 – 20 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $1,50016 – 22 – 15 – Clay Stuckey – Shreveport, LA – $1,45017 – 19 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $1,40018 – 18 – 4 – Tad Pospisil – Norfolk, NE – $1,35019 – 13 – 44M – Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – $1,30020 – 17 – 76N – Blair Nothdurft – Renner, SD – $1,25021 – 26 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $10022 – 28 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $10023 – 12 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $1,20024 – 27 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $10025 – 8 – 15D – Justin Duty – Molalla, OR – $1,20026 – 15 – 53 – Andrew Kosiski – Lavista, NE – $1,20027 – 16 – 16 – Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – $1,30028 – 21 – 18J – Chase Junghans – Manhattan, KS – $1,200 Race Statistics Entrants: 52Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Devin MoranMD3 Lap Leaders: Ryan Gustin (Laps 1-44); Brandon Sheppard (Laps 45-50)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Ryan GustinWieland Feature Winner: Brandon SheppardMargin of Victory: 0.606 secondsHellraizer Jacks Cautions: Tyler Bruening (Lap 12)MyRacePass Series Provisional: Ricky Thornton, Jr.; Josh RiceFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisionals: Kyle Bronson; Clay Harris; Carson Ferguson; Dan EbertTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Brandon Sheppard, Nick Hoffman, Ryan GustinPenske Shocks Top 5: Brandon Sheppard, Nick Hoffman, Ryan Gustin, Devin Moran, Brian ShirleyBehrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Brandon Sheppard, Nick Hoffman, Ryan GustinPEM 4th Place Feature: Devin MoranDiversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Brian ShirleyWilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Hudson O’NealWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Mike MarlarVelocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Kyle BronsonXS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Garrett AlbersonHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Advanced 17 positions)MD3 Most Laps Led: Ryan Gustin (44 Laps)Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon SheppardMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Brandon SheppardO’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Josh RicePro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Ryan Gustin | Lap 4 | 14.517 secondsFK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Tyler BrueningVictory Fuel Power Move of the Race: Brandon SheppardOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Danny WhiteARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: | secondsTime of Race: 26 minutes 39 seconds Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Earnings1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 5405 – $228,9002 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 5280 – $205,5503 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 5180 – $268,9244 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 4955 – $113,7005 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 4865 – $122,4756 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 4725 – $133,6257 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 4685 – $104,7258 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 4560 – $91,2759 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 4550 – $81,95010 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 4360 – $68,57511 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 4265 – $80,95012 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 4220 – $68,90013 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – 4090 – $91,40014 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 4055 – $66,55015 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 3720 – $51,37516 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – 3445 – $38,92517 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 3185 – $25,475

Sheppard Seizes Control Late in Shelby County Sizzler

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CHA-CHING: Kyle Larson Charges by Rico Abreu & Corey Day for $100,000 Joker’s Jackpot Title at Eldora Speedway

July 17, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

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HAVING FUN: Haudenschild Ready for Prime Shot at Coveted Kings Royal Crown

July 17, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

The Wooster, OH driver is enjoying every night at the track heading into the event he craves the most

ROSSBURG, OH (July 16, 2026) – Sheldon Haudenschild couldn’t have picked a better time to ride one of the best stretches of his career.

The Sprint Car world has converged on Rossburg, OH’s Eldora Speedway for the 43rd running of the Kings Royal, and Haudenschild is operating at a level above the rest. He’s taken the KCP Racing No. 18 to four victories in the last eight World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races and 10 podiums over the last 13 Features. Outside of a night he got upside down, his average finish over that stretch is an impeccable 2.17.

So, what’s been going right that’s allowed Haudenschild to go on such a tear during his first season with the Matt Barbara and Bret Nehring-owned operation? It starts with simply enjoying the experience.

“I’m honestly just having fun and pretty stress free,” Haudenschild said. “I don’t really pay attention to the stretch of anything. I just kind of take it night by night, just stay focused each night and try to be fast right off the get go. Even if we get behind a little bit, I just try to make the most of it and keep going forward.”

But it’s a lot more than fun that makes a Sprint Car go fast. It’s a puzzle that must be put together. Haudenschild’s longtime crew chief Kyle Ripper made the move to KCP with him. Adam Clark has been a part of the organization for multiple years and continues to be an important piece. They added Dauson Heitritter for 2026. This group has taken little time to gel and are riding momentum into the Kings Royal.

Like most “Buckeyes” born in the Sprint Car world, Haudenschild’s ties to Eldora trace back to his earliest days. He grew up watching his father carve a legacy on the high banks of “The Big E.” Jac racked up nine of his 72 World of Outlaws victories at the Rossburg, OH track. The “Wild Child” is also a three-time Kings Royal champion. Fast forward to present day, and the fanbase Jac built thanks to his daring driving style now cheer for Sheldon as he cements his own place in the sport’s history.

“Eldora, I just grew up going there watching my dad,” Haudenschild said. “The fans have always been such a big part of it for my dad, and just to see them support me is awesome.”

The connection between Haudenschild and the iconic 1/2 mile has only grown as the years pass by. He’s picked up a pair of victories there, but the Kings Royal has eluded him thus far. He’s been in the top five four times, highlighted by an eighth to second drive in the 37th running. The hunger for the crown grows with each passing July. It’s the race he wants more than any other.

“For me, it is my Knoxville Nationals in a sense,” Haudenschild said of the Kings Royal. “It’s the race I want to win the most. They’re doing a great job there. They’ve got the pay up. It’s a big week of racing. It’s not like the Knoxville Nationals where it’s a prelim night and a night off. It’s full tilt for four nights straight. It’s just a lot of work too. It’s hot, and things can go downhill really quickly there. I’ve been on both sides of it at Eldora. It’ll teach you really quick. You’ve got to respect that place.”

The stage is set. Eldora awaits. Thousands of passionate fans that would erupt if Haudenschild were to win await. He may be looking at his best shot yet at being crowned King this weekend at “The House that Earl Built.” Haudenschild is ready to go out and do what he’s been doing – have fun.

“I think I’m just in a spot right now where I am having a lot of fun, and I think it shows on the racetrack,” Haudenschild said. “I’ve always known I’m capable. It’s just putting the pieces together and having the right people around you and all the right parts and pieces. It takes a village to run at the top level every single night. I think that’s what showing here at the 18 team. We’ve got a great group of people, a great group of sponsors. It’s just really enjoyable for me to show up at the races.”

Haudenschild and the KCP Racing crew take on Eldora Speedway’s 43rd Kings Royal this weekend (July 17-18) with a shot to win $200,000. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

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

HAVING FUN: Haudenschild Ready for Prime Shot at Coveted Kings Royal Crown

The Wooster, OH driver is enjoying every night at the track heading into the event he craves the most

ROSSBURG, OH (July 16, 2026) – Sheldon Haudenschild couldn’t have picked a better time to ride one of the best stretches of his career.

“Eldora, I just grew up going there watching my dad,” Haudenschild said. “The fans have always been such a big part of it for my dad, and just to see them support me is awesome.”

Haudenschild and the KCP Racing crew take on Eldora Speedway’s 43rd Kings Royal this weekend (July 17-18) with a shot to win $200,000. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

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

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/having-fun-haudenschild-ready-for-prime-shot-at-coveted-kings-royal-crown/

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Silver Dollar Nationals Set to Take Center Stage This Weekend at Shelby County Speedway

July 17, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

BATAVIA, OH (July 16, 2026) – The countdown is over as the 16th Annual Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals takes center stage at Shelby County Speedway this weekend, bringing three nights of premier dirt late model racing to western Iowa and some of the sport’s biggest stars to the 3/8-mile oval. Thursday’s Malvern Bank Go 50 features a complete Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series program, highlighted by a $15,000-to-win feature event. On Friday, one of the event’s most popular traditions returns as the Silver Dollar Nationals goes back to its original, fan-favorite format featuring passing point heat races. Every position gained and every spot lost during the heat races will carry significant weight as drivers accumulate passing points to determine Saturday night’s lineups. Championship Saturday concludes with the prestigious 80-lap Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals A-Main, where the sport’s elite will battle for the coveted Silver Dollar Nationals title. Saturday’s championship finale features one of the most unique payouts in all of motorsports. The winner of the 80-lap Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals will earn $52,000, while the runner-up will receive an incredible $53,000. The unprecedented payout structure gives drivers an added incentive to race for every position until the checkered flag, making the battle for second just as lucrative as the fight for the victory. Adding even more drama to championship night is the All Makes Collision Center Non-Qualifier Race. Drivers who fail to qualify for the Silver Dollar Nationals A-Main will compete for a $3,000 winner’s prize. However, the winner will have the option to forfeit the $3,000 payday and start at the rear of the Silver Dollar Nationals feature. Fans can expect a stellar field of Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series competitors, including championship contenders and many of the biggest names in the sport, all looking to add their name to the prestigious list of Silver Dollar Nationals champions. In addition to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, support divisions will provide a full weekend of racing entertainment, making the Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals one of the Midwest’s premier motorsports destinations. Pit gates open daily at noon, spectator gates open at 3 p.m., and hot laps are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. each evening. Located in Harlan, Iowa, approximately 60 miles northeast of Omaha, Nebraska, Shelby County Speedway has quickly established itself as one of the Midwest’s premier dirt racing facilities. The high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval has hosted some of the nation’s biggest touring series and major special events, earning a reputation for producing multi-groove racing and thrilling side-by-side action. For tickets, camping information, event schedules and additional details, visit RaceSCS.com. The championship battle entering the Al Belt Custom Homes Silver Dollar Nationals is shaping up to be one of the closest of the season. Brandon Sheppard leads the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings following Tuesday night’s event at Adams County Speedway, holding a 70-point advantage over Hudson O’Neal. Devin Moran sits third, followed by Brandon Overton and Max Blair to round out the top five. For the latest news, results, and championship standings from the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing, please visit LucasDirt.com. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Purses:Malvern Bank Go 50 (Thursday): 1. $15,000, 2. $8,000, 3. $5,000, 4. $3,500, 5. $3,000, 6. $2,700, 7. $2,500, 8. $2,300, 9. $2,100, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,900, 12. $1,800, 13. $1,700, 14. $1,600, 15. $1,500, 16. $1,450, 17. $1,400, 18. $1,350, 19. $1,300, 20. $1,250, 21. $1,200, 22. $1,200, 23. $1,200, 24. $1,200 = $66,150
Friday Heat Races: 1. $2,000, 2. $1,000, 3. $500, 4. $400, 5. $300, 6. $100, 7. $100, 8. $100, 9. $100, 10. $100 = $4,700 (x number of heats)
All Makes Collision Center Non-Qualifier: 1. $3,000, 2. $2,000, 3. $1,500, 4. $1,400, 5. $1,300, 6. $1,200, 7. $1,150, 8. $1,100, 9. $1,090, 10. $1,080, 11. $1,070, 12. $1,060, 13. $1,050, 14. $1,000, 15. $900, 16. $800, 17. $700, 18. $600, 19. $550, 20. $500 = $23,050 16th Annual Silver Dollar Nationals: 1. $52,000, 2. $53,000, 3. $15,000, 4. $10,000, 5. $9,000, 6. $8,000, 7. $7,000, 8. $6,000, 9. $5,000, 10. $4,800, 11. $4,700, 12. $4,600, 13. $4,500, 14. $4,400, 15. $4,300, 16. $4,200, 17. $4,100, 18. $4,000, 19. $3,900, 20. $3,800, 21. $3,700, 22. $3,600, 23. $3,500, 24. $3,500 = $226,600

Silver Dollar Nationals Set to Take Center Stage This Weekend at Shelby County Speedway

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Chevy Racing–InDYCAR–Nashville Advance

July 17, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway tri-oval Lebanon, Tennessee Race AdvanceJuly 18-19, 2026
DETROIT, Michigan (July 16, 2026) – Stop 12 of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the dozen Team Chevy drivers and teams is the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, just east of Nashville. The third of five short oval races, the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix has added 75 laps of additional action on the 1.3-mile Nashville Superspeedway tri-oval, making it the second longest of the year at 390 miles.
Team Chevy has won the last four short oval (ovals under 1.3 miles in length) races, going back to Christian Rasmussen’s (ECR) maiden win at the Milwaukee Mile last year, and including a trio of wins by Josef Newgarden Team Penske) at Nashville Superspeedway (2025), Phoenix Raceway (2026), and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (2026).
Team Chevy is currently on a three-race win streak, where drivers wearing Bowties have stood on nine of the 12 possible podiums. Four of the top-six drivers in the season-long points standings represent the Chevrolet Bowtie, with Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren), David Malukas (Team Penske) and Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) within 100 points of the championship lead. Malukas leads all drivers on ovals, scoring 116 points across the first three oval races of the season (Phoenix Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway), nine more than his teammate Newgarden. Chevrolet-powered cars have won twice at the Nashville Superspeedway, Newgarden (2026) and Alex Barron (2002) for Blair Racing, driving to victory lane. General Motors adds a third win with Buddy Lazier (Hemelgarn Racing), winning with Oldsmobile power in 2001. Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward (2025) and Tomas Scheckter (2005) for Panther Racing have the two Team Chevy poles at the track in Lebanon, Tennessee. Greg Ray (Team Menard) was a pole sitter with an Oldsmobile in 2001, giving General Motors a trio of poles. Josef Newgarden leads all Team Chevy drivers with a pair of podiums, while Team Penske’s four podiums lead all teams. O’Ward’s 137 laps led over the past two years are the most for drivers with Chevrolet power, and his Arrow McLaren team leads the way with 169 laps led.

Chevrolet’s Short Oval Success
WinsIncluding George Follmer’s surprise victory at Phoenix Raceway in 1969, and Josef Newgarden’s win at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in June, Chevrolet-powered cars have visited victory lane on short ovals 57 times.Twenty-five drivers have driven to victory for Team Chevy on short ovals, with one driver winning accounting for a quarter of those wins. Newgarden’s June victory was his 15th on short ovals since his first win at Iowa Speedway in 2016.Seventeen teams have won races with Chevrolet power on short ovals, with Team Penske collecting 56.1 % (32 of 57) of those wins.
PolesChevrolet-powered cars have also won 56 poles on short ovals, starting with Jim Hurtubise at Langhorne Speedway through David Malukas’ first career pole at Phoenix Raceway in March.Eighteen drivers have earned Team Chevy poles on short ovals, with Rick Mears and Will Power tied at 11 each to lead all drivers.A dozen different teams have earned poles for Team Chevy on short ovals, but one stands out as dominant. Team Penske drivers have won 73.4% (42 of 57) of the short oval poles for Team Chevy.
Even better recently
Since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012, Chevrolet-powered drivers havedominated on short ovals (Iowa Speedway, Milwaukee Mile, Nashville Superspeedway,Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway. In those 15 seasonsTeam Chevy has:Won 78.6% (33 of 42) of the racesStarted on 75.6% (31 of 42) of the polesStood on 73.2% (90 of 123) of the podiumsLed 76.3% (8206 of 10760) laps

Short oval podiums by driver since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012

RANKDRIVERPODIUMS1Josef Newgarden192Will Power143Pato O’Ward124Scott McLaughlin105Tony Kanaan66Simon Pagenaud47Ryan Hunter-Reay48Helio Castroneves39Christian Rasmussen310Scott Dixon211JR Hildebrand212James Hinchcliffe213David Malukas114Juan Montoya115Sebastien Bourdais116Marco Andretti117Spencer Pigot118Ed Carpenter119Sage Karem120Conor Daly121Oliver Askew1

Josef Newgarden celebrates short oval wins at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway (2021), Iowa Speedway (2023) and Phoenix Raceway (2026).Dominance
While Team Chevy as a whole has had fantastic short oval success recently, one driver in particular has stood out. Josef Newgarden, driving the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet this weekend, is aiming for a fourth straight NTT INDYCAR SERIES win on a short oval (ovals under 1.33 miles in length), going back to his win at this same Lebanon, Tennessee track to end the 2025 season, and includes trips to victory lane at Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway this season.
The local driver has made 42 starts on short ovals since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012, including 36 with Team Chevy starting in 2015. The 35-year-old’s average short oval starting spot is 4.8, and his average short oval finish is 6.6.
Over those 36 Chevrolet-powered races, Newgarden’s impressive record on short ovals includes: 15 wins, giving him a win percentage of 41.7%19 podiums, giving him a podium percentage of 52.8%30 top tens, giving him a top ten percentage of 83.3%3095 laps led, giving him a laps led percentage of 40.2%6 poles, giving him a pole percentage of 16.7%22 starts in the first two rows, giving him a top-four start percentage of 61.1%Tune-In Guide
Saturday, July 18NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice #1 – 10am (ET)/9am (CT)/8am (MT)/7am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying – 3pm (ET)/2pm (CT)/1pm (MT)/noon (PT) –FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice – 6pm (ET)/5pm (CT)/4pm (MT)/3pm (PT) – FS2/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218
Sunday, July 19
Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix (Pre-Race Show) – 4:30pm (ET)/3:30pm (CT)/2:30pm (PT)/1:30pm (PT) – FS1Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix (300 laps)– 5:30pm (ET)/4:30pm (CT)/3:30pm (MT)/2:30pm (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218

Josef Newgarden crosses the under the checkered flags at Nashville Superspeedway to win the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale

Media Resources: Images | Media Advances | Chevrolet Newsroom

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESBorchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway tri-ovalLebanon, TennesseeRace AdvanceJuly 18-19, 2026
DETROIT, Michigan (July 16, 2026) – Stop 12 of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the dozen Team Chevy drivers and teams is the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, just east of Nashville. The third of five short oval races, the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix has added 75 laps of additional action on the 1.3-mile Nashville Superspeedway tri-oval, making it the second longest of the year at 390 miles.
Team Chevy has won the last four short oval (ovals under 1.3 miles in length) races, going back to Christian Rasmussen’s (ECR) maiden win at the Milwaukee Mile last year, and including a trio of wins by Josef Newgarden Team Penske) at Nashville Superspeedway (2025), Phoenix Raceway (2026), and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (2026).
Team Chevy is currently on a three-race win streak, where drivers wearing Bowties have stood on nine of the 12 possible podiums. Four of the top-six drivers in the season-long points standings represent the Chevrolet Bowtie, with Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren), David Malukas (Team Penske) and Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) within 100 points of the championship lead. Malukas leads all drivers on ovals, scoring 116 points across the first three oval races of the season (Phoenix Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway), nine more than his teammate Newgarden. Chevrolet-powered cars have won twice at the Nashville Superspeedway, Newgarden (2026) and Alex Barron (2002) for Blair Racing, driving to victory lane. General Motors adds a third win with Buddy Lazier (Hemelgarn Racing), winning with Oldsmobile power in 2001. Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward (2025) and Tomas Scheckter (2005) for Panther Racing have the two Team Chevy poles at the track in Lebanon, Tennessee. Greg Ray (Team Menard) was a pole sitter with an Oldsmobile in 2001, giving General Motors a trio of poles. Josef Newgarden leads all Team Chevy drivers with a pair of podiums, while Team Penske’s four podiums lead all teams. O’Ward’s 137 laps led over the past two years are the most for drivers with Chevrolet power, and his Arrow McLaren team leads the way with 169 laps led.

Short oval podiums by driver since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012

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Josef Newgarden crosses the under the checkered flags at Nashville Superspeedway to win the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale

July 17, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESBorchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway tri-ovalLebanon, TennesseeRace AdvanceJuly 18-19, 2026
DETROIT, Michigan (July 16, 2026) – Stop 12 of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the dozen Team Chevy drivers and teams is the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, just east of Nashville. The third of five short oval races, the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix has added 75 laps of additional action on the 1.3-mile Nashville Superspeedway tri-oval, making it the second longest of the year at 390 miles.
Team Chevy has won the last four short oval (ovals under 1.3 miles in length) races, going back to Christian Rasmussen’s (ECR) maiden win at the Milwaukee Mile last year, and including a trio of wins by Josef Newgarden Team Penske) at Nashville Superspeedway (2025), Phoenix Raceway (2026), and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (2026).
Team Chevy is currently on a three-race win streak, where drivers wearing Bowties have stood on nine of the 12 possible podiums. Four of the top-six drivers in the season-long points standings represent the Chevrolet Bowtie, with Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren), David Malukas (Team Penske) and Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) within 100 points of the championship lead. Malukas leads all drivers on ovals, scoring 116 points across the first three oval races of the season (Phoenix Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway), nine more than his teammate Newgarden. Chevrolet-powered cars have won twice at the Nashville Superspeedway, Newgarden (2026) and Alex Barron (2002) for Blair Racing, driving to victory lane. General Motors adds a third win with Buddy Lazier (Hemelgarn Racing), winning with Oldsmobile power in 2001. Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward (2025) and Tomas Scheckter (2005) for Panther Racing have the two Team Chevy poles at the track in Lebanon, Tennessee. Greg Ray (Team Menard) was a pole sitter with an Oldsmobile in 2001, giving General Motors a trio of poles. Josef Newgarden leads all Team Chevy drivers with a pair of podiums, while Team Penske’s four podiums lead all teams. O’Ward’s 137 laps led over the past two years are the most for drivers with Chevrolet power, and his Arrow McLaren team leads the way with 169 laps led.

Short oval podiums by driver since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012

Josef Newgarden crosses the under the checkered flags at Nashville Superspeedway to win the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale

Media Resources: Images | Media Advances | Chevrolet Newsroom

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESBorchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway tri-ovalLebanon, TennesseeRace AdvanceJuly 18-19, 2026
DETROIT, Michigan (July 16, 2026) – Stop 12 of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the dozen Team Chevy drivers and teams is the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, just east of Nashville. The third of five short oval races, the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix has added 75 laps of additional action on the 1.3-mile Nashville Superspeedway tri-oval, making it the second longest of the year at 390 miles.
Team Chevy has won the last four short oval (ovals under 1.3 miles in length) races, going back to Christian Rasmussen’s (ECR) maiden win at the Milwaukee Mile last year, and including a trio of wins by Josef Newgarden Team Penske) at Nashville Superspeedway (2025), Phoenix Raceway (2026), and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (2026).
Team Chevy is currently on a three-race win streak, where drivers wearing Bowties have stood on nine of the 12 possible podiums. Four of the top-six drivers in the season-long points standings represent the Chevrolet Bowtie, with Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren), David Malukas (Team Penske) and Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) within 100 points of the championship lead. Malukas leads all drivers on ovals, scoring 116 points across the first three oval races of the season (Phoenix Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway), nine more than his teammate Newgarden. Chevrolet-powered cars have won twice at the Nashville Superspeedway, Newgarden (2026) and Alex Barron (2002) for Blair Racing, driving to victory lane. General Motors adds a third win with Buddy Lazier (Hemelgarn Racing), winning with Oldsmobile power in 2001. Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward (2025) and Tomas Scheckter (2005) for Panther Racing have the two Team Chevy poles at the track in Lebanon, Tennessee. Greg Ray (Team Menard) was a pole sitter with an Oldsmobile in 2001, giving General Motors a trio of poles. Josef Newgarden leads all Team Chevy drivers with a pair of podiums, while Team Penske’s four podiums lead all teams. O’Ward’s 137 laps led over the past two years are the most for drivers with Chevrolet power, and his Arrow McLaren team leads the way with 169 laps led.

Short oval podiums by driver since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012

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Dyson & Brabham Do the Watkins Glen Trans Am Double; Aim to continue CD Racing’s Domination at Historic New York State Circuit

July 17, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (July 16, 2026) – Hot off wins last month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Road America, CD Racing’s Matthew Brabham’s goal this weekend at Watkins Glen in his #16 GYM SODA Ford Mustang is to expand his lead in the 2026 Trans Am by Pirelli season championship. CD Racing team owner and leader Chris Dyson, who has dominated the Trans Am races this decade at the historic New York circuit, is racing in select events this season. Dyson is entered in the team’s #20 RACER/GYM SODA Ford Mustang, the same chassis with which he has taken two of the three of his victories in the six most recent Trans Am races at the Glen.

For Dyson it’s a return to a circuit he’s known all his life, and the site of many of his own racing successes.

“I love the Glen and any time I have the opportunity to race at that track I’ll be there,” Dyson said. Watkins Glen will mark the three-time Trans Am champion’s third and fourth races of the season. On-track misfortunes earlier this year dropped him to fourth-place finishes at Lime Rock and Indy. “I’ve got the rust off now, and I’m feeling good about the weekend.”

Dyson noted that double-header weekends represent a challenge for drivers and for teams. “Modern Trans Am cars are designed for 100-mile sprints, followed by several days of maintenance in the shop. That critical work has to get done overnight between the Saturday and Sunday races. So it’s important for the driver to take particularly good care of the car, not using up more of it than necessary to win. And while it’s always important not to wreck the car, it’s super-important not to have a big crash on Saturday and then not to make the start on Sunday!”

Dyson & Brabham Family Histories at Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen figures prominently in both the Dyson and Brabham families’ motorsport history.

Dyson Racing traces its origin back precisely to Watkins Glen in 1974, where Rob drove a Datsun 510 sedan in his first SCCA race, which was also his and the team’s first win. In 1987, at the height of IMSA’s GTP era, Price Cobb and Vern Schuppan drove a Dyson Racing Porsche 962 to victory in the prestigious Camel Continental. In addition to his recent domination of the Trans Am at the Glen, in 2002 Chris Dyson won the Glen’s Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series 6-Hour race, one of five race wins that season on his way to the series rookie-of-the-year award.

Finally, Rob Dyson gave a candid and fascinating 30-minute talk on Watkins Glen at a recent International Motorsports Research Center symposium: A driver’s reflections on Watkins Glen at 75

While this weekend will mark Matthew Brabham’s Trans Am debut at Watkins Glen, the third-generation racer in 2017 won the Glen round of the SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks Series, an off-road event with jumps and crash landings – nothing like racing on the traditional road circuit. (Brabham was the series champion 2018-2020.)

Matthew’s dad, Geoff Brabham enjoyed success at Watkins Glen, winning twice there during his 1979 Formula Super Vee championship season. He also twice won the Six Hours of The Glen (1988 and 1989) driving for Nissan. And from 1961 until his retirement following the 1970 season, Matthew’s grandfather, three-time F1 World Champion Jack Brabham raced in the series’ U.S. round at Watkins Glen. No race victories, but in 1966, the year of his third title, Jack did win the pole in his own car, a Brabham-Repco.Click here for more on Chris Dyson Racing.

Watkins Glen Schedule

Qualifying takes place Friday, July 17, 2:40 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. ET

The first 100-mile race takes the green flag Saturday, July 18, at 10:30 a.m.

The second 100-mile race starts Sunday, July 19, at 2:05 p.m. ET

Broadcast Schedule

All Trans Am races are live-streamed on the Trans Am YouTube channel.

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