VANDERGRIFF HAS SIMPLE PLAN FOR LAS VEGAS

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

VANDERGRIFF HAS SIMPLE PLAN FOR LAS VEGAS

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Oct. 28, 2026) – Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team fully comprehend the championship scenario they face heading into the Oct. 30 – Nov. 1 NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and it is a simple one: win and let the cards fall where they may.

The Southern California native is second in the point standings with two races remaining in the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, 98 points back of Matt Hagan. With eight elimination rounds still on the table and points-and-a-half awarded at the season finale, Vandergriff knows his focus is to win all eight and understand what his competitors do is out of his team’s control.

Vandergriff has never raced at The Strip at Las Vegas, like many of the racetracks on the schedule in his Funny Car rookie season, but it is an important facility in his drag racing career. It was there that he made his first test runs in Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Fuel and Funny Car so leaving Sunday night with the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals winner’s trophy would be another important milestone in his history there.

The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings after 18 of 20 races are: 1. Matt Hagan, 2,503; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, 2,405; 3. J.R. Todd, 2,384; 4. Austin Prock, 2, 348; 5. Jack Beckman, 2,443; 6. Ron Capps, 2,315; 7. Alexis DeJoria, 2,276; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, 2,207; 9. Chad Green, 2,155; 10. Spencer Hyde, 2,149.

Quotes

What’s the plan for these final two races?

“The simple plan is to win. If we win, the points will take care of itself. We find ourselves in second place. If we do our job and win, we will hopefully be holding that big trophy at the end of the year and make it three in a row for Cornwell Quality Tools.”

How much attention do you pay to the guys that are running 3rd through fifth?

“If you asked me that question before Dallas, I would have said at least a little bit because we were all a little crunched up. Now that we have two races left, I find myself still in second place with one man to chase, Matt Hagan. I really could care less who’s in third, fourth and fifth. It’s really just us versus Hagan. That’s the way I’m approaching it. So, yeah, I’m not paying attention to anybody behind us, just the one man in front of us.”

What’s your driving past at Las Vegas?

“I’ve never raced at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but I’ve tested there a bunch so I’m familiar with the racetrack. I think it’s one of the nicest tracks we have on the schedule. I’ve been to so many ‘new’ tracks this year that I’m comfortable wherever we are. I made my first ever runs in a Top Alcohol Dragster there in 2017 and a Top Fuel Dragster in 2018. And then my first runs in a nitro Funny Car were there in 2024 in John Force’s car. So, every time I’ve made a first run in any class it’s been at Las Vegas. Hopefully, all that practice will turn into a win on Sunday.”

Do you participate in games of chance or are there any special places you like to go while you’re there?

“I do not gamble at all. I tend to think that it’s my money so I can only lose it, right? If I don’t play, I still win. The racetrack is where I like to go to the most. When I think of Las Vegas, I think of the strip and that’s The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.”

Weekend Appearances

Vandergriff will be signing autographs Sat., Oct.31, from 9:30 – 10 a.m. at the Cornwell Tools midway display and from 11 – 11:30 a.m. at the John Force Racing merchandise trailer on the midway.

Track Schedule

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 1 and 3:30 p.m. PT on Friday, Oct. 30, followed by the final two rounds on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 12 and 2:30 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. PT on Sunday, Nov. 1.

TV Schedule

Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1, followed by eliminations at 5 p.m. ET.

2026 Results

Event	Qualify	Round by Round	Round Record	Points Position
Gainesville	8	Beat Jack Beckman, John Smith; lost to Chad Green	2-1	4
Phoenix	5	Beat Alexis DeJoria, lost to Matt Hagan	3-2	7
Pomona1	3	Beat Daniel Wilkerson, Chad Green; lost to Ron Capps	5-3	5
Charlotte	2	Won 1st quad; lost in 2^nd quad	6-4	5
Valdosta	3	Beat Jeff Arend, Spencer Hyde, Hunter Green, Ron Capps	10-4	4
Chicago	10	Lost to Chad Green	10-5	5
Maryland	4	Beat Dave Richards, Chad Green; lost to Jack Beckman	12-6	5
Epping	1	Beat Jeff Arend, Chad Green, J.R. Todd; lost to Jack Beckman	15-7	4
Bristol	13	Beat Alexis DeJoria; lost to Ron Capps	16-8	4
Norwalk	11	Lost to J.R. Todd	16-9	5
Sonoma	1	Beat Jason Rupert, Matt Hagan, Austin Prock, Daniel Wilkerson	20-9	2
Seattle	9	Beat Spencer Hyde; lost to J.R. Todd	21-10	4
Brainerd	1	Bye, beat Alexis DeJoria, J.R. Todd; lost to Matt Hagan	24-11

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BECKMAN LOOKS FOR 40th WHERE HE EARNED FIRST

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Oct. 28, 2026) – It will be 20 years ago this Thursday, on Oct. 29, 2006, that Jack Beckman defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to earn his first NHRA Funny Car final round win in his first final round appearance.

The win total has grown to 39 over the past 20 years and it has created the opportunity for Beckman and his John Force Racing PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team to reach the 40-win milestone at the Oct. 30 – Nov. 1 NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.

The PEAK SQUAD is currently fifth in the point standings on the strength of two wins (Epping, Indianapolis) and three runner-up finishes (Charlotte, Maryland, Norwalk), 160 points out of the top spot but only 62 out of second place.

Quotes

What are your memories of your first career NHRA Funny Car win in Las Vegas in 2006?

“Las Vegas used to give us two shots a year and I won a lot of Sportsman races there over the years. But when I won my pro race there, I thought, ‘Okay, I’ve got something going with this track.’ It has been mighty greedy over the last 19 years. What I remember most about that 2006 win is that I raced with the same philosophy that I do now. In the semifinal, I rolled as shallow as I could, got the win, and then I watched Tommy Johnson beat Eric Medlen in the other semifinal. We had lane choice in the final round and it made a difference in the outcome. So, it’s, validating to know that 20 years later, I’m still using the same philosophy. It was nighttime when we ran the final round and we had an all carbon fiber body with sponsor decals but no paint on it. I just looked menacing and it ran that way. I was so fortunate when I came into the Funny Car class. I’ve always driven for top flight crews, crew chiefs, and car owners and man, did that feel good.”

What are the PEAK SQUAD’S goals over these next two races?

“Barring a miracle, we’re not going to win the championship. But the wonderful thing about drag racing is our season’s not over. We still have 10% of it left. We have two races and just as much incentive to win those races, as if we were contending for the championship. We can certainly still finish second in the championship. Our goal is the same. We’re still going to treat qualifying like all the bonus points matter because even if it doesn’t get us first place, maybe it’s a bonus point that gets to second place. We’ll treat everything the exact same way. People may say the pressure off but its’ not because it’s the same level of pressure to win every single race.”

Do you participate in the casino life when you’re in Las Vegas?

“I work too hard for my money to risk it on a bet. Years ago, what little gambling I may have done consisted of $40 of quarters to play video poker for a few hours. That was the price of entertainment for me.”

Are there any places that you and Christine like to like to visit while you’re out there?

“Christine and I are pretty low maintenance people. I would love if I had more time, if I wasn’t working the elevator gig, to be able to go out a day or two early, take her to a show or something like that. The reality is we’re going to drive out there Thursday, probably about lunchtime. We’ll get there late afternoon or early evening and that’s about it. We may get a bite and I might be able to talk her into going to see a movie. I haven’t had my popcorn for a while.”

What is Jack Beckman’s Las Vegas drag racing career before The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway?

“My history with Vegas goes back before this drag strip. Less than a mile down the road from Las Vegas Motor Speedway was the Las Vegas Speedrome when I was a sportsman racer. I ran a lot of Sportsmen and NHRA Divisional races there. Going to Las Vegas has never been about it being the gambling capital. I was out there racing for 10 years with my friends before I ever did any of the ‘Vegas’ stuff. I just love the atmosphere of going out into the desert, unloading your race car and prepping it to go fast.”

Weekend Appearances

Beckman will be signing autographs Sat., Oct. 31, from 9:30 – 10 a.m. at the Cornwell Tools midway display.

Track Schedule

TV Schedule

Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1, followed by eliminations at 5 p.m. ET.

Race Results

Las Vegas	Race Result	Round by Round Results	Qualified	Event Record
2005 (TF)	1^st round	Lost to Doug Herbert	11^th	0-1
2006 (FC)	Winner	Beat Gary Densham, Del Worsham, Tony Bartone, Tommy Johnson Jr.	4^th	4-1
2007 (FC)	1^st round	Lost to Del Worsham	5^th	4-2
2008 (FC)	1^st round	Lost to Cruz Pedregon	11^th	4-3
2009 (FC)	Runner-up	Beat Mike Neff, Matt Hagan, Del Worsham; lost to Robert Hight	8^th	7-4
2010 (FC)	2^nd round	Beat Bob Bode; lost to Ashley Force Hood	9^th	8-5
2011 (FC)	2^nd round	Beat John Force; lost to Ron Capps	8^th	9-6
2012 (FC)	Runner-up	Beat John Force, Mike Neff, Courtney Force; lost to Ron Capps	7^th	12-7
2013 (FC)	Semi-finals	Beat Bob Tasca, Jeff Arend; lost to Courtney Force	3^rd	14-8
2014 (FC)	1^st round	Lost to Robert Hight	6^th	14-9
2015 (FC)	2^nd round	Beat Tony Pedregon; lost to Ron Capps	4^th	15-10
2016 (FC)	2^nd round	Beat Jeff Arend; lost to Courtney Force	1^st	16-11
2017 (FC)	Semi-finals	Beat Jim Campbell, Tommy Johnson Jr.; lost to Matt Hagan	1^st	18-12
2018 (FC)	Semi-finals	Beat Jim Campbell, Courtney Force; lost to J.R. Todd	3^rd	20-13
2019 (FC)	Semi-finals	Beat Terry Haddock, Robert Hight; lost to Jonnie Lindberg	1^st	22-14
2020 (FC)	1^st round	Lost to Paul Lee	10^th	22-15
2021	Did Not Compete	N/A	N/A	N/A
2022	Did Not Compete	N/A	N/A	N/A
2023	Did Not Compete	N/A	N/A	N/A
2024 (FC)	Semi-finals	Beat Jeff Diehl, Ron Capps; lost to Paul Lee	2^nd	24-16
2025 (FC)	2^nd round	Beat Dave Richards; lost to Daniel Wilkerson	2^nd	25-17

Wins: 1 (2006)

No. 1 Qualifiers: 3 (2016, 2017 & 2019)

Event Record: 25-17

2026 Results

Event	Qualify	Round by Round	Round Record	Points Position
Gainesville	9	Lost to Jordan Vandergriff	0-1	11
Phoenix	2	Lost to Daniel Wilkerson	0-2	10
Pomona1	8	Beat Jim Campbell; lost to J.R. Todd	1-3	10
Charlotte	6	Advanced Rounds 1 & 2; runner-up to Ron Capps	3-4	8
Valdosta	11	Lost to Matt Hagan	3-5	8
Chicago	1	Beat Chris King; lost to Matt Hagan	4-6	8
Maryland	1	Beat Joe Morrison, J.R. Todd, Jordan Vandergriff; lost to Austin Prock	7-7	7
Epping	2	Beat Phil Burkart Jr., Matt Hagan, Ron Capps, Jordán Vandergriff	11-7	5
Bristol	3	Beat Jeff Arend; lost to Daniel Wilkerson	12-8	5
Norwalk	4	Beat Spencer Hyde, Daniel Wilkerson, Austin Prock; lost to Ron Capps	15-9	4
Sonoma	2	Beat Jeff Arend, Cruz Pedregon; lost to Daniel Wilkerson	17-10	3
Seattle	2	Beat Tim Gibbons, Cruz Pedregon; lost to Austin Prock	19-11	2
Brainerd	6	Lost (DQ) to Chad Green	19-12	5
Indianapolis	3	Beat Jeff Arend, Alexis DeJoria, Austin Prock, Matt Hagan	23-12	3
Martin	2	Beat Jeff Diehl, Ron Capps; lost to Matt Hagan	25-13	3
Rockingham	4	Lost to Daniel Wilkerson	25-14	5
St. Louis	1	Beat Dale Creasy Jr., Daniel Wilkerson; lost to Austin Prock	27-15	4
Ennis	1	Beat Terry Haddock; lost to Ron Capps	28-16	5

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DEJORIA HOLDS STRONG HAND AT LAS VEGAS

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Oct. 28, 2026) – Two of Alexis DeJoria’s six NHRA Funny Car event wins have come at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway so she and her Bandero Chevrolet SS Funny Car team are looking forward to the Oct. 30 – Nov. 1 NHRA Las Vegas Nationals to achieve their season goal of an event win in their first season as part of John Force Racing.

DeJoria’s Las Vegas wins were achieved in the spring races in 2014 and 2016. This year she’s looking to capitalize on the strength of qualifying in the top half of the ladder for the past 12 races and 14 of 18 overall.

With two races remaining, DeJoria’s total of 19 rounds wins is just one shy of her career third-best season total, one more win equals her 2015 total, and her current seventh place in the point standings ties her season-best finish (2014, 2022).

John Force Racing’s Bandero Funny Car team will unveil a special paint scheme on the starting line Friday during Q1.

Quotes

What’s the plan with two races left in the 2026 season?

“In the first year with a new team, the goal is to finish well. We still have two chances left to get wins despite our championship hopes being done for this season. That said, we can still do well enough in the points to be one of my best championship points finishes, possibly my best ever. I’ve had a good first year with John Force Racing. I’ve learned and grown a lot individually as has the Bandero team overall. I’m very proud of this entire group and grateful for the rare opportunity to join the John Force family of drivers.”

What are the team’s goals over the final two races?

“Our goals these last two races will be to get a win, maybe even two. We’ve put in the work and had great qualifying results so we just need a couple breaks to go our way on Sunday.”

Do you participate in any games of chance while in Las Vegas?

“Las Vegas is one of my favorite tracks. I always love seeing the fighter jets flying above from Nellis Air Force Base. I’ll play a bit of blackjack and hit the slot machines and maybe even a little roulette.”

Weekend Appearances

DeJoria will be signing autographs Sat., Oct. 31, from 9:30 – 10 a.m. at the Cornwell Tools midway display.

Track Schedule

TV Schedule

Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1, followed by eliminations at 5 p.m. ET.

Race Results

Las Vegas	Race Result	Round by Round Results	Qualified	Event Record
2011 (FC)	1^st round	Lost to Bob Tasca	11^th	0-1
2012 (FC)	DNQ	N/A	17th	0-1
2013 (FC)	Semi-finals	Beat Matt Hagan, Ron Capps; lost to John Force	12^th	2-2
2014 (FC)	1^st round	Lost to Tommy Johnson Jr.	9^th	2-3
2015 (FC)	2^nd round	Beat John Force; lost to Tommy Johnson Jr.	9^th	3-4
2016 (FC)	1^st round	Lost to Courtney Force	9^th	3-5
2017 (FC)	2^nd round	Beat Cruz Pedregon; lost to Courtney Force	10^th	4-6
2018	Did Not Compete	N/A	N/A	N/A
2019	Did Not Compete	N/A	N/A	N/A
2020 (FC)	Semi-finals	Beat Terry Haddock, Blake Alexander; lost to Matt Hagan	3^rd	6-7
2021 (FC)	2^nd round	Beat Jeff Diehl; lost to Ron Capps	1^st	7-8
2022 (FC)	2^nd round	Beat Paul Lee; lost to Robert Hight	8^th	8-9
2023 (FC)	2^nd round	Beat Tim Wilkerson; lost to Robert Hight	8^th	9-10
2024 (FC)	1^st round	Lost to Ron Capps	10^th	9-11
2025 (FC)	1^st round	Lost to J.R. Todd	9^th	9-12

Wins: 0

No. 1 Qualifiers: 1 (2021)

Event Record: 9-12

2026 Results

Event	Qualify	Round by Round	Round Record	Points Position
Gainesville	11	Beat Cruz Pedregon, Spencer Hyde, J.R. Todd; lost to Chad Green	3-1	2
Phoenix	12	Lost Jordan Vandergriff	3-2	6
Pomona1	7	Beat Dave Richards; lost to Ron Capps	4-3	7
Charlotte	5	Won 1^st Quad; lost 2^nd quad	5-4	6
Valdosta	10	Beat Cruz Pedregon, Matt Hagan; lost to J.R. Todd	7-5	6
Chicago	12	Beat Spencer Hyde, Dave Richards, Matt Hagan; lost to Chad Green	10-6	6
Maryland	7	Lost to Ron Capps	10-7	6
Epping	3	Beat Cruz Pedregon; lost to Ron Capps	11-8	7
Bristol	2	Lost to Jordan Vandergriff	11-9	7
Norwalk	2	Beat Blake Alexander, Chad Green; lost to Ron Capps	13-10	7
Sonoma	7	Lost to Cruz Pedregon	13-11	7
Seattle	3	Lost to Dave Richards	13-12	8
Brainerd	8	Beat Dave Richards; lost to Jordan Vandergriff	14-13	8
Indianapolis	6	Beat Chad Green; lost to Jack Beckman	15-14	7
Martin	6	Beat Hunter Green; lost to Matt Hagan	16-15	7
Rockingham	2	Beat John Smith; lost to Paul Lee	17-16	7
St. Louis	2	Beat Bobby Bode; lost to Jordan Vandergriff	18-17	7
Ennis	4	Beat Dave Richards; lost to J.R. Todd	19-18	7

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SPEEDMASTER TEAM BETS ON ITSELF AT THE STRIP

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Oct. 28, 2026) – Josh Hart and the SPEEDMASTER Top Fuel team will be the first to admit their season hasn’t met their expectations but they know that strong runs over the final two races, beginning with the Oct. 30 – Nov. 1 NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, can still make big gains by season’s end.

Currently 10^th in the point standings, Hart is just one point out of ninth place, 30 out of eighth, 63 out of seventh, 64 out of sixth and 84 out of fifth.

The team’s goal is to be quick, fast and consistent each and every time down the track. There’s no need to try to knock it out of the park every time they pull up to the starting line. It’s consistency that will allow them to build on their successes and pull back into the winner’s circle like they started their season doing at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway.

The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings after 18 of 20 races are: 1. Shawn Langdon, 2,546; 2. Doug Kalitta, 2,407; 3. Antron Brown, 2,322; 4. Tony Stewart, 2,294; 5. Leah Pruett, 2,281; 6. Will Smith, 2,261; 7. Maddi Gordon, 2,260; 8. Justin Ashley, 2,227; 9. Billy Torrence, 2,198; 10. Josh Hart, 2,197.

Quotes

Do you participate in games of chance or are there any special places you like to go while you’re there?

“My first time in Las Vegas is kind of a funny story. I went down to the casino where we were staying and put $100 in a slot machine. I lost it all in less than five minutes and decided I work way too damn hard to spend my money paying the Las Vegas light bill so I will never do this again. That was my one shot. Now, that could’ve gone in the opposite way had I won but I definitely did not. As for places I like to go to while I’m in town, I specifically like MRKT. It’s a fantastic little steak joint inside of the Aliante Casino Hotel. It’s definitely in my top five for a ribeye.”

What are the team’s goals in in these final two races?

“We’re working really, really hard to develop some consistency and reliability in our program. We tried a lot of things at the last race. Some worked and some didn’t. But we all realize that when the chips are down, we need to be consistent and not swing for the fences every time. I believe we’re all aligned on that, and I hope we’ll see that in the results at Las Vegas. We all realize that talk is cheap so now we need to prove it.

Is there anything you would like to share, specifically or in general, about the meeting you had with crew chiefs Dave Grubnic and John Collins on Sunday afternoon at the Texas Motorplex?

“We all feel the same tension. We all feel the same pressure and we all know that we need to be consistently good and deliver over these final two races of the season.”

Weekend Appearances

Hart will be signing autographs Sat., Oct. 31, from 9:30 – 10 a.m. at the Cornwell Tools midway display and from 11 – 11:30 a.m. at the John Force Racing merchandise trailer on the midway.

Track Schedule

TV Schedule

Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1, followed by eliminations at 5 p.m. ET.

Race Results

Las Vegas	Race Result	Round by Round Results	Qualified	Event Record
2021 (TF)	1^st round	Lost to Tripp Tatum	7^th	0-1
2022 (TF)	1^st round	Lost to Steve Torrence	10^th	0-2
2023 (TF)	Semi-finals	Beat Leah Pruett, Doug Kalitta; lost to Mike Salinas	12^th	2-3
2024 (TF)	1^st round	Lost to Brittany Force	16^th	2-4
2025 (TF)	1^st round	Lost to Justin Ashley	9^th	2-5

Wins: 0

No. 1 Qualifiers: 0

Event Record: 2-5

2026 Results

Event	Qualify	Round by Round	Round Record	Points Position
Gainesville	1	Beat Dan Mercier, Tripp Tatum, Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta	4-0	1
Phoenix	10	Beat Justin Ashley; lost to Leah Pruett	5-1	2
Pomona1	2	Beat Cameron Ferre; lost to Tony Stewart	6-2	4
Charlotte	4	Lost in 1st quad	6-3	5
Valdosta	9	Lost to Leah Pruett	6-4	5
Chicago	4	Beat Justin Ashley, Tony Stewart; lost to Shawn Langdon	8-5	5
Maryland	7	Lost to Clay Millican	8-6	5
Epping	3	Beat Rit Pustari; lost to Billy Torrence	9-7	4
Bristol	6	Lost to Doug Kalitta	9-8	6
Norwalk	2	Beat Scott Farley; lost to Clay Millican	10-9	7
Sonoma	8	Lost to Jasmine Salinas	10-10	7
Seattle	1	Bye, beat Tony Stewart; lost to Leah Pruett	12-11	7
Brainerd	10	Lost to Tony Stewart	12-12	7
Indianapolis	12	Lost to Leah Pruett	12-13	7
Martin	2	Beat Shawn Reed; Lost to Spencer Massey	13-14	6
Rockingham	5	Lost to Will Smith	13-15	7
St. Louis	6	Lost to Tony Stewart	13-16	9
Ennis	8	Lost to Will Smith	13-17	10

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STAYING ON TOP: Gravel, Big Game’s Consistency Leading Toward Third Straight Title

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

CONCORD, NC (October 30, 2026) – They say heavy lies the crown.

Sprint Car racing is no exception.

David Gravel is atop the sport. He and Big Game Motorsports climbed to the mountain peak in 2024 with their first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series title, backed it up in 2025, and are set for a three-peat. All they have to do is avoid disaster at The Dirt Track at Charlotte’s Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals (Nov. 4-7), and they’ll hoist the trophy once again.

But the route doesn’t get any easier. The target only grows on Gravel’s back. When you’re at the top, every competitor wants to be the one to take you down. And once you climb atop the throne, that’s where you want to stay. Anything less is unacceptable.

“You win the first one, and you finally accomplished that and can check it off,” Gravel said. “But then you’re used to being on top and you want to stay on top. Everybody is out to get you, out to beat you, out to do better than you, always trying to gain an advantage on you. It’s definitely harder, in my opinion, to stay on top, than it is to win that first one because you’re just kind of in uncharted territory. You’re just pushing as hard as you can, and you’re trying to find the limits and boundaries and sometimes it happens. For us, the pressure to win one isn’t there, but there’s immense pressure to stay where we’re at. If we’re not the champions, the season is a failure.”

This season is certainly no failure for Gravel and the Tod Quiring-owned operation. They’re a cozy 124 points ahead in the championship fight with only World Finals remaining. Statistics slipped a touch for the No. 2 team this year compared to last, but they’re still set to achieve the ultimate goal, still set to stay on top. Gravel, Cody Jacobs (crew chief), Luke Vaughn (car chief), and Zach Patterson (tire specialist) are poised to celebrate a title in the “Queen City.”

“I feel like 2026 has been a pretty good year for us,” Gravel said. “There’s always room for improvement, but our qualifying was pretty flawless all year long and it’s not easy to do. Super proud of that. There’re a couple nights I’d like to take back of me crashing but overall, very, very solid. I feel like we were a top five car every night. Last year I believe we won 17 races, so you typically don’t want to go down in that department, but we won the highest paying race of the year. If you could take that every year, that would be awesome. Every year is always a little bit different. Maybe you’re a little better here but a little worse there. It’s just how it goes sometimes.”

The current crop with The Greatest Show on Dirt isn’t making things easy on Gravel. Buddy Kofoid continues to rise with Roth Motorsports to the tune of a Series best 17 wins already this season. Sheldon Haudenschild’s first tour with KCP Racing proved to be his best yet as he and Gravel are currently tied in the “W” column. Carson Macedo and Jason Johnson Racing remain a force. Logan Schuchart and Shark Racing aren’t slowing. Donny Schatz rebounded with CJB Motorsports. Garet Williamson surged in his sophomore season with Fischer Motorsports. The list of top talent on tour goes on and on. They’re ready to pounce should Gravel stumble.

“I would say our top 10 or 12 guys are all pretty strong,” Gravel said. “The top four with Carson, Buddy, Sheldon, and me, I feel like we bring it every night. We’re all battling for a top five every single night. I think we have pretty good depth right now with the World of Outlaws. There’re no gimmes.”

Even with the challenges of maintaining excellence and fending off a hungry collection of wheelmen, Gravel is ready to join an elite and exclusive group. Only Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, and Brad Sweet have ever won three consecutive World of Outlaws championships. Not only will Gravel join them should he hang on, he’ll also equal Sammy Swindell for the fourth most titles overall with his third.

Gravel is cementing his place in history and continues to put together one of the sport’s best runs ever with Big Game Motorsports. But no milestone is enough. Gravel didn’t get to this level by being satisfied. He’s comfortable atop the throne with no plans of relinquishing the seat.

“It would be really awesome to get into an elite category with only three other people,” Gravel said. “Donny had dominant runs and so did Steve, but there’re always people in there breaking up the run sometimes. So, to do it three times would definitely be special. It always makes you hungry for more. They’re definitely all earned, and it doesn’t get any less stressful. It doesn’t get any easier. You’ve got to be on it every night, and you definitely carry the weight of being the champion.”

Gravel and Big Game Motorsports will look to lock up their third consecutive championship next week (Nov. 4-7) at The Dirt Track at Charlotte’s Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/staying-on-top-gravel-big-games-consistency-leading-toward-third-straight-title/

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Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA set for WEC season finale in Monza

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

What they’re saying:Jeromy Moore, Chief Engineer Cadillac Racing: “Monza has higher speed corners and long straights, which should suit our car better than the tighter nature of Barcelona. The Monza circuit was resurfaced in 2024, and gravel traps added at certain sections, so it will be new for all teams. We expect low degradation and potentially more overtaking. The weather may be a challenge considering we will be there in November where it can, historically, be quite cold and damp. We are currently sitting fourth in the Manufacturer’s Championship, just 12 points off third place, so our focus will be on an another strong set of results and securing P3 in the Championship.” No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.RJack Aitken: “Seven races down and one to go. I’m looking forward to going to Monza. The track should suit the car there more than it did in Barcelona. We will be targeting another podium to finish the season with a great result.” Earl Bamber: “It’s the final race of the season and the track should suit the characteristics of our car. We were very strong at Le Mans and there are a number of similarities with this track, such as the high speed straights, so we should have a good run in Monza too. We’ll be looking for a strong final race and hopefully a win. It would be great to sign off our last race with Seb on a high.” Sebastien Bourdais: “We head to the temple of speed in Italy, a legendary race track which is always really cool to race at. It is quite different to Imola and Barcelona which are quite challenging for multi-class racing. The weather could be interesting; there’s often a lot of fog there at that time of the year so let’s see what we get! We’re all going to be pushing to end the season with some good results.” No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R:Alex Lynn: “We want to finish the season strong so will be pushing hard for that win, and what better place to do that than at the spiritual home of racing, the legendary Monza. I love that track and am really excited to compete there with the whole team.” Norman Nato: “It’s the last race of the season already! The last two races have been good, scoring points with both cars. We want to keep this momentum and give it our all in Monza to finish the season on a high and take third place in the Manufacturers’ Championship. We might face tricky conditions again in Monza, so it’s all to play for. It’s a track I really enjoy to drive and I’m sure there will be a lot of fans attending, so it’s got all the ingredients to be a great last race!” Will Stevens: “It doesn’t feel that long ago we was starting the season and here we are now at the final race of the year. Monza is another track that we have not been to for a few years in WEC, but it’s a track that is always fun to drive and I think will suit our Cadillac V Series R. The racing is always exciting around Monza and most likely we will have very mixed conditions again. We have our sights fully set on finishing this season on a high, especially as it will be our last race with Alex with us and I really hope we can sign off with a great result.”

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HRC Honda Racing Reveals Revolutionary 1300+ Horsepower Hybrid-Powered Passport Trophy Truck — Targeting Overall Baja 1000 Victory

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

October 29, 2026

— SANTA CLARITA, Calif.

Honda Passport Baja Spec Trophy Truck will make history as first hybrid Trophy Truck to compete in SCORE World Desert Championship
Innovative powertrain with 2.4-liter twin turbo V6 and 800-volt hybrid system is more powerful than the massive 9-liter V8s in today’s top Trophy Trucks
Honda Passport Baja Spec will be driven by two-time Baja 1000 winner Bryce Menzies, in partnership with Menzies Motorsports
Built and developed by HRC US in Southern California with Mason Motorsports, Honda Passport Baja Spec will introduce advanced technologies to Baja off-road desert racing, developed through Honda’s participation in global motorsport including Formula 1, IndyCar and IMSA
Honda has amassed 22 overall victories in the Baja 1000 – the most of any manufacturer. Honda also has another 17 class victories in Baja competition.

Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US) today unveiled the Honda Passport Baja Spec, a groundbreaking new Trophy Truck that will make history as the first hybrid-powered vehicle to compete in the SCORE World Desert Championship’s top Trophy Truck class. Producing 1,300+ horsepower from a 2.4-liter twin-turbo V6 and advanced 800-volt hybrid-electric architecture, the Honda Passport Baja Spec brings technology developed through Honda’s participation in global motorsport, including Formula 1, IndyCar and IMSA, to the punishing world of Baja desert racing.

Built and developed by HRC US in Southern California with Mason Motorsports using advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) aerodynamic design and cutting-edge vehicle software, the Honda Passport Baja Spec will race with two-time Baja 1000 winner Bryce Menzies behind the wheel, in partnership with Menzies Motorsports. HRC is targeting an overall victory in the Baja 1000. The legendary race celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2027.

Highlighting the commitment of Honda to off-road innovation and performance, the race truck will make its first public appearance at the 2026 SEMA Show in Las Vegas on Nov. 3-6, where it will be displayed in the HRC booth (Booth #24789) alongside 10 HRC concept cars and race-bred machines, including a new Honda Passport TrailSport Baja Chase truck.

The Honda Passport Baja Spec represents HRC’s determination to push the boundaries of Baja desert racing, the ultimate test of off-road performance and durability,” said Kelvin Fu, president of Honda Racing Corporation USA. We incorporated knowledge and technology from across global Honda racing programs to create the Honda Passport Baja Spec, a bold new approach to desert racing, and HRC is excited to show the world what it can do.”

The Racing Spirit is part of Honda DNA. Company founder Soichiro Honda, a former racer himself, saw competition as a means to improve his company, its people and its products since its founding almost 80 years ago.

Honda has a long history with Baja that predates the first official off-road race on the peninsula. In 1962, LA-based Honda dealers and desert-racing pioneers Dave Ekins and Bill Robertson Jr. rode two Honda CL72 motorcycles from Tijuana to La Paz in just 39 hours and 56 minutes. Their historic ride established a benchmark that inspired thousands of desert racers on two-wheels and four, and ultimately helped lead to the creation of the official Baja 1000 race in 1967.

Since then, Honda has become the winningest motorcycle manufacturer in Baja history, amassing 22 overall victories and numerous class wins. On four wheels, the Honda off-road racing program has earned 17 class victories since 2015, including four Baja 1000 wins and five Baja 500 triumphs.
The Honda Passport Baja Spec race truck represents the next evolution of that legacy.

Bringing Advanced Hybrid Technology to the Desert
At the heart of the Honda Passport Baja Spec is a sophisticated hybrid powertrain combining a race-bred and winning 2.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine with a bespoke 800-volt hybrid-electric system, both built and developed in-house by HRC US in Southern California.

Fitted behind the cab, the all-aluminum 2.4-liter twin-turbo V6 is based on the unit in the Acura ARX-06 GTP prototype race car and has proven its durability by winning some of endurance racing’s most demanding events, including victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Together, the internal-combustion engine and high-voltage hybrid system generate more than 1,300 horsepower, surpassing the output of the massive naturally aspirated 9-liter V8 engines that power today’s premier Trophy Trucks.

A Masomatic twin-angled drive 5-speed transmission developed by Mason Motorsports is mounted ahead of the engine. To increase strength and ground clearance and allow camber and toe adjustments, the unique AWD transaxle distributes torque through dual rear driveshafts to angled high pinion spiral bevel gears at each wheel, which replace a conventional ring and pinion gear.

Torque is transferred to the front wheels by a Mason Motorsports differential through portal gear sets mounted at each front hub, maximizing ground clearance and optimizing drivetrain geometry.

Global Motorsport Technology Meets Baja
The Honda Passport Baja Spec’s hybrid power unit, battery technology and control systems represent a direct transfer of knowledge from Honda global motorsports activities into one of the most grueling racing environments on earth.

A key element of the hybrid architecture is a lightweight battery pack designed, developed and manufactured in-house by HRC US engineers. The battery utilizes previous-generation Formula 1-style pouch cells housed within a lightweight carbon-fiber case.

The battery pack is welded, assembled and validated in a newly constructed clean room at HRC US headquarters in Santa Clarita, California, underscoring HRC’s commitment to in-house development and advanced manufacturing.

The Honda Passport Baja Spec also will be first in the Trophy Truck class with an unprecedented suite of electronics and vehicle-control technologies, including dual-axle brake-by-wire, adaptive traction control and AI power deployment – again, technology developed through Honda’s participation in global motorsport, including Formula 1, IndyCar and IMSA.

The Honda Passport Baja Spec is essentially a software-defined vehicle,” said Fu. Using proprietary HRC software, the truck integrates powertrain, chassis and energy management systems into a single software-defined platform that can be upgraded continuously during the race and tuned to the driver, course and race conditions.”

Aerodynamically Optimized for the Desert
Unlike traditional Trophy Trucks, HRC US engineers designed the carbon fiber body of the Honda Passport Baja Spec using advanced CFD to optimize airflow across the vehicle to maximize high-speed stability, efficiency and control.

Deep side channels behind the front wheels help manage airflow and reduce drag, while high-mounted exhaust outlets behind the cockpit incorporate integrated aerodynamic fins that direct exhaust flow and enhance aerodynamic performance.

Cab-tunneling reduces aerodynamic drag while directing airflow to a cooler mounted as far rearward and low as possible, optimizing weight distribution and lowering the truck’s center of gravity for enhanced performance across Baja’s challenging terrain.

Purpose-Built Chassis and Driveline
Beneath its aerodynamic Honda Passport body, the mid-engine Honda Passport Baja Spec is based on the state-of-the-art Gen 2 All-Wheel-Drive chassis developed by Mason Motorsports in Lake Elsinore, California. Mason Motorsports has earned five consecutive SCORE Original Truck Chassis Manufacturer of the Year awards and worked closely with HRC US engineers to create a bespoke chassis tailored to the truck’s hybrid architecture. A unique HRC-specific rear frame section was developed to package the twin-turbo V6 engine and bespoke hybrid power unit while maintaining ideal mass distribution.

Mason has designed its innovative Gen 2 All-Wheel-Drive chassis around a perfect balance” philosophy, with a 145-gallon carbon Kevlar safety fuel cell positioned at the center of the cab to maintain consistent weight distribution and predictable handling as fuel is consumed. To further optimize weight distribution, many of the Honda Passport Baja Spec’s fixed-mass components, including fluid tanks and batteries, are mounted toward the rear of the chassis to maintain consistent balance and predictable handling.

Toyo tires and long-travel suspension employing dual FOX Racing shocks at each corner ensures maximum control and traction across the varied terrain of desert racing.

The Honda Passport Baja Spec race truck is scheduled to make its competition debut at the 2027 Baja 500 on June 2-6.

About Bryce Menzies
Bryce Menzies was born a racer on August 21, 1987, in Mesa, Arizona. Growing up riding dirt bikes with his family and friends, he quickly found a passion for racing and the outdoors. Bryce has been in the spotlight since the day he started racing, which has only fueled his desire to win. Over the span of his career, Bryce has dominated every class as he worked his way up the ranks, ultimately leading him to becoming one of, if not the, best off-road racer in the world. His unparalleled success has attracted a remarkable following, both on and off the track, that has resulted in Bryce securing the top sponsors in the world. Holder of the World Record for longest jump in a Truck at 379.4 feet (115.64 meters), the sky is truly the limit for Bryce as he continues to write his legacy.

About Honda Racing Corporation USA
Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US) leads all Honda and Acura racing programs in North America and has a rich heritage creating, manufacturing and supporting Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports customers. From pinnacle racing in INDYCAR and IMSA sports cars to grassroots racing programs, HRC US has amassed over 500 race wins and 60 series championships.

HRC US specializes in the in-house design and development of powertrain, chassis, electronics, racing products and performance parts, as well as technical and race support. The company offers HRC parts and race support services to Honda and Acura racers in North America. In 2024, HRC US expanded its operations to pursue consumer performance parts, merchandise and historic memorabilia sales.

https://hondaracing-us.honda.com

Important Notice
Although the information included in this press release is accurate as of the date of publication, this information is subject to change at any time without notice. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. assumes no responsibility for updating this information.

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Dalton Jacobs, Billy Dunn Kick Off 11th World Short Track With Thursday Victories

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

CONCORD, NC (Oct. 29, 2026) – The 11th World Short Track Championship kicked off Thursday night with 469 cars getting timed laps around The Dirt Track at Charlotte, and two lucky divisions taking part in Championship Features.

The 10 participating divisions – COMP Cams Monster Mini Stocks, DIRTVision Hornets, FOX Factory 604 Late Models, Hoosier Racing Tire Crate Modifieds, MSD 602 Late Models, Race City Performance 525 Late Models, RaceQuip Street Stocks, SRI Performance Thunder Bombers, Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, and VP Racing DIRTcar 358 Modifieds – qualified to set up Friday’s Heat Race lineups, and then, by luck of the World Short Track Championship wheel, the 602 Late Models and DIRTcar 358 Modifieds were chosen to compete in Championship Features.

MSD MID-EAST 602 LATE MODEL FEATURE

Dalton Jacobs became the newest winner at The Dirt Track at Charlotte with a statement performance to open the 11th edition of World Short Track Championship.

The Reidsville, NC native opened the three-day weekend with a $600 payday after dominating 15 laps in the MSD Mid-East 602 Late Models, setting the tempo for his sixth career event visit.

Danny Hurley and Jacobs set the front row for the field of 20 Late Models to take the green flag, with Jacobs using momentum on the outside to take the top spot over Hurley as Biscuit Williams followed Jacobs on the high side to secure the runner-up spot.

As the hornet’s nest of Late Models fought for position around the 3/8-mile oval, Jacobs extended the lead with each lap turned. By Lap 5, Jacobs amassed a two-second lead, then grew to 4.6 seconds at the halfway mark.

Behind Jacobs, Jason Dickerson challenged for second, and the Creedmore, NC driver took over as the 23-year-old leader powered to a 6.2-second advantage for his first win at his home state track.

“It’s really important to get them extra 15 laps there to get an advantage on the competition,” Jacobs said. “We got a really good racecar, so we gotta figure out something in the Heat Race, get up front, see if we can win the Heat so we can start up front and be alright.”

RESULTS: Feature (15 Laps): 1. 7J-Dalton Jacobs[2]; 2. J12-Jason Dickerson[8]; 3. 02-Danny Hurley[1]; 4. 17B-Biscuit Williams[3]; 5. 22-Nathan Walker[5]; 6. 1J-Morghan Johnson[16]; 7. 51-Luke Clements[20]; 8. 25T-Dylan Thompson[6]; 9. 25A-Jaedyn Altiers[12]; 10. 22T-Steven Thompkins[17]; 11. 300-Bill Tesh[7]; 12. 03-Olivia Gentry Williams[13]; 13. 777-Zack Staley[11]; 14. 99-Dale Durham[15]; 15. 5-Robbie Gibson[18]; 16. 2-Dylan Warden[19]; 17. 00-Preston Blalock[10]; 18. 00T-Kendal Tucker[4]; 19. 14-Jeff Robinson[9]; 20. 44-John Ruggiero Jr[14]

VP RACING DIRTCAR 358 MODIFIED FEATURE

Making its World Short Track debut, the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series got an early taste of Feature laps, running one of the 15-lap Championship Features.

Showing fans what the popular Northeast division is all about, the field went green to checkered with no interruptions.

Billy Dunn, the 2021 DIRTcar 358 Modified Series champion from Watertown, NY, led the field to the green and reigned supreme for all 15 laps. By Lap 4, he already had a 2.5-second lead over second-place Brian McDonald.

Behind him, Lance Willix was on the move forward from his seventh starting position. However, once he got to fourth, his progress stalled there. Andrew Buff, who set Quick Time in Qualifying, was the hard charger in the race, going from 13th to eighth.

Dunn ended the Feature with a 3.2-second lead to pick up his first win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

“We have a really good car, but clean air here is everything,” Dunn said. “Fortunate for that. We have a little bit of work to do to catch up to the 92, he’s got us by a little bit (in Qualifying). But really happy with where we’re at. In clean air, we’re as good as anybody. Just need to follow it up with another really good run tomorrow.”

RESULTS: Feature (15 Laps): 1. 49-Billy Dunn[1]; 2. 151KB-Brian McDonald[2]; 3. 47-Kreg Crooker[3]; 4. 31-Lance Willix[7]; 5. 58-Jessica Power[4]; 6. 35-Chris Curtis[8]; 7. 711X-Connor Crane[10]; 8. 92-Andrew Buff[13]; 9. 21R-RJ Tresidder[9]; 10. 92S-Dexter Stacey[11]; 11. 18-Kalen Draper[14]; 12. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[6]; 13. 31CJ-CJ Castelletti[12]; 14. 66W-Wallace Stacey[5]

QUALIFYING RESULTS

525 Late Models
Group A | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 28M-Justin Mintz, 16.005[25]; 2. 00-Brandon Dockery, 16.023[17]; 3. 2-Layton Sullivan, 16.043[20]; 4. 05-Tyler Leach, 16.110[8]; 5. 55-Matt Long, 16.145[13]; 6. 57-Adam Yarbrough, 16.219[23]; 7. 09-Michael Leach, 16.260[16]; 8. 22T-Terry Caples Jr, 16.311[1]; 9. 537-Jesse Rockett, 16.338[10]; 10. 23-Michael Rouse, 16.351[5]; 11. 121-Blake Craft, 16.361[22]; 12. 15-Matthew Duggins, 16.377[14]; 13. 42S-Anthony Sanders, 16.397[11]; 14. 26-Dalton Hodge, 16.397[21]; 15. 187-David McCoy, 16.423[15]; 16. 18-Austin Mintz, 16.434[19]; 17. 7-Daniel Breuer, 16.447[4]; 18. 4-Kale Green, 16.458[18]; 19. 2W-Justin Williams, 16.652[7]; 20. 30-Tyler Bare, 16.718[2]; 21. 32-Larry Blankenship, 16.939[6]; 22. B18-Aaron Weed, 17.622[3]; 23. 371-Drew Benfield, 17.622[12]; 24. 4P-Preston Dimsdale, 17.622; 25. 52-Timmy Mills, 17.622; 26. (DQ) 66-Jody Knowles, 16.393[24]; 27. (DQ) 444-Teddy Musgrave, 16.538[9]

Group B | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 114-Jordan Koehler, 15.848[18]; 2. 71-Billy Thompson, 15.919[24]; 3. P4-John Price, 15.974[19]; 4. 6-Dillon Brown, 16.038[17]; 5. 28-Trent Ivey, 16.127[3]; 6. 21B-Jamison McBride, 16.127[8]; 7. 22-Russell Erwin, 16.153[22]; 8. J12-Jason Dickerson, 16.157[4]; 9. 8-Joe Leavell, 16.210[21]; 10. 03-Oliver Gentry, 16.212[23]; 11. 67-Bryan Mullis, 16.232[11]; 12. 07T-Larry Timms, 16.317[2]; 13. 5J-Braden Jones, 16.338[15]; 14. 10-Daniel Parker, 16.348[9]; 15. D5-Justin Hobgood, 16.412[5]; 16. 28S-Scott Shirey, 16.498[1]; 17. 14-Baron McDowell, 16.499[7]; 18. 52-Timmy Mills, 16.545[26]; 19. 228-William Russell III, 16.724[10]; 20. 84-Steve Banal, 16.825[13]; 21. 45-Nathan Dallas, 16.918[14]; 22. 29-Brett Grube, 17.487[6]; 23. 95-Connor Morgan, 17.773[16]; 24. 07-Samuel Brian Ledbetter, 17.773[12]; 25. 4P-Preston Dimsdale, 17.773[25]; 26. (DQ) D8-Dustin Mitchell, 16.878[20]

602 Late Models
Group A | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 44-John Ruggiero Jr, 16.876[25]; 2. 5-Robbie Gibson, 17.011[8]; 3. 51-Luke Clements, 17.036[11]; 4. 22T-Steven Thompkins, 17.198[13]; 5. 25T-Dylan Thompson, 17.226[5]; 6. 00T-Kendal Tucker, 17.236[2]; 7. 7J-Dalton Jacobs, 17.253[20]; 8. 22-Nathan Walker, 17.299[10]; 9. 5W-Jody Wilson, 17.328[1]; 10. 6-Clay Blackwell, 17.373[21]; 11. J12-Jason Dickerson, 17.450[26]; 12. 82-Canaan Clobes, 17.485[9]; 13. 1J-Morghan Johnson, 17.550[15]; 14. 25A-Jaedyn Altiers, 17.613[14]; 15. 20-Isaiah Parker, 17.629[18]; 16. 14L-Blake Lyons, 17.684[24]; 17. 87-Gary Bumgarner, 17.726[19]; 18. 300-Bill Tesh, 17.828[22]; 19. 46-Zack Clark, 17.903[23]; 20. 75-Joey Whitaker, 18.024[6]; 21. 1-Brady Cornett, 18.043[7]; 22. 12S-Ethan Simpson, 18.144[12]; 23. 55-Giovanni Baker, 18.258[3]; 24. 11-Gabe Miles, 18.757[17]; 25. 20S-Trey Stamper, 18.757[4]; 26. (DQ) 28B-Jeff Queen, 17.643[16]

Group B | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 14-Jeff Robinson, 16.847[10]; 2. 03-Olivia Gentry Williams, 16.995[3]; 3. 17B-Biscuit Williams, 17.090[14]; 4. 02-Danny Hurley, 17.093[2]; 5. 00-Preston Blalock, 17.093[19]; 6. 2-Dylan Warden, 17.186[12]; 7. 2C-Wyatt Coffey, 17.189[18]; 8. 14M-Baron McDowell, 17.291[26]; 9. 29-Dale Moore, 17.369[20]; 10. 45J-Joey Baughman, 17.394[8]; 11. 27-Mike Davidson, 17.442[23]; 12. 99T-Shun Oreo Thomas, 17.539[16]; 13. 37C-Colby Curtis, 17.670[22]; 14. 1P-Christian Pitts, 17.676[21]; 15. 17-Case Daniels, 17.833[4]; 16. 12-Randy Pinnix, 17.996[25]; 17. 99-Dale Durham, 18.076[24]; 18. 777-Zack Staley, 18.080[17]; 19. 7G-Harvey Gregory, 18.316[6]; 20. 10-Evan Garvy, 18.418[15]; 21. 37-Tommy Eastridge, 19.250[9]; 22. 01JT-Johnny Stovall, 20.831[1]; 23. 28-Matthew Nance, 20.831[7]; 24. (DQ) 9-John Marshall Pursley, 17.187[11]; 25. (DQ) 611-Koulten Herbert, 17.385[5]; 26. (DQ) 94-Brayden Chavous, 17.721[13]

604 Late Models
Group A | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 44-John Ruggiero Jr, 16.170[11]; 2. 1-Jeremy Steele, 16.233[19]; 3. 8-Jensen Ford, 16.325[16]; 4. 09-Ross Bailes, 16.343[22]; 5. 66D-Preston Dimsdale, 16.383[2]; 6. 2S-Layton Sullivan, 16.409[21]; 7. 6-Chase Blackwell, 16.464[8]; 8. 2C-Wyatt Coffey, 16.509[9]; 9. 67-Austin Yarbrough, 16.542[18]; 10. 2-Mitchell Childress, 16.543[17]; 11. 2M-Shawn Martin, 16.572[4]; 12. 22-Nathan Walker, 16.583[12]; 13. 52-Chris Stowe, 16.656[13]; 14. 62-Jason Alexander, 16.667[15]; 15. 22L-Chance Lay, 16.714[1]; 16. 7A-Corey Almond, 16.769[10]; 17. 34B-Caiden Black, 16.793[7]; 18. 82-Gary Dillon, 16.839[20]; 19. 10-Dylan Davis, 16.855[14]; 20. 14A-Lucas Adams, 17.228[5]; 21. 12-Randy Pinnix, 17.236[3]; 22. 01-Logan Hendrick, 17.236[6]

Group B | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 4-Kale Green, 16.304[7]; 2. K7-Keaton Smith, 16.323[15]; 3. 6B-Dillon Brown, 16.358[10]; 4. G4-Trent Ivey, 16.386[12]; 5. 611-Koulten Herbert, 16.441[21]; 6. 5Q-Colby Quick, 16.443[18]; 7. 8L-Joe Leavell, 16.558[14]; 8. 75-Joey Whitaker, 16.577[5]; 9. J1-Jake Jackson, 16.579[4]; 10. 24T-Jody Wilson, 16.665[20]; 11. 2A-Jason Altiers, 16.694[8]; 12. 35-Dillon Daves, 16.750[2]; 13. 11-Joey Warren, 16.754[9]; 14. 116-Randy Weaver, 16.919[1]; 15. 89-Timmie Harrelson, 16.966[17]; 16. 4C-Ace Claborn, 17.069[16]; 17. D5-Isaac Rountree, 17.081[13]; 18. 4Z-Zack Loe, 17.102[6]; 19. 17SD-Stanton Davis, 17.134[11]; 20. 34-Brian Nethers, 17.143[3]; 21. 66-Jody Knowles, 17.616[22]; 22. 618-Kevin Wilson, 18.223[19]

Crate Modifieds
Group A | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 23-Corey Gordon, 18.331[3]; 2. 71K-Dennis Kirk, 18.451[25]; 3. 32-Garrett Killman, 18.466[24]; 4. 45-Cambridge Gann, 18.530[7]; 5. 04-Cole Wagoner, 18.574[22]; 6. 2K-Taylor Kuehl, 18.665[13]; 7. 1G-Grayson Keaton, 18.697[20]; 8. 5-Ethan Wilson, 18.738[5]; 9. 3-Blake Hedrick, 18.773[4]; 10. 14-Jared Fryar, 18.776[9]; 11. 50J-Joey Johnson, 18.792[11]; 12. 05-Travis Covey, 18.797[8]; 13. 3J-Jaycob Johnson, 18.813[6]; 14. 15-Ashton Johnson, 18.857[16]; 15. 16-Daniel Allen, 18.877[18]; 16. 2-Mack Coxe, 18.894[12]; 17. 22-Tommy Gregor, 18.992[1]; 18. B7-Drew Benfield, 18.996[14]; 19. 00B-Preston Blalock, 19.087[10]; 20. 83-Travis Caviness, 19.114[2]; 21. 22P-Randy Pfaff, 19.174[19]; 22. 42-Joseph Galloway, 19.217[17]; 23. 42D-Cole Duncan, 19.554[21]; 24. 29-Tristin Adams, 19.587[15]; 25. 42X-Michael Selig, 19.587[23]

Group B | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 31G-Stephen Pedulla, 18.221[13]; 2. 25-Robert Poole, 18.325[19]; 3. 121E-Biscuit Williams, 18.351[18]; 4. 2T-Ty Norder, 18.462[8]; 5. 8A-Austin Holcombe, 18.536[4]; 6. 6-Ryan Ayers, 18.622[1]; 7. 99-Greg Dellinger, 18.724[20]; 8. 59-Grayson Wells, 18.746[22]; 9. 95-Brandon Woodcock, 18.859[16]; 10. 117-Clay Shumake, 18.903[5]; 11. 61-Cody DeMarmels, 18.967[7]; 12. 93-Kenny Martin, 18.976[11]; 13. 33-Cameron Martin, 19.075[15]; 14. 50D-Everette Dunlap, 19.155[14]; 15. 72-Patrick Field, 19.194[3]; 16. 1V-Cody Verbos, 19.220[23]; 17. 54-Keith Hart, 19.323[17]; 18. 7-Gary Jarrett, 19.369[6]; 19. 16X-Frank Bowyer, 19.454[2]; 20. 41-Mike Lemley, 19.584[21]; 21. 50-Ronnie Covey, 19.861[12]; 22. 52-George Proctor, 20.117[24]; 23. 04T-Kaleb Toole, 23.340[9]; 24. 15W-Morgan Widener, 23.341[10]

DIRTcar 358 Modifieds
Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 92-Andrew Buff, 16.683[12]; 2. 49-Billy Dunn, 16.835[9]; 3. 35-Chris Curtis, 16.924[3]; 4. 18-Kalen Draper, 16.974[10]; 5. 711X-Connor Crane, 17.033[14]; 6. 21R-RJ Tresidder, 17.082[4]; 7. 47-Kreg Crooker, 17.119[7]; 8. 31CJ-CJ Castelletti, 17.172[1]; 9. 44-Johnathon Ferguson, 17.196[8]; 10. 151KB-Brian McDonald, 17.240[5]; 11. 58-Jessica Power, 17.499[13]; 12. 31-Lance Willix, 17.502[2]; 13. 92S-Dexter Stacey, 17.518[6]; 14. 66W-Wallace Stacey, 17.561[11]

DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 5R-Logan Roberson, 16.530[12]; 2. 00-Blake Tasker, 16.590[6]; 3. 5-Jonathan Taylor, 16.627[2]; 4. 7T-Evan Taylor, 16.657[16]; 5. 2A-Matt Altiers, 16.672[17]; 6. 8A-Austin Holcombe, 16.702[23]; 7. 21-Taylor Cook, 16.711[5]; 8. 114-Jordan Koehler, 16.749[9]; 9. 7-Coleton Longwell, 16.783[27]; 10. 99-Cole Hilton, 16.837[21]; 11. 46-Matt Crafton, 16.846[15]; 12. 28-Owen Lacey, 16.910[8]; 13. Z77-Austin Self, 16.923[11]; 14. 8-Kyle Strickler, 16.964[19]; 15. 22-Russell Erwin, 16.978[26]; 16. 99W-Chris Arnold, 17.092[10]; 17. 6-Ryan Ayers, 17.285[20]; 18. 9T-Mason Canter, 17.347[1]; 19. 84-Ryan Toole, 17.477[14]; 20. 59-Grayson Wells, 17.552[3]; 21. 11-Troy Loomis, 17.558[24]; 22. 45-Cambridge Gann, 17.578[18]; 23. 4M-Tim Monroe, 17.580[4]; 24. 05-Shannon Slaughter, 17.648[13]; 25. 05A-Adam Favors, 17.951[22]; 26. F5-Richard Clew, 18.063[7]; 27. (DQ) 93-Ken Martin, 19.847[25]

Hornets
Group A | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 33W-Scootdog Wilson, 20.627; 2. 81-Avery White, 20.815[41]; 3. 417X-Shannon Barnhill, 20.851[19]; 4. 1-Justin Harris, 20.868[1]; 5. M34-Newman Presnell, 20.875[24]; 6. 511-Bentley Caudle, 20.947[36]; 7. 11-Blake Pringle, 20.975[28]; 8. 41-Gage McFadden, 21.065[4]; 9. 311-Jonathan Sarratt, 21.068[18]; 10. N2-Jamie Massey, 21.070[29]; 11. 48-Kayden Presnell, 21.089[33]; 12. 8-Gavin Bright, 21.128[40]; 13. 2-Kris Bobo, 21.133[32]; 14. 88-Joey Kelly, 21.160[31]; 15. 11C-Casey Towell, 21.173[9]; 16. 2W-Bradley Williams, 21.265[2]; 17. 29-Darrell Moffatt, 21.322[37]; 18. 78-Ethan Fowler, 21.334[27]; 19. 13-Trent Blackwell, 21.385[21]; 20. 44-Jordan Webb, 21.405[3]; 21. 34W-Justin Watts, 21.405[11]; 22. 18-Phillip Taylor, 21.409[15]; 23. 313-Rick Dunmire, 21.437; 24. 87X-Josh Cody, 21.527[26]; 25. 4-Daniel Wright, 21.559[25]; 26. 18M-Joshua McKinney, 21.626[23]; 27. 2C-Tyler Capps, 21.636[30]; 28. B6-Wayne Taylor, 21.691[35]; 29. 89-Travis Boyea, 21.751[34]; 30. 21-Brandon Greene, 21.760[20]; 31. NC3-Nelson Cunningham, 21.875[16]; 32. 01-TJ Hill, 21.940[12]; 33. 11T-Tucker Quinn, 22.185[8]; 34. 122-Ashley Parker, 22.484[6]; 35. 359-Michael Lambert, 22.578[14]; 36. 327-Warren Hill, 22.701[5]; 37. 191G-Mike Slone, 26.595[22]; 38. 27M-Keitha Martin, 39.819[10]; 39. 1W-Corey Harper, 39.819[13]; 40. 211-Drew Banks, 39.819[7]; 41. 58-Kason Bright, 39.819[39]; 42. 513-Greyson Coley, 39.819[17]; 43. 19-Willie Fowler, 39.819[38]

Group B | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 33-Coby Lambert, 20.747[24]; 2. F1-Travis Lankford, 20.851[8]; 3. 23-Lane Crow, 20.863[36]; 4. 81M-Marc White, 20.865[21]; 5. 777-Jeffrey Erb, 20.967[37]; 6. 214-Eric McGahee, 20.973[20]; 7. 41H-Bryson Harper, 21.036[25]; 8. 3W-Tristen Woody, 21.127[3]; 9. 145-Braydon Lancaster, 21.166[9]; 10. 39-Brian Barfield, 21.207[7]; 11. 95-Jacob Bright, 21.292[38]; 12. 22G-Michael Grogan, 21.336[12]; 13. 20-Daniel Reynolds, 21.350[16]; 14. 2L-Kylee Laws, 21.350[28]; 15. 31M-Danielle Myers, 21.358[22]; 16. 212-Mitchell Coggins, 21.397[23]; 17. 3C-Scott Cloninger, 21.415[18]; 18. 84-Michael Lawson, 21.462[14]; 19. C2-Caden Massey, 21.574[26]; 20. 121-Kayden Murray, 21.618[4]; 21. 21A-Adam Asbill, 21.638[30]; 22. 91Z-Zack Slone, 21.715[31]; 23. 22-Phillip Gee II, 21.763[19]; 24. 5T-Reggie Twing, 21.801[32]; 25. 28-Tyler Langley, 21.860[29]; 26. 1B-Brandyn Warren, 21.861[27]; 27. 4Z-Isaiah McClure, 21.963[13]; 28. 15-Kenneth Colf, 21.986[15]; 29. 135-Carson Taylor, 22.062[17]; 30. 2B-Addison Bragg, 22.090[6]; 31. 96-Kevin Brazell, 22.109[5]; 32. 151-DJ Moffatt, 22.380[33]; 33. 4T-Tyler Smith, 22.530[35]; 34. 4H-Austin Hatton, 22.823[11]; 35. 328-Chris Gardner, 57.536[10]; 36. 313-Rick Dunmire, 57.536[2]; 37. A53-Austin Haskin, 57.536[34]; 38. 48L-Carson Laws, 57.536[39]; 39. 33W-Scootdog Wilson, 57.536[1]

Monster Mini Stocks
Group A | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 10-Logan Richey, 19.862[4]; 2. 51-Cody Keith, 19.969[11]; 3. 12-Matt Gerrin, 20.133[16]; 4. 96X-Tyler Riddle, 20.145[12]; 5. 16-Robert Arch, 20.253[22]; 6. 3-Barrett Bishop, 20.261[24]; 7. 4-Tack Brown, 20.277[17]; 8. X-Kevin Cooper, 20.432[20]; 9. A47-Austin Bottoms, 20.537[10]; 10. 8J-Tyler Johnson, 20.560[2]; 11. 01-Jason Jennings, 20.579[23]; 12. 26-Johnny Raines, 20.589[5]; 13. 15-Zach Lankford, 20.663[18]; 14. 77-Dillon Smith, 20.678[9]; 15. 23-Danny Henning, 20.932[21]; 16. 5H-Bryan Harrelson, 20.964[15]; 17. 933-Michael Hill, 21.083[1]; 18. 11-James Harrelson, 21.140[6]; 19. 50B-Van Bryant, 21.253[7]; 20. 12M-Kenneth Melton, 21.261[19]; 21. 56A-Ken Appleton, 21.311[3]; 22. 115-Jason Horne, 21.311[13]; 23. 38-Vince Sanford, 21.311[8]; 24. 86-Lynn Guest, 21.311[14]

Group B | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 19-Travis Mosley, 19.684[3]; 2. 117-Matt Gilbert, 19.965[8]; 3. 121W-JR Warren, 20.021[5]; 4. E82-Enzo Dillon, 20.030[9]; 5. 8-Dustin Bolin, 20.233[2]; 6. B3-Damien Bryant, 20.239[4]; 7. 9R-William Roebuck, 20.340[14]; 8. 95-Kevin Atwell, 20.440[6]; 9. H3-Harley Holden, 20.572[1]; 10. J2-Justin Timmons, 20.625[12]; 11. 67-Jackie Holden, 20.646[18]; 12. 3C-Allen Cantrell, 20.672[22]; 13. 84-Kyle Cooper, 20.688[17]; 14. 56-Nick Fulcher, 20.691[7]; 15. 9-Roscoe Corder, 20.729[19]; 16. 21-Jarrett Warren, 20.769[13]; 17. 14-Stacy Brock, 20.780[10]; 18. 5-Jack Jordan, 20.873[11]; 19. 121-Jacob Kinder, 20.911[21]; 20. 123-Connor Keaton, 21.037[20]; 21. 27-Adam Piercy, 28.418[15]; 22. 115C-Kevin Jefferys, 28.418[16]

Street Stocks
Group A | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 83-Calob McLaughlin, 18.595[22]; 2. 18-Dalton Peavy, 18.688[19]; 3. 0W-Johnny Westmoreland, 18.707[25]; 4. 36-Jeff Parsons, 18.739[23]; 5. 23-Ronald Rhodes, 18.751[13]; 6. 3-Tyler Meadows, 18.759[9]; 7. 13-Brian Carswell, 18.762[18]; 8. 34-Cameron Young, 18.870[21]; 9. B4-Brandon Satterfield, 18.905[15]; 10. 17-Jake Jackson, 18.909[11]; 11. 55-Mike Manes, 18.967[26]; 12. 00-Cody Ussery, 19.043[6]; 13. 21-Robert Poole, 19.103[7]; 14. 5L-Matthew Linker, 19.116[12]; 15. 47-Mattison Hoots, 19.213[20]; 16. 17T-Landon Totherow, 19.288[17]; 17. 5-Earl Petty, 19.425[3]; 18. 7K-Brandon Kinard, 19.427[5]; 19. 38D-Jeff Davis, 19.504[14]; 20. 32-Brandon Greene, 19.796[4]; 21. 41X-Kerry Foster, 19.884[1]; 22. 0-Jesse Troutman, 19.944[16]; 23. 28Z-Zach Griggs, 20.118[8]; 24. 20G-Chub Gunter, 20.186[2]; 25. 29-Cain Cunningham, 22.382[10]; 26. 78D-Joey Dillard, 22.382[24]

Group B | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 9-Ronnie Mosley, 18.381[18]; 2. 4-Jonathan Hinson, 18.443[2]; 3. 12T-Rod Tucker, 18.585[15]; 4. 92-Tanner Fortune, 18.636[7]; 5. 06-Andrew Durham, 18.678[8]; 6. 1-Damion Patton, 18.757[27]; 7. M1-Dylan Lacey, 18.772[10]; 8. 9S-Jessie Spradley, 18.822[4]; 9. 04-Austin Brown, 18.899[1]; 10. 01L-Patrick Lyon, 18.930[22]; 11. 77H-Brent Hodges, 18.944[21]; 12. 78-Blake Pryor, 19.013[26]; 13. 2-Bradley Weaver, 19.033[17]; 14. 52-Christian Patterson, 19.035[24]; 15. 03-Matt Whitener, 19.054[12]; 16. 11L-Kade Langley, 19.194[25]; 17. 26-Brian Squires, 19.209[9]; 18. 17H-Camden Harp, 19.258[20]; 19. 6-Randy Benfield, 19.286[5]; 20. 6W-Mark Wilbanks, 19.429[13]; 21. 1B-Brandon Blair, 19.500[6]; 22. 7-Alan Benfield, 19.808[23]; 23. 51-David Stone, 20.310[19]; 24. 12F-Jason Floyd, 20.455[3]; 25. B51-Bryant Rayfield, 20.616[11]; 26. 76-Carson Floyd, 20.617[16]; 27. (DQ) 50-Everette Dunlap, 18.878[14]

Thunder Bombers
Group A | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 88-Luke Doggett, 20.023[4]; 2. 78-Hunter Funderburke, 20.183[8]; 3. 04-Austin Brown, 20.202[26]; 4. 05-Cruz Mattison, 20.221[11]; 5. 19-Stetsen Todd, 20.235[5]; 6. 71-Donny Atkins, 20.349[1]; 7. 21-Nate Jackson, 20.349[9]; 8. G41-Grant Burton, 20.358[2]; 9. 47-Parker Guice, 20.403[16]; 10. 44-Hunter Aiken, 20.408[25]; 11. 14W-Russell Williford, 20.440[17]; 12. P8-Christopher Patterson, 20.455[21]; 13. 135-Travis Jamieson, 20.472[29]; 14. 28-Bryson Guice, 20.480[19]; 15. 119-Justin Barber, 20.532[15]; 16. 115-Jason Edmonds, 20.557[20]; 17. BB2-Jesse Wall, 20.557[13]; 18. 9M-Will Markham Jr, 20.558[10]; 19. 82B-James Baker, 20.573[27]; 20. 135J-Trenten Jamieson, 20.581[12]; 21. 16-Benny Peeler, 20.627[28]; 22. 6-Ryan Howard, 20.689[14]; 23. 45-Jamie Decker, 20.691[7]; 24. M1-Tim Moretz, 20.914[23]; 25. 7X-Jessie Richardson Jr, 21.016[6]; 26. 483-Hannah Wall, 21.122[22]; 27. 8-Shane Gosnell, 21.250[3]; 28. 71R-Eddie Ray, 21.311[18]; 29. 61-Eric Hill, 23.485[24]

Group B | Hot Lap / Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 9R-Ray Cagle Jr, 20.180[6]; 2. 46-Bailey Hipp, 20.220[1]; 3. 8A-Austin Holcombe, 20.233[27]; 4. S1-Bryson Sweatt, 20.239[18]; 5. 01-Cole Dockery, 20.295[20]; 6. 13-Bundy Stowe, 20.298[19]; 7. 4S-Cory Skipper, 20.308[29]; 8. 43F-Jacob Funderburke, 20.357[25]; 9. 13P-Blake Pryor, 20.373[4]; 10. S4-Tyler Smith, 20.400[3]; 11. S2-Garrett Sweatt, 20.503[28]; 12. 4-Doug Penny, 20.615[2]; 13. 08-Phillip Wilson, 20.648[5]; 14. 33M-Bubba Kolb, 20.666[16]; 15. 18D-Riley Dunford, 20.722[13]; 16. 83-Ricky Bogan, 20.723[8]; 17. 37M-Randy Cantrell, 20.755[10]; 18. 0-Jerry Mckeel Jr, 20.848[22]; 19. 14-Jason Ledford, 20.875[11]; 20. 175-Josh McAbee, 20.889[9]; 21. 17-Drake Baldwin, 20.897[14]; 22. 27-Ronald Pope, 20.963[15]; 23. 8W-Chris Williams, 21.003[26]; 24. 114-Jonathon Holcombe, 21.088[21]; 25. 6M-Dylan Montgomery, 21.091[24]; 26. 60-Phillip Benfield, 21.369[12]; 27. 3-Luke Clements, 21.369[7]; 28. 17S-Stephen Newsome, 21.369[17]; 29. (DQ) 75-Jackson Thomasson, 20.043[23]

UP NEXT: The 11th World Short Track Championship continues Friday, Oct. 30, with Showdown Features for the Hornets and Heat Races for the other nine divisions. How can you get tickets? By clicking here.

If you can’t make it to the track, how can you watch every lap of the World Short Track Championship? Live on DIRTVision.

ARTICLE: https://dirtcar.com/news/dalton-jacobs-billy-dunn-kick-off-world-short-track-with-thursday-victories/

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Rising ASCS Star Brogan Carder Taking on World of Outlaws at Charlotte

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

CONCORD, NC (October 29, 2026) — Brogan Carder always looks for a challenge.

The 16-year-old driver closed his second year with the American Sprint Car Series earning career-best Feature finishes and a personal-best eighth-place points result.

After struggling to finish in the top-10 through the first 10 races, Carder broke through with an eighth-place run at 81 Speedway. Carder used the momentum to finish ninth three consecutive nights at Texarkana 67 Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park, and Viking Speedway before earning a career-best Feature finish of fifth at Sheridan Speedway in August.

“Looking back from the first year to the second, I think we made huge gains,” Carder said. “Our Qualifying, points runs, and final results throughout the whole season, I think it helped us get better and better. By the Montana swing, we got a new motor that runs better than what we’ve used before. So, I sometimes wonder if things came into place if we could have finished better or where I could have put myself, but it was overall a solid year.”

Carder spent 2025 with the ASCS National Tour building up his notebook, with the majority of the slate marking first-time visits. This 2026 sophomore season for the Sioux Falls, SD native saw a battle of balance between growing as a driver on the track and preparing his car to be competitive from the start.

“I think it was a combination of both driving style and car knowledge,” Carder said. “I think it stood out most when we’d make big gains not through aggressiveness, but not putting myself in positions to drive through holes or driving it harder than I should. The more I drive the way we set the car up, the more pace I can pick up and things like that.”

Carder hasn’t stopped his Sprint Car activity, even after the ASCS season ended at Creek County Speedway. From Nov. 4-7, he’ll debut with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals.

He’s made starts in 410 Sprint Cars around his local tracks, including Jackson Motorplex and Huset’s Speedway. However, the first visit to Charlotte marks his first test across four nights with The Greatest Show on Dirt.

“I’m super excited,” Carder said. “I never ran with the World of Outlaws before, so that’ll be fun. Charlotte too, we have a similar track in Jackson, but the dirt’s totally different from what I know. It’s a lot more sandy and a lot more slick, but I don’t have anything to compare it with so far. With the 410, we’ve only ran Jackson, Huset’s, and a couple other places, but Charlotte is its own beast. I’ll definitely get some practice on iRacing and try to tune my craft before we go out there.”

While Carder knows he’ll face new competition over four nights and a higher-horsepower engine, his time in the 360 ladder and select 410 races have prepared him for what he’ll face at the Concord, NC facility.

“I think it’s been a lot easier to drive the 410, in my opinion,” Carder said. “When you make those little mistakes in the 360s, it takes you a lap or two to get back up to speed. When you make a little mistake in the 410, you can make up the lost time in half a lap. I think it’s been easier to recover from mistakes when you compare the two.

“I’ve also taken a lot from the 360, too, because you don’t always want to be right up on the curb in the 410, and it’s the same way with the 360. I can transition into the 410 easier and be able to hammer it down when needed to gain more momentum.”

Carder reached the age requirement to run a Sprint Car at Knoxville Raceway after celebrating his 16th birthday on Sept. 17. Looking towards the new year, he’s excited to make his debut at the Iowa track in 2027 for the biggest Sprint Car events at the 1/2-mile track: the Xtream powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals pres. by Great Southern Bank, and the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals pres. by Casey’s.

“Knoxville will be a blast,” Carder said. “I’ve heard it’s also its own kind of beast and nothing really like it. Fortunately, we have a guy on our team that’s been pretty good around Knoxville the last few years. So, I think we’ll be in good shape when we get to run around there after a few races. I’m just looking forward to run some more 410 things with the World of Outlaws now that I’m 16, plus some 360 races with ASCS and the Midwest races.”

The 2027 ASCS National Tour will begin at Volusia Speedway Park for the opening weekend of the 57th Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals on Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 4-6.

Where can you find info about Volusia? Click Here

Where can you watch every lap of the American Sprint Car Series? Live on DIRTVision.

ARTICLE:https://ascsracing.com/news/rising-ascs-star-brogan-carder-taking-on-world-of-outlaws-at-charlotte/

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Wood Brothers Racing–Martinsville Advance

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

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Chevy Racing–Martinsville Advance

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

With the penultimate weekend of the 2026 NASCAR Chase on the horizon, Chevrolet heads to Martinsville Speedway with its reigning champions leading the standings in NASCAR’s top-two divisions and a milestone victory within reach in the Craftsman Truck Series. Coming off his first career superspeedway victory, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team hold a commanding 73-point advantage in the Cup Series standings, putting a third championship within reach before the season finale. In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, defending champions Jesse Love and the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team left Talladega with their fourth-consecutive podium appearance and their position atop the points standings intact. Christian Eckes and the No. 91 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing team leads Chevrolet’s Truck Series championship contingent in fifth, while the manufacturer enters the tripleheader weekend just one victory away from its 300th all-time win in the division.

Chevrolet’s History at “The Paperclip”Martinsville Speedway stands as Chevrolet’s most successful track in NASCAR Cup Series competition, with the manufacturer’s series-leading 63 victories at the .526-mile Virginia short-track reflecting generations of Bowtie brand success. Chase Elliott added the most recent chapter of that history in March, delivering Chevrolet’s first Cup Series victory of the 2026 season and the first triumph for the new Camaro ZL1 racecar. Hendrick Motorsports has been a driving force behind that legacy, entering the weekend with a record 31 Martinsville Cup Series victories, with seven of those victories coming in the past 12 races. Chevrolet also swept the track’s spring Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series events this season, with Justin Allgaier’s Saturday victory preceding Elliott’s Sunday celebration.

One Win from 300Chevrolet’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams arrive at Martinsville Speedway following a commanding Talladega finish where Sammy Smith and the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team’s breakthrough triumph brought the manufacturer just one victory away from its milestone 300th all-time win in the division. Smith’s victory came at the head of a Chevrolet podium sweep, underscoring the depth of the Bowtie brand’s Silverado lineup as it approaches the landmark. Friday’s race at Martinsville presents the next opportunity for a Team Chevy driver to deliver win No. 300 and add a milestone chapter to the manufacturer’s history in the division.

BOWTIE BULLETS:·        Chevrolet will serve as the official pace vehicle for the tripleheader weekend at Martinsville Speedway: o  NASCAR Cup Series: Specially themed pink Corvette Stingray in support of the American Cancer Society and its ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ initiative o  NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Silverado RSTo  NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Silverado RST
·        Sunday’s Xfinity 500 will mark the fifth and final race in Chevrolet’s ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ campaign for the 2026 season. The specially themed pink Corvette Stingray will serve as the official pace vehicle for the NASCAR Cup Series race, with every caution lap it completes generating a donation of $500 (up to $25,000).
·        Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Martinsville Speedway:  o William Byron – three wins (2022, ‘24, ‘25)o Chase Elliott – two wins (2020 & ‘26)o Kyle Larson – one win (2023)o Alex Bowman – one win (2021)

·        In 155 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded a series-leading 63 victories. Among those victories include wins in five of the nine races contested in the Next Gen era at the track: William Byron’s three career victories, Kyle Larson’s triumph in the spring 2023 event, and most recently, Chase Elliott’s victory in this season’s spring race.

·        Chevrolet has earned wins in 28 of the 31 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races this season, setting the series’ record for the most wins by a single manufacturer during a season in the division.

·        With Sammy Smith and the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team’s victory at Talladega Superspeedway, Chevrolet sits just one win away from its milestone 300th all-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win.

·        In 177 points-paying races in the NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 76 victories – a winning percentage of 42.9%.

·        With its 44 NASCAR Cup Series manufacturer championships, 34 NASCAR Cup Series driver championships, and 890 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup SeriesXfinity 500Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m. ETNBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts SeriesNational Debt Relief 250Saturday, Oct. 31, at 4 p.m. ETCW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesBlack’s Tire 200 presented by Down East Heating& Air ConditioningFriday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. ETFS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90

QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletMartinsville’s been a pretty good track for you. What are you looking forward to this weekend?“Winning the grandfather clock just stands alone in my mind for trophies that I want when I’m sitting in a rocking chair at the end of my life and I can look at and I can wind it up and hear it, hear that chime. Winning at Martinsville is so special. It’s such an old track. There’s been so many races. I mean, next year, I think it’ll be the 80th year of the racetrack. So to think about how many NASCAR races have been held there, how ingrained the Campbells, Clay Campbell, the current track president, but his father and grandfather were working with the France family for many years. My family is new to NASCAR, but Martinsville has been a part of NASCAR for a really long time. It actually was built the year before NASCAR was formed. So to know how ingrained Martinsville is with NASCAR, to win there and to have in my mind so many drivers that came before me, that would be a life achievement I would never forget.” Is there a mental shift for you maybe going from a superspeedway like Talladega to now going to a track like Martinsville?“Absolutely. Yes, completely different preparation. As simple as at 3 o’clock on Monday afternoon, I was virtually driving laps in Martinsville. We did not do that for Talladega. There’s no simulation that we do from the driver’s standpoint of actually getting in the simulator at Chevy for us and doing simulated runs for Talladega. Martinsville is a totally different story with all of the time we spend in the simulator. The team will alone on their computers and their virtual software will run about a million laps of simulation to make decisions on a small air pressure adjustment, a different spring, a different shock setting. We have a lot of smart people that design and build these cars.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletWhat are your thoughts going into this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway?“I am looking forward to it with the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet. It’s the last short track of the year, and we’ve had some success there in the past. We want to keep on running good to work on 2027.” Do you put more emphasis on Martinsville knowing that it is a home race?“I love going to Martinsville. I feel like it is a place that we can compete and go out and run really well at, short tracks have been good to us. Obviously Richmond has a couple of things that you can use at Martinsville, and we’ll work hard.” What’s it like going from Talladega to the paperclip in Martinsville in back-to-back weekends?“It’s a totally different form of racing, I guess is the best way to explain it. You’ve got the biggest track to the smallest track, and we’re beating and banging. But one thing’s the same, we’re still pushing each other around at both of those places. So it gets pretty interesting fast.” Four iconic brands coming together this weekend with RCR, Ducks Unlimited, Winchester and Bass Pro Shops. What does it mean for you to have a role in promoting conservation?“I love the outdoors and love hunting and fishing. So to put all of those brands together on one car is really cool. And I think all the outdoorsmen will really take notice, especially when you put the No. 3 on a short track. We just need to go out there and have a great race. I am proud to represent a bunch of great conservationists, and we need to do our part to give back to the outdoors for the future.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet“I still feel a lot of pressure. It’s so easy for the points to swing, and you’ve seen that throughout The Chase. A team or driver can have a great day and score maximum points, and we could have a day like we had at Phoenix [Raceway], and boom, they’re right back in it. So, I do feel a lot of pressure. Ultimately, I’d love to go to Martinsville [Speedway] and gain the points I need to lock it up, but if we can’t do that, I still want to have a solid day and give ourselves as much of a cushion as possible heading into Homestead [Miami Speedway]. We’ve done a super good job of staying focused over the past couple of months of The Chase, and we can’t let those thoughts creep into our minds. My goal is to stay locked in and stay on offense.” Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletWhat makes Martinsville such a challenging track, and what have you and your team been working on to be prepared for this fall’s race?“We’re looking to have a stronger weekend with our No. 7 Gainbridge Assists Chevrolet this time around. Martinsville is a tough place, and getting the handling right is what we need to have a good race. We’ve learned a lot since the spring, and hopefully, we can put together a fast-qualifying lap and be in position to compete for a solid finish. We want to keep improving and give our team something to build on heading into the final two races of the season.” Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletWhat is the key to having a successful race at Martinsville Speedway?“Martinsville is a half-mile racetrack with flat corners. Getting into the corner hard will be important. Your entry speed needs to be fast to not give up under braking, but you also need to be able to put throttle down on exit. Usually, the guys who win the race have top entry speed and top exit speed, but their center speed isn’t great. Not worrying as much about the center has also made us pretty good on the O’Reilly (Auto Parts Series) side, so maybe that transfers over. We ran the spring race earlier this season, so hopefully we have a few notes of what to do or not to do to help our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet this weekend.” Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet“Martinsville is a slugfest from start to finish. You’re managing contact with the guys around you, and you’re really having to manage the tires. Every time you buzz the tires, you’re taking away your speed in the long run. If you get in a little too deep and make your front tires mad, you end up paying a penalty.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletWhat makes Martinsville so special, and what have you learned since your first start there?“Martinsville is one of those tracks where I feel like if I can win there, I’ve truly arrived as a Cup Series driver. It’s such a unique and technical place. Short-track racing isn’t something I grew up doing like a lot of these guys. The racing is so aggressive compared to intermediate tracks and superspeedway racing. Martinsville is a place with constant action and somewhere you need to manage your track position while still being aggressive. It’s also a track with a lot of history for me, since that’s where I made my first Cup and Truck Series starts. Martinsville is a tough place to get around. You don’t have much time to catch your breath and reset if something doesn’t go your way. We’ve been able to find a good groove in practice and qualifying, but the smallest mistake can ruin your day. Hopefully, we can have a clean weekend and put together back-to-back top-10 weekends.” Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports ChevroletWhat are your thoughts heading into this weekend?“Martinsville has always been tough. I think we had our best day going there this Spring, but then we got run over and that ruined our day. We were super-fast at Bowman Gray to open the year, so I know we can run well on these types of tracks.” Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletWhat is your approach to Martinsville this weekend?“Martinsville is always fun to race that and I’m hoping we can finish our season strong with good runs here at Martinsville and Homestead. I’m going to try and run as well as possible, learn as much as I can, run all the laps and hopefully have a good day.” As a driver, what are some things that you need to be manage during a race at Martinsville?“There is a lot of things to manage at Martinsville. You have to keep the brakes as cool as possible. The rubber buildup at Martinsville is always pretty crazy and I enjoy trying to figure out what the best ways are to get around it and unique lines to run in the corner to get out of the rubber. A lot of guys do that really well and those are the guys who also end up winning a lot of the Martinsville races. As a driver, you can make a difference at Martinsville and help with the way your car is driving. Martinsville is a fun racetrack and certainly different in the Cup car than anything I’ve ever done. Most laps you’re shifting and that’s new to me at Martinsville. You get into a rhythm doing it after a few laps. I’m looking forward to it so hopefully we have a good day.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturer Championships:Total (1949-2025): 44First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)Most recent: 2025 Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Driver Championships:Total (1949-2025): 34First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most recent: Kyle Larson (2025)Driver and Manufacturer Championship Sweeps: 29 Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2025 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007) 2026 STATISTICS: Wins: 9Poles: 6Laps Led: 2,527Top-Fives: 58Top-10s: 120Stage Wins: 22 CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 890 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 772Laps led to date: 259,261Top-fives to date: 4,494Top-10s to date: 9,271 Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date: General Motors: 1,224 Chevrolet: 890 Pontiac: 154 Oldsmobile: 115 Buick: 65 Ford: 855 Ford: 755 Mercury: 96 Lincoln: 4 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467 Dodge: 217 Plymouth: 191 Chrysler: 59 Toyota: 221

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Championship Awards Celebration Concludes 2026 Campaign for Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing

October 30, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

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TERRY HADDOCK RACES INTO LAS VEGAS FULL OF CONFIDENCE

October 27, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

LAS VEGAS (October 27, 2026) — On the heels of a standout weekend at his home track, Texas Motorplex, during the always-competitive Texas Fall Nationals, Funny Car driver and team owner Terry Haddock is eager to tackle another challenge. This weekend at the MOPAR Las Vegas Nationals, Haddock and the Priority Systems Mechanical Services Funny Car team will face steep odds in qualifying, with 21 Funny Cars on the entry list. Two weeks ago, Haddock raced into one of the quickest Funny Car fields in history, and the veteran driver and fan favorite will be looking to duplicate that effort.

“We were happy with our effort in Dallas,” said Haddock. “This team overcame a lot of adversity throughout the weekend. We had a mechanical issue after Q1, and we worked hard to get everything fixed over the next two days. It came down to the final qualifying session, and we got the job done to get into the field. I am so proud of everyone on this team.”

This weekend, Haddock’s Funny Car team will be representing Priority Systems Mechanical Services as the primary sponsor, with support, as always, from longtime backer Concho Supply Inc. Priority Systems Mechanical Services is a full-service provider of premium heating, air conditioning, and generator services based in Kankakee, Illinois. The company has supported Terry Haddock Racing for years and will be prominently featured throughout the weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“We are looking forward to continuing to build momentum as we wind down another successful season,” said Haddock. “We couldn’t do this without sponsors like Priority Systems Mechanical Services. They have really helped us out leading up to Vegas, and we will be excited to represent them all weekend. We also have support from Concho Supply Inc. and several other companies.”

In Dallas two weeks ago, Haddock made the field with a 4.033-second run at 310.97 mph to secure the No. 16 spot. His effort helped bring the field close to becoming the first all-three-second Funny Car field. On race day, the team stepped up even more, giving No. 1 qualifier Jack Beckman a spectacular race by posting a 4.000-second run at 315.21 mph. Haddock brought the crowd to its feet before the Christmas Tree fired, performing the longest burnout of the weekend before racing Beckman.

“We have to put on a show, and we have to entertain the crowd every chance we get,” said Haddock. “You look at drivers like John Force, Jungle Jim, (Don) Prudhomme. Those drivers were legends and entertainers. That is what I try to do every time I strap into this Priority Systems Mechanical Services Funny Car. People pay good money to come watch us race, and I want them to have fun. I love getting to drive this Funny Car, and I just want to put a smile on someone’s face.”

Haddock has been putting on a good show throughout the NHRA season, and the team has stepped up its efforts in the Countdown. They have qualified for every Countdown race they have entered, including a standout effort in Martin, Michigan, where they qualified No. 13 and beat Countdown contender and two-time world champion Cruz Pedregon in the first round. The next weekend, they qualified No. 14 in St. Louis and continued that success two weeks later in Dallas.

“We aren’t in the playoffs this season, but we are having an impact on who could win the championship,” said Haddock. “This team is working so hard. We just want to get better every race. The results are starting to come, and I have a lot of confidence in the direction of the team. Las Vegas will be another good test for us. There will be a lot of Funny Cars there, but we made the show in Dallas.”

Racing over Halloween weekend also provides all the teams with an opportunity to interact with fans at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Prior to the Texas Fall Nationals, Haddock and his team joined more than 40 other professionals at the Pre-Stage FanFest in downtown Waxahachie for a free fan event. Interacting with fans is something Haddock feels is important to growing the sport and his fan base.

“The FanFest in Dallas was awesome,” said Haddock. “There were people everywhere, and we got to sign a lot of autographs. I love getting to talk with fans about drag racing and what we get to do when we are on the road. NHRA drag racing gives fans the best experience, in my opinion. Fans get to see great racing and then come to the pits or an autograph session to meet the drivers. I have a lot going on with our race car, but I always try and make time for the fans for a photo or an autograph.”

Haddock and the Priority Systems Mechanical Services Funny Car team will be on track for two qualifying runs on Friday at 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, the final two qualifying sessions will set the field of the 16 quickest Funny Cars. Sunday’s elimination rounds will begin at 11:00 a.m., when Haddock will be looking to turn on four win lights and race into the winner’s circle.

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Larson Earns First Career Superspeedway Win at Talladega

October 26, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

NASCAR Cup Series Talladega Superspeedway YellaWood 500Team Chevy Post-Race Report October 25, 2026

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team earned their first superspeedway victory in NASCAR’s premier series, surviving an overtime finish to take the checkered flag in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The victory – Larson’s third of the season and his 35th all-time in the division – came paired with a strong points-earning performance at the Alabama venue, with the reigning champions earning a pair of top-four stage finishes to end the eighth race of The Chase with a 71-point day. Larson will head into the penultimate race of his title-defending campaign at the top of the standings with a 73-point lead over Denny Hamlin. Chevrolet earned their season-best showing at the Alabama-based superspeedway, sweeping the top-six and eight of the overall top-10 finishing positions. It was effort accomplished by five different Chevrolet organizations with Larson leading Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron in second, Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in third, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain in fourth, Haas Factory Team’s Cole Custer in fifth and Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar in sixth, with Alex Bowman (ninth) and Michael McDowell rounding out the top-10.

RACE RECAP:

Stage One: A trio of ECR-powered Chevrolet’s earned top-five qualifying efforts in yesterday’s qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway, led by Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, who helped paced the field to the green flag of the YellaWood 500 from a spot on the front row. Lining up on the inside lane with fellow Chevrolet driver, Connor Zilisch, in his rearview mirror, a side-by-side battle with the polesitter, Chase Briscoe, saw the No. 33 take over the command position as the field exited Turn Four on the opening lap. It took just two laps around the 2.66-mile oval for his Richard Childress Racing teammate, Austin Dillon, to jump to the outside and form a third lane, ultimately muscling his Chevrolet from outside the top-10 to the bumper of the No. 33 Chevrolet to put the organization in the top-two positions to open the stage. With fuel mileage becoming a topic early in the run, a shakeup on the leaderboard took place when the three RFK Racing cars opted for an alternate strategy not to save. The pair of RCR teammates found themselves at the front of the second pack, hovering around the top-five as they led the first group of Chevrolet’s to pit road for a green flag pit cycle on Lap 51. Just one lap later saw the points leader, Kyle Larson, lead the second group of Chevrolet’s to their first trip to pit road of the afternoon. As the green flag pit cycle was deemed complete, a progressive climb through the field found Larson in the fourth position and leading the second pack as the stage hit 20 laps to go. While their strategy saw the RFK trio sit at an 18-second lead in the closing laps of the stage, Larson remained steady in the fourth position, and with a push from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, towards the line, Larson went on to lead the Chevrolet camp to the stage end – collecting seven crucial stage points at the first green-white checkered flag.

Stage Two: After a pair of trips to pit road under the stage break, including one to just top off on fuel, the No. 5 Chevrolet restarted Stage Two in the 20th position. With the longest stage of the race in the rearview mirror, crew chief, Cliff Daniels, radioed to his driver that they were good on fuel to make it to the end of the stage. Nearing the midway point of the 45-lap stage, Larson had already made his way up into the top-10 and quickly started making moves to put them in position for a shot at the stage win. A sense of urgency formed just a few laps later that resulted in the attempt at forming a fourth lane, with Larson among those making the move to the top lane. Dicey moves paid dividends for the reigning champion as he edged his Chevrolet to the top position just before the caution came out with 11 laps to go in the stage for a multi-car accident. Leading the field to the green flag for a five-lap dash to the second green-white checkered flag, Larson remained on the door of Joey Logano coming out of the final corner – ultimately settling for a second-place finish and nine points at the end of the stage.

Final Stage: Under the final stage break, Daniels called his driver to pit road for four tires and fuel, with the No. 5 Chevrolet lining up in the 15th position for the restart and 40 laps to go in the race. Larson’s power moves quickly resumed with the driver surging back up into the lead within the early laps of the stage. Sitting in the top position, Larson was surrounded by a strong contingency of Chevrolet-powered machines through much of the first-half of the run. But the bottom lane began to lose momentum just as the race was on the horizon of hitting 10 laps to go, resulting in Larson falling back to the 15th position. In typical speedway-style racing, it took just three laps around the Alabama venue for Larson to work his way back up to the front – being scored in the second position when a massive multi-car accident in the lead pack with five laps to go ultimately brought the race to red flag conditions. With an overtime finish on deck, Larson lined up in the outside lane with a pair Chevrolet drivers, Hill and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in his rearview mirror. With a push by Hill, Larson was able to clear the pack to lead the field to the white flag. When chaos ensued on the final lap, Larson found himself outside of the top-five, but a monstrous move saw Larson shoot to the bottom lane and edge his Chevrolet to the line first to claim his first superspeedway victory of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos. Driver
1st – Kyle Larson2nd – William Byron3rd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 4th – Ross Chastain5th – Cole Custer6th – Carson Hocevar9th – Alex Bowman10th – Michael McDowell

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 34 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 8Poles: 6Top-Fives: 58Top 10s: 120Stage Wins: 22

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase will continue at Martinsville Speedway with the Xfinity 500 on Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 4thWhat more could you have done today? “Not sped on that first stop. We had a massive issue with our speed prediction and I just completely forgot to go to the new lights on that first stop. We were stuck a lap down for most of the day, and I thought we were going to sweep a bucket of Busch Light camo into the trailer, but glad we made it and got our lap back. I thought we were going to get it back the old fashion and that would have been really cool. On the last lap, Brandon McReynolds (spotter) just called to push the No. 5 (Kyle Larson, race winner). I’m thankful he did it because he could see a lot better than I can, and I’m glad that a Chevrolet won.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 1stI talked to you when Corey Day won here in the spring, you didn’t even know where victory lane was. Now you’re standing here a few months later, just your big picture emotions of conquering this racetrack. “Yeah, thanks to Corey (Day), we knew how to at least drive to Victory Lane. What a day. Just can’t really say enough about it. We had so much help from our Chevy teammates throughout the whole field, all day long, and it really allowed us to just feel like I was on offense. Our No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet was really good and handled well. That last lap got crazy. Austin Hill was doing an amazing job pushing me, and he was just on me really tight in (turns) one and two. I just didn’t feel confident to turn my hands, and it just kind of wandered me up the track. He was able to get underneath me, and I thought it was over for me right there, but I don’t know what happened. Just momentum and energy got broke up and here we came. Just wild how it ended up there.” 16 stage points as well, so this wasn’t just a run at the end. You had some pretty good help and some pretty good stages there early in the day, as well.“Yeah, really all day long, I had help from the Chevy cars out there. It helped because they were all fast, as well, and had good days going. That’s what it takes on speedways, I feel like, is to have some allies. So just was proud of everybody at Chevrolet for the effort that they put in. Huge thank you to my team, as well. This wouldn’t be possible without them. It’s been 22 years since that terrible plane crash that took so many loved ones from Hendrick Motorsports. I really felt like they were riding with us there on that last lap to get this win.” Absolutely, a 71-point day, a 73-point lead going into Martinsville. I don’t know if you had that on your bingo card coming out of Talladega. Just what’s your thoughts about the points and the chase as far as where we’re at right now? “Well, I mean, as we all probably did in the field, we felt like there was an opportunity to have a good day if things went right, and man, did everything go just how I needed it to. I did not expect to have the point lead that I had when I got out of the car. I thought I’d be in the 40s, maybe 50s, which is still amazing. But a 73-point lead is incredible. Hopefully, we can go to Martinsville and have a good day and then just close it out would be amazing.” William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 2nd“I feel like the energy got broken up off of (turn) two and I was like, man, I have a shot to get clear here and see what would happen. Once I got clear kind of into turn three, I had the No. 41 (Cole Custer) pushing me and Cole did a great job of just kind of keeping the momentum going. They all kind of split in front of me and I thought if I could get to the top that maybe I would have a shot. Second sucks, but it’s good that Kyle (Larson) won. We worked really well together all day. If I couldn’t win, I wanted him to win. At the end there, we weren’t really connected together. I was pushing the No. 34 and it looked like it got broken up in the front and have a shot at the win. Just proud of the fight by this No. 24 All-Pro Reconditioning Chevrolet team. Our Chevy was good today. It’s fun to come to these places and have chances to make decisions at the end. I thought I made the right one, and then out of nowhere, here came someone on the bottom and it was the No. 5, so I’m happy for those guys. It sucks to finish second, but it was a good day.” Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team ChevroletFinished: 5th“There were some really big runs there at the end. (Kyle) Larson, I think he went back to seventh and then back to first. He just came out of nowhere on that trioval, I’m guessing with the No. 1 car (Ross Chastain) pushing him. It was a great run for our No. 41 Sysco/Eggs Up Grill Chevrolet team. This team has worked so hard all year long with the manufacturer swap. For them to get a top-five this year is awesome. We just executed a solid race and put ourselves in a great position at the end.” Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 3rd“I did everything that I felt like I needed to do. I just never saw the No. 5 (Kyle Larson, race winner) coming. I was focused on the No. 24 (William Byron), and by the time realized the No. 5 was coming from five or six positions back, I just wasn’t able to get down and block him. It was an awesome day for our No. 47 NOS Energy Chevrolet team. They worked really hard. The strategy got us in a really good position to lead the race and control the race a lot during that final stage, so I was really happy about that. Just one wrong move there at the end, trying to block the No. 24, we gave the race to the No. 5.” Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 6th“I only really got flats and a hole on the right-side door. Other than that, we were fine. I have to really thank the tow truck guy for getting us back to pit road quickly. We’re not allowed to throw it in reverse and drive out of the garage, they have to push me out of the garage, so we had everyone back there helping. My team put four tires on, pushed me out of the garage and I got going. I thought we had to beat the pace car to the line, but I think we could have waited another lap, so we actually beat the field and got almost a lap ahead. That just shows how fast my team works, so all the credit to them.”

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SHORT TRACK SUPREMACY: Kofoid Capitalizes on Late Restart for Texarkana Victory

October 26, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

The season’s winningest driver adds another with a Short Track Nationals title and breaks a big Roth Motorsports record

TEXARKANA, AR (October 24, 2026) – You give one of the best drivers in the world enough chances and they’re bound to capitalize.

That was exactly the case Saturday night at Texarkana 67 Speedway. The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series punctuated a big debut weekend at the Arkansas oval with the 39th running of the Short Track Nationals.

A 40-lap, $25,000-to-win main event set the stage to sendoff the weekend. A day after leading the most laps but falling short, Cole Macedo lined up on the pole in the continued hunt for his first win with The Greatest Show on Dirt. It looked as if it may be meant to be for the Lemoore, CA native. He made all the right moves in traffic early on, countered moves from Michael “Buddy” Kofoid, and survived multiple restarts.

But one last chance on a restart with six laps to go was all Kofoid needed to break Macedo’s heart. The pilot of the Roth Motorsports No. 83 switched up his strategy by ripping the cushion while Macedo turned down the hill heading for the green flag. That gave Kofoid the run he needed for a Turn 1 slide job that Macedo couldn’t quite crossover. That was the winning move as Kofoid drove away to a Short Track Nationals title.

“I feel like there were a couple of restarts where it was on my mind,” Kofoid said of the move he ultimately made. “Once you fire off, you’re allowed to go anywhere. He fired off, and I just stayed up. I wanted to do it, but I had to talk myself into it just because of how treacherous it was. I just feel like I got such a good launch and got loaded and got the car straighter earlier and just had a good run.”

The 17th victory of 2026 for Kofoid broke a 27-year-old record. He eclipsed Danny Lasoski’s mark of 16 in 1999 for the winningest World of Outlaws season in the long history of Roth Motorsports. The team has also locked up being the winningest team on tour this campaign, which is the first time Dennis and Teresa Roth’s organization will have that honor. Kofoid is the 21st different Short Track Nationals champion in event history.

Cole Macedo settled for a heartbreaking runner-up aboard the TwoC Racing ride, his personal best finish with the World of Outlaws.

Garet Williamson rounded out the podium in the Fischer Motorsports No. 23.

Tyler Courtney and David Gravel completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

David Gravel earned another Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.

Buddy Kofoid set his eighth Simpson Quick Time of the season in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Buddy Kofoid (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Garet Williamson (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), David Gravel (WIX Filters Heat Three), and Ashton Torgerson (Golf Cart Services Heat Four).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Cole Macedo.

Macedo also topped the Toyota Dash.

Brent Marks won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

Marks then wheeled from 21st to seventh to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

That also made Marks the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

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

Cole Macedo clocked the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Cole Macedo.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series punctuates its 49th season of racing on. Nov. 4-7 at Concord, NC’s The Dirt Track at Charlotte for the Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals. 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. 83-Michael Kofoid[4]; 2. 2C-Cole Macedo[1]; 3. 23-Garet Williamson[3]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[5]; 5. 2-David Gravel[2]; 6. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[13]; 7. 19-Brent Marks[21]; 8. 88-Tanner Thorson[12]; 9. 27-Emerson Axsom[10]; 10. 17B-Bill Balog[7]; 11. 7S-Chris Windom[11]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz[15]; 13. 41-Carson Macedo[25]; 14. 16C-Skylar Gee[23]; 15. 6-Bryce Lucius[24]; 16. 22M-Rees Moran[22]; 17. 17-Spencer Bayston[14]; 18. 28M-Conner Morrell[20]; 19. 71-Brady Baker[9]; 20. (DNF) 1S-Logan Schuchart[6]; 21. (DNF) 12X-Landon Crawley[17]; 22. (DNF) 52-Blake Hahn[19]; 23. (DNF) 40-Howard Moore[18]; 24. (DNF) 45X-Ashton Torgerson[8]; 25. (DNF) 6C-Cody Gardner[16]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/short-track-supremacy-kofoid-capitalizes-on-late-restart-for-texarkana-victory/

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Jonathan Davenport Scores First World of Outlaws Win of 2026 in Modoc 100 Finale

October 26, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

MODOC, SC (October 24, 2026) – It took a little longer than he would have liked, but Jonathan Davenport is officially a winner with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision in 2026.

Less than 90 minutes south of his home on the “Dirty Dollar Ranch” in Belton, SC, “Superman” took the checkers on the final night of the Modoc 100 at Modoc Speedway to cap off the track’s first weekend on the national Late Model stage.

Despite never competing full-time on the World of Outlaws tour, Davenport is among the most successful drivers in Series history regardless. His Modoc win was the 19th of his career with the World of Outlaws, placing him in a tie with Mike Marlar and Nick Hoffman for 14th on the all-time list, and leaving him behind only Jimmy Owens as the second-winningest driver without a full-time season under their belt.

Davenport got to the lead at Modoc at the expense of Friday winner Cody Overton, who got over the cushion and pounded the Turn 1 wall on Lap 20, ending his night and handing the lead to Davenport. The No. 49 looked dominant in clean air, but traffic allowed his challengers to get back in range.

As the laps continued to wind down, his biggest threat became Bobby Pierce, who worked his way from 21st in the starting order all the way to second. But as Pierce was sizing up a move for the lead with five to go, the No. 32 slowed on the backstretch and entered the infield with a broken oil pump belt, leaving Pierce as a DNF in 18th.

His misfortune handed second to Ryan Gustin, who ripped the cushion for all it was worth to try and pass Davenport, ultimately ending up a few car-lengths short in second.

“Good thing I ain’t got a rearview mirror because I really don’t know where they was at,” Davenport said. “I didn’t know where I was best at or worse at. What a phenomenal racetrack. I wasn’t in love with it last night, but it was better than old Modoc. But tonight, I loved it, it was really good. You had to really hit your marks to where you were going to run at on the racetrack, you could really slip and not get back going the other way. It’s just so icy slick.”

Gustin’s second-place result was his best Series finish since Georgetown Speedway on May 13, while Hudson O’Neal put the K&L Rumley Enterprises No. 6 on a World of Outlaws podium for the seventh time this season in third. Trey Mills finished in a career-best fourth ahead of Nick Hoffman, whose fifth-place run combined with Pierce’s DNF has his points deficit at 76 markers with three race nights remaining at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision concludes the 2026 season as part of Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

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

RACE NOTES:

Chris Ferguson set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Cody Overton won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Cody Overton won Heat 1.

Hudson O’Neal won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Tyler Erb won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Ryan Gustin won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Ethan Dotson and Brandon Overton won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Cody Overton won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Luke Morey won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Trey Mills won the MD3 Rookie of the Race Award.

Ryan Gustin was the Air National Guard Second-Place Finisher.

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

Trey Mills was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Nick Hoffman was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Tim McCreadie was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Ross Bailes was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Tyler Erb was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Ethan Dotson was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Carson Ferguson was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Dennis Erb Jr. was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

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

Garrett Smith was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Bobby Pierce was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (60 Laps): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[7]; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 3. 6-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 4. 14-Trey Mills[9]; 5. 9-Nick Hoffman[5]; 6. 9M-Tim McCreadie[8]; 7. 16B-Ross Bailes[14]; 8. 1-Tyler Erb[2]; 9. 49M-Luke Morey[20]; 10. 74X-Ethan Dotson[17]; 11. 93-Carson Ferguson[11]; 12. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[23]; 13. 22-Chris Ferguson[15]; 14. 10-Garrett Smith[25]; 15. 1Z-Logan Zarin[26]; 16. 19-Dustin Sorensen[10]; 17. 58V-Daulton Wilson[12]; 18. 32-Bobby Pierce[21]; 19. 157-Mike Marlar[6]; 20. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[24]; 21. 44-Chris Madden[13]; 22. 76-Brandon Overton[18]; 23. 55E-Eli Johnson[16]; 24. 15-Ethan Wilson[22]; 25. 8-Kyle Strickler[19]; 26. 97-Cody Overton[1]

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/davenport-scores-first-world-of-outlaws-win-of-2026-in-modoc-100-finale/

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Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Kyle Larson

October 26, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

NASCAR Cup Series Talladega Superspeedway Team Chevy Driver Quotes October 24, 2026

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in a panel with fellow Chase contenders, Chase Briscoe and Ryan Blaney, in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

Kye Larson Media Availability Quotes:

The next nearest Chevrolet in the point standings is 10th. Have you guys talked about just how many resources you expect to be funneled into your efforts in the draft among fellow Chevrolet’s and what kind of a boost you feel like it’ll give you?“Yeah, I don’t know. For me, I think just having the awareness of where we’re at in our situation. I’m not asking for people to go out of their way, move over, anything like that. I think just the awareness is always good, which I feel like there’s been that throughout the Chase already. It’s been going on for a handful of weeks where I feel like I’ve been cut a lot of breaks from other Chevy cars, which has been much appreciated. But then, yeah, on the Talladega side of things, it’s always easy to have a plan, but it’s always difficult to replicate your plan on the racetrack. So, again, just the awareness is all for me.” You’ve never competed in a Chase format and that was something you mentioned coming into this year. You were excited to do it, so maybe just speak from that perspective of what the experience has been like just in a different format from your last two championships? “Well, I mean, it’s still a lot of the same answers they just gave, I think. You know, for me, I think I’ve recognized how much winning is extra important, it seems, with the points. It seems like you gain more points than what it actually says you gain, so that’s been a lot of fun. It’s been interesting to see all you guys, like, ‘oh, this person’s out, that person’s out, the No. 5 has it locked up’, and it’s four races in. I’m like, ‘guys, come on’. The points swing so much. I didn’t really recognize that as much in the regular season, but I think when it’s been in the Chase, just the little bit smaller sample size, it’s like the swings just seem way bigger. There was always pressure with the other format, I thought. But this is just consistent pressure throughout, and these 10 weeks feel longer than the other 10 weeks.” When you guys show up at Talladega, do you see this venue and this style of racing as an opportunity, or is there more pressure? Has that changed how you look at it because of where you are in the points standings? Is this a place where you feel like, I can really do it, I can make a difference right now, or there’s so much pressure I just don’t want to screw up?“Yeah, I mean, as bad as my results are here, I still look at it as opportunity, for sure, to get out here and have a shot to win. I feel like we all, every single car in the field, maybe aside from a couple, have a shot to win if things go a certain way. So, yeah, I mean, I look at it as opportunity. I feel like, just speaking for us on the No. 5 team, we’ve scored stage points in a lot of the stages here. We’ve been up front at the ends of the races. I’ve been in the top-five here a few times in the last few years. So, yeah, I look at it as an opportunity, but also opportunity the other way, if you do get caught up in things and get caught up in a crash. You can really lose a lot of ground here. But yeah, I’m more confident here than I am at Phoenix.”

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Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Chase Elliott

October 26, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

NASCAR Cup Series Talladega Superspeedway Team Chevy Driver Quotes October 24, 2026

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes:

Chase, most popular driver voting opened yesterday and your name was removed from the ballot. Could you talk to us just a little bit about your decision to have that done?“Yeah, I think a couple things went into it for me. You know, when Dale (Earnhardt, Sr.) passed in the early 2000s, dad removed his name. Ultimately, I was a young child, but looking back on that, I just always thought that was a really cool and admirable nod to, frankly, one of his biggest rivals, right? And just something that I just always had a lot of respect for. Now, I was too little to know how he went about that and kind of what the things were that he did to go about doing that. But as the time got closer, I had been asked about it a few times throughout the course of the year since we lost Kyle (Busch). I certainly thought about that some, and then also kind of thought about what Kyle meant to my career and just the relationship that we had. And also, just how much noise I think our fans have made for him over the course of his career. I know that he, certainly, kind of embraced that villain role. And maybe people totally didn’t like him, but they sure did make a lot of noise for him, and I think we can all agree to that. I just felt like because of that, and because of a lot of the things that I’ve got the chance to see behind the scenes of things that he did for his fans and how much he cared about the sport and for his supporters; I felt like he deserved to win that vote. Now, that being said, just because I was in there, that’s not me saying that he wasn’t going to win by any stretch. But I do think it’s an opportunity for me to encourage the great supporters that I have and the people that have supported my family over the years to show that love and show that energy to Kyle and his family. Ultimately, I believe that he is a deserving winner of it, and he has my vote. I encourage those out there that want to get involved and want to take part in that to show him that same love. I think he deserves it. I think it would be a really cool honor for he and his family.”
Were you a fan of Kyle Busch?“Yeah, I was a fan. You know, I think I’ve said this some too, but really, anybody my age and probably a little younger that were coming along at that point in time and got to see his dominance; I mean, if somebody sits there and tells you that they didn’t want to be like that in some way, shape or form, they are lying to your face, right? Like the guy was killing it. He was out there and he was just unbeatable at some places. And I feel like he kind of embraced that role and he loved that character that he took on of kind of be in that villain role. But as a racer and a guy coming along, it was really hard not to admire just his craft and how good he was behind the wheel and just some of the things that he changed the game with from a racecar driver’s perspective. And, you know, coming from somebody who loves the discipline of what we do and the craft behind the wheel that ultimately makes somebody better than the next; that’s my favorite thing about what we do. You know, I think he was definitely a game changer in that regard and deserved a lot of credit. So yeah, absolutely.”
  With (Kyle) Larson being the points leader and kind of the opportunity for Chevrolet to win this championship and for Hendrick Motorsports, what’s the balance tomorrow between typical teammates and Chevy helping each other? And then, is there going to be any extra to help or protect Larson tomorrow to help him with that point lead?“Yeah, I mean, certainly, we’re all thinking about that from a manufacturer’s perspective, and I’m sure it’s the same in every other camp with everything that’s going on. But I think the answer to that is the best way we can help him is no different than last week or next week and that’s to be competitive, to be good and to be in the mix, right? Because as soon as you are not and as soon as you have a bad day, the strength in numbers slowly dissipates. And then ultimately, you could potentially leave them on an island of not having any help and not having any friendlies around at the end of the race. So, to me, I think it’s business as usual from the standpoint of how we execute our day and control the things that are in our hands the best that we can, no different than any other speedway race. I feel like for us, especially us four teammates, we do a pretty good job of just trying to take care of each other the best we can. Just trying not to hurt one another, I think, is the big thing with this stuff. And ultimately, executing all those details, right? Getting on and off pit road, being good through the cycles, setting ourself up for the right moments in the race. So, it’s really not any different from that standpoint. We have to continue to do all of those things and put ourselves in a position to even be able to help, right? And certainly, I know that if the roles were reversed, I would want that too.  So, yeah, I think that for us, we just have to kind of zoom in on all the details. There are a lot of things in plate racing that are out of your hands, and I think we all recognize that. But being competitive, running our race and putting us all in a position to have a shot, is ultimately the best way to help him.”
Just this era for you of these eight years, winning the most popular driver award. What has this meant to you looking back on it? Not to say you won’t win it again next year, but just this first chunk of those for you? “Yeah, I mean, to me, the first thing that comes to mind is just extremely grateful. You know, I’ll speak for myself and how thankful I’ve been for the overwhelming support that I’ve had throughout the course of my career. And when I say that, too, it’s not just it’s not just the vote, frankly. You know, I see it and get to live it every week. I see the support throughout the entire country that we travel. I get to see people and have even gotten to know people over the course of my career that are supporters and just genuinely want to see us do good. I think that’s one of the coolest things that you can experience being a part of sports, right, is just having somebody’s support; they’ve got your back, they just want you to be you and want to see you succeed. So, I think seeing that firsthand has always been very humbling, and I’m extremely grateful for that. I can speak for my whole family and tell you how grateful I think we all are for the support that we’ve received throughout the course of well beyond my lifetime. Just very thankful and appreciative for all of that. And ultimately, at the end of the day, I just want to give all those folks something to cheer for. You know, we all watch because we love the sport and we watch because we love seeing cars go around the racetrack really fast. We appreciate the folks out there that want to see us do good. And like I said, I want to give them something to cheer for on a regular basis, and that’s what I work hard every week to try and accomplish.”
After Daytona, you said that the updated aero package was edgier. It was easier to build runs, kind of use that momentum. Talladega is a different tracks, slightly smaller spoiler. Do you kind of know what to expect tomorrow when you guys are out there racing?“Yeah, I think it’ll be really similar to Daytona in a lot of ways. You know, I will say that throughout the course of my career, I feel like I have always complained about balance the least at the Daytona night race. And I just think in general, the level of aggression that you can have in that race with the temperature, typically the sun being off the racetrack and the surface being somewhat new — I shouldn’t say new, but has a fair amount of grip to it, it has always kind of surprised me how different the Daytona 500 feels to that race. There’s been many years where we’ve gone to that night race, had a really good balanced car and the car drives great, and we come back there in the spring and we’re terrible, and I’m always just kind of baffled by that a little bit.  But with all that being said, it just kind of makes me realize with how edgy those cars were at that race in particular; I feel like you combine the track surface and the age here that it has – and I know it’s not necessarily super-hot, but certainly the sun being out on this racetrack, I think the cars will have an element of poor handling. To what degree, I don’t know. But I’m excited to find out. I kind of enjoyed the unknown at Daytona. I thought it was kind of fun, just having absolutely no idea what to expect. I think there’ll be another element of that here this weekend. I do think that just the conditions and the track surface can play a big role in that too.”
Regarding the dogleg shortcut at Phoenix, do you have any input for NASCAR for maybe doing something different for that, given some of the conversation this week?“I mean, I think it’s fine. You know, that racetrack was always awkward as it was. And then, when we turned it around, swapped the corners around and put the start-finish line where they put it; it just kind of made it more awkward, I guess. But I don’t know what you do about that. I’m not sure what the complaints are or not, but I think it’s fine. It makes it unique. It makes it something different.  The restarts, I feel like if I had anything to complain about, I think the restarts are fine; you know, cutting the dogleg and all that, I think is okay. It becomes a little difficult to police when you turn left on that situation. I’ve found myself in that situation and that spot before of guys getting runs and knowing exactly when you can pull out of line at that start-finish line. Just the advantage that you can have in that, I think, can get a little gray. But that’s been part of it. That’s nothing new and everybody kind of plays those games the best they can to put themselves in an advantageous situation, which is what they’re supposed to do racing, right? So, yeah, the long-winded way of saying it, I’m good with whatever they decide to do.”
  How valuable is Kevin Harvick buying ASA and being part of that super late model ownership world?Well, I think anything you can do to inject some health into those series right now, I think are crucial for just the long-term lifespan of that stuff surviving, right? In a couple of conversations I’ve had with him, it’s kind of opened my eyes to how healthy some of that style of racing is in the Northwest. You know, I spent most of my time doing that stuff around the Southeast. We ventured up North some, but we never went to the Northwest. You talk to him and he’s like — man, those folks just absolutely are so hungry for short-track racing and they just don’t have it and they don’t have it presented in the right way. So, I think to have a guy that is willing to take those things to places that are wanted and will be supported, I think are extremely important. I hope it grows. I hope it builds. I hope it offers opportunities for future racers to be able to come up in parts of the country that historically might not have offered them a good path to get here or wherever it is they want to go. So, I hope it does all those things. I’ve benefited from something very similar, right? You know, I came up that way and, and I would love to see that style of racing and those types of cars be around for a long time and be really healthy.”

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Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Carson Hocevar

October 26, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

NASCAR Cup Series Talladega SuperspeedwayTeam Chevy Driver Quotes October 24, 2026

Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway. Hocevar returns as the track’s most recent NASCAR Cup Series winner, a feat that also marked his first career victory in the sport’s top division.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes: When you come back here, what is the feeling that you have, and how much did that victory change your life, and certainly going forward with the opportunities or just kind of you in general since then?“My life hasn’t been the same, but it’s just more fun because a lot of it is very visual memories. I remember what everything looks like and what we experienced and all. A lot of my friends… I’m glad I won here of all places. My agent was like, ‘Man, with Carson winning everybody wants to come here, all his friends want VIP passes. I was like, “Dude, it’s Talladega. They were gonna come anyways. … It’s by far the most fun track you could play your first one at.” Is there anything specific that feels life changing for you since you are a NASCAR Cup Series winner now?“I think more so that you just say Cup Series winner. They don’t say Rookie of the Year like six years ago. I don’t remember whatever it was. They’re rather than saying Cup Series driver or Cup Series Rookie of the Year, they say Cup Series winner. Whether you have one or a hundred, they’re just gonna say Cup Series winner unless you win a championship. That’s a really cool title I’ll have for the rest of my life. NASCAR fined Zane Smith $50,000 for running into you after the race last week. How hard of a hit was it? Did it jerk things in your hands? Did you think it put you in danger in any way?“For me, it was just unexpected. I was looking around and I think I was looking down and I hit. My mindset was like, ‘Who did I just run into?’ Because I thought somebody stopped in front of me. Then I looked around in front of me and there was nobody in front of me. I was like, okay. I looked behind me and I was like, ‘I got hit’. I was like, okay, well. Because I remember I think it was Austin Dillon at Martinsville when we were going five miles an hour coming to pit road, and my cool box was broken and it was blowing hot air and we ran terrible. I was just trying to get my helmet off as fast as possible. Everybody checked up or somebody stopped or somebody walked in front of him and he stopped at the last second and I ran into him so I was like, ‘Crap.’ I figured I did that again somehow. But no, I mean it was a hard hit for sure. But more so the fact it was unexpected for me. Yeah, that’s all I got.” You posted telling your fans to vote for Kyle Busch for Most Popular Driver. Just what made you want to do that in a year where maybe you had a chance to win?“I’m gonna have way more years and everything. I think keeping up with tradition… obviously, (Dale Earnhardt Sr.) won it the year he passed, and I think Kyle was the most popular driver here at one point, right? The whole garage and everybody, every article… It’s crazy. A driver that was probably super hated or not appreciated enough. He’s super appreciated now after his passing, and I think it just feels right. I texted somebody and I was like, ‘Hey, just go ahead and take my name off.’ They used to be PR and really close to Kyle, and they’re like, ‘He wouldn’t want to win it by default.’ And so I was like, okay, I’ll just keep my name off then if that’s what you feel like. I’ll just urge my fans to go vote for him. I’d be very disappointed if they voted for me. We can try and win another year.” The video last week of you and Blaney at Driver Intros… How has your relationship changed with him in any way since the thing in Bristol?“We were cool before. At New Hampshire he didn’t have a ride back after he won. And so he got on the Spire plane because we were the only plane that had an extra seat. He likes the WhistlinDiesel guys a lot and he enjoys them. He always asked me for the last few months about what it’s like to go over there and what they got going on. He’d always had interest in the tank. At Phoenix, I was talking to him about, ‘Hey man, the tank comes next week. It’s pretty cool and stuff.’ But yeah, we were cool already before.” It seems as though realistically you’re not in contention for the championship. Over the last maybe two or three races, it seems you have given those drivers who are still in contention a little more grace or space when you’ve been racing them — is that true? Was that a conscious decision that you made?“We haven’t been very fast the last two weeks. We were okay, but we haven’t been super fast. When we were fast, I don’t think I gave them a lot of grace, obviously at Bristol and whatnot. Just trying to finish as good as we can in these things. When you’re going into it, we weren’t probably gonna race for a championship, but it’s just building the notebook of everybody gets faster and everybody gets better. You’re racing against the best guys that it’s tough to build points on them. So really it’s just going through the motions of the year and enjoying it. When there’s no expectations, there’s no pressure. … Ultimately, we’re just trying to have fun with it, enjoy it, and know that as it becomes the norm of being in the Chase, the expectations get higher, the fun gets probably a little less.” Your win here in the spring greatly elevated your profile, not just within NASCAR, but also with all the national media attention you got and all the things that you got to do and everything that went with that. What would you say that in your experience here the last five months or so, what has that taught you about handling fame, success, things of that nature?“I don’t think anything’s really changed other than I signed a few more autographs. But I’ve always enjoyed it. Obviously the crowds are a lot bigger, and I get recognized in a lot weirder spots and a lot more spots. There’s a lot more female fans for sure, which has been cool. All of it’s been awesome for me. I remember walking through places when I was a kid wishing that somebody would recognize me because I raced quarter-midgets. None of it is like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this’ or ‘Man, this sucks’ or ‘Man, I wish I could walk somewhere and hide.’ I greatly appreciate it and look forward to it and know that I’m doing good. That’s what a driver should be and that’s what the sport should be. You should be able to really walk anywhere, especially within these walls you shouldn’t be able to walk anywhere without getting recognized.” Have you thought yet of what driver intros are going to be like on Sunday and how Talladega might receive you now and moving forward as a winner here?“I haven’t thought about driver intros. I was more thinking about how do I one-up that. And I have some ideas that I think would be good, and I think they’d only really work at places like a Daytona or Talladega where I could really ask for forgiveness on that. … But I feel like these tracks kind of fit the ideas I have.” You have been in at least contention for the win at every single drafting race this year, including the one where you did win here in the spring. As you gain more experience in the Cup Series and these sorts of drafting tracks do you feel like you have gained a better sense over time of knowing which moves are going to work and which ones aren’t worth the trouble?“Definitely trial by error. What I’m most proud of our superspeedway (races) is obviously Talladega, as the fans would say, is gridlocked and very difficult to pass. Atlanta is the exact opposite. Daytona is somewhere in between, and I think we’ve been up front or in contention at all of them. The one we won was the only time I’ve ever had a Chevy on my back bumper. Otherwise we finished second, third, fourth. Obviously you just kind of drag race to the line and whoever has the most help probably wins there. A lot of it is manufacturer-based, obviously. But I’ve just enjoyed that aspect of it – that at all the different styles of racing that the superspeedways present, we’re up front at all of them, and that’s what I enjoy and feel good about it. I think we’re one of the best at it right now. Everybody else studies and gets better. For me, I don’t think I ever watched a single lap of data from a superspeedway race ever. It’s just all adaptive for me, and everybody else has different ideas and ways of going with it. Right now our ways are going good. If the field somehow figures it out and a lot of them get really good or really comfortable at it, maybe I’ll have to adjust. But right now I think we’re in a really good spot.”

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Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Austin Hill

October 26, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

NASCAR Cup SeriesTalladega Superspeedway Team Chevy Driver Quotes October 24, 2026

Austin Hill, driver of the No. 33 Camaro ZL1 and No. 21 Camaro SS for Richard Childress Racing, met with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Talladega Superspeedway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes:

Austin, a lot has changed at Talladega. Can you talk to us about your season so far and your hopes for the races this weekend?“Yeah, so this season, in general, has just been a lot of rollercoasters. You know, being tasked with doing the Cup side has thrown kind of a little bit of a curveball in some things. Going back and forth between the two is not the easiest thing to do, especially the way that both series of cars drive. Trying to still put all the effort into the O’Reilly side and the Cup side together, you know, it just kind of creates a little bit of a task. But I feel like we’ve been doing an okay job with it. You know, ever since the Chase started, we’ve just had things happen. Whether it’s been my doing, like last week speeding on pit road, or having right front tires go down, having loose wheels at Gateway; there’s just been things that have happened that’s kind of, I wouldn’t say fully knocked us out of the Chase on the O’Reilly side, but, man, we would have to really put it on them these last three races and we’d have to have some guys that have some misfortune starting this weekend. So, you know, I’m not going to sit here and say that we’re out of it by any stretch of the matter. I’m planning on going and winning both stages and winning the race today, hopefully. But you just never know, with it being Talladega, we might wreck on lap one. But yeah, I mean, our season’s been okay. I’ve learned a lot about the Cup side. I think that the Cup cars are getting a lot easier for me to drive and the understanding about them has been a little bit better. But it’s still a work in progress and something that during the offseason I’m going to have to really dive deep into to get a little bit better on these Cup cars.” Yesterday in the Truck Series, there seemed to be some tire issues. You guys have the same change to your right sides. Do you guys have any concerns? I don’t know if you’ve had time to kind of debrief and talk about any changes in plans for today.“I’m worried about it, for sure. My crew chief, Chad, he said he’s talked to Goodyear. They don’t think that it should be an issue for us today. They think that it was kind of self-induced with some of the Truck teams. But it’s been a long time since we’ve seen tire issues on a superspeedway, even if the Truck guys were doing something funky. So that part of it kind of worries me a little bit. I think it could change a little bit of our strategy going into at least the race starting stage one, you know, for the first pit stop to see kind of where we’re at on tires, how much tire wear we’re getting and that sort of thing. But at the end of the day, I mean, we can’t race scared, and we just got to hope that the air stays in the tires. Goodyear does a great job each and every week, and we don’t normally have issues like this. So, hopefully, maybe there’s a little bit different recommendation that they can have on air pressure for today or something like that that could kind of help us if there is any issue at all.” How would you kind of sum up this experience, overall, in the Cup car having to enter it after Kyle’s passing?“Yeah, it’s been very eye-opening on just the transition from the O’Reilly car to the Cup car and how much different it is. And, you know, as I’ve kind of ran more and more each week, learning how the air works, the dirty air is a lot different in these cars than the O’Reilly car. I almost feel like it’s easier the times that I go run the O’Reilly car now on working the dirty air. The Cup car, it’s really tough with how the dirty air works. If you have your car set out to the left or set out to the right, or if you’re directly behind somebody on how bad the dirty air is on the Cup side; I think that that’s something that I’ve gotten a little bit better at, but it’s still something that I’m going to have to work on in the offseason and really look at a lot of data. I think restarts are a premium in the Cup car. If you can get four or five spots on a restart, even if your car falls off a little bit, it seems like you can kind of work the air a certain way and still kind of have a net gain if you have some good restarts. So that’s something that I’ve been really working on and trying to perfect over these last several weeks and still have a lot of work to do. But it’s been an experience, that’s for sure, going back and forth between the two. I didn’t want to have this opportunity in the Cup car this way, but this is kind of here we are. You know, this is what life is now and I’m trying to make the most of it.” Your O’Reilly Series drafting record speaks for itself. Does that door close after today or could we see you make select starts next year and in the future?“I want to run next year. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to run or not for sure with sponsorship and such, but I do want to run next year. I’d love to run the Daytona race to start the year to try to go for whatever number it is, number five, or whatever it is. Obviously, Atlanta being my home track, I’d love to run Atlanta. And then, honestly, I’d like to throw some road course races even in there and run some road courses. Those are kind of my two types of tracks that I’d love to run next year. Don’t know if it’s going to happen, but I hope that this isn’t the last time that I run an O’Reilly Series race on a drafting track. I have a lot of fun with it. I’ve talked about it before, I used to hate superspeedway racing, and now, I have a lot of fun with it because I have a different mindset coming into these weekends. It’s not that with all the success that we’ve had that I just expect to go win today. It’s just that I just have a little bit more relaxed demeanor and I’m not as stressed out when I come to these events because I know that we could either win the race or we could end up on the hook or run anywhere in between. You just don’t know. There’s just so much uncertainty, and I’ve kind of gotten better at not thinking that way. I just think about going and doing my job and hope it’s enough at the end of the race and it’s worked out for us. So, hopefully, this isn’t the end for us.” Back at Daytona, you guys had kind of the updated aero package, and now, you have a slightly different version of that same package. What is the level of unknowns kind of heading into this race, especially the differences between Daytona and Talladega?“I don’t think there’s as many unknowns as there was when we ran Daytona a little while ago. I thought that we made a pretty good improvement from the times that I have ran the Cup car to when we just ran that Daytona race. There’s still a ways to go, and I think that doing what we’re doing with the spoiler and all is the next step for that. I don’t think that that’s going to be the full fix, but I could be proven wrong. I still think that there’s an area that we’ve got to work on, too. I think, for us, to have better Cup racing, my opinion for the superspeedway stuff, is we’ve got to have some type of bubble effect out of the back of the car. That’s what makes the O’Reilly Series so good on the superspeedways is you have that bubble effect. You have to create your runs. You can’t just throttle up and drive into the back of somebody to create a run. You actually have to work at it and back up to the guy behind you; get connected with them, create that run, that sort of thing. You have to break through that bubble. On the Cup side, you don’t really have that. I know that that was something that we were working on for Daytona. I felt like we got closer in the sense of being able to run more single file stuff. We were able to have the top rolling and you could pull out a line and make moves if you needed to, if you had some guys lined up around you. There’s still an area that we’ve got to get that bubble effect. If we get that, and maybe this will be the fix, if we get that going into this weekend; I think the Cup racing will be just as good, if not better, than the O’Reilly Series.”

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