CONCORD, NC (Oct. 31, 2026) – The 11th World Short Track Championship at The Dirt Track at Charlotte concluded Saturday night with 10 thrilling Features.
Former champions returned to glory, first-time winners battled through wild Features, and memorable moments were created throughout the night in Charlotte.
Winners included:
FOX Factory 604 Late Models – Jeremy Steele
MSD 602 Late Models – Steven Thompkins
Race City Performance 525 Late Models– Layton Sullivan
VP Racing DIRTcar 358 Modifieds – Billy Dunn
RaceQuip Street Stocks – Rod Tucker
COMP Cams Mini Stocks – Matt Gilbert
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Thunder Bombers – Stetsen Todd
DIRTVision Hornets – Newman Presnell
Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modifieds – Kyle Strickler
Hoosier Racing Tire Crate Modifieds – Ty Norder
All division recaps below:
604 LATE MODELS: Jeremy Steele Becomes First-Time World Short Track Champion in FOX Factory Pro Late Models
By Spence Smithback
Jeremy Steele has placed his focus on the Super Late Model ranks in 2026, but that doesn’t mean he forgot how to drive a Crate car.
The 2025 champion of the Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series added another major accolade to his resume on Saturday, winning the FOX Factory 604 Pro Late Model portion of the World Short Track Championship for the first time in his career.
The early portion of the Feature was a battle between a pair of South Carolinians in Steele and Kale Green, who held the top spot while Steele rode behind in second. As the halfway point approached, Steele found a line on the cushion he liked and ran down Green, making the winning move in Turn 3 on Lap 13 of 25.
A pair of cautions immediately after the pass kept Green in the game, but Steele held his own and never gave Green a chance to get back out front. As the finish neared and traffic became a factor, Trent Ivey got to second and began closing in on Steele. But Ivey’s third World Short Track Championship victory in five years wasn’t meant to be, as Steele made the right moves to stay out front and make his first visit to Victory Lane at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
“Ive ran second up here in two different cars, two different classes,” Steele said. “I come up here every year and Trent and Dillon [Brown] kick my butt. John [Ruggiero Jr.], he’s the best of them all, probably. He kicks my butt every year. This year, that car right there is awesome. Never sat in it before this weekend. Cameron Tribble and Andrew [Stewart] gave me the opportunity to drive it, I couldn’t turn it down and here we are.”
Steele was followed across the line by Ivey, Green, Layton Sullivan and Dillon Brown in an all-South Carolina top five.
RESULTS: Feature (25 Laps): 1. 1-Jeremy Steele[3]; 2. G4-Trent Ivey[8]; 3. 4-Kale Green[2]; 4. 2S-Layton Sullivan[17]; 5. 6B-Dillon Brown[6]; 6. 09-Ross Bailes[13]; 7. 8-Jensen Ford[5]; 8. 44-John Ruggiero Jr[1]; 9. 2C-Wyatt Coffey[15]; 10. 611-Koulten Herbert[4]; 11. 7A-Corey Almond[19]; 12. 6-Chase Blackwell[7]; 13. K7-Keaton Smith[24]; 14. 2A-Jason Altiers[10]; 15. 5Q-Colby Quick[18]; 16. 66D-Preston Dimsdale[9]; 17. 52-Chris Stowe[22]; 18. 2-Mitchell Childress[25]; 19. 4C-Ace Claborn[20]; 20. 67-Austin Yarbrough[11]; 21. 35-Dillon Daves[12]; 22. 8L-Joe Leavell[14]; 23. 75-Joey Whitaker[16]; 24. 22-Nathan Walker[23]; 25. 2M-Shawn Martin[26]; 26. J1-Jake Jackson[21]
602 LATE MODELS: Steven Thompkins Conquers Charlotte in MSD 602 Late Models
By Spence Smithback
Steven Thompkins had only made a handful of starts this season prior to the World Short Track Championship, but he looked far from rusty.
The Grays Creek, NC native worked his way forward from sixth to the lead of the MSD 602 Late Model Feature and stayed there to win one of his home state’s biggest events for the first time in his career.
At the start, 13-year-old Wyatt Coffey shot from third to the lead on the bottom of Turns 1 and 2 on the opening lap as he challenged for his maiden victory at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. The young Virginia driver looked to have the best car on the track, but his night came to an unscheduled end with seven laps complete when his engine expired while leading.
Coffey’s misfortune handed the lead to Olivia Gentry Williams, another driver chasing Charlotte glory for the first time. Williams had her work cut out for her with both John Ruggiero Jr. – a five-time World Short Track Championship winner across multiple divisions – as well as Thompkins directly behind her on the restart, but the Newnan, GA native held the lead when the green flag flew.
Another yellow came soon after when Thompkins was running second, putting him on the outside of the front row when the race restarted with 11 laps to go. The top lane turned out to be the perfect place for the No. 22T car, as Thompkins ripped around the outside of Williams and took command. It was all Thompkins in the second half of the 20-lap main event, as the gap back to Williams was nearly a second when Thompkins took the checkers for his first win since March 29, 2025 at his former home track of Fayetteville Motor Speedway.
“We’ve had a monkey on our back every time we come here,” Thompkins said. “We’ve qualified good, Heat raced good. Gotta draw a pill, man, it’s just tough luck. We were here last year, not on the stage. Every time we’ve come down here, we’ve unloaded, we’ve been pretty good. I’ll tell you what man, it just feels good to finally get it.”
Williams finished second in her second World Short Track Championship appearance ahead of Dalton Jacobs in third, who earned his second podium finish in the event. Joey Baughman and Shun Oreo Thomas rounded out the top five.
RESULTS: Feature (20 Laps): 1. 22T-Steven Thompkins[6]; 2. 03-Olivia Gentry Williams[5]; 3. 7J-Dalton Jacobs[13]; 4. 45J-Joey Baughman[8]; 5. 99T-Shun Oreo Thomas[12]; 6. 20S-Trey Stamper[26]; 7. 14-Jeff Robinson[14]; 8. 25T-Dylan Thompson[9]; 9. 00-Preston Blalock[10]; 10. 00T-Kendal Tucker[11]; 11. J12-Jason Dickerson[15]; 12. 02-Danny Hurley[20]; 13. 82-Canaan Clobes[17]; 14. 17-Case Daniels[21]; 15. 99-Dale Durham[25]; 16. 28-Matthew Nance[24]; 17. 5-Robbie Gibson[22]; 18. 2-Dylan Warden[18]; 19. 27-Mike Davidson[16]; 20. 20-Isaiah Parker[23]; 21. 300-Bill Tesh[28]; 22. 25A-Jaedyn Altiers[27]; 23. 44-John Ruggiero Jr[7]; 24. 1J-Morghan Johnson[19]; 25. 2C-Wyatt Coffey[3]; 26. 17B-Biscuit Williams[2]; 27. 22-Nathan Walker[1]; 28. 51-Luke Clements[4]
525 LATE MODELS: Layton Sullivan Captures Elusive World Short Track Championship Win with 525 Late Models
By Alex Nieten
Layton Sullivan is finally a World Short Track Championship winner.
The Gaffney, SC native has been trying to conquer The Dirt Track at Charlotte since the event launched in 2016. He’d come so close on multiple occasions. A podium at the 2019 Pro Late Model All-Star Invitational. A runner-up in the 2024 Pro Late Model Championship Feature. A fourth place finish earlier Saturday night with the Fox Factory 604 Pro Late Models.
No more waiting for Sullivan.
He finally got the job done on Saturday with the Race City Performance 525 Late Models. Sullivan lined up second and snatched the top spot by narrowly squeezing around Tyler Leach in Turn 2.
The job was far from over as he had to fend off not only Leach but also two-time World Short Track Championship winner Trent Ivey, who surged into second late. Ivey looked like he might have a shot in the closing laps as traffic slowed Sullivan, but the door never opened. Sullivan stayed ahead and finally grabbed a Charlotte checkered flag.
“I’m really just so proud of our guys and everybody who helps us,” Sullivan said. “We’ve got so many people here with us. I couldn’t be more proud. I had a really good car in that 604 Feature, and we kind of figured out what we needed to do to this one. The racetrack changed, and that changed the game. I didn’t expect that. I just did my best to hold them off. I just tried to minimize the mistakes. I’ve been coming to this thing since the first one, so this is freaking awesome.”
The victory came in Sullivan’s 14th overall World Short Track Championship Feature appearance as he can finally call himself a winner under the bright lights of Charlotte.
Trent Ivey fell just a spot shy of his third World Short Track Championship triumph, settling for runner-up.
Jordan Koehler wheeled from eighth to third to round out the podium.
Dillon Brown and Tyler Leach completed the top five.
RESULTS: Feature (25 Laps): 1. 2-Layton Sullivan[2]; 2. 28-Trent Ivey[5]; 3. 114-Jordan Koehler[8]; 4. 6-Dillon Brown[6]; 5. 05-Tyler Leach[1]; 6. 121-Blake Craft[9]; 7. 22-Russell Erwin[14]; 8. 8-Joe Leavell[12]; 9. 21B-Jamison McBride[4]; 10. 30-Tyler Bare[15]; 11. 28M-Justin Mintz[7]; 12. 71-Billy Thompson[16]; 13. 67-Bryan Mullis[10]; 14. 537-Jesse Rockett[17]; 15. P4-John Price[25]; 16. 57-Adam Yarbrough[11]; 17. 5J-Braden Jones[20]; 18. 7-Daniel Breuer[22]; 19. 4-Kale Green[23]; 20. 52-Timmy Mills[21]; 21. 18-Austin Mintz[19]; 22. 14-Baron McDowell[27]; 23. 07T-Larry Timms[24]; 24. 09-Michael Leach[13]; 25. 22T-Terry Caples Jr[28]; 26. D5-Justin Hobgood[18]; 27. 55-Matt Long[3]; 28. 42S-Anthony Sanders[26]
DIRTCAR 358 MODIFIEDS: Billy Dunn Dominates for 358 Modified Win in World Short Track Championship Debut
By Alex Nieten
Add a World Short Track Championship Feature win to Billy Dunn’s résumé.
The Watertown, NY native opted to make his debut in The Dirt Track at Charlotte late season showcase with the VP Racing Fuels 358 Modifieds joining the card this year, and he made the most of his first trip to the event.
Dunn absolutely dominated the 25-lap Feature on Saturday night. The 2013 Super DIRT Weekchampion lined up on the outside pole and rocketed around Chris Curtis on the opening circuit and left the field fighting for second. It didn’t take long for the No. 49 to check out. He quickly built a commanding advantage as the gap stretched to nearly seven seconds over the runner-up.
Lapped traffic slowed Dunn in the closing laps but still not nearly enough to present him with a challenge. The margin never dropped below six seconds as he motored to the finish line and Victory Lane in the “Queen City.”
“It was about as good of a car as you can get,” Dunn said of his machine. “I haven’t been here for World Finals in a Big Block in a while, but I still feel like I kind of knew what to expect with the track. I made just a few changes, and it was on rails.”
The win capped a nearly perfect week for Dunn as he made his first visit to The Dirt Track at Charlotte since 2019 when he competed with the Super DIRTcar Series. His only flaw was not laying down the fastest lap in qualifying by timing in second-quickest. After that, it was a Championship Feature win Thursday night, topping Friday’s Heat Race, and finally Saturday’s triumph in the finale.
Johnathon Ferguson closed out his first-ever week at Charlotte with a run from fourth to second.
Lance Willix rounded out the VP Racing Fuels 358 Modified podium.
Brian McDonald was the hard charger with a march from 10th to fourth, and polesitter Chris Curtis rounded out the top five.
RESULTS: Feature (25 Laps): 1. 49-Billy Dunn[2]; 2. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[4]; 3. 31-Lance Willix[3]; 4. 151KB-Brian McDonald[10]; 5. 35-Chris Curtis[1]; 6. 711X-Connor Crane[7]; 7. 18-Kalen Draper[8]; 8. 92-Andrew Buff[6]; 9. 58-Jessica Power[11]; 10. 47-Kreg Crooker[9]; 11. 21R-RJ Tresidder[5]; 12. 66W-Wallace Stacey[12]; 13. 92S-Dexter Stacey[13]; 14. 31CJ-CJ Castelletti[14]
STREET STOCKS: Rod Tucker Takes Second Mid-East Street Stocks Victory at World Short Track Championship
By Matt Skipper
Rod Tucker enjoys spending his Halloween at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
The Greenville, SC veteran put on a dominant performance in the RaceQuip Mid-East Street Stocks with his second division victory in the last three years at World Short Track Championship.
A win in his Heat race set the 31-year-old on the Pole Position for the 15-lap Feature, jumping out to the front spot as Jonathan Hinson and Ronnie Mosley followed his tracks to make a three-car gap ahead of the field.
As two cautions on Lap 5 and Lap 10 gave Hinson and Mosley an opportunity to close for the lead, Tucker grew his largest gap through the final three laps by crossing the twin checkered flags with a 2.13-second margin of victory.
Tucker’s win earned him a $2,000 payday and joined Mitchell Duvall and Ricky Greene as the only drivers to win multiple Street Stock Features at Concord, NC 3/8-mile oval. It’s a bittersweet win as he will sell his race-winning machine after leaving the property.
“Tonight’s a little bit bittersweet,” Tucker said. “We had some fellas come up here, they’re actually going to buy this car tonight when it leaves Victory Lane. We’ve run a lot of different brands over the years. We’re just wanting to get out and do our own thing. Just can’t thank all my guys enough.”
Hinson finished second, and Earl Petty rounded out the podium. Patrick Lyon charged forward 10 positions to finish fourth, and Blake Pryor cemented his night inside the top five.
RESULTS: Feature (15 Laps): 1. 12T-Rod Tucker[2]; 2. 4-Jonathan Hinson[1]; 3. 5-Earl Petty[6]; 4. 01L-Patrick Lyon[14]; 5. 78-Blake Pryor[12]; 6. 18-Dalton Peavy[9]; 7. 36-Jeff Parsons[7]; 8. 9S-Jessie Spradley[16]; 9. 04-Austin Brown[18]; 10. 92-Tanner Fortune[20]; 11. 11L-Kade Langley[23]; 12. 17-Jake Jackson[13]; 13. 52-Christian Patterson[24]; 14. 0W-Johnny Westmoreland[4]; 15. 00-Cody Ussery[17]; 16. 47-Mattison Hoots[11]; 17. M1-Dylan Lacey[8]; 18. 23-Ronald Rhodes[19]; 19. 32-Brandon Greene[26]; 20. 17H-Camden Harp[21]; 21. 83-Calob McLaughlin[5]; 22. 9-Ronnie Mosley[3]; 23. 34-Cameron Young[22]; 24. 55-Mike Manes[15]; 25. 6-Randy Benfield[27]; 26. 03-Matt Whitener[25]; 27. 7-Alan Benfield[28]; 28. 06-Andrew Durham[10]
MINI STOCKS: Matt Gilbert Becomes Holder of Most Monster Mini Stocks World Short Track Championship Feature Wins
By Matt Skipper
Matt Gilbert triumphed over the scares of the COMP Cams Monster Mini Stocks on Halloween.
The four-time Monster Mini Stock Association champion added to his resume at World Short Track Championship by becoming the first three-time division Feature winner at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Saturday night.
Starting the 15-lap race from the outside of the second row, Gilbert immediately challenged front-row starters Logan Richey and Cody Keith, slotting into third as the top two began to stretch away from the field of 25 Monster Mini Stocks behind them.
While Keith took over the lead, Gilbert followed Keith’s shadow to get ahead of Richey for the runner-up spot and ran behind Keith’s No. 51 machine until the caution waved on Lap 7. On the double-file restart, Gilbert gained momentum faster than Keith and became the Feature’s newest leader.
Gilbert never relinquished the lead through the remaining eight laps around the Concord, NC 3/8-mile to become the all-time leader in the Monster Mini Stocks in the event along with a $2,000 check.
“I knew it was going to go green the rest of the way, it’s our luck every year,” Gilbert said. “Luckily, Ron, Cody and them was gonna drive us hard and clean, and I’m just glad to be able to pull off (Turn 3). You never would have imagined we won one of them like that, but we knew we had to go right off the bat.”
Keith finished second, and Richey took third to solidify the podium. Travis Mosley took a fourth-place finish, and Tack Brown completed Saturday’s Feature top five.
RESULTS: Feature (15 Laps): 1. 117-Matt Gilbert[4]; 2. 51-Cody Keith[2]; 3. 10-Logan Richey[1]; 4. 19-Travis Mosley[3]; 5. 4-Tack Brown[6]; 6. A47-Austin Bottoms[9]; 7. 96X-Tyler Riddle[7]; 8. 121W-JR Warren[11]; 9. 16-Robert Arch[23]; 10. 115-Jason Horne[18]; 11. E82-Enzo Dillon[5]; 12. 8J-Tyler Johnson[21]; 13. 84-Kyle Cooper[19]; 14. X-Kevin Cooper[14]; 15. H3-Harley Holden[22]; 16. 3-Barrett Bishop[10]; 17. 12-Matt Gerrin[25]; 18. 121-Jacob Kinder[24]; 19. 56-Nick Fulcher[20]; 20. B3-Damien Bryant[12]; 21. 3C-Allen Cantrell[26]; 22. 50B-Van Bryant[27]; 23. 15-Zach Lankford[13]; 24. 56A-Ken Appleton[17]; 25. 27-Adam Piercy[15]; 26. (DNF) 8-Dustin Bolin[8]; 27. (DNF) J2-Justin Timmons[16]; 28. (DNF) 26-Johnny Raines[28]
THUNDER BOMBERS: Stetsen Todd Wins Wild World Short Track Thunder Bomber Feature
By Nick Graziano
For the past two years, Stetsen Todd has regretted letting a World Short Track Championship victory slip through his fingers. So, when another opportunity for a win presented itself Saturday night, he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
The SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel & Aluminum Thunder Bomber Feature started in dramatic fashion with the front row colliding as they entered Turn 1, sending polesitter Bryson Sweatt spinning in front of the field. He was hit and flipped at the top of the turn as several other cars spun and piled into the wreck.
Once the field reset, the new front row had Austin Brown on the pole and Todd to his outside. They had a cleaner entrance into the first turn, leading to Todd charging by Brown to take the top spot.
Brown continued to fall after losing the lead, even spinning a lap later. That allowed Austin Holcombe to move into second and Cruz Mattison into third, where they would battle for the remainder of the Feature.
Several cautions put more stress on Todd’s reign out front, as Holcombe and Mattison threw attacks at him every restart. However, Todd proved to have the better car each time, pulling away in clean air. Mattison and Holcombe dueled lap after lap for the runner-up spot with Mattison winning that battle at the end.
Todd used his clean air advantage to earn his first World Short Track Championship victory during the 11th edition of the event at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
“Two years ago, we set Quick Time, won out Heat Race, led some of the race, and I let that one get away from me, and I was upset,” Todd recounted in Victory Lane as he started to get more emotional with every word.
“Just a blessing, man. I’ve started crying. I mean, this is what it’s all about. There are other races that pay bigger money, but this is what we, what I shoot for.”
RESULTS: Feature (15 Laps): 1. 19-Stetsen Todd[3]; 2. 05-Cruz Mattison[7]; 3. 8A-Austin Holcombe[5]; 4. 21-Nate Jackson[13]; 5. 82B-James Baker[22]; 6. 83-Ricky Bogan[20]; 7. 119-Justin Barber[15]; 8. 71-Donny Atkins[9]; 9. 04-Austin Brown[2]; 10. 135J-Trenten Jamieson[14]; 11. 47-Parker Guice[23]; 12. S4-Tyler Smith[27]; 13. 4S-Cory Skipper[10]; 14. P8-Christopher Patterson[25]; 15. 46-Bailey Hipp[4]; 16. 28-Bryson Guice[8]; 17. 88-Luke Doggett[6]; 18. S2-Garrett Sweatt[11]; 19. 4-Doug Penny[21]; 20. 13-Bundy Stowe[12]; 21. G41-Grant Burton[26]; 22. 44-Hunter Aiken[19]; 23. 9R-Ray Cagle Jr[16]; 24. 114-Jonathon Holcombe[24]; 25. (DNF) 45-Jamie Decker[28]; 26. (DNF) 43F-Jacob Funderburke[17]; 27. (DNF) S1-Bryson Sweatt[1]; 28. (DNF) 13P-Blake Pryor[18]
HORNETS: Newman Presnell Holds Off Hornets’ Nest For 7th World Short Track Title
By Nick Graziano
Newman Presnell went on a run of six World Short Track Championship victories in his first seven starts at the event but had been shut out of Victory Lane in his last three starts.
He put himself in the position to end that streak Saturday night, starting on the pole of the 20-lap DIRTVision Hornet Feature at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
A hornets’ nest of 4-Cylinder stars starting behind him were poised to spoil that plan, though.
When the Feature commenced, Coby Lambert, who had yet to finish outside of Victory Lane at World Short Track, looked like Superman at the drop of the green, flying around the outside the first three rows, going from seventh to second in one turn.
While Presnell took the lead, Lambert used his video game run to pull even with the No. M34 car down the backstretch and then charge ahead to the lead off Turn 4.
Presnell wasn’t interested in letting Lambert gain any more distance, though. While the No. 33 could pull ahead down the straightaways, Presnell was able to charge into each corner, pulling side by side with his rival.
On Lap 7, Presnell threw his car deep enough into the corner in Turns 1 and 2 to clear Lambert and reclaim the lead. Once out front, he turned on the afterburners, putting yards between he and Lambert every lap.
By Lap 18, Presnell had a 3.5-second lead over Lambert, and had to watch it evaporate when the ProFabrication Caution Flag came out of cars stopped on track.
When the race resumed, “all hell broke loose.”
Presnell didn’t fire off strong on the restart, allowing Lambert to charge to his outside with momentum. The No. 33 looked to have a charge set to pull ahead of Presnell, but Casey Towell in the No. 11C gave Presnell a push off Turn 2, helping the No. M34 stay even with Lambert entering Turn 3.
Presnell reclaimed the lead, but Towell followed him by Lambert and took his own shot at the leader on the final lap. The No. 11C darted underneath Presnell in Turn 1, allowing him to pull ahead down the backstretch.
When they entered Turn 3, Presnell kept his foot on the throttle, perfecting a slide job on Towell to reclaim the lead with the checkered flag ahead. Before Towell could try to counter his attack, Jeffrey Erb came charging into the corner, running into the side of Towell and getting him sideways.
With the calamity behind him, Presnell drove away with his first World Short Track Championship victory since 2024. Erb grabbed the runner-up spot, and Marc White snuck his way into third at the end.
“I didn’t want to see that caution; I know how the restarts here can be at Charlotte. They get a little wild,” Presnell said. “I felt like I had a pretty comfortable lead there. The car was handling great. Probably the best I’ve ever been here. Then the caution came out, and I didn’t want to see that. The outside got a good run on me there, and I couldn’t let them get in front of us. Then I had the push from behind and thought they’re all over me now. So, I just gotta settle in and see how this thing plays out; we don’t know what’s going to happen here.
“But dang. It was fun. I enjoyed it.
RESULTS: Feature (20 Laps): 1. M34-Newman Presnell[1]; 2. 777-Jeffrey Erb[10]; 3. 81M-Marc White[4]; 4. 11C-Casey Towell[5]; 5. 88-Joey Kelly[11]; 6. 58-Kason Bright[17]; 7. 33-Coby Lambert[2]; 8. 1-Justin Harris[7]; 9. 48-Kayden Presnell[13]; 10. 3C-Scott Cloninger[14]; 11. 41H-Bryson Harper[18]; 12. F1-Travis Lankford[8]; 13. 8-Gavin Bright[19]; 14. 39-Brian Barfield[12]; 15. 513-Greyson Coley[21]; 16. 44-Jordan Webb[15]; 17. 13-Trent Blackwell[23]; 18. 2L-Kylee Laws[16]; 19. 95-Jacob Bright[22]; 20. 212-Mitchell Coggins[20]; 21. 33W-Scootdog Wilson[9]; 22. 511-Bentley Caudle[25]; 23. 417X-Shannon Barnhill[26]; 24. 22-Phillip Gee II[24]; 25. 23-Lane Crow[6]; 26. N2-Jamie Massey[3]
DIRTCAR UMP MODIFIEDS: Kyle Strickler Dominates UMP Modifieds at Charlotte for Record Fifth World Short Track Championship
By Jordan DeLucia
For the fifth time in his storied Dirt Modified career, Kyle Strickler is a World Short Track Champion.
The 43-year-old from Mooresville, NC, has been one of the brightest talents in Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modified action at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, winning the marquee event four times since its inception in 2016. Saturday night, he padded his all-time record again, leading the main event flag-to-flag for his fifth World Short Track Championship victory and an $8,000 grand prize.
For a driver who’s won at tracks from Pennsylvania to Florida, to Minnesota and back to “The Old North State,” does winning at home for the fifth time feel as special as it did the first?
“I think it feels more special, actually,” Strickler said. “When you’re getting older and you’re trying to make a name for yourself or whatever, the records and stuff that will last long, it’ll be hard to beat. That’s the stuff that’s really important to me.”
After qualifying halfway down the 27-car field on Thursday, Strickler rebounded for a Heat Race win from the fifth starting spot on Friday to give him an outside front row starting spot for Saturday’s main event.
From the drop of the green, Strickler put on a clinic around the 4/10-mile oval. He grabbed the lead from polesitter and Thursday’s fast qualifier Logan Roberson on the opening lap and never looked back, leading all 25 circuits and collecting the checkered flag without any serious challenge from his opponents.
“It took a little bit to knock the rust off, and I knew once the racetrack had slowed down, we’d be really good,” Strickler said. “We went back to our notebook and got everything right, and it played out perfect. We didn’t have to deal with a redraw or anything, and winning that second Heat Race I think put me in the preferred groove because when it starts to rubber, you can kinda run down that hill on the start there, and the guy on the inside is almost going uphill. So, I thought that I had the best starting spot.”
Virginia native Roberson crossed the finish line in second to record his best finish in the event, followed by Sportsman of the Year Award winner Chris Arnold in third, two-time Charlotte winner Taylor Cook in fourth and three-time Crate Modified event winner Austin Holcombe rounding out the top five.
RESULTS: Feature (25 Laps): 1. 8-Kyle Strickler[2]; 2. 5R-Logan Roberson[1]; 3. 99W-Chris Arnold[4]; 4. 21-Taylor Cook[7]; 5. 8A-Austin Holcombe[9]; 6. 00-Blake Tasker[5]; 7. 99-Cole Hilton[19]; 8. 6-Ryan Ayers[8]; 9. Z77-Austin Self[25]; 10. 46-Matt Crafton[26]; 11. 84-Ryan Toole[10]; 12. 28-Owen Lacey[15]; 13. 2A-Matt Altiers[14]; 14. 11-Troy Loomis[12]; 15. 9T-Mason Canter[27]; 16. 4M-Tim Monroe[17]; 17. 5-Jonathan Taylor[3]; 18. 7T-Evan Taylor[22]; 19. 93-Ken Martin[21]; 20. F5-Richard Clew[20]; 21. 7-Coleton Longwell[6]; 22. 59-Grayson Wells[11]; 23. 114-Jordan Koehler[23]; 24. 22-Russell Erwin[24]; 25. 05-Shannon Slaughter[18]; 26. 45-Cambridge Gann[13]; 27. 05A-Adam Favors[16]
CRATE MODIFIEDS: Ty Norder Declared Crate Modified World Short Track Champion After Top-3 Disqualified
By Jordan DeLucia
After reaching Victory Lane for the first time with the Hoosier Racing Tire Mid-East Crate Modifieds in 2022, Ty Norder has added another World Short Track Championship trophy to his collection.
The 22-year-old from Mooresville, NC, crossed the finish line fourth in Saturday’s Crate Modified main event at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. However, after race winner Biscuit Williams, runner-up Daulton Wilson, and third-place Austin Holcombe were all disqualified during post-race engine inspection, Norder was declared the winner. His No. 2T Modified passed inspection, and he was awarded his second World Short Track Championship victory, along with the $2,000 grand prize.
“Man, if you’re right, you’re right, and if you’re wrong, you’re wrong,” Norder said following his inspection by Mid-East Racing officials. “We only had a fourth-place car tonight, which I don’t think with what’s going on here had anything to do with on the racetrack.”
Williams took the lead from the pole at the drop of the green flag and dominated the race, leading all 15 laps unchallenged to cross the finish line first with outside polesitter Wilson and fifth-starting Holcombe in third. Norder had worked his way up to fourth from the eighth starting spot by the checkered flag.
“We’ve had a pretty good year; this is my 12th win,” Norder said. “I’ve worked really hard, won 11 races before entering this weekend, and I really wanted to win Charlotte because of all my sponsors. Everybody’s hanging out and you can go see your friends, go talk to all your competitors, meet new people and build relationships with people.
“This is just unbelievable.”
RESULTS: Feature (15 Laps): 1. 2T-Ty Norder[8]; 2. 32-Garrett Killman[11]; 3. 04-Cole Wagoner[4]; 4. 5-Ethan Wilson[9]; 5. 59-Grayson Wells[10]; 6. 45-Cambridge Gann[22]; 7. 33-Cameron Martin[14]; 8. 83-Travis Caviness[19]; 9. 16-Daniel Allen[23]; 10. 50J-Joey Johnson[26]; 11. 25-Robert Poole[16]; 12. 72-Patrick Field[12]; 13. 23-Corey Gordon[7]; 14. 00B-Preston Blalock[27]; 15. 22P-Randy Pfaff[28]; 16. 117-Clay Shumake[20]; 17. 71K-Dennis Kirk[25]; 18. 93-Kenny Martin[18]; 19. (DNF) 31G-Stephen Pedulla[3]; 20. (DNF) 6-Ryan Ayers[24]; 21. (DNF) 2K-Taylor Kuehl[6]; 22. (DNF) 14-Jared Fryar[13]; 23. (DNF) 15-Ashton Johnson[15]; 24. (DNF) 05-Travis Covey[17]; 25. (DNF) 61-Cody DeMarmels[21] DQ. 121E-Biscuit Williams[1]; DQ. 2-Daulton Wilson[2]; DQ. 8A-Austin Holcombe[5]
EVENT INFO: https://www.worldshorttrackchampionship.com