BROWNSTOWN, IL (June 9, 2026) — Some people are happy with their legacy. Others strive to add to it.That’s exactly what Shannon Babb did Tuesday night in the DIRTcar Summer Nationals’ 40th anniversary season opener at Brownstown Bullring.Babb, the four-time Summer Nationals champion from Moweaqua, IL, wired the cushion and led all 30 laps to pick up career Feature win No. 103 in his illustrious Hell Tour career, extending his margin as the series’ all-time winningest driver.“It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? We’ve been racing for a long time, and I guess that’s how we racked up so many,” Babb said. “Hell, we’ve lost twice as many, you know. I’m glad we can say we’ve learned a few things along the way. These little tracks like this, I just always loved them. It’s kind of like a Saturday night race.”The green flag flew on the kickoff for the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, and early on, it was Babb who found the cushion first and used the outside lane to propel him to the lead before a Lap 1 caution for a pileup in turn two stopped the field.On the restart, Babb found his groove on the top line as Frank Heckenast Jr. and Tanner English battled for second behind him.As Babb entered lap traffic, a Lap 13 caution for a slowing Adam Tischauser stacked the field together.The restart gave English an opportunity to pounce, as he found speed on the cushion and tracked down Babb over the next several laps. The Benton, KY-driver pulled even with Babb’s No. 18 with a deep dive down low through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 23, but Babb wasn’t going to be denied, using the high-side momentum to his advantage off Turn 4 to maintain the top spot.Babb then did what he had done all race long, working the cushion enroute to his third career DIRTcar Summer Nationals win at Brownstown.“Tonight we were good enough to be on the front row of the heat, to get that job done, and luckily I drew the front row outside, and that makes my job easier,” Babb said. “It wasn’t rough; the first guy to the cushion wins. Luckily, tonight, I was there.”English held strong behind Babb to bag a runner-up finish, and Heckenast crossed the line in third. Sun River, MT-native Michael Leach drove from sixth to a fourth-place finish while Daryn Klein completed the top five.UP NEXTThe DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models take on Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, IL, on Wednesday, June 10. Tickets for the event will be sold at the track.How can you watch the DIRTcar Summer Nationals? Every race is streamed live on DIRTVision.Feature (30 Laps): 1. 18-Shannon Babb[2]; 2. 96-Tanner English[4]; 3. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 4. 09-Michael Leach[6]; 5. 10K-Daryn Klein[7]; 6. 25F-Jason Feger[19]; 7. 4G-Bob Gardner[15]; 8. 388-Jackson Hise[8]; 9. 38J-Jake Little[17]; 10. 10J-Jordan Bauer[12]; 11. 17SR-Brody Smith[22]; 12. 20B-Todd Brennan[16]; 13. 21B-Rich Bell[20]; 14. 75A-Daniel Adam[9]; 15. 15-Clay Stuckey[11]; 16. 74-Mitch McGrath[18]; 17. T4-Adam Tischhauser[14]; 18. 32M-Cody Maguire[21]; 19. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[5]; 20. 50K-Kayden Clatt[13]; 21. 05-Tyler Leach[3]; 22. 33-Mike Harrison[10] Jacob Steinkoenig Wins First Career Summit Modified Feature at BrownstownA dream came true for an Illinois native Tuesday night at Brownstown Bullring.Jacob Steinkoenig became the 89th different driver to win a DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature in an exciting battle to open the 2026 season.The 25-lap Feature went green with Treb Jacoby and Brayden Doyle leading the field to green. Jacoby led the opening lap with Doyle and third place Kenny Wallace directly behind them.The lead trio went three wide in turn two with Doyle emerging ahead. It didn’t last long, however, as Doyle hit the cushion and got a head of steam down the front stretch to clear Jacoby on Lap 5.A caution on Lap 6 bunched the field up and allowed fifth-running Steinkoenig to enter the picture.Steinkoenig got the best of a three-wide battle for third between he, Wallace and Ray Bollinger, and then set his sights on the lead duo of Doyle and Jacoby.Another caution on Lap 7 again bunched up the field. The ensuing restart saw contact between Bollinger and Jacoby which sent Jacoby spinning down the front stretch, ending his hopes of a Summit Modified triumph.Steinkoenig seized the opportunity on the restart, diving under Doyle in Turn 1 and clearing him after a slight bobble on the cushion in Turn 2. From there, the battle for the lead was on between the top three cars of Steinkoenig, Doyle and Bollinger.Bollinger was able to get underneath Steinkoenig and cleared the Highland, IL-driver on Lap 15 before Steinkoenig battled back on the cushion to retake the lead on Lap 16.Steinkoenig then entered lap traffic and pulled away, leading the final eight laps to win his first career DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature.“It’s been one of the most prestigious races in the area for years,” Steinkoenig said. “Everyone dreams to win a Summer Nationals Hell Tour race, and I am extremely grateful to have finally accomplished that. Just had to keep chomping at the bit, and I wasn’t getting up there and beating my car up in the cushion. I was just up there, with a lot of momentum around this place.”Ray Bollinger finished second, Kenny Wallace fended off multiple challengers and finished third, Rick Conoyer fourth, and Zeke McKenzie advanced five positions to finish fifth.UP NEXTThe DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals heads to Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, IL, on Wednesday, June 10th alongside the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models.How can you watch the DIRTcar Summer Nationals? Every race is streamed live on DIRTVision. Feature (25 Laps): 1. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig[5]; 2. 77-Ray Bollinger[7]; 3. 36-Kenny Wallace[3]; 4. 14C-Rick Conoyer[6]; 5. 24-Zeke McKenzie[10]; 6. 2-Brayden Doyle[2]; 7. 1H-Ben Harmon[11]; 8. 01-Jeremy Nichols[8]; 9. 74-James Hileman[14]; 10. 15H-Jeff Hamby[15]; 11. 150-Collin Alexander[17]; 12. 22W-Wade Wenthe[16]; 13. 11-Jason Brennan[18]; 14. J82-Treb Jacoby[1]; 15. 15-Chris Smith[12]; 16. 88L-Christian Lee[19]; 17. 96C-Marshall Call[21]; 18. 88-Chris Bolyard[22]; 19. 14-Dalton Lane[4]; 20. 4G-Paul Schrempf Jr[20]; 21. 99-Justin Haley[13]; 22. 29J-Jordan Wever[9]Photo Credit: Tim HuntARTICLE: https://dirtcarsummernationals.com/recaps/shannon-babb-gets-summer-nationals-career-win-no-103-in-season-opener-at-brownstown/, https://dirtcarsummernationals.com/recaps/jacob-steinkoenig-wins-1st-career-summit-modified-feature-at-brownstown/EVENT INFO: https://dirtcarsummernationals.com/schedule/event-info/?event=4549553 TRACK INFO: https://www.brownstownbullring.com/FAN 101: https://about.dirtcar.com/

DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners. Official partners include, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel).  Also supported by : AMKUS, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, ESI Equipment – FIREBULL, Fox Factory, Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, MD3, MSD, Quarter Master, Wieland (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne.Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners. Official partners include, Summit Racing Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel).  Also supported by : AMKUS, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Fast Shafts, ESI Equipment – FIREBULL, Fox Factory, Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Multi Fire X, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Performance Products, Swift Springs, Velocita USA, Wieland (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne.

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Shannon Babb Gets Summer Nationals Career Win No. 103 in Season Opener at BrownstownBROWNSTOWN, IL (June 9, 2026) — Some people are happy with their legacy. Others strive to add to it.That’s exactly what Shannon Babb did Tuesday night in the DIRTcar Summer Nationals’ 40th anniversary season opener at Brownstown Bullring.Babb, the four-time Summer Nationals champion from Moweaqua, IL, wired the cushion and led all 30 laps to pick up career Feature win No. 103 in his illustrious Hell Tour career, extending his margin as the series’ all-time winningest driver.“It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? We’ve been racing for a long time, and I guess that’s how we racked up so many,” Babb said. “Hell, we’ve lost twice as many, you know. I’m glad we can say we’ve learned a few things along the way. These little tracks like this, I just always loved them. It’s kind of like a Saturday night race.”The green flag flew on the kickoff for the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, and early on, it was Babb who found the cushion first and used the outside lane to propel him to the lead before a Lap 1 caution for a pileup in turn two stopped the field.On the restart, Babb found his groove on the top line as Frank Heckenast Jr. and Tanner English battled for second behind him.As Babb entered lap traffic, a Lap 13 caution for a slowing Adam Tischauser stacked the field together.The restart gave English an opportunity to pounce, as he found speed on the cushion and tracked down Babb over the next several laps. The Benton, KY-driver pulled even with Babb’s No. 18 with a deep dive down low through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 23, but Babb wasn’t going to be denied, using the high-side momentum to his advantage off Turn 4 to maintain the top spot.Babb then did what he had done all race long, working the cushion enroute to his third career DIRTcar Summer Nationals win at Brownstown.“Tonight we were good enough to be on the front row of the heat, to get that job done, and luckily I drew the front row outside, and that makes my job easier,” Babb said. “It wasn’t rough; the first guy to the cushion wins. Luckily, tonight, I was there.”English held strong behind Babb to bag a runner-up finish, and Heckenast crossed the line in third. Sun River, MT-native Michael Leach drove from sixth to a fourth-place finish while Daryn Klein completed the top five.UP NEXTThe DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models take on Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, IL, on Wednesday, June 10. Tickets for the event will be sold at the track.How can you watch the DIRTcar Summer Nationals? Every race is streamed live on DIRTVision.Feature (30 Laps): 1. 18-Shannon Babb[2]; 2. 96-Tanner English[4]; 3. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 4. 09-Michael Leach[6]; 5. 10K-Daryn Klein[7]; 6. 25F-Jason Feger[19]; 7. 4G-Bob Gardner[15]; 8. 388-Jackson Hise[8]; 9. 38J-Jake Little[17]; 10. 10J-Jordan Bauer[12]; 11. 17SR-Brody Smith[22]; 12. 20B-Todd Brennan[16]; 13. 21B-Rich Bell[20]; 14. 75A-Daniel Adam[9]; 15. 15-Clay Stuckey[11]; 16. 74-Mitch McGrath[18]; 17. T4-Adam Tischhauser[14]; 18. 32M-Cody Maguire[21]; 19. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[5]; 20. 50K-Kayden Clatt[13]; 21. 05-Tyler Leach[3]; 22. 33-Mike Harrison[10] Jacob Steinkoenig Wins First Career Summit Modified Feature at BrownstownA dream came true for an Illinois native Tuesday night at Brownstown Bullring.Jacob Steinkoenig became the 89th different driver to win a DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature in an exciting battle to open the 2026 season.The 25-lap Feature went green with Treb Jacoby and Brayden Doyle leading the field to green. Jacoby led the opening lap with Doyle and third place Kenny Wallace directly behind them.The lead trio went three wide in turn two with Doyle emerging ahead. It didn’t last long, however, as Doyle hit the cushion and got a head of steam down the front stretch to clear Jacoby on Lap 5.A caution on Lap 6 bunched the field up and allowed fifth-running Steinkoenig to enter the picture.Steinkoenig got the best of a three-wide battle for third between he, Wallace and Ray Bollinger, and then set his sights on the lead duo of Doyle and Jacoby.Another caution on Lap 7 again bunched up the field. The ensuing restart saw contact between Bollinger and Jacoby which sent Jacoby spinning down the front stretch, ending his hopes of a Summit Modified triumph.Steinkoenig seized the opportunity on the restart, diving under Doyle in Turn 1 and clearing him after a slight bobble on the cushion in Turn 2. From there, the battle for the lead was on between the top three cars of Steinkoenig, Doyle and Bollinger.Bollinger was able to get underneath Steinkoenig and cleared the Highland, IL-driver on Lap 15 before Steinkoenig battled back on the cushion to retake the lead on Lap 16.Steinkoenig then entered lap traffic and pulled away, leading the final eight laps to win his first career DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature.“It’s been one of the most prestigious races in the area for years,” Steinkoenig said. “Everyone dreams to win a Summer Nationals Hell Tour race, and I am extremely grateful to have finally accomplished that. Just had to keep chomping at the bit, and I wasn’t getting up there and beating my car up in the cushion. I was just up there, with a lot of momentum around this place.”Ray Bollinger finished second, Kenny Wallace fended off multiple challengers and finished third, Rick Conoyer fourth, and Zeke McKenzie advanced five positions to finish fifth.UP NEXTThe DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals heads to Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, IL, on Wednesday, June 10th alongside the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models.How can you watch the DIRTcar Summer Nationals? Every race is streamed live on DIRTVision. Feature (25 Laps): 1. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig[5]; 2. 77-Ray Bollinger[7]; 3. 36-Kenny Wallace[3]; 4. 14C-Rick Conoyer[6]; 5. 24-Zeke McKenzie[10]; 6. 2-Brayden Doyle[2]; 7. 1H-Ben Harmon[11]; 8. 01-Jeremy Nichols[8]; 9. 74-James Hileman[14]; 10. 15H-Jeff Hamby[15]; 11. 150-Collin Alexander[17]; 12. 22W-Wade Wenthe[16]; 13. 11-Jason Brennan[18]; 14. J82-Treb Jacoby[1]; 15. 15-Chris Smith[12]; 16. 88L-Christian Lee[19]; 17. 96C-Marshall Call[21]; 18. 88-Chris Bolyard[22]; 19. 14-Dalton Lane[4]; 20. 4G-Paul Schrempf Jr[20]; 21. 99-Justin Haley[13]; 22. 29J-Jordan Wever[9]Photo Credit: Tim HuntARTICLE: https://dirtcarsummernationals.com/recaps/shannon-babb-gets-summer-nationals-career-win-no-103-in-season-opener-at-brownstown/, https://dirtcarsummernationals.com/recaps/jacob-steinkoenig-wins-1st-career-summit-modified-feature-at-brownstown/EVENT INFO: https://dirtcarsummernationals.com/schedule/event-info/?event=4549553 TRACK INFO: https://www.brownstownbullring.com/FAN 101: https://about.dirtcar.com/

DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners. Official partners include, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel).  Also supported by : AMKUS, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, ESI Equipment – FIREBULL, Fox Factory, Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, MD3, MSD, Quarter Master, Wieland (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne.Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners. Official partners include, Summit Racing Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel).  Also supported by : AMKUS, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Fast Shafts, ESI Equipment – FIREBULL, Fox Factory, Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Multi Fire X, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Performance Products, Swift Springs, Velocita USA, Wieland (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne.

This email was sent to trishyunick@me.com
DIRTcar Racing, 7575 Westwinds Blvd Suite D, Concord, NC 28027, United States
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MINERAL WELLS, WV (June 9, 2026) – “Mountain State” fans rejoice, because The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet are bringing the thunder back to the hills of West Virginia.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision has contested 16 races across three different tracks in the state – I-77 Raceway Park, Tyler County Speedway, and West Virginia Motor Speedway (WVMS). The latter is the site of this weekend’s action, although it now looks nothing like it did when the World of Outlaws were last there in 2013.

After an eight-year closure, the 5/8-mile WVMS reopened in 2021 and operated through 2023 until the facility went on hiatus once again. Soon after, the decision was made to reconstruct the track into a 3/8-mile layout with the goal of producing better racing for fans while not punishing racers’ equipment to the extent of the old layout.

West Virginia has received praise from both groups at the regional events they’ve hosted since reopening in October 2025 ahead of the track’s return to the national spotlight this weekend. The return of the RACEFEST Summer Championship will include two nights of racing co-sanctioned by the World of Outlaws and the Valvoline American Late Model Iron Man Series, with $12,000 up for grabs on Friday, June 12, ahead of the $30,000-to-win finale on Saturday, June 13.

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Here are this week’s top storylines:

DREAM COME TRUE: At long last, Bobby Pierce is heading to West Virginia with a new line on his resume – Dirt Late Model Dream champion.

For the driver with two World of Outlaws championships, two World 100 victories, a Prairie Dirt Classic title, and wins in nearly every other marquee event the sport has to offer, the Dream was the biggest hole in his trophy cabinet that still needed filling. With that accomplishment out of the way, Pierce’s focus will now turn back to his tight battle for a third World of Outlaws title.

The man sitting only nine points behind him, Nick Hoffman, has remained right with Pierce in recent weeks. He came home third in the Dream, one week after collecting a $100,000 payday of his own one week prior at Mansfield Speedway. RACEFEST is another event with no clear favorite between the two, as neither of them have turned a lap on the new layout. Pierce has been to Mineral Wells once before in memorable fashion, as he drove Austin Hubbard’s backup car to a 13th-place finish in 2013 after his hauler broke down on the way to the track.

NIGHT TO REMEMBER: Before Pierce made his way to the front at Eldora Speedway and rolled into Victory Lane, another Outlaw was busy putting on a show.

MD3 Rookie of the Year candidate Trey Mills held off Devin Moran in his Heat Race to earn the pole on one of the sport’s biggest nights. The 18-year-old held his own once the green flag flew in the Feature, leading the first 24 laps of the 100-lap contest. But the monumental upset wasn’t meant to be, as Mills lost the lead to Brandon Sheppard and eventually faded to 17th at the finish.

That level of success in his first Eldora crown jewel start was enough for Mills to make plenty of new fans and build his own confidence on his rise to Late Model stardom. While he’ll continue to chase his first national victory this weekend in his first appearance at West Virginia, Mills has a close points battle to think about as well. He recently overtook Dennis Erb Jr. for the last spot in the top 10, but Erb remains 27 points back with plenty of time left to make a run.

HEATING UP: With 15 World of Outlaws races coming up over the next five weeks, early summer is the perfect time for a team to start heating up. And that’s exactly what Tyler Erb and Best Performance Motorsports are doing.

“Terbo” made headlines for his career-high $100,000 win at Mansfield, but that win should have come as no surprise. In the last 13 World of Outlaws races dating back to Farmer City Raceway on April 10, Erb has only missed the top 10 once, with seven of those starts being top fives. Outside of Series competition, Erb won an Iron Man Series race at I-96 on May 22, and was running as high as second in the Dream until a flat left-rear tire with 21 laps to go ended his chance at Eldora glory.

That consistency has Erb up to third in points entering RACEFEST. While the gap to Pierce and Hoffman at the top is more than 200 points, Erb also has a 40-point cushion between himself and his closest challenger in Drake Troutman.

Much like most drivers competing this weekend, Erb has never seen the new-and-improved WVMS. He’ll be looking for similar results to the ones he had on the old layout, which included a pair of Historic 100 top 10s in 2021 and 2022.

A LEG UP: Speaking of Troutman, the Pennsylvanian is both the only Series regular to race on the new West Virginia configuration and the only one to win on it.

Upon loading up after the final night of the Dairyland Showdown at Mississippi Thunder Speedway on May 2, the G.R. Smith Motorsports team hit the road for a 13-hour drive to West Virginia for the Mark Balzano Memorial the next day. If Troutman was sleep deprived, he didn’t show it, as he set Quick Time, won his Heat Race and led all 40 laps of the Feature.

The weeks since then have been fruitful, as Troutman has finished in the top five in five of his last 11 World of Outlaws starts as he continues his pursuit of his first Series win of 2026.

MOUNTAIN MEN: West Virginia is home to plenty of people who have shaped the history of Late Model racing, and many of them will be in attendance this weekend looking to defend their state’s signature track.

Located 80 miles west of Mineral Wells is Shinnston, WV, home of Mark Richards and the winningest chassis manufacturer in the history of the sport, Rocket Chassis. Richards’ Rocket1 Racing team won the last World of Outlaws race at West Virginia in 2013 with son Josh behind the wheel, and the team will be back for RACEFEST with Brandon Sheppard in the seat.

Rocket isn’t the only West Virginia-based chassis brand producing Late Models, as Kryptonite Race Cars is based seven miles from the track in Parkersburg, WV. Kryptonite founder Freddie Carpenter will be in action in his No. C4 at the place where he’s finished on the podium in all three Late Model races contested on the new 3/8-mile configuration.

Joining him this weekend will be his son, Tyler, the driver best known for his pair of Gateway Dirt Nationals victories in 2019 and 2021. The younger Carpenter knows how to win outdoors as well, and he has done so in regional action this year at Ohio Valley Speedway, Tyler County Speedway, Muskingum County Speedway, Elkins Raceway and WVMS, where he beat the Ohio Valley Late Model Dirt Series on April 11.

Other “Mountain State” standouts expected to attend include Zack Dohm, Ryan Montgomery and Colten Burdette, plus national stars Hudson O’Neal, Devin Moran, Dan Ebert and more.

WHEN AND WHERE:
Friday-Saturday, June 12-13, at West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells, WV

CURRENT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Bobby Pierce (3775 points)
2. Nick Hoffman (-9)
3. Tyler Erb (-229)
4. Drake Troutman (-269)
5. Tim McCreadie (-292)
6. Ryan Gustin (-304)
7. Ethan Dotson (-357)
8. Daulton Wilson (-365)
9. Dustin Sorensen (-427)
10. Trey Mills (-495)

FEATURE WINNERS (11):
Bobby Pierce – 9
Nick Hoffman – 6
Tim McCreadie – 2
Brandon Sheppard – 2
Hudson O’Neal – 2
Tyler Erb – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1
Chris Madden – 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 1
Mason Zeigler – 1
Mike Marlar – 1

FEATURE TOP FIVES (25):
Nick Hoffman – 23
Bobby Pierce – 19
Tyler Erb – 11
Tim McCreadie – 9
Drake Troutman – 9
Ryan Gustin – 8
Brandon Sheppard – 7
Daulton Wilson – 7
Hudson O’Neal – 6
Chris Madden – 5
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 5
Ethan Dotson – 4
Jonathan Davenport – 4
Mason Zeigler – 2
Dennis Erb Jr. – 2
Dustin Sorensen – 2
Dale McDowell – 2
Brandon Overton – 2
Ashton Winger – 2
Mike Marlar – 1
Max Blair – 1
Brent Larson – 1
Josh Rice – 1
Trey Mills – 1
Garrett Alberson – 1

FEATURE LAPS LED (21):
Bobby Pierce – 228
Nick Hoffman – 190
Drake Troutman – 99
Brandon Sheppard – 78
Ryan Gustin – 73
Chris Madden – 73
Daulton Wilson – 66
Hudson O’Neal – 47
Tim McCreadie – 46
Garrett Alberson – 46
Jonathan Davenport – 45
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 41
Tyler Erb – 40
Mike Marlar – 39
Mason Zeigler – 24
Ashton Winger – 22
Ethan Dotson – 12
Brandon Overton – 12
Michael Leach – 10
Sam Seawright – 5
Dale McDowell – 4

BILSTEIN POLE AWARDS (16):
Nick Hoffman – 6
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 3
Drake Troutman – 3
Chris Madden – 2
Daulton Wilson – 2
Tim McCreadie – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1
Ethan Dotson – 1
Jonathan Davenport – 1
Dustin Sorensen – 1
Brandon Overton – 1
Ashton Winger – 1
Garrett Alberson – 1
Tristan Chamberlain – 1
Sam Seawright – 1
Michael Leach – 1

SIMPSON QUICK TIME AWARDS (15):
Nick Hoffman – 7
Chris Madden – 5
Bobby Pierce – 2
Tim McCreadie – 2
Michael Leach – 2
Brandon Sheppard – 1
Hudson O’Neal – 1
Tyler Erb – 1
Drake Troutman – 1
Ethan Dotson – 1
Jonathan Davenport – 1
Brandon Overton – 1
Brent Larson – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Sam Seawright – 1

HEAT RACE WINS (37):
Nick Hoffman – 16
Bobby Pierce – 11
Tyler Erb – 8
Ryan Gustin – 7
Chris Madden – 7
Drake Troutman – 6
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 5
Brandon Sheppard – 4
Hudson O’Neal – 4
Daulton Wilson – 4
Brandon Overton – 4
Tim McCreadie – 3
Mason Zeigler – 3
Jonathan Davenport – 3
Ethan Dotson – 2
Dustin Sorensen – 2
Trey Mills – 2
Tristan Chamberlain – 2
Michael Leach – 2
Jared Miley – 2
Mike Marlar – 1
Dennis Erb Jr. – 1
Dale McDowell – 1
Ashton Winger – 1
Brent Larson – 1
Josh Rice – 1
Garrett Alberson – 1
Donald McIntosh – 1
Blair Nothdurft – 1
Logan Zarin – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Dan Ebert – 1
Austin Smith – 1
Sam Seawright – 1
Dallon Murty – 1
Devin Moran – 1
Lane Snook – 1

LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (33):
Ethan Dotson – 4
Daulton Wilson – 3
Dennis Erb Jr. – 3
Josh Rice – 3
Logan Zarin – 3
Bobby Pierce – 2
Drake Troutman – 2
Dustin Sorensen – 2
Trey Mills – 2
Tristan Chamberlain – 2
Dallon Murty – 2
Tim McCreadie – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 1
Cory Hedgecock – 1
Jake Timm – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Dan Ebert – 1
Michael Leach – 1
Carson Ferguson – 1
Luke Morey – 1
Dalton Cook – 1
Shane Clanton – 1
Michael Page – 1
Jason Feger – 1
Brian Shirley – 1
Derrick Stewart – 1
Chad Simpson – 1
Chris Simpson – 1
Dylan Thornton – 1
Nick Davis – 1
Dylan Yoder – 1
Lincoln Smith – 1

TOP FIVE STORYLINES: Country Roads Take World of Outlaws to Revamped West Virginia Motor Speedway

MINERAL WELLS, WV (June 9, 2026) – “Mountain State” fans rejoice, because The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet are bringing the thunder back to the hills of West Virginia.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision has contested 16 races across three different tracks in the state – I-77 Raceway Park, Tyler County Speedway, and West Virginia Motor Speedway (WVMS). The latter is the site of this weekend’s action, although it now looks nothing like it did when the World of Outlaws were last there in 2013.

After an eight-year closure, the 5/8-mile WVMS reopened in 2021 and operated through 2023 until the facility went on hiatus once again. Soon after, the decision was made to reconstruct the track into a 3/8-mile layout with the goal of producing better racing for fans while not punishing racers’ equipment to the extent of the old layout.

West Virginia has received praise from both groups at the regional events they’ve hosted since reopening in October 2025 ahead of the track’s return to the national spotlight this weekend. The return of the RACEFEST Summer Championship will include two nights of racing co-sanctioned by the World of Outlaws and the Valvoline American Late Model Iron Man Series, with $12,000 up for grabs on Friday, June 12, ahead of the $30,000-to-win finale on Saturday, June 13.

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Here are this week’s top storylines:

DREAM COME TRUE: At long last, Bobby Pierce is heading to West Virginia with a new line on his resume – Dirt Late Model Dream champion.

For the driver with two World of Outlaws championships, two World 100 victories, a Prairie Dirt Classic title, and wins in nearly every other marquee event the sport has to offer, the Dream was the biggest hole in his trophy cabinet that still needed filling. With that accomplishment out of the way, Pierce’s focus will now turn back to his tight battle for a third World of Outlaws title.

The man sitting only nine points behind him, Nick Hoffman, has remained right with Pierce in recent weeks. He came home third in the Dream, one week after collecting a $100,000 payday of his own one week prior at Mansfield Speedway. RACEFEST is another event with no clear favorite between the two, as neither of them have turned a lap on the new layout. Pierce has been to Mineral Wells once before in memorable fashion, as he drove Austin Hubbard’s backup car to a 13th-place finish in 2013 after his hauler broke down on the way to the track.

NIGHT TO REMEMBER: Before Pierce made his way to the front at Eldora Speedway and rolled into Victory Lane, another Outlaw was busy putting on a show.

MD3 Rookie of the Year candidate Trey Mills held off Devin Moran in his Heat Race to earn the pole on one of the sport’s biggest nights. The 18-year-old held his own once the green flag flew in the Feature, leading the first 24 laps of the 100-lap contest. But the monumental upset wasn’t meant to be, as Mills lost the lead to Brandon Sheppard and eventually faded to 17th at the finish.

That level of success in his first Eldora crown jewel start was enough for Mills to make plenty of new fans and build his own confidence on his rise to Late Model stardom. While he’ll continue to chase his first national victory this weekend in his first appearance at West Virginia, Mills has a close points battle to think about as well. He recently overtook Dennis Erb Jr. for the last spot in the top 10, but Erb remains 27 points back with plenty of time left to make a run.

HEATING UP: With 15 World of Outlaws races coming up over the next five weeks, early summer is the perfect time for a team to start heating up. And that’s exactly what Tyler Erb and Best Performance Motorsports are doing.

“Terbo” made headlines for his career-high $100,000 win at Mansfield, but that win should have come as no surprise. In the last 13 World of Outlaws races dating back to Farmer City Raceway on April 10, Erb has only missed the top 10 once, with seven of those starts being top fives. Outside of Series competition, Erb won an Iron Man Series race at I-96 on May 22, and was running as high as second in the Dream until a flat left-rear tire with 21 laps to go ended his chance at Eldora glory.

That consistency has Erb up to third in points entering RACEFEST. While the gap to Pierce and Hoffman at the top is more than 200 points, Erb also has a 40-point cushion between himself and his closest challenger in Drake Troutman.

Much like most drivers competing this weekend, Erb has never seen the new-and-improved WVMS. He’ll be looking for similar results to the ones he had on the old layout, which included a pair of Historic 100 top 10s in 2021 and 2022.

A LEG UP: Speaking of Troutman, the Pennsylvanian is both the only Series regular to race on the new West Virginia configuration and the only one to win on it.

Upon loading up after the final night of the Dairyland Showdown at Mississippi Thunder Speedway on May 2, the G.R. Smith Motorsports team hit the road for a 13-hour drive to West Virginia for the Mark Balzano Memorial the next day. If Troutman was sleep deprived, he didn’t show it, as he set Quick Time, won his Heat Race and led all 40 laps of the Feature.

The weeks since then have been fruitful, as Troutman has finished in the top five in five of his last 11 World of Outlaws starts as he continues his pursuit of his first Series win of 2026.

MOUNTAIN MEN: West Virginia is home to plenty of people who have shaped the history of Late Model racing, and many of them will be in attendance this weekend looking to defend their state’s signature track.

Located 80 miles west of Mineral Wells is Shinnston, WV, home of Mark Richards and the winningest chassis manufacturer in the history of the sport, Rocket Chassis. Richards’ Rocket1 Racing team won the last World of Outlaws race at West Virginia in 2013 with son Josh behind the wheel, and the team will be back for RACEFEST with Brandon Sheppard in the seat.

Rocket isn’t the only West Virginia-based chassis brand producing Late Models, as Kryptonite Race Cars is based seven miles from the track in Parkersburg, WV. Kryptonite founder Freddie Carpenter will be in action in his No. C4 at the place where he’s finished on the podium in all three Late Model races contested on the new 3/8-mile configuration.

Joining him this weekend will be his son, Tyler, the driver best known for his pair of Gateway Dirt Nationals victories in 2019 and 2021. The younger Carpenter knows how to win outdoors as well, and he has done so in regional action this year at Ohio Valley Speedway, Tyler County Speedway, Muskingum County Speedway, Elkins Raceway and WVMS, where he beat the Ohio Valley Late Model Dirt Series on April 11.

Other “Mountain State” standouts expected to attend include Zack Dohm, Ryan Montgomery and Colten Burdette, plus national stars Hudson O’Neal, Devin Moran, Dan Ebert and more.

WHEN AND WHERE:
Friday-Saturday, June 12-13, at West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells, WV

CURRENT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Bobby Pierce (3775 points)
2. Nick Hoffman (-9)
3. Tyler Erb (-229)
4. Drake Troutman (-269)
5. Tim McCreadie (-292)
6. Ryan Gustin (-304)
7. Ethan Dotson (-357)
8. Daulton Wilson (-365)
9. Dustin Sorensen (-427)
10. Trey Mills (-495)

FEATURE WINNERS (11):
Bobby Pierce – 9
Nick Hoffman – 6
Tim McCreadie – 2
Brandon Sheppard – 2
Hudson O’Neal – 2
Tyler Erb – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1
Chris Madden – 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 1
Mason Zeigler – 1
Mike Marlar – 1

FEATURE TOP FIVES (25):
Nick Hoffman – 23
Bobby Pierce – 19
Tyler Erb – 11
Tim McCreadie – 9
Drake Troutman – 9
Ryan Gustin – 8
Brandon Sheppard – 7
Daulton Wilson – 7
Hudson O’Neal – 6
Chris Madden – 5
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 5
Ethan Dotson – 4
Jonathan Davenport – 4
Mason Zeigler – 2
Dennis Erb Jr. – 2
Dustin Sorensen – 2
Dale McDowell – 2
Brandon Overton – 2
Ashton Winger – 2
Mike Marlar – 1
Max Blair – 1
Brent Larson – 1
Josh Rice – 1
Trey Mills – 1
Garrett Alberson – 1

FEATURE LAPS LED (21):
Bobby Pierce – 228
Nick Hoffman – 190
Drake Troutman – 99
Brandon Sheppard – 78
Ryan Gustin – 73
Chris Madden – 73
Daulton Wilson – 66
Hudson O’Neal – 47
Tim McCreadie – 46
Garrett Alberson – 46
Jonathan Davenport – 45
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 41
Tyler Erb – 40
Mike Marlar – 39
Mason Zeigler – 24
Ashton Winger – 22
Ethan Dotson – 12
Brandon Overton – 12
Michael Leach – 10
Sam Seawright – 5
Dale McDowell – 4

BILSTEIN POLE AWARDS (16):
Nick Hoffman – 6
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 3
Drake Troutman – 3
Chris Madden – 2
Daulton Wilson – 2
Tim McCreadie – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1
Ethan Dotson – 1
Jonathan Davenport – 1
Dustin Sorensen – 1
Brandon Overton – 1
Ashton Winger – 1
Garrett Alberson – 1
Tristan Chamberlain – 1
Sam Seawright – 1
Michael Leach – 1

SIMPSON QUICK TIME AWARDS (15):
Nick Hoffman – 7
Chris Madden – 5
Bobby Pierce – 2
Tim McCreadie – 2
Michael Leach – 2
Brandon Sheppard – 1
Hudson O’Neal – 1
Tyler Erb – 1
Drake Troutman – 1
Ethan Dotson – 1
Jonathan Davenport – 1
Brandon Overton – 1
Brent Larson – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Sam Seawright – 1

HEAT RACE WINS (37):
Nick Hoffman – 16
Bobby Pierce – 11
Tyler Erb – 8
Ryan Gustin – 7
Chris Madden – 7
Drake Troutman – 6
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 5
Brandon Sheppard – 4
Hudson O’Neal – 4
Daulton Wilson – 4
Brandon Overton – 4
Tim McCreadie – 3
Mason Zeigler – 3
Jonathan Davenport – 3
Ethan Dotson – 2
Dustin Sorensen – 2
Trey Mills – 2
Tristan Chamberlain – 2
Michael Leach – 2
Jared Miley – 2
Mike Marlar – 1
Dennis Erb Jr. – 1
Dale McDowell – 1
Ashton Winger – 1
Brent Larson – 1
Josh Rice – 1
Garrett Alberson – 1
Donald McIntosh – 1
Blair Nothdurft – 1
Logan Zarin – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Dan Ebert – 1
Austin Smith – 1
Sam Seawright – 1
Dallon Murty – 1
Devin Moran – 1
Lane Snook – 1

LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (33):
Ethan Dotson – 4
Daulton Wilson – 3
Dennis Erb Jr. – 3
Josh Rice – 3
Logan Zarin – 3
Bobby Pierce – 2
Drake Troutman – 2
Dustin Sorensen – 2
Trey Mills – 2
Tristan Chamberlain – 2
Dallon Murty – 2
Tim McCreadie – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. – 1
Cory Hedgecock – 1
Jake Timm – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Dan Ebert – 1
Michael Leach – 1
Carson Ferguson – 1
Luke Morey – 1
Dalton Cook – 1
Shane Clanton – 1
Michael Page – 1
Jason Feger – 1
Brian Shirley – 1
Derrick Stewart – 1
Chad Simpson – 1
Chris Simpson – 1
Dylan Thornton – 1
Nick Davis – 1
Dylan Yoder – 1
Lincoln Smith – 1

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

LOCUST GROVE, AR (June 9, 2026) — The American Sprint Car Series is back in the state where it all started. 

The top drivers of 360 Sprint Car racing travel to Arkansas, which first welcomed the Series in 1993, for a Saturday night duel at Locust Grove’s Batesville Motor Speedway on June 13. The high-banked 3/8-mile will see drivers contest for a $4,000 payday. 

Grandstand gates open at 5 p.m. CT, and Hot Laps will commence at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be available to purchase at the track on Saturday.

BATESVILLE INFO 

WATCH ON DIRTVISION 

Here are the top storylines to look for: 

Back Home Again – “The Natural State” was the first state to welcome the American Sprint Car Series with its introductory race at I-30 Speedway in 1993. 

Batesville hosted the Series for the first time in 1996, with Mike Ward winning the first two races. The track hosted the National Tour from 1999 to 2004, and there was a 17-year wait before it returned to the annual schedule in 2021. 

Ward, Gary Wright, and Tim Crawley own the most Series wins at the track with three apiece. Last year, two-time Series champion Blake Hahn drove to Victory Lane at the 3/8-mile for the first time.  

Needing A Spark – As the American Sprint Car Series reaches the second quarter of the 2026 season, Sam Hafertepe Jr. needs a pitch of momentum to contain his points lead at Batesville. 

Hafertepe has held the point lead for most of the season, but his last few starts have caused him to lose a little grip. At Benton, he was leading until contact with a lapped car forced him to settle for ninth. Then, at Creek County, he suffered an engine issue halfway through the Feature while running in third place. 

While he recovered at 81 Speedway with a runner-up finish to keep the lead (22 points over Matt Covington), he’s looking for luck to turn his direction at Batesville. The six-time Series champion has finished second and fifth, respectively, in his last two track appearances. 

Striking Distance – Matt Covington has been one of the most consistent drivers in the last eight races, earning an average finish of 4.8. He was the first full-time driver to win this year and has scored eight top 10 finishes in a row, including three top fives in the last three races. 

Those results have helped him close in on Hafertepe’s points lead, currently 22 points back. 

That streak could continue this weekend as the Glenpool, OK native has never finished worse than ninth in four starts at Batesville. He earned top five in his 2021 debut at the track and a podium in 2024. 

Grind Never Stops – Seth Bergman’s recent strong runs, including a win last weekend, have him back in the fight for his second Series title – sitting 23 points back from the lead. 

The 2024 Series champion has proven to be the hottest driver on the circuit by maintaining a streak of five consecutive top fives, including wins at Benton Speedway and 81 Speedway. 

While the Snohomish, WA driver finished 18th in his 2025 visit, he owns the track record (12.429 sec.) and finished in the top five at the Arkansas facility during his championship season. Winning on Saturday will make him the first three-time winner in the 2026 campaign. 

Every Point Matters – After 11 races, ASCS enters Batesville with points battles throughout the top 10 in points. 

The top three are separated by 23 points. Behind them, fourth-place Kyler Johnson and fifth-place Whit Gastineau sit three points apart. Sixth through eighth sees Brogan Carder, Ryder Laplante, and Austyn Gossel separated by 28 points. Then, six markers split Terry Easum and Cole Schroeder to determine ninth and 10th. 

Eight drivers are still hunting for their first win this season, and among them (Johnson, Carder, Laplante, Gossel, and Schroeder) are looking for their first overall Series win. 

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

WHEN AND WHERE 

Saturday, June 13, at Batesville Motor Speedway in Batesville, AR 

AROUND THE CORNER 

Friday-Saturday, June 26-27, at Belleville High Banks in Belleville, KS 

CURRENT TOP-10 STANDINGS 

1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1157pts) 
2. Matt Covington (-22)
3. Seth Bergman (-23)
4. Kyler Johnson (-163)
5. Whit Gastineau (-166)
6. Brogan Carder (-260)
7. Ryder Laplante(-268) 
8. Austyn Gossel(-288) 
9. Terry Easum (-305)
10. Cole Schroeder (-311)

FEATURE WINNERS (8 Drivers) 

2 wins – Seth Bergman, Justin Peck, Tyler Courtney 

1 win – Blake Hahn, Chris Martin, Brady Bacon, Levi Hillier, Matt Covington 

FEATURE LAPS LED (16 Drivers) 

52 laps – Justin Peck 

30 laps – Levi Hillier, Blake Hahn 

23 laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr. 

22 laps – Chris Martin 

21 laps – Austin McCarl 

20 laps – Seth Bergman 

19 laps – Matt Covington 

18 laps – Brady Bacon 

16 laps – Cameron Martin 

13 laps – Brian Brown 

10 laps – Kyler Johnson 

9 laps – Whit Gastineau 

7 laps – Cole Macedo 

6 laps – Tyler Courtney 

3 laps – Sean McClelland 

QUICK TIME AWARDS (5 Drivers) 

5 awards – Sam Hafertepe Jr 

1 award – Seth Bergman, Howard Moore, Chris Martin, Levi Hillier, Kyler Johnson 

HEAT RACE WINNERS (23 Drivers) 

4 wins – Matt Covington 

3 wins – Sam Hafertepe Jr, Whit Gastineau 

2 wins – Seth Bergman, Chris Martin, Justin Peck 

1 win – Jordan Mallett, Sean McClelland, Garrett Benson, Cam Martin, Brady Bacon, Tyler Clem, Emerson Axsom, Brian Brown, Cole Macedo, Garen Linder, Colby Copeland, Nick Parker, Hank Davis, Ryder Laplante, JJ Hickle, Kyler Johnson, Alex Hill, Jeremy Campbell, Blake Hahn, Kade Morton, Alex Sewell 

DASH STARTS (34 Drivers) 

9 starts – Sam Hafertepe Jr 

7 starts – Matt Covington 

5 starts – Kyler Johnson, Whit Gastineau 

4 starts – Levi Hillier, Seth Bergman 

3 starts – Chris Martin, Tyler Courtney, Brian Brown, Justin Peck 

2 starts – Camerson Martin, Emerson Axsom, Austin McCarl, Brady Bacon, Davie Franek 

1 start – Jordan Mallett, Howard Moore, Paul Solomon, Garrett Benson, Brock Zearfoss, Cole Macedo, Tyler Clem, Hank Davis, Ryder Laplante, Nick Parker, Colby Copeland, Garen Linder, JJ Hickle, Alex Hill, Blake Hahn, Alex Sewell, Kade Morton, Jeremy Campbell, Bryant Wiedeman 

SMITH TITANIUM LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (7 Drivers) 

2 wins – Braxton Weger 

1 win – DJ Christie, Matt Covington, Tyler Clem, Whit Gastineau, Sterling Cling, Gage Montgomery 

HARD CHARGER AWARDS (11 Drivers) 

1 award – Seth Bergman, Ryder Laplante, Brady Bacon, Cole Macedo, Sam Hafertepe Jr., DJ Netto, Whit Gastineau, Brogan Carder, Joe B. Miller, Bradley Fezard, Hayden Mabe 

PODIUM FINISHES (18 Drivers) 

5 podiums – Sam Hafertepe Jr. 

4 podiums – Matt Covington 

3 podiums – Justin Peck, Seth Bergman 

2 podiums – Tyler Courtney, Brady Bacon, Austin McCarl, Levi Hillier 

1 podium – Cole Macedo, Emerson Axsom, Brock Zearfoss, Kyler Johnson, JJ Hickle, Jordan Mallett, Chris Martin, Blake Hahn, Alex Sewell, Whit Gastineau 

2026 AMERICAN SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE + WINNERS 

Date / Track / City, State / Winner (Total Wins) 

TOP FIVE STORYLINES: Covington, Bergman Continue Hunt For Hafertepe’s Top Spot at Batesville LOCUST GROVE, AR (June 9, 2026) — The American Sprint Car Series is back in the state where it all started. 

The top drivers of 360 Sprint Car racing travel to Arkansas, which first welcomed the Series in 1993, for a Saturday night duel at Locust Grove’s Batesville Motor Speedway on June 13. The high-banked 3/8-mile will see drivers contest for a $4,000 payday. 

Grandstand gates open at 5 p.m. CT, and Hot Laps will commence at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be available to purchase at the track on Saturday.

BATESVILLE INFO 

WATCH ON DIRTVISION 

Here are the top storylines to look for: 

Back Home Again – “The Natural State” was the first state to welcome the American Sprint Car Series with its introductory race at I-30 Speedway in 1993. 

Batesville hosted the Series for the first time in 1996, with Mike Ward winning the first two races. The track hosted the National Tour from 1999 to 2004, and there was a 17-year wait before it returned to the annual schedule in 2021. 

Ward, Gary Wright, and Tim Crawley own the most Series wins at the track with three apiece. Last year, two-time Series champion Blake Hahn drove to Victory Lane at the 3/8-mile for the first time.  

Needing A Spark – As the American Sprint Car Series reaches the second quarter of the 2026 season, Sam Hafertepe Jr. needs a pitch of momentum to contain his points lead at Batesville. 

Hafertepe has held the point lead for most of the season, but his last few starts have caused him to lose a little grip. At Benton, he was leading until contact with a lapped car forced him to settle for ninth. Then, at Creek County, he suffered an engine issue halfway through the Feature while running in third place. 

While he recovered at 81 Speedway with a runner-up finish to keep the lead (22 points over Matt Covington), he’s looking for luck to turn his direction at Batesville. The six-time Series champion has finished second and fifth, respectively, in his last two track appearances. 

Striking Distance – Matt Covington has been one of the most consistent drivers in the last eight races, earning an average finish of 4.8. He was the first full-time driver to win this year and has scored eight top 10 finishes in a row, including three top fives in the last three races. 

Those results have helped him close in on Hafertepe’s points lead, currently 22 points back. 

That streak could continue this weekend as the Glenpool, OK native has never finished worse than ninth in four starts at Batesville. He earned top five in his 2021 debut at the track and a podium in 2024. 

Grind Never Stops – Seth Bergman’s recent strong runs, including a win last weekend, have him back in the fight for his second Series title – sitting 23 points back from the lead. 

The 2024 Series champion has proven to be the hottest driver on the circuit by maintaining a streak of five consecutive top fives, including wins at Benton Speedway and 81 Speedway. 

While the Snohomish, WA driver finished 18th in his 2025 visit, he owns the track record (12.429 sec.) and finished in the top five at the Arkansas facility during his championship season. Winning on Saturday will make him the first three-time winner in the 2026 campaign. 

Every Point Matters – After 11 races, ASCS enters Batesville with points battles throughout the top 10 in points. 

The top three are separated by 23 points. Behind them, fourth-place Kyler Johnson and fifth-place Whit Gastineau sit three points apart. Sixth through eighth sees Brogan Carder, Ryder Laplante, and Austyn Gossel separated by 28 points. Then, six markers split Terry Easum and Cole Schroeder to determine ninth and 10th. 

Eight drivers are still hunting for their first win this season, and among them (Johnson, Carder, Laplante, Gossel, and Schroeder) are looking for their first overall Series win. 

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

WHEN AND WHERE 

Saturday, June 13, at Batesville Motor Speedway in Batesville, AR 

AROUND THE CORNER 

Friday-Saturday, June 26-27, at Belleville High Banks in Belleville, KS 

CURRENT TOP-10 STANDINGS 

1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1157pts) 
2. Matt Covington (-22)
3. Seth Bergman (-23)
4. Kyler Johnson (-163)
5. Whit Gastineau (-166)
6. Brogan Carder (-260)
7. Ryder Laplante(-268) 
8. Austyn Gossel(-288) 
9. Terry Easum (-305)
10. Cole Schroeder (-311)

FEATURE WINNERS (8 Drivers) 

2 wins – Seth Bergman, Justin Peck, Tyler Courtney 

1 win – Blake Hahn, Chris Martin, Brady Bacon, Levi Hillier, Matt Covington 

FEATURE LAPS LED (16 Drivers) 

52 laps – Justin Peck 

30 laps – Levi Hillier, Blake Hahn 

23 laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr. 

22 laps – Chris Martin 

21 laps – Austin McCarl 

20 laps – Seth Bergman 

19 laps – Matt Covington 

18 laps – Brady Bacon 

16 laps – Cameron Martin 

13 laps – Brian Brown 

10 laps – Kyler Johnson 

9 laps – Whit Gastineau 

7 laps – Cole Macedo 

6 laps – Tyler Courtney 

3 laps – Sean McClelland 

QUICK TIME AWARDS (5 Drivers) 

5 awards – Sam Hafertepe Jr 

1 award – Seth Bergman, Howard Moore, Chris Martin, Levi Hillier, Kyler Johnson 

HEAT RACE WINNERS (23 Drivers) 

4 wins – Matt Covington 

3 wins – Sam Hafertepe Jr, Whit Gastineau 

2 wins – Seth Bergman, Chris Martin, Justin Peck 

1 win – Jordan Mallett, Sean McClelland, Garrett Benson, Cam Martin, Brady Bacon, Tyler Clem, Emerson Axsom, Brian Brown, Cole Macedo, Garen Linder, Colby Copeland, Nick Parker, Hank Davis, Ryder Laplante, JJ Hickle, Kyler Johnson, Alex Hill, Jeremy Campbell, Blake Hahn, Kade Morton, Alex Sewell 

DASH STARTS (34 Drivers) 

9 starts – Sam Hafertepe Jr 

7 starts – Matt Covington 

5 starts – Kyler Johnson, Whit Gastineau 

4 starts – Levi Hillier, Seth Bergman 

3 starts – Chris Martin, Tyler Courtney, Brian Brown, Justin Peck 

2 starts – Camerson Martin, Emerson Axsom, Austin McCarl, Brady Bacon, Davie Franek 

1 start – Jordan Mallett, Howard Moore, Paul Solomon, Garrett Benson, Brock Zearfoss, Cole Macedo, Tyler Clem, Hank Davis, Ryder Laplante, Nick Parker, Colby Copeland, Garen Linder, JJ Hickle, Alex Hill, Blake Hahn, Alex Sewell, Kade Morton, Jeremy Campbell, Bryant Wiedeman 

SMITH TITANIUM LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (7 Drivers) 

2 wins – Braxton Weger 

1 win – DJ Christie, Matt Covington, Tyler Clem, Whit Gastineau, Sterling Cling, Gage Montgomery 

HARD CHARGER AWARDS (11 Drivers) 

1 award – Seth Bergman, Ryder Laplante, Brady Bacon, Cole Macedo, Sam Hafertepe Jr., DJ Netto, Whit Gastineau, Brogan Carder, Joe B. Miller, Bradley Fezard, Hayden Mabe 

PODIUM FINISHES (18 Drivers) 

5 podiums – Sam Hafertepe Jr. 

4 podiums – Matt Covington 

3 podiums – Justin Peck, Seth Bergman 

2 podiums – Tyler Courtney, Brady Bacon, Austin McCarl, Levi Hillier 

1 podium – Cole Macedo, Emerson Axsom, Brock Zearfoss, Kyler Johnson, JJ Hickle, Jordan Mallett, Chris Martin, Blake Hahn, Alex Sewell, Whit Gastineau 

2026 AMERICAN SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE + WINNERS 

Date / Track / City, State / Winner (Total Wins) 

1. Thu, Jan. 29 / Volusia Speedway Park /Barberville, FL / Tyler Courtney
2. Fri, Jan. 30 / Volusia Speedway Park /Barberville, FL / Tyler Courtney (2)
3. Mon, Feb. 2 / Volusia Speedway Park /Barberville, FL / Brady Bacon 
4. Sat, Feb. 21 / Central Arizona Raceway / Casa Grande, AZ / Justin Peck
5. Sun, Feb. 21 / Central Arizona Raceway / Casa Grande, AZ / Matt Covington
6. Sat, Feb. 28 / Central Arizona Raceway / Casa Grande, AZ / Justin Peck (2)
7. Sun, Mar. 1 / Central Arizona Raceway / Casa Grande, AZ / Levi Hillier
8. Sat, Apr. 11 / Salina Highbanks Speedway / Salina, OK / Chris Martin 
9. Fri, May 8 / Benton Speedway / Benton, MO / Seth Bergman
10.  Fri, June 5 / Creek County Speedway / Sapulpa, OK / Blake Hahn
11. Sat, June 6 / 81 Speedway / Park City, KS / Seth Bergman (2)

Experience Butler County Named Presenting Sponsor of the Firecracker 100 at Lernerville

BATAVIA, Ohio (June 09, 2026) – Lernerville Speedway is proud to announce that Experience Butler County, Pennsylvania has been named the presenting sponsor of the prestigious Firecracker 100, one of the premier dirt late model events in the nation. Scheduled for June 25-27, the Firecracker 100 annually attracts thousands of spectators and competitors to Lernerville Speedway, generating significant economic impact for local businesses, hotels, restaurants, and attractions throughout Butler County. “Partnering with Experience Butler County is a natural fit for the Firecracker 100,” said the Tomson family, owners of Lernerville Speedway. “This event has long served as a destination for race fans nationwide, and Experience Butler County shares our commitment to highlighting everything that makes this region special. Together, we’re creating an even greater experience for visitors while supporting local tourism and economic growth.” Since its inception, the Firecracker 100 has established itself as one of dirt racing’s crown jewel events, drawing many of the sport’s biggest stars and delivering unforgettable competition on Lernerville Speedway’s historic 4/10-mile dirt oval. Fans attending the Firecracker 100 presented by Experience Butler County on June 25-27 will have opportunities to explore the area’s vibrant communities, outdoor recreation, shopping destinations, breweries, restaurants, and family-friendly attractions while enjoying one of the most anticipated weekends on the dirt racing calendar. Additional event information, ticket details, and schedules can be found at Lernerville.com. For the latest news, results, and championship standings from the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing, please visit LucasDirt.com.

 

DALLAS (June 9, 2026) — To commemorate the one-year anniversary of 6-time Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson’s historic 1,000^th round win at the 2025 Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, the 1000 Round Win Clubis sponsoring
Drag Race Bracket Bonanza (DRBB) for the Thunder Valley Nationals this weekend. The free-to-play bracket game that has become a weekly destination for drag racing fans across the country. Anderson joined John Force as the second member of the 1000 Round Win Club, which is arguably the most exclusive achievement club in motorsports, last year in Bristol when he defeated David Cuadra in the semifinals.

 
“This is the combination of two of my passion projects, Drag Race Bracket Bonanza and the 1000 Round Win Club,” said DRBB creator and Werner Communications president Elon Werner. “This is the perfect time to celebrate Greg’s amazing accomplishment and tie in one of the most fun fan engagement games in drag racing. Bristol is one of our most popular races for Drag Race Bracket Bonanza and we have some special announcements tied to this sponsorship.”

 Greg Anderson with the symbolic 1000 Round Win Goodyear tires joined John Force as the second member of the 1000 Round Win Club in Bristol last year, photo credit Werner Communications

The 1000 Round Win Club recognizes the elite of the elite in NHRA drag racing. Turning on 1,000 win lights is a testament to more than just longevity, it represents dominance, excellence and perseverance which are the cornerstones of the 1000 Round Win Club.
 
Anderson and Force each received framed certificates of membership prior to the 2025 NHRA champion’s banquet. The certificates highlighted the spirit of what it means to be a member of the 1000 Round Win Club. 

“This remarkable milestone places you amongst the elite of elite in motorsports. The world of motorsports celebrates this achievement with you and your team, as it is a testament to your enduring excellence, perseverance and legendary career.”

1000 ROUND WIN CLUB SPONSORS
DRAG RACE BRACKET BONANZA IN BRISTOL 

DALLAS (June 9, 2026) — To commemorate the one-year anniversary of 6-time Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson’s historic 1,000^th round win at the 2025 Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, the 1000 Round Win Clubis sponsoring
Drag Race Bracket Bonanza (DRBB) for the Thunder Valley Nationals this weekend. The free-to-play bracket game that has become a weekly destination for drag racing fans across the country. Anderson joined John Force as the second member of the 1000 Round Win Club, which is arguably the most exclusive achievement club in motorsports, last year in Bristol when he defeated David Cuadra in the semifinals.

 
“This is the combination of two of my passion projects, Drag Race Bracket Bonanza and the 1000 Round Win Club,” said DRBB creator and Werner Communications president Elon Werner. “This is the perfect time to celebrate Greg’s amazing accomplishment and tie in one of the most fun fan engagement games in drag racing. Bristol is one of our most popular races for Drag Race Bracket Bonanza and we have some special announcements tied to this sponsorship.”

 Greg Anderson with the symbolic 1000 Round Win Goodyear tires joined John Force as the second member of the 1000 Round Win Club in Bristol last year, photo credit Werner Communications

The 1000 Round Win Club recognizes the elite of the elite in NHRA drag racing. Turning on 1,000 win lights is a testament to more than just longevity, it represents dominance, excellence and perseverance which are the cornerstones of the 1000 Round Win Club.
 
Anderson and Force each received framed certificates of membership prior to the 2025 NHRA champion’s banquet. The certificates highlighted the spirit of what it means to be a member of the 1000 Round Win Club. 

“This remarkable milestone places you amongst the elite of elite in motorsports. The world of motorsports celebrates this achievement with you and your team, as it is a testament to your enduring excellence, perseverance and legendary career.”

Force, who ultimately won 1,460 rounds, was the first driver to achieve this milestone when he won his 1,000^th round of NHRA professional racing on May 4, 2008, during the 12th annual O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Anderson joined Force when he turned on his 1,000^thround win light of NHRA professional racing on June 8, 2025, and to date has won 1,040 rounds.

A QUICK LOOK BACK (SO FAR)

We’ve travelled around the world, had so many epic experiences – and we’re only halfway through 2026. Here’s the story so far.

From spontaneous travels to epic core memory experiences, 2026 has been been a full-time adventure. We’ve collected passport stamps, questioned sleep schedules, and we’ve even hosted our own event. And the craziest part? We’re only halfway through the year. Here’s the chaos so far.

We kicked off the year with a bucket list moment to visiting Tokyo Auto Salon for the first time, Baggsy celebrated a decade of working with Liberty Walk’s mastermind Wataru Kato and caught up with the Drift King himself Keiichi Tsuchiya.After Japan, we casually squeezed in a trip to Australia. We were stoked to be at the Keep it Reet Friday Night Drifts event at Melbourne’s Calder Park and it’s always great hanging out with Jason Ferron and Mitch Pullen. Big drift energy, unreal crowds and solid laps – we love to see it. Laying 11s at the Mount Panorama circuit during the Bathurst 12 Hour weekend certainly wasn’t on our bingo cards. We’re not even sure if it was on Baggsy’s!

The journey then took us to Sweden, taking both the GT86 and PS13 out for absolute Monster of a party on ice. Eighteen years of drifting and Baggsy never once driven on an ice lake… so we fixed that with the help of some serious company: Petter Solberg, Oliver Solberg and Lando Norris.

Somewhere in the middle of all the chaos Baggsy made his way back to Australia to be a part of a special filming project with Oscar Piastri for Sky F1 and Monster Energy. Meanwhile the SB Motorsport team with Shane Lynch taught Kaleb Cooper how to drift.

Over a hundred drifters descended upon Anglesey Circuit for the Spring Drift Matsuri Easter weekender. This was hands down the best way a drifter can spend their Easter holiday, it was such a vibe.  Shortly after, Baggsy was beyond proud to announce his new drift car project, the Toyota GR Corolla. Now we just need to fit 1,000HP into it… somehow. Japfest at the Silverstone National Circuit never fails to disappoint. Drifting at the home of British motorsport just hits different.

The SB13 shop team have been flat out with fresh merchandise and designs. They launched the latest Initiate Show event merch at Goodwood Motor Circuit and now it’s online at SB13.shop – check it out and grab yours now 👇🏼

In May we hosted the second ever Initiate Show. Call us biased, but it was EPIC. A full-on drift competition, FMX displays, a snowmobile doing flips in the air (yep you read that right), a mega display of cars with the SONAX Showcase and so many more activities for the family – it was a day to remember! All signed off with a demo from Baggsy himself. We couldn’t have been happier with how the day went – it was full of action, smiles and memories.

And now we’re back, fresh from Tuning World Bodensee, Messe Friedrichshafen southern Germany where we had a blast speaking to all the fans and checking out the insane show cars while Baggsy had a wild time sending the GT86 around the arena.

A QUICK LOOK BACK (SO FAR)

We’ve travelled around the world, had so many epic experiences – and we’re only halfway through 2026. Here’s the story so far.

From spontaneous travels to epic core memory experiences, 2026 has been been a full-time adventure. We’ve collected passport stamps, questioned sleep schedules, and we’ve even hosted our own event. And the craziest part? We’re only halfway through the year. Here’s the chaos so far.

We kicked off the year with a bucket list moment to visiting Tokyo Auto Salon for the first time, Baggsy celebrated a decade of working with Liberty Walk’s mastermind Wataru Kato and caught up with the Drift King himself Keiichi Tsuchiya.After Japan, we casually squeezed in a trip to Australia. We were stoked to be at the Keep it Reet Friday Night Drifts event at Melbourne’s Calder Park and it’s always great hanging out with Jason Ferron and Mitch Pullen. Big drift energy, unreal crowds and solid laps – we love to see it. Laying 11s at the Mount Panorama circuit during the Bathurst 12 Hour weekend certainly wasn’t on our bingo cards. We’re not even sure if it was on Baggsy’s!

The journey then took us to Sweden, taking both the GT86 and PS13 out for absolute Monster of a party on ice. Eighteen years of drifting and Baggsy never once driven on an ice lake… so we fixed that with the help of some serious company: Petter Solberg, Oliver Solberg and Lando Norris.

Somewhere in the middle of all the chaos Baggsy made his way back to Australia to be a part of a special filming project with Oscar Piastri for Sky F1 and Monster Energy. Meanwhile the SB Motorsport team with Shane Lynch taught Kaleb Cooper how to drift.

Over a hundred drifters descended upon Anglesey Circuit for the Spring Drift Matsuri Easter weekender. This was hands down the best way a drifter can spend their Easter holiday, it was such a vibe.  Shortly after, Baggsy was beyond proud to announce his new drift car project, the Toyota GR Corolla. Now we just need to fit 1,000HP into it… somehow. Japfest at the Silverstone National Circuit never fails to disappoint. Drifting at the home of British motorsport just hits different.

The SB13 shop team have been flat out with fresh merchandise and designs. They launched the latest Initiate Show event merch at Goodwood Motor Circuit and now it’s online at SB13.shop – check it out and grab yours now 👇🏼

In May we hosted the second ever Initiate Show. Call us biased, but it was EPIC. A full-on drift competition, FMX displays, a snowmobile doing flips in the air (yep you read that right), a mega display of cars with the SONAX Showcase and so many more activities for the family – it was a day to remember! All signed off with a demo from Baggsy himself. We couldn’t have been happier with how the day went – it was full of action, smiles and memories.

And now we’re back, fresh from Tuning World Bodensee, Messe Friedrichshafen southern Germany where we had a blast speaking to all the fans and checking out the insane show cars while Baggsy had a wild time sending the GT86 around the arena.

And there we have it, it’s been a pretty insane 2026 half-time recap. A packed schedule like this wouldn’t be possible without the support of our partners and sponsors, we have the best group who share our vision and help make the seemingly unrealistic, possible. So it’s box-box for fresh tyres, all the cars are getting refuelled and a check-over and we’ll be back out for the second half of the year. Where will you catch Baggsy and SB Motorsport next?

June 7, 2026 — ST. LOUIS, MO

• Marcus Ericsson finishes second in start-stop Bommarito Automotive Group 500 
• All three Andretti Global cars finish in the top 10 at World Wide Technology Raceway
• Alex Palou, Scott Dixon lead laps, gamble on fuel strategy 

Marcus Ericsson led the way for Honda today at World Wide Technology Raceway, finishing second in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in St. Louis.

The Andretti Global driver started 12th and carved his way through the field to lead 114 laps, the most of any driver in today’s race. The Swede finished just 0.6613 of a second behind P1 to claim his first podium finish of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

It was also a good day for Ericsson’s Andretti Global teammates, with all three drivers scoring top-10 finishes at WWTR. Last year’s Gateway winner, Kyle Kirkwood, closed championship gap with a sixth-place finish. While Will Power came home eighth in his #26 Andretti Global Honda.

Marcus Armstrong was ninth for Meyer Shank Racing in a strong showing, while his Kiwi countryman Scott Dixon crossed the line in 12th place.

The race was red flagged twice for weather in the St. Louis area, once with Marcus Ericsson leading and once with Scott Dixon at the fore. However, with the full race distance run, Ericsson would come up just short at the checkered flag.   

Polesitter and championship leader Alex Palou took a gamble on fuel in the HRC-liveried ‘Honda Honda’. The Spaniard led 49 laps on the day before ultimately running out of fuel in the pit lane and dropping to the rear of the field. Despite finishing 17th, Palou still leads the points standings by 49 points over Kirkwood.

Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Honda Race Results

• 2nd Marcus Ericsson
• 6th Kyle Kirkwood
• 8th Will Power
• 9th Marcus Armstrong
• 12th Scott Dixon
• 14th Felix Rosenqvist
• 15th Romain Grosjean
• 16th Mick Schumacher-R
• 17th Alex Palou
• 20th Louis Foster
• 21st Kyffin Simpson
• 23rd Graham Rahal
• 25th Dennis Hauger-R

Andretti Global Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda — Not running, contact
Dale Coyne Racing Honda — Not running, mechanical

R – Rookie

Quotes

Marcus Ericsson (#28 Andretti Global Honda) finished second: “It was a great night out here in St. Louis. The Honda Power was great and got me a lot of positions going from 12th all the way up to the lead and fighting for the win all night. It’s bittersweet, of course, when we were leading that many laps to miss out on the win. But we saw great performance by the Delaware Life Honda and from everyone at Andretti Global. I’m so proud of these guys.”

Kelvin Fu (Vice President, HRC US): “It’s easy to be disappointed by the results when we had such a strong showing today. Really great job by Marcus Ericsson to drive from 12th to first, it’s a bummer that he came up just short at the line. Everyone at Andretti did a great job today to get all three of their cars in the top-10. Also, congratulations to CGR for pole at this place. Even though we didn’t walk away with the victory, this has been a big improvement for us at Honda on short ovals. So, thank you to all of the hard work from our teams and for the associates at HRC US. It’s been a long five-week stretch on the road, so I know everyone is excited to take a little break before we get back at it at Road America.”

Ericsson leads home Honda finishers in St. Louis with P2

• Release
• Photos

June 7, 2026 — ST. LOUIS, MO

• Marcus Ericsson finishes second in start-stop Bommarito Automotive Group 500 
• All three Andretti Global cars finish in the top 10 at World Wide Technology Raceway
• Alex Palou, Scott Dixon lead laps, gamble on fuel strategy 

Marcus Ericsson led the way for Honda today at World Wide Technology Raceway, finishing second in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in St. Louis.

The Andretti Global driver started 12th and carved his way through the field to lead 114 laps, the most of any driver in today’s race. The Swede finished just 0.6613 of a second behind P1 to claim his first podium finish of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

It was also a good day for Ericsson’s Andretti Global teammates, with all three drivers scoring top-10 finishes at WWTR. Last year’s Gateway winner, Kyle Kirkwood, closed championship gap with a sixth-place finish. While Will Power came home eighth in his #26 Andretti Global Honda.

Marcus Armstrong was ninth for Meyer Shank Racing in a strong showing, while his Kiwi countryman Scott Dixon crossed the line in 12th place.

The race was red flagged twice for weather in the St. Louis area, once with Marcus Ericsson leading and once with Scott Dixon at the fore. However, with the full race distance run, Ericsson would come up just short at the checkered flag.   

Polesitter and championship leader Alex Palou took a gamble on fuel in the HRC-liveried ‘Honda Honda’. The Spaniard led 49 laps on the day before ultimately running out of fuel in the pit lane and dropping to the rear of the field. Despite finishing 17th, Palou still leads the points standings by 49 points over Kirkwood.

Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Honda Race Results

• 2nd Marcus Ericsson
• 6th Kyle Kirkwood
• 8th Will Power
• 9th Marcus Armstrong
• 12th Scott Dixon
• 14th Felix Rosenqvist
• 15th Romain Grosjean
• 16th Mick Schumacher-R
• 17th Alex Palou
• 20th Louis Foster
• 21st Kyffin Simpson
• 23rd Graham Rahal
• 25th Dennis Hauger-R

Andretti Global Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda — Not running, contact
Dale Coyne Racing Honda — Not running, mechanical

R – Rookie

Quotes

Marcus Ericsson (#28 Andretti Global Honda) finished second: “It was a great night out here in St. Louis. The Honda Power was great and got me a lot of positions going from 12th all the way up to the lead and fighting for the win all night. It’s bittersweet, of course, when we were leading that many laps to miss out on the win. But we saw great performance by the Delaware Life Honda and from everyone at Andretti Global. I’m so proud of these guys.”

Kelvin Fu (Vice President, HRC US): “It’s easy to be disappointed by the results when we had such a strong showing today. Really great job by Marcus Ericsson to drive from 12th to first, it’s a bummer that he came up just short at the line. Everyone at Andretti did a great job today to get all three of their cars in the top-10. Also, congratulations to CGR for pole at this place. Even though we didn’t walk away with the victory, this has been a big improvement for us at Honda on short ovals. So, thank you to all of the hard work from our teams and for the associates at HRC US. It’s been a long five-week stretch on the road, so I know everyone is excited to take a little break before we get back at it at Road America.”

Next
The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the XPEL Grand Prix June 21st.

June 7, 2026 — ST. LOUIS, MO

• Marcus Ericsson finishes second in start-stop Bommarito Automotive Group 500 
• All three Andretti Global cars finish in the top 10 at World Wide Technology Raceway
• Alex Palou, Scott Dixon lead laps, gamble on fuel strategy 

Marcus Ericsson led the way for Honda today at World Wide Technology Raceway, finishing second in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in St. Louis.

The Andretti Global driver started 12th and carved his way through the field to lead 114 laps, the most of any driver in today’s race. The Swede finished just 0.6613 of a second behind P1 to claim his first podium finish of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

It was also a good day for Ericsson’s Andretti Global teammates, with all three drivers scoring top-10 finishes at WWTR. Last year’s Gateway winner, Kyle Kirkwood, closed championship gap with a sixth-place finish. While Will Power came home eighth in his #26 Andretti Global Honda.

Marcus Armstrong was ninth for Meyer Shank Racing in a strong showing, while his Kiwi countryman Scott Dixon crossed the line in 12th place.

The race was red flagged twice for weather in the St. Louis area, once with Marcus Ericsson leading and once with Scott Dixon at the fore. However, with the full race distance run, Ericsson would come up just short at the checkered flag.   

Polesitter and championship leader Alex Palou took a gamble on fuel in the HRC-liveried ‘Honda Honda’. The Spaniard led 49 laps on the day before ultimately running out of fuel in the pit lane and dropping to the rear of the field. Despite finishing 17th, Palou still leads the points standings by 49 points over Kirkwood.

Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Honda Race Results

• 2nd Marcus Ericsson
• 6th Kyle Kirkwood
• 8th Will Power
• 9th Marcus Armstrong
• 12th Scott Dixon
• 14th Felix Rosenqvist
• 15th Romain Grosjean
• 16th Mick Schumacher-R
• 17th Alex Palou
• 20th Louis Foster
• 21st Kyffin Simpson
• 23rd Graham Rahal
• 25th Dennis Hauger-R

Andretti Global Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda — Not running, contact
Dale Coyne Racing Honda — Not running, mechanical

R – Rookie

Quotes

Marcus Ericsson (#28 Andretti Global Honda) finished second: “It was a great night out here in St. Louis. The Honda Power was great and got me a lot of positions going from 12th all the way up to the lead and fighting for the win all night. It’s bittersweet, of course, when we were leading that many laps to miss out on the win. But we saw great performance by the Delaware Life Honda and from everyone at Andretti Global. I’m so proud of these guys.”

Kelvin Fu (Vice President, HRC US): “It’s easy to be disappointed by the results when we had such a strong showing today. Really great job by Marcus Ericsson to drive from 12th to first, it’s a bummer that he came up just short at the line. Everyone at Andretti did a great job today to get all three of their cars in the top-10. Also, congratulations to CGR for pole at this place. Even though we didn’t walk away with the victory, this has been a big improvement for us at Honda on short ovals. So, thank you to all of the hard work from our teams and for the associates at HRC US. It’s been a long five-week stretch on the road, so I know everyone is excited to take a little break before we get back at it at Road America.”

Ericsson leads home Honda finishers in St. Louis with P2

• Release
• Photos

June 7, 2026 — ST. LOUIS, MO

• Marcus Ericsson finishes second in start-stop Bommarito Automotive Group 500 
• All three Andretti Global cars finish in the top 10 at World Wide Technology Raceway
• Alex Palou, Scott Dixon lead laps, gamble on fuel strategy 

Marcus Ericsson led the way for Honda today at World Wide Technology Raceway, finishing second in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in St. Louis.

The Andretti Global driver started 12th and carved his way through the field to lead 114 laps, the most of any driver in today’s race. The Swede finished just 0.6613 of a second behind P1 to claim his first podium finish of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

It was also a good day for Ericsson’s Andretti Global teammates, with all three drivers scoring top-10 finishes at WWTR. Last year’s Gateway winner, Kyle Kirkwood, closed championship gap with a sixth-place finish. While Will Power came home eighth in his #26 Andretti Global Honda.

Marcus Armstrong was ninth for Meyer Shank Racing in a strong showing, while his Kiwi countryman Scott Dixon crossed the line in 12th place.

The race was red flagged twice for weather in the St. Louis area, once with Marcus Ericsson leading and once with Scott Dixon at the fore. However, with the full race distance run, Ericsson would come up just short at the checkered flag.   

Polesitter and championship leader Alex Palou took a gamble on fuel in the HRC-liveried ‘Honda Honda’. The Spaniard led 49 laps on the day before ultimately running out of fuel in the pit lane and dropping to the rear of the field. Despite finishing 17th, Palou still leads the points standings by 49 points over Kirkwood.

Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Honda Race Results

• 2nd Marcus Ericsson
• 6th Kyle Kirkwood
• 8th Will Power
• 9th Marcus Armstrong
• 12th Scott Dixon
• 14th Felix Rosenqvist
• 15th Romain Grosjean
• 16th Mick Schumacher-R
• 17th Alex Palou
• 20th Louis Foster
• 21st Kyffin Simpson
• 23rd Graham Rahal
• 25th Dennis Hauger-R

Andretti Global Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda — Not running, contact
Dale Coyne Racing Honda — Not running, mechanical

R – Rookie

Quotes

Marcus Ericsson (#28 Andretti Global Honda) finished second: “It was a great night out here in St. Louis. The Honda Power was great and got me a lot of positions going from 12th all the way up to the lead and fighting for the win all night. It’s bittersweet, of course, when we were leading that many laps to miss out on the win. But we saw great performance by the Delaware Life Honda and from everyone at Andretti Global. I’m so proud of these guys.”

Kelvin Fu (Vice President, HRC US): “It’s easy to be disappointed by the results when we had such a strong showing today. Really great job by Marcus Ericsson to drive from 12th to first, it’s a bummer that he came up just short at the line. Everyone at Andretti did a great job today to get all three of their cars in the top-10. Also, congratulations to CGR for pole at this place. Even though we didn’t walk away with the victory, this has been a big improvement for us at Honda on short ovals. So, thank you to all of the hard work from our teams and for the associates at HRC US. It’s been a long five-week stretch on the road, so I know everyone is excited to take a little break before we get back at it at Road America.”

Next
The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the XPEL Grand Prix June 21st.

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CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESBommarito Automotive Group 5001.25-mile, four turn ovalMadison, IllinoisSunday Race ReportJune 7, 2026 MADISON, Illinois (June 7, 2026) –  For the sixth time in 11 races at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet made the familiar trip to victory lane, his 34th career NTT INDYCAR SERIES win. Team Chevy now has either wins at the Madison, Illinois oval.  Newgarden led five Chevrolet-powered cars in the top seven of a race that was interrupted by rain on three occasions. Christian Rasmussen, driving the No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet, had his second straight finish at the 1.25-mile, four-turn oval. Rinus VeeKay in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing, Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet and David Malukas in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet rounded out the stellar effort for Team Chevy.  Newgarden’s win is 239th all-time for Team Chevy and the 130th since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012.  Team Penske now has 126 wins all-time with Chevrolet power, and 89 since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012. Bommarito Automotive Group 500 race resultsWhat They’re Saying – Race – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet won:“This team right here. This Astemo crew. Team Chevy, we had everything we needed tonight with Team Penske. Great job to the group. It was a methodical night. we had a good car at the start. It wasn’t perfect and it came to us just as we needed, as we tweaked on it. They called the race (the timing stand). It was a track position race. You have to give a lot of credit to Marcus. He was incredibly strong. I don’t think there was much between us. It was a matter of who was going to get positioning on each other and that’s what is going to seal the deal. He drove a great race and certainly could have won this as well. This team did the job tonight and that’s why we are here.”Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet finished 3rd:“Yeah, man, like I, that was all it had. I couldn’t, hang with those guys at the front. I was battling some understeer throughout the whole race, and I feel like we got, the car dialed in as well as we could. I was starting to get limited by my (corner) entries, but I was still like mid to exit on this end. But we had a good race car. We were moving forward. We were super strong on the high line, which was kind of the name of the game for us tonight, so that we can move forward. We had a third-place Splendakand we got third place.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet finished 4th:“We had a good night. We had good pace, and we moved through traffic. Didn’t have a lot of lucky breaks to start the race, so kind of cycled back all the time, and the last few stops we hit the right thing. We did a great job as a team. JHR Chevy was very good. Just a bit too much understeer at the end there, being side by side with Christian (Rasmussen). Couldn’t get it done. Being a race car driver, you’re bummed with fourth place, because you go home somewhat empty handed. But still, really, really good job by the team. You know, this is how we should have raced in Phoenix. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to do that. Just really happy to show that pace, that strength for such a young and small team now. We’re beating the big boys right now.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet finished 5th:“An up and down day for the No. 3 Dex Chevy. The car wasn’t that great to start with, but we tuned her up as the race went on. Pretty happy overall with how the day went. We were looking at P15 for a little bit and we managed to get a top five. Good tune up on the cars. Then we just managed to wheel ourselves forward when we had better tires. A good run.” David Malukas, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet finished 7th:“Overall, a really good recovery on what was a tough start with the setup. We just missed the window, and we were going into every stop to mess with the front wing and do whatever we can we this car to get it into a raceable window. In the end we had to commit with it being loose on exits, on entries, everywhere on those last few runs just to have any sort of pace. So, I was holding on for dear life, but thankfully we brought it home. Big thank you to Chevy, Verizon and everybody on Team Penske to not give up and keep pushing on. We learned a lot.” Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 10th:“It was a very entertaining race. For once on an oval, I felt like I was driving the car, which is a big step up. I think we made a lot of improvements from Indy. It didn’t really feel like a tenth-place-finish car; my race felt a lot better than where the result ended up. There are a lot of positives from the night, a lot of good learnings, a lot to take from here to our next oval in Nashville.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 11th:“Disappointing Sunday. It’s been a very tough start to our 2026 season. It hasn’t been good in many ways at all. It’s been consistent in top-fives where we could. Everywhere else it’s been a big challenge. Plenty of racing to go. Hopefully we can turn it around and get some solid results on the board.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet finished 13th:“A long day and night. Wish it was a bit better for us; we’re just missing pace, tried to find the balance in the car, and you know, we did everything we could on the strategy, and I think that, as far as that goes, you can’t really ask for more. Just didn’t have the pace today to finish in the top 10.” Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet finished 18th: Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet finished 19th:“I guess this is a weekend to forget. A tough one. Really frustrating. Congratulations to Rinus. I’m really happy to see the team with a P4. I think that is our best finish of the year. Rally good to see. Think we are headed in the right direction. We will learn everything we can before the next oval .Looking forward to Road America. It is one of my favorite tracks we go to. Had a bad event last year there so hoping we can rebound well. Thanks to the No. 77 crew, they worked hard. So, hoping we can rebound from this one.” Caio Collet, No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet finished 22nd:”It’s hard. I think we did everything right today, from the strategy, to the driving, to everything. It’s racing.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Deloitte Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 24th:“I left Palou room on the inside. I knew he was there. I knew we weren’t really racing him. I was just kind of letting him go, and it felt to me like he hung me out there and then never turned in. I had to come down at some point. I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed for the team. This is a place we’ve been strong at in the past, but it obviously didn’t work out for us tonight. So, we’ll move on to Road America.” Up-next Team Chevy drivers and teams get a much-needed weekend off before heading for brats and beer at Road America, one of the favorite stops on the calendar. The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, held on the 4.014-mile, 14-turn Road America road course, will air on FOX at 2 pm (Eastern) on Sunday, June 21.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceMonday, June 8, 2026Josef NewgardenJonathan DiuguidPress Conference THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Josef Newgarden, now six-time winner here. Second win of 2026. 34th career win, which ties him all time for ninth place with Al Unser Jr. You also moved up to sixth in points. With the 53 laps you led tonight, that brings your total to 4,580 laps led, which means you pass the great Dario Franchitti for ninth place.Your thoughts on another crazy race here. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was crazy. I’m just glad we went the distance honestly. That was the big thing. With the rain, it almost turns it into a casino in some regards. I think the fast cars finished up front going the distance. Marcus was super good. I don’t know that we were much better than him. I think we were very equal. It turned into a track position game at the end because we were so comparable. I think we had some strengths on him. I think the team executed a really great race, which is ultimately what delivered the result at the end of the day. They just did a great job. Everyone stayed composed. It was a methodical win. THE MODERATOR: Jonathan Diuguid, president Team Penske.From the pit stand, your thoughts on a huge night. JONATHAN DIUGUID: A chaotic night. They asked us what we wanted to happen. I said I want it to stay green. Once we put Josef in front, I knew he wasn’t going to look back. That’s probably the best part of my day, when the rain didn’t show back up, we got to get the whole race in. THE MODERATOR: Eighth on back put on a fresh set of tires at the end. How worried were you looking through that? Was it problematic? JONATHAN DIUGUID: We talked about it before the race, anything after 20 laps on tires we were going to pit and take tires. I think there were 24 on that set. We saw some other cars earlier on in the race be able to stay out on used tires and stay up front. I knew once we had the lead and the clear air, it was going to be okay. THE MODERATOR: Open it up for questions. Q.  How hard is it to try to guess what’s going on out there with the rain.JONATHAN DIUGUID: The biggest thing today was the rain wasn’t showing up on the radar. Not on the first one. The second one, there was a blip that came up. It’s difficult to predict. Good thing it was a hot, steamy and windy night in St. Louis. The track got dried up quickly. Q.  Josef, what does it mean to you to get back into Victory Lane?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Everything felt pretty good tonight. The car was fast, felt normal. It was great. I’m just happy for the team. They deserve it. It’s been a hard stretch I think for everybody in the paddock. All of us are working incredibly hard to get to this point.A win at any point, especially after this stretch, is super rewarding. That’s what I’m most happy about. Q.  What did you see in the moment when Christian passed you and you came close to touching?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: So I got a little confused. I thought Christian was a lap car. I didn’t realize that was Rossi that was a lap car. It’s my fault. I was going to let him go. He doesn’t matter, I’ll just follow on him. I don’t really want to be behind him. I still didn’t know he was on the lead lap. That is why when he came up to the podium, I am like, What are you doing here? How did you get here? You were a lap down. I think he got a little offended by that. I’m so glad that I repassed him. He’s kind of in the way, so… Yeah, that’s really the truth. I thought he was the lap car and Rossi was the one that I was going to fight if he was in the mix with Marcus. Ultimately I think we were able to get back by him because we had a great car. I think Marcus equally had a super good car. I think because we went the distance, you saw the quick cars finish up front tonight. If you’re being truthful about it, I think me and Marcus were pretty close on performance. It was just going to come down to execution. The team executed when we needed to. That’s what ultimately pulled off the victory. Q.  You thought that was Christian all the way to the checkered flag?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I didn’t know till I got to the podium. I was confused why he was there. I got it wrong in my mind. Q.  You won Phoenix. Been so strong on the short ovals. Do you come into here I don’t want to say expecting to win, but if you don’t win are you more disappointed?JONATHAN DIUGUID: We expect to win every single weekend. If we don’t, we talk about it. Obviously our short oval program has been strong. Like Josef said, the field is extremely tight right now. 28 car was a prime example of that. Getting track position was critical to the win. No, to answer your question, we expect to be strong on short ovals. I think we’ve had the fastest cars in all the street course qualifying sessions, and just have missed out in the new Fast Six procedure. The cars are quick. We’re going to a permanent road course with Road America here, too. I’ve been working on some stuff for that race also. Our goal is to be competitive and fighting for the win every single weekend. That’s what you have to do to win the championship. Q.  Is there anything about this track that fits into your wheelhouse?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Not in particular. I think when we’re good here, our cars are good. You look at the history of Team Penske, they’ve always had strong race cars here. When you have the fastest car in the field, it’s easier to win the race. That’s more times than not what I’ve got. I think that was the case today, too. Q.  Al Unser Jr. Next win will be tied with Bobby Unser. What does it mean to be among that company of legends with so many years to go?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I got to be honest. My reaction is more, I enjoy working with the individuals around me, I really do. That’s no disrespect to the win list. You’re not going to find someone that is more competitive than me. I very much know the stats anything you want to look at in INDYCAR. I enjoy my time with my team. I really do. I like working with the team. So when I think about victories or I think about the amount of time I’ve been in the sport, that’s what I really lean on now. I like showing up to the track and try to do a great job. We did that tonight. It’s fun to go racing. It’s fun when we have fast cars, it’s fun when we execute. I just want to see us do that more often going forward. We’re in a pretty good place. We keep building momentum in a lot of ways as a team. To Jonathan’s point, what we expect from ourselves, I think we’re building a lot of that back, which is great to see this year. Q.  You and Marcus had light contact, but nothing that sent you into the wall. How important is to it have the trust with you and all the other drivers racing up front?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you got to give a lot of respect to Marcus. He did a tremendous job tonight. He was super fast. I think he’s become a great oval driver in this series. If anything, I should have left him a little bit more room I think. I think I got a little bit high. Thankfully these cars, we’ve seen they’re very robust. Even a light touch doesn’t normally result in much. That’s why you also see such close, hard racing. It’s just the nature of INDYCAR these days. It was a good fight. He drove a great race. It was fun to battle with him tonight. Q.  Josef, last year you’re flipping on the frontstretch. This year you win. How much does it mean to you to come back and restake your claim?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was nice to not flip. I enjoyed that part of it. I did do a sick rail grind, okay? I’ve got a dope highlight reel. I’m going to be honest with you guys. If I stop tomorrow, it’s going to be like there’s a cool list of things I’ve done. I rode a car off at Road America in the kink. You haven’t lived until you’ve done that. I don’t know how many people have done a rail grind at Gateway. I’ve F’d up and hit a curb on turn four in Indianapolis, smoked my foot. Put that in the highlight reel. It’s been good. Nice to come back and get a win this weekend. We’ve had some other good moments, too. Q.  Was this drive harder than the 2016 win at Iowa?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No. Not tonight. The car was great. I felt good tonight. I felt spicy in the car. No, tonight was not hard. It was an easy night with the team. JONATHAN DIUGUID: (Indiscernible) and he let Rasmussen by to hit the fuel number I was talking about. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I was confused. He probably told me the right thing. I messed it up. That’s going to be in the debrief. I’m going to be made fun of for that. Q.  Josef, you were so disappointed last week with a top-10 finish, biggest mover, because you felt like the car was capable of winning. To be able to produce a win with a car that was clearly capable of winning this week, how good does this feel?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s great. We knew this was going to be a different story. We had a lot of conversations. I appreciate the team having my back and letting me go to work last weekend. They went to work. They did a lot for me. It’s frustrating when you’re in a race like that, you can tell the car has the potential to do more, the team executed in a way that should have produced more. It’s tough when you’re the missing link. I hate that. I don’t want to be that. It was the reality of the situation. We got through it together. We knew it was going to be different when we came here. I’m happy we were able to capitalize it on this weekend. Q.  What was so different about this weekend than Detroit?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s not Detroit. Enough said. That was the big difference (smiling). Nice, smooth oval. Q.  After practice yesterday, compared to after the win tonight, your thoughts on the new package that they brought here this weekend? Did you like it going in? Changed after yesterday’s practice, the lower downforce package?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I haven’t watched it back. I thought it produced a good show. I thought we had good race-ability. The key to these races is having multiple lanes. We had that all night. Provided we have that, you’ll have the potential for a good race. Felt like it was a pretty decent race. I don’t know what it looked like from the outside. Yeah, I think I should reserve my thoughts, but I think the car is going to be a little harder to drive. I really do. I think as a race car driver, it’s in your nature to want that. You always want more power, more difficulty. You want to be able to express your ability to drive the car more and more. That’s always my feeling when I’m asked about feedback. But when you look at the fan experience, you have to have two lanes working at this type of track. I think it’s expected nowadays. It’s not what it was like 20, 30 years ago. That wasn’t the norm in INDYCAR. Now we’ve gotten to the point where people are going to expect multi-lane racing.Provided we can do that, it’s good for the show. I think we had that tonight. Q.  Josef, do you think the package maybe played into the fact you were fast?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: When you say ‘fast’… Q.  The car was really fast.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: As a team? Q.  Yes.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I thought we had pretty good transfer from last year to this year. It was actually trickier. Our car last year was maybe a little bit better right off the jump, whereas this weekend we had to work on it. You could see some other people elevated with that. When you change the package, it sometimes just migrates to a different group that was maybe closer to where you needed to be. We had to find it. I still felt like we got pretty much where we needed to be in the end, which is what your goal is. I think coming back we can make it even better. Like J.D. said, we’ll talk about it and continue to try to improve. Q.  Jonathan, what kind of challenges does a new package face for you?JONATHAN DIUGUID: I think the biggest thing is there’s a new tire here this weekend on the right front which was in response to some of the things that occurred last year. A few other teams tested here more than we did. Those teams were strong during the race.It’s really about leaning on the notes we have from previous years and the experience we have in the truck. I know Luke, Josef’s race engineer, worked very hard from when we showed up here and did the first practice session until the race. It’s not like we didn’t make any changes. There were large changes on the car, large setup adjustments. We have to come prepared and come with confidence and the tools. Like Josef said, the people that are in the truck and engineering office are the people who put the car where it was today, and Josef executed for us and finished in front. Q.  Does St. Louis hold a special place in your heart? Do you circle it on the calendar?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I can only give you an honest answer. I love this track. It’s one of the more fun places that we go to race, without a doubt. I love short oval racing. I don’t think that’s a secret. But I don’t look forward to this place more than others. I like everywhere we go, to be quite honest with you. I actually look forward to the places that I suck at the most. Wherever I’ve had a bad result, I look forward going to the most because I want to rectify the problem. That’s the truth. INDYCAR is a game that you have to be super versatile in. You got to be very well-rounded as a team, nimble. You got to be good everywhere. It exposes the weakness if you’re not good everywhere. I don’t look forward to one place, say we got to score points here. We have to make sure that we’re excellent everywhere we show up. That’s what we’re working on every day together.Q.  When Alex Palou runs out of fuel on pit road, is there communication? I saw you were catching him there.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I’ll let Jonathan speak to that. He was in my ear the whole time. JONATHAN DIUGUID: The timing stand did a good job. We knew the 9 and 10 were very short on fuel. Scott came in and took emergency service. We were scanning his radios. Said you’re probably not going to make it to the pit box. Josef did his job.Alex was supposed to pull over to the left, which he didn’t. I think that is something we need to talk about. It caused some more problems for other people. Luckily we were right behind him so it didn’t cost us any time on pit road because we got to be able to get to the pit box and go forward. In general, having people run out of fuel in pit lane in the fast lane is not something we need to have going forward. We did a good job there and went to the front. Q.  Josef, how are you going to spend the week off?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ll find out tomorrow. I’ll make a list. I think everybody’s going to enjoy the week off. I’m going to be doing what everybody else is doing.THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

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CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESBommarito Automotive Group 5001.25-mile, four turn ovalMadison, IllinoisSunday Race ReportJune 7, 2026 MADISON, Illinois (June 7, 2026) –  For the sixth time in 11 races at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet made the familiar trip to victory lane, his 34th career NTT INDYCAR SERIES win. Team Chevy now has either wins at the Madison, Illinois oval.  Newgarden led five Chevrolet-powered cars in the top seven of a race that was interrupted by rain on three occasions. Christian Rasmussen, driving the No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet, had his second straight finish at the 1.25-mile, four-turn oval. Rinus VeeKay in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing, Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet and David Malukas in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet rounded out the stellar effort for Team Chevy.  Newgarden’s win is 239th all-time for Team Chevy and the 130th since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012.  Team Penske now has 126 wins all-time with Chevrolet power, and 89 since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012. Bommarito Automotive Group 500 race resultsWhat They’re Saying – Race – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet won:“This team right here. This Astemo crew. Team Chevy, we had everything we needed tonight with Team Penske. Great job to the group. It was a methodical night. we had a good car at the start. It wasn’t perfect and it came to us just as we needed, as we tweaked on it. They called the race (the timing stand). It was a track position race. You have to give a lot of credit to Marcus. He was incredibly strong. I don’t think there was much between us. It was a matter of who was going to get positioning on each other and that’s what is going to seal the deal. He drove a great race and certainly could have won this as well. This team did the job tonight and that’s why we are here.”Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet finished 3rd:“Yeah, man, like I, that was all it had. I couldn’t, hang with those guys at the front. I was battling some understeer throughout the whole race, and I feel like we got, the car dialed in as well as we could. I was starting to get limited by my (corner) entries, but I was still like mid to exit on this end. But we had a good race car. We were moving forward. We were super strong on the high line, which was kind of the name of the game for us tonight, so that we can move forward. We had a third-place Splendakand we got third place.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet finished 4th:“We had a good night. We had good pace, and we moved through traffic. Didn’t have a lot of lucky breaks to start the race, so kind of cycled back all the time, and the last few stops we hit the right thing. We did a great job as a team. JHR Chevy was very good. Just a bit too much understeer at the end there, being side by side with Christian (Rasmussen). Couldn’t get it done. Being a race car driver, you’re bummed with fourth place, because you go home somewhat empty handed. But still, really, really good job by the team. You know, this is how we should have raced in Phoenix. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to do that. Just really happy to show that pace, that strength for such a young and small team now. We’re beating the big boys right now.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet finished 5th:“An up and down day for the No. 3 Dex Chevy. The car wasn’t that great to start with, but we tuned her up as the race went on. Pretty happy overall with how the day went. We were looking at P15 for a little bit and we managed to get a top five. Good tune up on the cars. Then we just managed to wheel ourselves forward when we had better tires. A good run.” David Malukas, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet finished 7th:“Overall, a really good recovery on what was a tough start with the setup. We just missed the window, and we were going into every stop to mess with the front wing and do whatever we can we this car to get it into a raceable window. In the end we had to commit with it being loose on exits, on entries, everywhere on those last few runs just to have any sort of pace. So, I was holding on for dear life, but thankfully we brought it home. Big thank you to Chevy, Verizon and everybody on Team Penske to not give up and keep pushing on. We learned a lot.” Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 10th:“It was a very entertaining race. For once on an oval, I felt like I was driving the car, which is a big step up. I think we made a lot of improvements from Indy. It didn’t really feel like a tenth-place-finish car; my race felt a lot better than where the result ended up. There are a lot of positives from the night, a lot of good learnings, a lot to take from here to our next oval in Nashville.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 11th:“Disappointing Sunday. It’s been a very tough start to our 2026 season. It hasn’t been good in many ways at all. It’s been consistent in top-fives where we could. Everywhere else it’s been a big challenge. Plenty of racing to go. Hopefully we can turn it around and get some solid results on the board.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet finished 13th:“A long day and night. Wish it was a bit better for us; we’re just missing pace, tried to find the balance in the car, and you know, we did everything we could on the strategy, and I think that, as far as that goes, you can’t really ask for more. Just didn’t have the pace today to finish in the top 10.” Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet finished 18th: Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet finished 19th:“I guess this is a weekend to forget. A tough one. Really frustrating. Congratulations to Rinus. I’m really happy to see the team with a P4. I think that is our best finish of the year. Rally good to see. Think we are headed in the right direction. We will learn everything we can before the next oval .Looking forward to Road America. It is one of my favorite tracks we go to. Had a bad event last year there so hoping we can rebound well. Thanks to the No. 77 crew, they worked hard. So, hoping we can rebound from this one.” Caio Collet, No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet finished 22nd:”It’s hard. I think we did everything right today, from the strategy, to the driving, to everything. It’s racing.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Deloitte Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 24th:“I left Palou room on the inside. I knew he was there. I knew we weren’t really racing him. I was just kind of letting him go, and it felt to me like he hung me out there and then never turned in. I had to come down at some point. I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed for the team. This is a place we’ve been strong at in the past, but it obviously didn’t work out for us tonight. So, we’ll move on to Road America.” Up-next Team Chevy drivers and teams get a much-needed weekend off before heading for brats and beer at Road America, one of the favorite stops on the calendar. The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, held on the 4.014-mile, 14-turn Road America road course, will air on FOX at 2 pm (Eastern) on Sunday, June 21.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceMonday, June 8, 2026Josef NewgardenJonathan DiuguidPress Conference THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Josef Newgarden, now six-time winner here. Second win of 2026. 34th career win, which ties him all time for ninth place with Al Unser Jr. You also moved up to sixth in points. With the 53 laps you led tonight, that brings your total to 4,580 laps led, which means you pass the great Dario Franchitti for ninth place.Your thoughts on another crazy race here. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was crazy. I’m just glad we went the distance honestly. That was the big thing. With the rain, it almost turns it into a casino in some regards. I think the fast cars finished up front going the distance. Marcus was super good. I don’t know that we were much better than him. I think we were very equal. It turned into a track position game at the end because we were so comparable. I think we had some strengths on him. I think the team executed a really great race, which is ultimately what delivered the result at the end of the day. They just did a great job. Everyone stayed composed. It was a methodical win. THE MODERATOR: Jonathan Diuguid, president Team Penske.From the pit stand, your thoughts on a huge night. JONATHAN DIUGUID: A chaotic night. They asked us what we wanted to happen. I said I want it to stay green. Once we put Josef in front, I knew he wasn’t going to look back. That’s probably the best part of my day, when the rain didn’t show back up, we got to get the whole race in. THE MODERATOR: Eighth on back put on a fresh set of tires at the end. How worried were you looking through that? Was it problematic? JONATHAN DIUGUID: We talked about it before the race, anything after 20 laps on tires we were going to pit and take tires. I think there were 24 on that set. We saw some other cars earlier on in the race be able to stay out on used tires and stay up front. I knew once we had the lead and the clear air, it was going to be okay. THE MODERATOR: Open it up for questions. Q.  How hard is it to try to guess what’s going on out there with the rain.JONATHAN DIUGUID: The biggest thing today was the rain wasn’t showing up on the radar. Not on the first one. The second one, there was a blip that came up. It’s difficult to predict. Good thing it was a hot, steamy and windy night in St. Louis. The track got dried up quickly. Q.  Josef, what does it mean to you to get back into Victory Lane?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Everything felt pretty good tonight. The car was fast, felt normal. It was great. I’m just happy for the team. They deserve it. It’s been a hard stretch I think for everybody in the paddock. All of us are working incredibly hard to get to this point.A win at any point, especially after this stretch, is super rewarding. That’s what I’m most happy about. Q.  What did you see in the moment when Christian passed you and you came close to touching?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: So I got a little confused. I thought Christian was a lap car. I didn’t realize that was Rossi that was a lap car. It’s my fault. I was going to let him go. He doesn’t matter, I’ll just follow on him. I don’t really want to be behind him. I still didn’t know he was on the lead lap. That is why when he came up to the podium, I am like, What are you doing here? How did you get here? You were a lap down. I think he got a little offended by that. I’m so glad that I repassed him. He’s kind of in the way, so… Yeah, that’s really the truth. I thought he was the lap car and Rossi was the one that I was going to fight if he was in the mix with Marcus. Ultimately I think we were able to get back by him because we had a great car. I think Marcus equally had a super good car. I think because we went the distance, you saw the quick cars finish up front tonight. If you’re being truthful about it, I think me and Marcus were pretty close on performance. It was just going to come down to execution. The team executed when we needed to. That’s what ultimately pulled off the victory. Q.  You thought that was Christian all the way to the checkered flag?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I didn’t know till I got to the podium. I was confused why he was there. I got it wrong in my mind. Q.  You won Phoenix. Been so strong on the short ovals. Do you come into here I don’t want to say expecting to win, but if you don’t win are you more disappointed?JONATHAN DIUGUID: We expect to win every single weekend. If we don’t, we talk about it. Obviously our short oval program has been strong. Like Josef said, the field is extremely tight right now. 28 car was a prime example of that. Getting track position was critical to the win. No, to answer your question, we expect to be strong on short ovals. I think we’ve had the fastest cars in all the street course qualifying sessions, and just have missed out in the new Fast Six procedure. The cars are quick. We’re going to a permanent road course with Road America here, too. I’ve been working on some stuff for that race also. Our goal is to be competitive and fighting for the win every single weekend. That’s what you have to do to win the championship. Q.  Is there anything about this track that fits into your wheelhouse?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Not in particular. I think when we’re good here, our cars are good. You look at the history of Team Penske, they’ve always had strong race cars here. When you have the fastest car in the field, it’s easier to win the race. That’s more times than not what I’ve got. I think that was the case today, too. Q.  Al Unser Jr. Next win will be tied with Bobby Unser. What does it mean to be among that company of legends with so many years to go?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I got to be honest. My reaction is more, I enjoy working with the individuals around me, I really do. That’s no disrespect to the win list. You’re not going to find someone that is more competitive than me. I very much know the stats anything you want to look at in INDYCAR. I enjoy my time with my team. I really do. I like working with the team. So when I think about victories or I think about the amount of time I’ve been in the sport, that’s what I really lean on now. I like showing up to the track and try to do a great job. We did that tonight. It’s fun to go racing. It’s fun when we have fast cars, it’s fun when we execute. I just want to see us do that more often going forward. We’re in a pretty good place. We keep building momentum in a lot of ways as a team. To Jonathan’s point, what we expect from ourselves, I think we’re building a lot of that back, which is great to see this year. Q.  You and Marcus had light contact, but nothing that sent you into the wall. How important is to it have the trust with you and all the other drivers racing up front?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you got to give a lot of respect to Marcus. He did a tremendous job tonight. He was super fast. I think he’s become a great oval driver in this series. If anything, I should have left him a little bit more room I think. I think I got a little bit high. Thankfully these cars, we’ve seen they’re very robust. Even a light touch doesn’t normally result in much. That’s why you also see such close, hard racing. It’s just the nature of INDYCAR these days. It was a good fight. He drove a great race. It was fun to battle with him tonight. Q.  Josef, last year you’re flipping on the frontstretch. This year you win. How much does it mean to you to come back and restake your claim?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was nice to not flip. I enjoyed that part of it. I did do a sick rail grind, okay? I’ve got a dope highlight reel. I’m going to be honest with you guys. If I stop tomorrow, it’s going to be like there’s a cool list of things I’ve done. I rode a car off at Road America in the kink. You haven’t lived until you’ve done that. I don’t know how many people have done a rail grind at Gateway. I’ve F’d up and hit a curb on turn four in Indianapolis, smoked my foot. Put that in the highlight reel. It’s been good. Nice to come back and get a win this weekend. We’ve had some other good moments, too. Q.  Was this drive harder than the 2016 win at Iowa?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No. Not tonight. The car was great. I felt good tonight. I felt spicy in the car. No, tonight was not hard. It was an easy night with the team. JONATHAN DIUGUID: (Indiscernible) and he let Rasmussen by to hit the fuel number I was talking about. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I was confused. He probably told me the right thing. I messed it up. That’s going to be in the debrief. I’m going to be made fun of for that. Q.  Josef, you were so disappointed last week with a top-10 finish, biggest mover, because you felt like the car was capable of winning. To be able to produce a win with a car that was clearly capable of winning this week, how good does this feel?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s great. We knew this was going to be a different story. We had a lot of conversations. I appreciate the team having my back and letting me go to work last weekend. They went to work. They did a lot for me. It’s frustrating when you’re in a race like that, you can tell the car has the potential to do more, the team executed in a way that should have produced more. It’s tough when you’re the missing link. I hate that. I don’t want to be that. It was the reality of the situation. We got through it together. We knew it was going to be different when we came here. I’m happy we were able to capitalize it on this weekend. Q.  What was so different about this weekend than Detroit?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s not Detroit. Enough said. That was the big difference (smiling). Nice, smooth oval. Q.  After practice yesterday, compared to after the win tonight, your thoughts on the new package that they brought here this weekend? Did you like it going in? Changed after yesterday’s practice, the lower downforce package?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I haven’t watched it back. I thought it produced a good show. I thought we had good race-ability. The key to these races is having multiple lanes. We had that all night. Provided we have that, you’ll have the potential for a good race. Felt like it was a pretty decent race. I don’t know what it looked like from the outside. Yeah, I think I should reserve my thoughts, but I think the car is going to be a little harder to drive. I really do. I think as a race car driver, it’s in your nature to want that. You always want more power, more difficulty. You want to be able to express your ability to drive the car more and more. That’s always my feeling when I’m asked about feedback. But when you look at the fan experience, you have to have two lanes working at this type of track. I think it’s expected nowadays. It’s not what it was like 20, 30 years ago. That wasn’t the norm in INDYCAR. Now we’ve gotten to the point where people are going to expect multi-lane racing.Provided we can do that, it’s good for the show. I think we had that tonight. Q.  Josef, do you think the package maybe played into the fact you were fast?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: When you say ‘fast’… Q.  The car was really fast.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: As a team? Q.  Yes.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I thought we had pretty good transfer from last year to this year. It was actually trickier. Our car last year was maybe a little bit better right off the jump, whereas this weekend we had to work on it. You could see some other people elevated with that. When you change the package, it sometimes just migrates to a different group that was maybe closer to where you needed to be. We had to find it. I still felt like we got pretty much where we needed to be in the end, which is what your goal is. I think coming back we can make it even better. Like J.D. said, we’ll talk about it and continue to try to improve. Q.  Jonathan, what kind of challenges does a new package face for you?JONATHAN DIUGUID: I think the biggest thing is there’s a new tire here this weekend on the right front which was in response to some of the things that occurred last year. A few other teams tested here more than we did. Those teams were strong during the race.It’s really about leaning on the notes we have from previous years and the experience we have in the truck. I know Luke, Josef’s race engineer, worked very hard from when we showed up here and did the first practice session until the race. It’s not like we didn’t make any changes. There were large changes on the car, large setup adjustments. We have to come prepared and come with confidence and the tools. Like Josef said, the people that are in the truck and engineering office are the people who put the car where it was today, and Josef executed for us and finished in front. Q.  Does St. Louis hold a special place in your heart? Do you circle it on the calendar?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I can only give you an honest answer. I love this track. It’s one of the more fun places that we go to race, without a doubt. I love short oval racing. I don’t think that’s a secret. But I don’t look forward to this place more than others. I like everywhere we go, to be quite honest with you. I actually look forward to the places that I suck at the most. Wherever I’ve had a bad result, I look forward going to the most because I want to rectify the problem. That’s the truth. INDYCAR is a game that you have to be super versatile in. You got to be very well-rounded as a team, nimble. You got to be good everywhere. It exposes the weakness if you’re not good everywhere. I don’t look forward to one place, say we got to score points here. We have to make sure that we’re excellent everywhere we show up. That’s what we’re working on every day together.Q.  When Alex Palou runs out of fuel on pit road, is there communication? I saw you were catching him there.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I’ll let Jonathan speak to that. He was in my ear the whole time. JONATHAN DIUGUID: The timing stand did a good job. We knew the 9 and 10 were very short on fuel. Scott came in and took emergency service. We were scanning his radios. Said you’re probably not going to make it to the pit box. Josef did his job.Alex was supposed to pull over to the left, which he didn’t. I think that is something we need to talk about. It caused some more problems for other people. Luckily we were right behind him so it didn’t cost us any time on pit road because we got to be able to get to the pit box and go forward. In general, having people run out of fuel in pit lane in the fast lane is not something we need to have going forward. We did a good job there and went to the front. Q.  Josef, how are you going to spend the week off?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ll find out tomorrow. I’ll make a list. I think everybody’s going to enjoy the week off. I’m going to be doing what everybody else is doing.THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

Chevrolet at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway General Motors Wins: 9 Chevrolet Wins: 8  2026 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2024 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2022 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2021 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #2 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2018 – Will Power – Team Penske2017 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2002 – Gil de Ferran – Team Penske  Oldsmobile Wins: 1 2001 – Al Unser, Jr. – Galles Racing General Motors Poles: 9 Chevrolet Poles: 8 2025 – Will Power – Team Penske2024 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske2023 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske2022 – Will Power – Team Penske2021 – Will Power – Team Penske2020 Race #1     – Will Power – Team Penske2019 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2017 – Will Power – Team Penske2002 – Gil de Ferran – Team Penske Oldsmobile Poles: 1 2001 – Sam Hornish – Panther Racing General Motors Podiums: 27 Chevrolet Podiums 26 Chevrolet driver podiums at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Josef Newgarden (6), Pato O’Ward (5), Scott McLaughlin (3), Will Power (2), Christian Rasmussen (2), Alex Barron (1), Ed Carpenter (1), Helio Castroneves (1), Gil de Ferran (1), Tony Kanaan (1), Simon Pagenaud (1)  Chevrolet team podiums at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway:  Team Penske (14), Arrow McLaren (5), ECR (3), A.J. Foyt Racing (1), Blair Racing (1) Oldsmobile Podiums: 3 Oldsmobile driver podiums at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Mark Dismore (1), Sam Hornish (1) and Al Unser, Jr. (1).  Oldsmobile team podiums at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Galles Racing (1), Kelley Racing (1), and Panther Racing (1) General Motors Laps Led: 2031 Chevrolet Laps Led: 1866 Chevrolet laps led by driver at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Josef Newgarden (677), Will Power (450), Pato O’Ward (167), Helio Castroneves (137), Scott McLaughlin (130), Gil de Ferran (81), David Malukas (67), Conor Daly (37), Alex Barron (29), Sebastien Bourdais (18), Simon Pagenaud (14), Alexander Rossi (14), Santino Ferrucci (8), Sting Ray Robb (8), Nolan Siegel (8), Caio Collet (7), Christian Rasmussen (6), Callum Ilott (5), Felipe Giafone (2), and Felix Rosenqvist (1)  Chevrolet laps led by team at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Team Penske (1489), Arrow McLaren (188), A.J. Foyt Racing (108), Juncos Hollinger Racing (36), Blair Racing (29), ECR (8), Prema Racing (5), Mo Nunn Racing (2) and Carlin (1).  Oldsmobile Laps Led: 165 Oldsmobile laps led by driver at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Sam Hornish (81), Al Unser, Jr. (75), Mark Dismore (8), and Airton Dare (1) Oldsmobile laps led by team at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Panther Racing (81), Galles Racing (75), Kelley Racing (8) and Team Xtreme (1) Manufacturer history at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway Wins – General Motors (9)Chevrolet (8) – 2026, 2024, 2022, 2021, 2020 R2, 2018, 2017, 2002Honda (5) – 2025, 2023, 2020 R1, 2019, 1998Toyota (2) – 2003, 2000Oldsmobile (1) – 2001Ford (1) – 1999Mercedes (1) – 1997 Earned Poles – 16 (in 2018, the field was set by championship points due to weather)General Motors (9)Chevrolet (8) – 2025, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 R1, 2019, 2017, 2002Honda (3) – 2026, 2020 R2, 1999Toyota (2) – 2003, 2000Oldsmobile (1) – 2001Mercedes (1) – 1998Ford (1) – 1997

Macedo drives by Williamson to claim the Ted Johnson Memorial and cut into Gravel’s point lead a little more

SUN PRAIRIE, WI (June 7, 2026) –

The Summer of Money is nearing, and Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing crew are heating up.

The No. 41 team didn’t quite perform up to their high standards over the first few months of the season. Sure, they were consistent, but Macedo and company are used to visiting Victory Lane often. Over the last few weeks, they’ve done exactly that.

Heading into Sunday’s Ted Johnson Memorial Race at Sun Prairie, WI’s Angell Park Speedway, they’d won twice in the last five races – Jacksonville Speedway on May 21 and River Cities Speedway on May 29. An impressive drive Sunday made it three out of the last six with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars.

Macedo lined up on the third row and worked his way forward on a tricky surface. It took him only five laps to climb to the runner-up spot. Then the game of cat and mouse was on as he chased polesitter Garet Williamson. Macedo closed in several times as they navigated traffic but couldn’t quite seal the deal. Finally, the door opened on a Lap 29 restart.

The Lemoore, CA native timed it perfectly and threw a slide job that cleared, and Williamson couldn’t counter. That proved to be the winning move as Macedo motored away to the checkered flag.

“A huge thank you and hats off to Philip Dietz, Robby McQuinn, and Adam Zimmerman, they did a great job,” Macedo said. “We made a lot of adjustments all night long. I felt like every time I came in, I had a lot of feedback. Obviously, Phil made a lot of changes, and Adam and Robby worked their tails off doing it. Just a big thank you to them. The track changed a lot. I was super nervous at the beginning of the race before it started. I thought it was going to blow all the way off, and there wasn’t going to be much left. But there was just enough meat where I could kind of connect the grip and make a lot of speed in this Albaugh 41 car.”

Macedo’s fourth win of the year is the 62nd of his career with The Greatest Show on Dirt. Sunday might’ve been his first Sprint Car score at Angell Park, but he did also top a POWRi Midget race there in 2016. Macedo made it three different winners in three World of Outlaws races at Angell Park, joining Donny Schatz (2016) and Sheldon Haudenschild (2025). And the most important number is 70, which is the gap between he and championship leader David Gravel atop the standings. Entering the weekend, Macedo trailed by 114 markers.

Sheldon Haudenschild finished second in the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 18. He’s now reeled off six top fives in the last seven races including a trio of podiums.

Bill Balog made his home state fans proud with a third-place run to notch his second podium visit of the season.

Logan Schuchart and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

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

Bill Balog set Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Bill Balog (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Spencer Bayston (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), and Sheldon Haudenschild (WIX Filters Heat Three).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Garet Williamson.

Williamson also topped the Toyota Dash.

Logan Julien wheeled from 17th to 10th to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Spencer Bayston was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

Ashton Torgerson finished eighth, good enough for the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.

Garet Williamson set the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

Williamson also took home the Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars make a stop at Knoxville Raceway on June 12-13 for the final leg of the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash, marking the last visit to the 1/2 mile before the 65th running of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s (Aug. 12-15). 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:

SPICY SUNDAY: Carson Macedo Stays Hot with Angell Park Victory

Macedo drives by Williamson to claim the Ted Johnson Memorial and cut into Gravel’s point lead a little more

SUN PRAIRIE, WI (June 7, 2026) –

The Summer of Money is nearing, and Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing crew are heating up.

The No. 41 team didn’t quite perform up to their high standards over the first few months of the season. Sure, they were consistent, but Macedo and company are used to visiting Victory Lane often. Over the last few weeks, they’ve done exactly that.

Heading into Sunday’s Ted Johnson Memorial Race at Sun Prairie, WI’s Angell Park Speedway, they’d won twice in the last five races – Jacksonville Speedway on May 21 and River Cities Speedway on May 29. An impressive drive Sunday made it three out of the last six with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars.

Macedo lined up on the third row and worked his way forward on a tricky surface. It took him only five laps to climb to the runner-up spot. Then the game of cat and mouse was on as he chased polesitter Garet Williamson. Macedo closed in several times as they navigated traffic but couldn’t quite seal the deal. Finally, the door opened on a Lap 29 restart.

The Lemoore, CA native timed it perfectly and threw a slide job that cleared, and Williamson couldn’t counter. That proved to be the winning move as Macedo motored away to the checkered flag.

“A huge thank you and hats off to Philip Dietz, Robby McQuinn, and Adam Zimmerman, they did a great job,” Macedo said. “We made a lot of adjustments all night long. I felt like every time I came in, I had a lot of feedback. Obviously, Phil made a lot of changes, and Adam and Robby worked their tails off doing it. Just a big thank you to them. The track changed a lot. I was super nervous at the beginning of the race before it started. I thought it was going to blow all the way off, and there wasn’t going to be much left. But there was just enough meat where I could kind of connect the grip and make a lot of speed in this Albaugh 41 car.”

Macedo’s fourth win of the year is the 62nd of his career with The Greatest Show on Dirt. Sunday might’ve been his first Sprint Car score at Angell Park, but he did also top a POWRi Midget race there in 2016. Macedo made it three different winners in three World of Outlaws races at Angell Park, joining Donny Schatz (2016) and Sheldon Haudenschild (2025). And the most important number is 70, which is the gap between he and championship leader David Gravel atop the standings. Entering the weekend, Macedo trailed by 114 markers.

Sheldon Haudenschild finished second in the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 18. He’s now reeled off six top fives in the last seven races including a trio of podiums.

Bill Balog made his home state fans proud with a third-place run to notch his second podium visit of the season.

Logan Schuchart and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

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

Bill Balog set Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Bill Balog (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Spencer Bayston (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), and Sheldon Haudenschild (WIX Filters Heat Three).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Garet Williamson.

Williamson also topped the Toyota Dash.

Logan Julien wheeled from 17th to 10th to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Spencer Bayston was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

Ashton Torgerson finished eighth, good enough for the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.

Garet Williamson set the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

Williamson also took home the Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars make a stop at Knoxville Raceway on June 12-13 for the final leg of the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash, marking the last visit to the 1/2 mile before the 65th running of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s (Aug. 12-15). 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. 41-Carson Macedo[5]; 2. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[3]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog[2]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart[7]; 5. 83-Michael Kofoid[9]; 6. 2-David Gravel[8]; 7. 17-Spencer Bayston[6]; 8. 51-Ashton Torgerson[4]; 9. 27-Emerson Axsom[15]; 10. 85J-Logan Julien[17]; 11. 7S-Chris Windom[13]; 12. (DNF) 23-Garet Williamson[1]; 13. (DNF) 2C-Cole Macedo[11]; 14. (DNF) 92-Zach Daum[18]; 15. (DNF) 25-Danny Schlafer[19]; 16. (DNF) 19-Joel Myers Jr[20]; 17. (DNF) 28M-Conner Morrell[22]; 18. (DNF) 10V-Matt VanderVere[24]; 19. (DNF) 1K-Kelby Watt[10]; 20. (DNF) 51B-Joe B Miller[16]; 21. (DNF) 16C-Skylar Gee[21]; 22. (DNF) 87A-Austin Hartmann[23]; 23. (DNF) 47-Todd King[25]; 24. (DNF) 6-Kasey Jedrzejek[14]; 25. (DNF) 15-Donny Schatz[12]

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Event: FireKeepers Casino 400 Location: Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, MichiganDate: Sunday, June 7, 2026Start: 37thFinish: 15thSomewhere between the start and finish of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team were finally able to outrun the bad luck that had followed them in recent weeks. After starting from the rear of the field, Berry methodically worked his way forward throughout the 200-lap event, avoided significant damage in a multi-car incident during the final stage and gained several positions in the closing laps to secure a 15th-place finish. The result marked his best finish since scoring a 10th-place run at Martinsville Speedway in late March.Berry was forced to start last after spinning during his qualifying lap on Saturday, but quickly began making progress once the green flag waved. He gained five positions during the opening 45-lap stage and continued his climb through the field, reaching 18th by the conclusion of Stage 2 on Lap 120.The biggest challenge of the afternoon came on Lap 154 when a nine-car accident unfolded directly in front of him. Berry spun while trying to avoid the chaos after getting tagged from behind, but managed to escape with only minor damage to the No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Following repairs and a strong restart, he resumed his charge and remained inside the top 20 for the remainder of the race.With less than 10 laps remaining, Berry picked off three more positions, crossing the finish line in 15th place.Berry and the Wood Brothers Racing team will look to carry that momentum into next weekend’s Great American Getaway 400 at the 2.5-mile triangle of Pocono Raceway.

RACE RECAP – CITY Race 8 of 20

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

ALL JFR FUNNY CAR FINAL POSTPONED UNTIL BRISTOLRain hits right before the Beckman -Vandergriff final round, Hart and DeJoria halted in Rd. 2

RACE RECAP – CITYRace 8 of 20

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

ALL JFR FUNNY CAR FINAL POSTPONED UNTIL BRISTOLRain hits right before the Beckman -Vandergriff final round, Hart and DeJoria halted in Rd. 2

EPPING, N.H. (June 7, 2026) – John Force Racing will win the Funny Car class of the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway but it will be next Friday at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway before it’s determined whether it will be Jack Beckman and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team or Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team who raise the NHRA 75thanniversary diamond Wally trophy. Rain hit the drag strip as the finalists in both Funny Car and Top Fuel were in the staging lanes ready to determine the event’s final two winners. It started and stopped at least three times before a final downpour forced NHRA officials to postpone until next Friday. It’s the 58th all-John Force Racing final and first since the 2025 U.S. Nationals when Austin Prock defeated Beckman. It’s also the fourth all-John Force Racing New England Nationals final. Courtney Force defeated her dad in the inaugural NHRA New England Nationals in 2013. Josh Hart’s Speedmaster Top Fuel team and Alexis DeJoria’s Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car team both exited after the second round, Hart to an unbelievable reaction time from his opponent and DeJoria by an almost incomprehensibly small margin of victory by hers. Beckman easily won his first-round matchup against Phil Burkart Jr. with a run of 3.970 seconds at 323.58 mph to Burkart’s 12.368 seconds at 70.44 mph. The PEAK SQUAD dispatched of Matt Hagan in the second round, running 3.943 seconds at 324.75 mph to Hagan’s 4.020 seconds at 323.04 mph. In the semifinals against Ron Capps, Beckman set low elapsed time of the meet with a run of 3.904 seconds at 329.75 mph to set up the final round against Vandergriff. “The disappointment is we’ve built some great momentum the past couple of weeks and we wanted to keep that going in the final today,” said Beckman. “Our car has been down the track 14 of the last 15 runs. That Cornwell car’s been wicked consistent, too. I think with the track getting better and better here throughout the day, we could have set the two lowest ET’s of the weekend, which our PEAK Chevy took in the semifinals today. But we’re not going to race in the rain and we’ll pack our cars and have three reasons to go right after it in Bristol. We’re going to have qualifying, the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, the final round against Vandergriff for this race, and the Bristol race. That’s four reasons to push hard right off the bat.” Vandergriff had his hands full early in the run with first-round opponent Jeff Arend but his 3.970-second run at 323.58 mph was more than enough for Arend’s 4.104 seconds at 286.38. In Round 2, the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car rand 3.942 seconds at 324.51 mph to defeat Chad Green who ran 3.975 seconds at 322.42 mph. In his semifinal matchup against J.R. Todd, Vandergriff lost the reaction time battle but Todd’s car spun the tires shortly thereafter while Vandergriff streaked to a run of 3.982 seconds at 316.52 mph. “We have an all JFR final and this is definitely what John would have wanted,” said Vandergriff. “So, thank you to Cornwell Quality Tools for getting me here. I hate it for all the great fans here in Epping who stuck it out because they deserved to have everything get wrapped up here but it was not to be.” The Speedmaster team took the Round 1 win against Rit Pustari with a run of 3.872 seconds at 330.47 mph to Pustari’s 3.382 seconds at 79.29 mph. Hart had lane choice in Round 2 against Billy Torrence and cut a solid .056-of-a-second reaction time but Torrence had an almost unimaginable reaction time of .036-of-a-second. That margin made the difference at the finish line as Torrence took the win with a slower run of 3.861 seconds at 331.04 mph to Hart’s run of 3.856 seconds at 332.43 mph. “To say I’m not happy would be a huge understatement,” said Hart. “I haven’t been beaten on a holeshot since 2023 Gainesville against Tony Schumacher. That said, I am proud of the Speedmaster JFR team as we continue to work on our hot track tune up. Now let’s go to Bristol.” DeJoria posted a solid run of 3.998 seconds at 326.40 mph to take the first-round win against Cruz Pedregon’s run of 4.397 seconds at 20.721 mph. In Round 2, Ron Capps had lane choice but DeJoria got the holeshot (.056 to .070) and led for almost the entire length of the racing surface before Capps got around her right at the finish line. The Bandero Café Chevy ran 3.953 seconds at 328.54 mph to Capps’ 3.938 (low ET of the round) at 327.11 mph, meaning the margin of victory was a mere 18/10,000ths of a second, or just 10 inches. “It was a good showing for the Bandero Café Chevy SS Funny Car team this weekend,” said DeJoria. “We qualified well on Friday, getting the No. 1 spot and some important points. Everything just seems to be clicking right now. Everything’s coming together. It’s just a matter of time. I’ve said that before but I’ve never felt it more than this moment with our performance level and just how confident I feel in this race car. Bristol can’t come soon enough. These guys are doing such a good job. I really wanted to bring home a Wally for my East Coast family, but I’ll be back next year. You can be certain of that.” NEXT RACEThe ninth of 20 races of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is the June 12-14 Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway.

NASCAR Cup Series Michigan International Speedway FireKeepers Casino 400 Team Chevy Post-Race Report June 7, 2026

Larson, Hocevar Take Home Top-Five Finishes at Michigan International Speedway

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

RACE RECAP:  Stage One: Taking center stage in front of a hometown crowd, it was Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar that led Team Chevy in Saturday’s qualifying session to earn a front row starting position for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The sold out crowd came to their feet as Hocevar drove his No. 77 Chevrolet to the top position to lead the opening lap of Stage One. Holding onto the position throughout a pair of early-race cautions, the Michigan native made an early report that his Chevrolet was building tight in turns three and four. But despite the ill-handling racecar, Hocevar was able to maintain a top-three running position and a 2.5-second gap to the leader en route to the first green-white checkered flag. Stage Two: With the No. 77 pit crew firing off a quick four-tire and fuel stop under the stage break, Hocevar found himself back in the third position to take the green flag for Stage Two. A masterful restart saw Hocevar quickly maneuver his Chevrolet back to the top of the leaderboard to pace the field for a handful of laps, ultimately falling to second as the field entered a long run. But a caution at Lap 63 opened up the door for varying pit strategy throughout the field. A two-tire call by much of the lead pack, including the Hendrick Motorsports pair of Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, saw the duo takeover the front row for the restart. The track position paid dividends for the Alan Gustafson-led team, with Elliott able to take the lead for the first time of the day and hold the position to take the Stage Two victory. Final Stage: A scheduled four-tire and fuel stop for the No. 9 team saw the former champion inherit a position back on the front row to lead the field to the green flag for the final stage. Elliott maintained a small lead until the race went under yellow flag conditions on Lap 142. Crew chief, Alan Gustafson, called his driver to pit road with the lead pack, with the team returning to the track in the fifth position as the first car on a four-tire strategy. But the team’s strong run came to an early end just after the restart when he was involved in an accident with Christopher Bell. Sitting under red flag conditions for nearly 20 minutes, it was Team Chevy drivers that took over the top-four positions to lead the field to the restart with 47 laps to go. Yet another strong strategy-driven race by the Ryan Sparks-led team saw Daniel Suarez earn a race-contending position at the front of the field. With a long green flag run that brought the race to a close, it was the speed of the No. 5 Chevrolet team that prevailed at the end – leading Team Chevy to the checkered flag with a fourth-place finish.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos.     Driver 4th – Kyle Larson5th – Carson Hocevar6th – Daniel SuarezChevrolet’s season statistics with 15 NASCAR Cup Series races complete: Wins: 5Poles: 3Top-Fives: 28Top 10s: 54Stage Wins: 13

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Pocono Raceway with the Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA on Sunday, June 14, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on Amazon Prime, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two. Finished: 36th“Our No. 3 Dow MobilityScience Chevrolet was really fast, so it’s super unfortunate. It looked like the No. 77 (Carson Hocevar) got into the No. 42 (John H. Nemechek) and turned him across the field. We almost got through it. I saw the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) coming down. I kind of gassed up to get past him, but the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) was there. I’m frustrated because we had a fast car. The team did a great job, and I’m proud of everyone at RCR and ECR. I just hate that we lost our car. It’s just unfortunate that we have good runs, but get caught up in other peoples’ messes and it just sets you back every time. We’ll regroup and focus on Pocono (Raceway) next weekend.”   Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 4thYou really found something there at the end. Did your car just come back alive? “I don’t know if we just finally got the adjustments right or the track conditions came to me a little bit. I just had a really poor restart there and got ate up, stuck in the middle and fell back somewhere between 13th-15th. Thankfully, my No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy was good that last run to be able to drive back to fourth. I just wish I would have executed it better and we probably would have had a better shot at finishing second or maybe even be able to race Denny (Hamlin, race winner). It looked like he was really fast and drove away from the field, which is tough to do with this package.  But overall, just happy with the result. It was a clean day, for the most part. It was a good points day. There were guys around us in points that had a bad day, so we’ll take it.”   Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 6th“We definitely had a Chevrolet that could contend all day long. This No. 7 NationGuards Chevrolet team did a great job and I’m just super proud of this group. I felt like we had a top-five car on the short run and a top-10 car on the long run. Our strength was definitely the short-middle part of the run. After three laps, I would fire off really quickly. I feel like on the short run, I was a little bit better than the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin, race winner). Once we lost control of the race, I knew it was going to be a little tough. Overall, just really proud of this team and everyone at Spire Motorsports.”    Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident in the final stageFinished: 32nd “It was totally my fault. I feel really bad for (Christopher) Bell, just taking him out. I was trying to run the bottom, make use of our fresh tires and at least get to second, I was hoping, and stay side-by-side with him. I just got in there and got free. I thought I was going to spin and was kind of committing to spinning out. As soon as I was committed to spinning, it just hooked up and, unfortunately, sent Christopher into the wall really hard and me shortly thereafter. We were just racing really hard. I thought it was a turning point in the race to make something happen, but just stepped over the line and paid for it.” I know this wasn’t how you wanted to end the day, but if you look at the day collectively as a whole, what are the positives and the gains you see that your team has made? “I thought the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet team had a really solid day going, we just needed to finish it off. We were able to lead some laps, get a stage win and stage points. I’m not sure what the rest of the day was going to bring, but it was solid overall. We were going to have a shot at it and we just needed to get there to find out.”   Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 20th“It was a learning day. The way the Cup car reacts to the air and how you use the pedals to carry momentum are so different than what I’m used to in the O’Reilly car. On the initial fire off, our Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet lost the front end on entry. The car would get loose at times and then tight at times, but anytime I got to the right side of someone, I would get immediately loose on entry. We went for spin towards the end but kept it off the wall without damage. Proud of the guys for sticking together and grinding out a top-20 finish.”  Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing ChevroletFinished: 23rd“We had a super-fast No. 51 Super.com Chevy all day today. Unfortunately, we got some damage and we had to fix on the left-rear toe link towards the end of the race, so we went a lap down. But my team did an awesome job getting that fixed because, otherwise, we would have had an even worse day. Just really proud of the team for hanging in there and getting the car fixed. It’s a really positive string of races we’ve had, so we’ve got some momentum to build off of.”   Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One. Finished: 37th“It’s just unfortunate. Another short race for this No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet team. I was very loose and I just couldn’t save it. Just very frustrated. It’s been a tough few weeks, but we’ll keep our heads down and try to go get them at Pocono (Raceway) next weekend.”    Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 30th“Unfortunate day for our SafetyCulture team. Just struggled with the balance of the car all day. It’s a shame to have this kind of day after building such great momentum the last couple of weeks. But we’ll continue to learn from this and be ready for Pocono.”

NASCAR Cup SeriesMichigan International SpeedwayFireKeepers Casino 400Team Chevy Post-Race ReportJune 7, 2026

Larson, Hocevar Take Home Top-Five Finishes at Michigan International Speedway

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

RACE RECAP:  Stage One: Taking center stage in front of a hometown crowd, it was Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar that led Team Chevy in Saturday’s qualifying session to earn a front row starting position for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The sold out crowd came to their feet as Hocevar drove his No. 77 Chevrolet to the top position to lead the opening lap of Stage One. Holding onto the position throughout a pair of early-race cautions, the Michigan native made an early report that his Chevrolet was building tight in turns three and four. But despite the ill-handling racecar, Hocevar was able to maintain a top-three running position and a 2.5-second gap to the leader en route to the first green-white checkered flag. Stage Two: With the No. 77 pit crew firing off a quick four-tire and fuel stop under the stage break, Hocevar found himself back in the third position to take the green flag for Stage Two. A masterful restart saw Hocevar quickly maneuver his Chevrolet back to the top of the leaderboard to pace the field for a handful of laps, ultimately falling to second as the field entered a long run. But a caution at Lap 63 opened up the door for varying pit strategy throughout the field. A two-tire call by much of the lead pack, including the Hendrick Motorsports pair of Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, saw the duo takeover the front row for the restart. The track position paid dividends for the Alan Gustafson-led team, with Elliott able to take the lead for the first time of the day and hold the position to take the Stage Two victory. Final Stage: A scheduled four-tire and fuel stop for the No. 9 team saw the former champion inherit a position back on the front row to lead the field to the green flag for the final stage. Elliott maintained a small lead until the race went under yellow flag conditions on Lap 142. Crew chief, Alan Gustafson, called his driver to pit road with the lead pack, with the team returning to the track in the fifth position as the first car on a four-tire strategy. But the team’s strong run came to an early end just after the restart when he was involved in an accident with Christopher Bell. Sitting under red flag conditions for nearly 20 minutes, it was Team Chevy drivers that took over the top-four positions to lead the field to the restart with 47 laps to go. Yet another strong strategy-driven race by the Ryan Sparks-led team saw Daniel Suarez earn a race-contending position at the front of the field. With a long green flag run that brought the race to a close, it was the speed of the No. 5 Chevrolet team that prevailed at the end – leading Team Chevy to the checkered flag with a fourth-place finish.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos.     Driver 4th – Kyle Larson5th – Carson Hocevar6th – Daniel SuarezChevrolet’s season statistics with 15 NASCAR Cup Series races complete: Wins: 5Poles: 3Top-Fives: 28Top 10s: 54Stage Wins: 13

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Pocono Raceway with the Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA on Sunday, June 14, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on Amazon Prime, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two. Finished: 36th“Our No. 3 Dow MobilityScience Chevrolet was really fast, so it’s super unfortunate. It looked like the No. 77 (Carson Hocevar) got into the No. 42 (John H. Nemechek) and turned him across the field. We almost got through it. I saw the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) coming down. I kind of gassed up to get past him, but the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) was there. I’m frustrated because we had a fast car. The team did a great job, and I’m proud of everyone at RCR and ECR. I just hate that we lost our car. It’s just unfortunate that we have good runs, but get caught up in other peoples’ messes and it just sets you back every time. We’ll regroup and focus on Pocono (Raceway) next weekend.”   Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 4thYou really found something there at the end. Did your car just come back alive? “I don’t know if we just finally got the adjustments right or the track conditions came to me a little bit. I just had a really poor restart there and got ate up, stuck in the middle and fell back somewhere between 13th-15th. Thankfully, my No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy was good that last run to be able to drive back to fourth. I just wish I would have executed it better and we probably would have had a better shot at finishing second or maybe even be able to race Denny (Hamlin, race winner). It looked like he was really fast and drove away from the field, which is tough to do with this package.  But overall, just happy with the result. It was a clean day, for the most part. It was a good points day. There were guys around us in points that had a bad day, so we’ll take it.”   Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 6th“We definitely had a Chevrolet that could contend all day long. This No. 7 NationGuards Chevrolet team did a great job and I’m just super proud of this group. I felt like we had a top-five car on the short run and a top-10 car on the long run. Our strength was definitely the short-middle part of the run. After three laps, I would fire off really quickly. I feel like on the short run, I was a little bit better than the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin, race winner). Once we lost control of the race, I knew it was going to be a little tough. Overall, just really proud of this team and everyone at Spire Motorsports.”    Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident in the final stageFinished: 32nd “It was totally my fault. I feel really bad for (Christopher) Bell, just taking him out. I was trying to run the bottom, make use of our fresh tires and at least get to second, I was hoping, and stay side-by-side with him. I just got in there and got free. I thought I was going to spin and was kind of committing to spinning out. As soon as I was committed to spinning, it just hooked up and, unfortunately, sent Christopher into the wall really hard and me shortly thereafter. We were just racing really hard. I thought it was a turning point in the race to make something happen, but just stepped over the line and paid for it.” I know this wasn’t how you wanted to end the day, but if you look at the day collectively as a whole, what are the positives and the gains you see that your team has made? “I thought the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet team had a really solid day going, we just needed to finish it off. We were able to lead some laps, get a stage win and stage points. I’m not sure what the rest of the day was going to bring, but it was solid overall. We were going to have a shot at it and we just needed to get there to find out.”   Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 20th“It was a learning day. The way the Cup car reacts to the air and how you use the pedals to carry momentum are so different than what I’m used to in the O’Reilly car. On the initial fire off, our Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet lost the front end on entry. The car would get loose at times and then tight at times, but anytime I got to the right side of someone, I would get immediately loose on entry. We went for spin towards the end but kept it off the wall without damage. Proud of the guys for sticking together and grinding out a top-20 finish.”  Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing ChevroletFinished: 23rd“We had a super-fast No. 51 Super.com Chevy all day today. Unfortunately, we got some damage and we had to fix on the left-rear toe link towards the end of the race, so we went a lap down. But my team did an awesome job getting that fixed because, otherwise, we would have had an even worse day. Just really proud of the team for hanging in there and getting the car fixed. It’s a really positive string of races we’ve had, so we’ve got some momentum to build off of.”   Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One. Finished: 37th“It’s just unfortunate. Another short race for this No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet team. I was very loose and I just couldn’t save it. Just very frustrated. It’s been a tough few weeks, but we’ll keep our heads down and try to go get them at Pocono (Raceway) next weekend.”    Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 30th“Unfortunate day for our SafetyCulture team. Just struggled with the balance of the car all day. It’s a shame to have this kind of day after building such great momentum the last couple of weeks. But we’ll continue to learn from this and be ready for Pocono.”

EPPING, N.H. (May 31, 2026) — At a race where there is strong Canadian support, the only full-time Canadian Funny Car driver, Spencer Hyde, made a strong attempt at taking home a Diamond Wally at the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto. Hyde, the driver of the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car, entered race day at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire from the No. 13 spot in an extremely competitive Funny Car field.
 
“This was the second race in a quick three-in-a-row stretch to really kick off the summer,” said Hyde. “We’re now in the thick of the regular season, so I’m just trying to keep doing well enough to maintain a positive position within the Countdown.”

 Spencer Hyde did not advance out of first round but heads to Bristol with positive momentum,
photo credit Innovative Creation Experts

Three out of the four qualifying passes Hyde made during qualifying were solid, with his best pass happening during the second round of qualifying on Friday, a 4.001 second, 319.75 mph run. This was enough for him to be paired against J.R. Todd in the first round of eliminations.
 
Despite Hyde being first off of the starting line, Todd, the 2018 NHRA Funny Car World Champion, was able to get around him when the Jim Head-tuned Nitro Funny Car smoked the tires.
 
“Unfortunately, the car didn’t go very far, and smoked the tires right away,” said Hyde. “Jim [Head] said we were shooting for a 3.90, and if the car had done what we were hoping, then we could have given J.R. a much better race. On to the next.”
 
One of the unique challenges that all of the teams had to deal with this weekend was the immense amount of pollen in the air and on the track. That did not stop the fans from showing up in droves, with Saturday announced as a sell-out crowd.
 
“I love coming here,” said Hyde. “This track has a real old-school feel, and the fans are always so great. Montreal isn’t far from here, so the Canadian fans also make themselves known, which is awesome.”
 
Now that Epping is in his rearview mirror, the 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year is looking ahead to the next race on the schedule in Bristol, Tennessee.
 
“I feel like pretty confident heading into Bristol, just because we seem to have a hot track tune up figured out,” said Hyde. “We did really well in Phoenix, and I expect conditions to be pretty similar in Thunder Valley. We’re hoping to get a win for Hyde Construction, OUTLAW Light Beer and the Caine Group.”
 
Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will be back in competition next week at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals on June 12-14 at Bristol Dragway. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, June 12 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, June 13. For tickets or more information on the Thunder Valley Nationals visit nhra.com.
 
Qualifying Results – Funny Car
Q1: 4.616 sec, 182.13 mph; Qual. 10
Q2: 4.001 sec, 319.75 mph; Qual. 9
Q3: 4.018 sec, 312.86 mph; Qual. 12
Q4: 10.565 sec, 77.38 mph; Qual. 13
Bonus Points: 0
 
Race Results
First Round
J.R. Todd, Lawrenceburg, Ind., DHL Toyota GR Supra, (.086), 3.919 sec, 331.45 mph def. Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car, (.077), 7.216 sec, 108.82 mph
 
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings – Funny Car

1. Ron Capps, 617
2. Jordan Vandergriff, 608/588
3. J.R. Todd, 602
4. Chad Green, 555
5. Matt Hagan, 546
6. Jack Beckman, 531/511
7. Alexis DeJoria, 487
8. Spencer Hyde, 401
9. Austin Prock, 358
10. Daniel Wilkerson, 296

HYDE PUSHES FORWARD IN SECOND RACE
OF THREE RACE STRETCH

EPPING, N.H. (May 31, 2026) — At a race where there is strong Canadian support, the only full-time Canadian Funny Car driver, Spencer Hyde, made a strong attempt at taking home a Diamond Wally at the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto. Hyde, the driver of the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car, entered race day at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire from the No. 13 spot in an extremely competitive Funny Car field.
 
“This was the second race in a quick three-in-a-row stretch to really kick off the summer,” said Hyde. “We’re now in the thick of the regular season, so I’m just trying to keep doing well enough to maintain a positive position within the Countdown.”

 Spencer Hyde did not advance out of first round but heads to Bristol with positive momentum,
photo credit Innovative Creation Experts

Three out of the four qualifying passes Hyde made during qualifying were solid, with his best pass happening during the second round of qualifying on Friday, a 4.001 second, 319.75 mph run. This was enough for him to be paired against J.R. Todd in the first round of eliminations.
 
Despite Hyde being first off of the starting line, Todd, the 2018 NHRA Funny Car World Champion, was able to get around him when the Jim Head-tuned Nitro Funny Car smoked the tires.
 
“Unfortunately, the car didn’t go very far, and smoked the tires right away,” said Hyde. “Jim [Head] said we were shooting for a 3.90, and if the car had done what we were hoping, then we could have given J.R. a much better race. On to the next.”
 
One of the unique challenges that all of the teams had to deal with this weekend was the immense amount of pollen in the air and on the track. That did not stop the fans from showing up in droves, with Saturday announced as a sell-out crowd.
 
“I love coming here,” said Hyde. “This track has a real old-school feel, and the fans are always so great. Montreal isn’t far from here, so the Canadian fans also make themselves known, which is awesome.”
 
Now that Epping is in his rearview mirror, the 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year is looking ahead to the next race on the schedule in Bristol, Tennessee.
 
“I feel like pretty confident heading into Bristol, just because we seem to have a hot track tune up figured out,” said Hyde. “We did really well in Phoenix, and I expect conditions to be pretty similar in Thunder Valley. We’re hoping to get a win for Hyde Construction, OUTLAW Light Beer and the Caine Group.”
 
Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will be back in competition next week at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals on June 12-14 at Bristol Dragway. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, June 12 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, June 13. For tickets or more information on the Thunder Valley Nationals visit nhra.com.
 
Qualifying Results – Funny Car
Q1: 4.616 sec, 182.13 mph; Qual. 10
Q2: 4.001 sec, 319.75 mph; Qual. 9
Q3: 4.018 sec, 312.86 mph; Qual. 12
Q4: 10.565 sec, 77.38 mph; Qual. 13
Bonus Points: 0
 
Race Results
First Round
J.R. Todd, Lawrenceburg, Ind., DHL Toyota GR Supra, (.086), 3.919 sec, 331.45 mph def. Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car, (.077), 7.216 sec, 108.82 mph
 
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings – Funny Car

1. Ron Capps, 617
2. Jordan Vandergriff, 608/588
3. J.R. Todd, 602
4. Chad Green, 555
5. Matt Hagan, 546
6. Jack Beckman, 531/511
7. Alexis DeJoria, 487
8. Spencer Hyde, 401
9. Austin Prock, 358
10. Daniel Wilkerson, 296

Rain moved into the area before the final round. The Funny Car and Top Fuel finals will be run during the Thunder Valley Nationals.

LE MANS, FRANCE (June 7, 2026) – Cadillac led the morning session of the official test day for the 94th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. Filipe Albuquerque, who is co-driving the No. 101 Cadillac WTR V-Series.R for Wayne Taylor Racing with Ricky Tayor and Jordan Taylor posted a time of 3 minutes and 27.011 seconds. The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R driven by Norman Nato, who co-drives with Will Stevens and Louis Deletraz, was third in the afternoon with a time of 3 minutes and 26.853 seconds. Local native Sebastien Bourdais, driver of the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R with Earl Bamber and Jack Aitken, was 12th in the afternoon with a lap of 3 minutes and 27.261 seconds. The next on-track activity will be Free Practice 1 at 2 pm (CEST) on Wednesday, June 10.

Cadillac Leads Morning Session of Test Day at Le Mans LE MANS, FRANCE (June 7, 2026) – Cadillac led the morning session of the official test day for the 94th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. Filipe Albuquerque, who is co-driving the No. 101 Cadillac WTR V-Series.R for Wayne Taylor Racing with Ricky Tayor and Jordan Taylor posted a time of 3 minutes and 27.011 seconds. The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R driven by Norman Nato, who co-drives with Will Stevens and Louis Deletraz, was third in the afternoon with a time of 3 minutes and 26.853 seconds. Local native Sebastien Bourdais, driver of the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R with Earl Bamber and Jack Aitken, was 12th in the afternoon with a lap of 3 minutes and 27.261 seconds. The next on-track activity will be Free Practice 1 at 2 pm (CEST) on Wednesday, June 10.

What they’re sayingNo. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.RWill Stevens “I think overall it was a pretty good test day. We’ve got through most of the things that we wanted to get through before the race week starts, because even though you always think you’ve got a lot of track time, it goes away from you very quickly. So, I think a very productive day and a solid baseline to work from. I think we can be confident and positive ahead of next week. We’ll spend the next two days working through some bits and pieces and trying to make further steps forwards for race week.” Norman Nato “It was quite a good test day. We managed to follow the plan. We tried many things on tyres, listening to the tyre in different track conditions, understanding our new package. The aim of the test was to prepare as much as we can ahead of next week, focusing on all the details, like making sure the driver changes are as smooth as possible, making sure we feel good in the car in terms of driving position. So, a positive day, in terms of performance as well, the car seems to be in the window at the moment, even though the conditions were still quite “green” as always on a test day. I’m looking forwards to next week and seeing where we are with the focus more on long runs and qualifying.” Louis Deletraz ”It was a good day. It was my first time here with the Cadillac, and it was really nice to drive around this circuit, really good to be back. We did a lot of laps, collected a lot of data which helps us to understand the car and the new tyre more. So I think it was very positive. It’s hard to know how competitive we are because it’s only the test day and everyone’s on different plans, but the car felt good and the whole team worked well together. So, thanks to everyone, and now we have two days to analyse the data and prepared for the race week.”  No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais: “It was an interesting test, obviously discovering the new configuration of the car at Le Mans. Here you never know, conditions change here a lot, grip changes a lot. But overall, it was a positive day, and we went through quite a few things during the test. The morning session was really scruffy with all the slow zones, red flags, you name it, but the afternoon was a lot more straight forward and we got through quite a few items and so we have a lot of data to look at. I really noticed a positive change in the new car since last year which will hopefully allow us to fight for a podium and maybe a win. Next week we’ll optimize our package, make sure that the balance of the car is the best it can be.” Earl Bamber: “It was really good to come back here. Obviously, there’s been a lot of preparation. For me, our car just ran flawlessly all day through the test programme. Now we’ve got two days to analyse everything. It looks like the field’s super close at the moment. It’s really, really tight, so I think we’re going have a fantastic motor race this year.” Jack Aitken: “It’s been good, it’s been productive. The track was in pretty good condition compared to most years and they have resurfaced it in a few places. We spent the test trying to dial in the car with, you know, a pretty wide variety of tarmac conditions out there now. But it’s always fun to get back on this track and you only get to do it once a year, so it’s always pretty special. It’s nice to see all of the Cadillacs ran pretty well through the whole session, with no major issues and they all got a lot of work done.”  No. 101 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.RWayne Taylor, Co-owner, No. 101 Cadillac WTR V-Series.R | Wayne Taylor Racing: “It’s been a really good day. All the Cadillacs look strong, and all I hear from our drivers is how good the car is. I’m not sure if anybody was going to try and set any times out there today. I know we made some changes to the car in that last session, and we think it’s an improvement. Honestly, everybody from GM and Cadillac Racing have supported this three-car team really, really well. And I’m pretty excited for the week.” Ricky Taylor, Co-driver, No. 101 Cadillac WTR V-Series.R: “It was a good day and it was nice to show some pace during the day. I think, coming from last year, the test day has gone much smoother. I think we’re settling into a good rhythm. There will be a lot to talk about over the next couple of days, before Free Practice 1, but I think all three Cadillacs are looking good. I think we just need to keep focused on creating a really good race car because we clearly have some decent outright pace.”  Filipe Albuquerque, Co-driver, No. 101 Cadillac WTR V-Series.R: “I drove in the afternoon, again, more fun with the car. Sometimes I wish there were not three drivers as I would like to drive a little more (laughs). Everything is going well with the car. The track is evolving and car balance is good. So far, so good. It has been a good day.” Jeromy Moore, Chief Engineer – Cadillac Racing: “The test today was pretty good. The two sessions went reasonably well and we had no issues on the cars. I’m pretty happy with the balance of the car, still learning a bit with the new evo here, what the car needs. The track was quite hot, so everyone was struggling a little bit with rear tyres. We’re looking reasonably competitive, but we know our competitors are strong and really we won’t know for sure what they have in their pocket until next week.”

CHICO, CA (6/6/26) The NARC King of the West Sprint Car Series made their second appearance of the year at Silver Dollar Speedway for the David Tarter Memorial with 27 cars signed in for the 9th race of the 2026 season. Justin Sanders bested the 27-car field in ARP Qualifying to set Quick Time with a lap of 11.280 seconds. It was Sanders’ series-best 4th Quick Time of the 2026 season. The 2005 NARC King of the West series champion, Sean Becker, won Kaeding Performance Heat Race 1, his 1st Heat Race win of the season. Tanner Carrick made his 5th appearance of the year with NARC and picked up the win Hill’s Premium Meats Heat Race 2, his first Heat Race win of the season. Silver Dollar Speedway Promoter and NARC regular, Colby Copeland, won his 3rd Heat Race of the season in BMRS Heat Race 3. The three Heat Race winners and fastest transfer cars out of each Heat Race locked into the 6-lap HD Titanium Dash. Chance Grasty drew the pole of the HD Titanium Dash and won his 3rd Dash of the season in his 7th Dash appearance of the year. Sean Becker and Chance Grasty would enter turn 3 on the first lap side by side, with Grasty jumping out to lead lap 1 of the 35 lap event, honoring the late David Tarter. Grasty would stretch out a lead to well over a second before he entered lapped traffic.  Becker and Justin Sanders took advantage of traffic to close the gap on Grasty. Sanders made his way to second on lap 12 and started his pursuit of Grasty with 23 laps remaining. Becker and Mariah Ede would make contact with 13 laps completed, Ede ended upside down but walked away. Nick Parker spun and did a 360 off turn 4, bringing out a yellow flag with 13 laps completed. Jarrett Soares slowed to a stop on lap 21 to go. Sanders made a big run on the bottom of turns 1 and 2 with 13 laps remaining to take the lead from Grasty and started to stretch out his advantage. On the last lap Billy Aton and Anthony Pope came together in turn 1, resulting in Aton spinning, Justin Sanders made contact with Aton, having no where to go, and stopped, bringing out the yellow.  Grasty would inherit the and hold off the field for the final 2 laps to pick up his 1st career NARC King of the West victory.
DJ Netto went 12th to 5th, earning FK Rod Ends Hard Charger award honors. The NARC King of the West Sprint cars return to action on Thursday June 11th at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, OR for Round 1 of the Fastest Five Days Road to Dirt Cup built by Lippert Construction. For more information, visit NARC410.com.  Follow us on X @NARC410, on Facebook.com/NARCKingoftheWest, and on Instagram NARC410.You can catch every NARC King of the West race live on FloRacing.com and the FloSports app. Hoosier Tire A Feature (35 Laps): 1. X1-Chance Grasty[1]; 2. 21-Colby Copeland[6]; 3. 0-Tim Kaeding[5]; 4. 21L-Landon Brooks[7]; 5. 88N-DJ Netto[13]; 6. 83T-Tanner Carrick[4]; 7. 17W-Shane Golobic[8]; 8. 29-Bud Kaeding[14]; 9. 10-Dominic Gorden[9]; 10. 41-Dominic Scelzi[10]; 11. 2A-Austin Wood[18]; 12. 24-Max Mittry[17]; 13. 2X-Justin Sanders[3]; 14. 26-Billy Aton[12]; 15. 88A-Joey Ancona[11]; 16. 7C-Ryan Bernal[15]; 17. 15-Nick Parker[19]; 18. 12J-John Clark[21]; 19. 4-Burt Foland Jr[24]; 20. 21X-Anthony Pope[23]; 21. 121-Caeden Steele[16]; 22. 7B-Sean Becker[2]; 23. 12-Jarrett Soares[22]; 24. 14-Mariah Ede[20]B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 15-Nick Parker[1]; 2. 14-Mariah Ede[2]; 3. 12J-John Clark[3]; 4. 12-Jarrett Soares[5]; 5. 21X-Anthony Pope[8]; 6. 4-Burt Foland Jr[9]; 7. 7W-Dennis Scherer[6]; 8. 9-Dustin Freitas[7]; 9. 551-Angelique Bell[4]HDTI Dash (6 Laps): 1. X1-Chance Grasty[1]; 2. 7B-Sean Becker[4]; 3. 2X-Justin Sanders[5]; 4. 83T-Tanner Carrick[3]; 5. 0-Tim Kaeding[6]; 6. 21-Colby Copeland[2]Kaeding Performance Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7B-Sean Becker[2]; 2. 2X-Justin Sanders[4]; 3. 10-Dominic Gorden[1]; 4. 88A-Joey Ancona[3]; 5. 29-Bud Kaeding[6]; 6. 24-Max Mittry[7]; 7. 15-Nick Parker[5]; 8. 551-Angelique Bell[9]; 9. (DNS) 9-Dustin FreitasHill’s Premium Meats Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 83T-Tanner Carrick[1]; 2. 21L-Landon Brooks[2]; 3. 41-Dominic Scelzi[5]; 4. 26-Billy Aton[3]; 5. 7C-Ryan Bernal[7]; 6. X1-Chance Grasty[4]; 7. 14-Mariah Ede[9]; 8. 12-Jarrett Soares[6]; 9. 21X-Anthony Pope[8]BMRS Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Colby Copeland[2]; 2. 17W-Shane Golobic[1]; 3. 0-Tim Kaeding[4]; 4. 88N-DJ Netto[3]; 5. 121-Caeden Steele[6]; 6. 2A-Austin Wood[7]; 7. 12J-John Clark[5]; 8. 7W-Dennis Scherer[9]; 9. 4-Burt Foland Jr[8]ARP Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 2X-Justin Sanders, 11.280[5]; 2. X1-Chance Grasty, 11.383[20]; 3. 0-Tim Kaeding, 11.396[1]; 4. 10-Dominic Gorden, 11.485[8]; 5. 83T-Tanner Carrick, 11.558[26]; 6. 17W-Shane Golobic, 11.613[19]; 7. 7B-Sean Becker, 11.614[16]; 8. 21L-Landon Brooks, 11.631[22]; 9. 21-Colby Copeland, 11.669[13]; 10. 88A-Joey Ancona, 11.677[21]; 11. 26-Billy Aton, 11.713[12]; 12. 88N-DJ Netto, 11.722[7]; 13. 15-Nick Parker, 11.741[25]; 14. 41-Dominic Scelzi, 11.746[14]; 15. 12J-John Clark, 11.749[3]; 16. 29-Bud Kaeding, 11.777[6]; 17. 12-Jarrett Soares, 11.866[10]; 18. 121-Caeden Steele, 11.885[17]; 19. 24-Max Mittry, 11.902[11]; 20. 7C-Ryan Bernal, 11.992[2]; 21. 2A-Austin Wood, 12.055[27]; 22. 9-Dustin Freitas, 12.124[23]; 23. 21X-Anthony Pope, 12.343[4]; 24. 4-Burt Foland Jr, 12.357[15]; 25. 551-Angelique Bell, 12.381[18]; 26. 14-Mariah Ede, 12.475[9]; 27. 7W-Dennis Scherer, 12.573[24]

Four Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs work through pre-Le Mans programs on annual Test Day LE MANS, France (June 7, 2026) – The four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs that will contest next weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans completed their initial runs around the Circuit de la Sarthe on Sunday through a pair of three-hour sessions that allowed teams to hit the track for the first time in a year. Three Corvettes were in the top-eight of the final session and within a half-second of the fastest LMGT3 car on the day.

TF Sport’s Jonny Edgar was the fastest of the Corvette drivers in the No. 33 Corvette that he shares with Nicky Catsburg and the returning Ben Keating. His lap of 3:56.885 (128.868 mph) was third-quickest and 0.239 seconds off the LMGT3 pace-setter. It put the trio in a good spot heading into Wednesday’s first official Free Practice ahead of a double-points race in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Quick times for two for the other Corvettes came later in the session. 13 Autosport’s Matt Bell set a late flying lap of 3:56.916 (128.624 mph) in the No. 13 Z06 GT3.R that he is driving with Orey Fidani and Lars Kern. The trio is back at Le Mans for the second straight year after finishing 10th a year ago. Charlie Eastwood, a class podium finisher last year, finished seventh Sunday in the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette that he will race with Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey. Eastwood, a Corvette factory driver, was barely two-tenths of a second off Edgar’s time. A third TF Sport Corvette – the No. 2 Z06 GT3.R crewed by members of Johor Motorsports Racing – ended 23rd in class in the Le Mans debut of Ben Green, who set the car’s fastest time, and Prince Jefri Ibrahim. Their teammate, Lorcan Hanafin, is the only one of the three to race at Le Mans with his debut coming in 2025. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET on Saturday, June 13. Live streaming coverage of all on-track sessions – including qualifying and Hyperpole – plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will provide live streaming audio coverage of all sessions as well.

ANDREA HIDALGO, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “We’re happy with the performance of the Corvettes as a whole and the level of preparation from our teams on the Test Day. This is not an easy event to execute for the most experienced group, so today was a nice result. Now our Corvette Customer Racing support engineers will work with each of the teams during the next couple of days to discover and act on any opportunities for improvement ahead of Free Practice.”

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R TEST DAY DRIVER QUOTES

JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I was able to get up to speed much quicker this year having been here before. It’s much easier now knowing the track, having more experience in the car and knowing pretty much everyone in the team as well. It’s been a lot easier this year for me in knowing what to expect.“Knowing from the first lap exactly where the car wants to be and feeling after a couple of laps I was already up to speed compared to last year. It does take awhile to figure everything out with this being a long lap. I definitely felt like I know what I need to do, where to break, which curbs to take, which ones to avoid… that all helps out.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We’re not horsing around here! I’m really happy. I got into the car four different times, and I’ve made big improvements every single time, which is all I can hope for. In that last run my laptime was pretty similar to where I qualified last year, and that makes me feel really good. I’m not going to say there’s a ton more there. But I feel good after that last run. I did a full stint and 10 laps; I’m pretty happy with the average laptime. The car feels good and that’s the most important thing for a 24-hour race. It feels like a car that we can do well in, which is what you want at the end of a Test Day. There are a lot of cars out there that look fast. The series has done an incredibly good job. It’s interesting to me to watch the different ways the cars make speed. The Corvette looks strong on top speed but not necessarily on acceleration, which is kind of an interesting deal. I see a lot of people out there avoiding a tow and things like that. There are still some games being played out there. Basically I just feel like we have a good car and a chance, which is all you can hope for in this race.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We do need to just start getting some proper results, and no better place for it than Le Mans. The Corvette’s always so good there. It’s been great the last two years, and it’s a great chance for us to get 50 points and a nice trophy. Obviously, the good thing on my side is I can literally do half of the race… up to 12 hours of it. So I am doing everything I can to get myself ready for those long stints, lack of sleep and try to manage the adrenaline so that you are not completely busted after a couple of stints, but I like the challenge. I did it last year. We obviously got a podium, which was great. That’s three of the last four starts at Le Mans for me with one being a win. The record there is going pretty well. But I’d like to get another win on the board, and I don’t see a reason why we can’t.”

LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “(Le Mans in 2025) definitely exceeded my expectations. You hear about it, but till you actually go and experience it, it’s two different stories. It’s absolutely in a world of its own. I was dumbfounded; my head was on a swivel and I was just taking everything in. It’s absolutely amazing.“For me, there’s a better understanding of things like the slow zones and learning all that. I think we got one or two penalties because of that last year. It’s one thing looking at them on a map, and it’s another thing looking at them at speed at 300 kph. So now I have a better understanding of where those are, the rules and the procedures. Hopefully we can eliminate those penalties because I mean, it’s tough. Once you fall behind there, you never get it back.”

LORCAN HANAFIN, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The Le Mans 24 Hours is a race that I’ve always wanted to do, a race that I’ve always wanted JMR to compete in. It took us seven years to get here, and finally it’s happening. Unlike some of our previous endurance races, this time we have two other categories racing together at the same race. That will be the challenge of having those other cars around you as well. And it’s an iconic track, so I can’t wait to see how we go there.”

HH PRINCE JEFRI IBRAHIM, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “First time at Le Mans and a dream come true. It’s been a long few days being in the town, going through scrutineering, doing the group photos and the car parade, as well. Today was my first day driving on the track – the most legendary track that I’ve always dreamt of driving. It’s such a cool track. I’m still learning, taking it step by step and trying to familiarize myself with the rules and having the Hypercars around me for the first time. It’s been a great day. I’ve missed being in the car. To be back in it feels like home. Then seeing the track through the windscreen and seeing the first corner and the Goodyear Bridge has been something I’ve always watched on TV… to see it in real life in the car was really amazing. That first lap was really fun. It’s been eight years since I first drove a racecar and it’s always been a dream for me to be at Le Mans. I’m super-grateful to be here, really. I’m focusing on what I can improve on for myself and hopefully in the next few days we can keep chipping away.”

CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Solid Test Day for Corvette QuartetFour Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs work through pre-Le Mans programs on annual Test Day LE MANS, France (June 7, 2026) – The four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs that will contest next weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans completed their initial runs around the Circuit de la Sarthe on Sunday through a pair of three-hour sessions that allowed teams to hit the track for the first time in a year. Three Corvettes were in the top-eight of the final session and within a half-second of the fastest LMGT3 car on the day.

TF Sport’s Jonny Edgar was the fastest of the Corvette drivers in the No. 33 Corvette that he shares with Nicky Catsburg and the returning Ben Keating. His lap of 3:56.885 (128.868 mph) was third-quickest and 0.239 seconds off the LMGT3 pace-setter. It put the trio in a good spot heading into Wednesday’s first official Free Practice ahead of a double-points race in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Quick times for two for the other Corvettes came later in the session. 13 Autosport’s Matt Bell set a late flying lap of 3:56.916 (128.624 mph) in the No. 13 Z06 GT3.R that he is driving with Orey Fidani and Lars Kern. The trio is back at Le Mans for the second straight year after finishing 10th a year ago. Charlie Eastwood, a class podium finisher last year, finished seventh Sunday in the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette that he will race with Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey. Eastwood, a Corvette factory driver, was barely two-tenths of a second off Edgar’s time. A third TF Sport Corvette – the No. 2 Z06 GT3.R crewed by members of Johor Motorsports Racing – ended 23rd in class in the Le Mans debut of Ben Green, who set the car’s fastest time, and Prince Jefri Ibrahim. Their teammate, Lorcan Hanafin, is the only one of the three to race at Le Mans with his debut coming in 2025. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET on Saturday, June 13. Live streaming coverage of all on-track sessions – including qualifying and Hyperpole – plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will provide live streaming audio coverage of all sessions as well.

ANDREA HIDALGO, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “We’re happy with the performance of the Corvettes as a whole and the level of preparation from our teams on the Test Day. This is not an easy event to execute for the most experienced group, so today was a nice result. Now our Corvette Customer Racing support engineers will work with each of the teams during the next couple of days to discover and act on any opportunities for improvement ahead of Free Practice.”

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R TEST DAY DRIVER QUOTES

JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I was able to get up to speed much quicker this year having been here before. It’s much easier now knowing the track, having more experience in the car and knowing pretty much everyone in the team as well. It’s been a lot easier this year for me in knowing what to expect.“Knowing from the first lap exactly where the car wants to be and feeling after a couple of laps I was already up to speed compared to last year. It does take awhile to figure everything out with this being a long lap. I definitely felt like I know what I need to do, where to break, which curbs to take, which ones to avoid… that all helps out.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We’re not horsing around here! I’m really happy. I got into the car four different times, and I’ve made big improvements every single time, which is all I can hope for. In that last run my laptime was pretty similar to where I qualified last year, and that makes me feel really good. I’m not going to say there’s a ton more there. But I feel good after that last run. I did a full stint and 10 laps; I’m pretty happy with the average laptime. The car feels good and that’s the most important thing for a 24-hour race. It feels like a car that we can do well in, which is what you want at the end of a Test Day. There are a lot of cars out there that look fast. The series has done an incredibly good job. It’s interesting to me to watch the different ways the cars make speed. The Corvette looks strong on top speed but not necessarily on acceleration, which is kind of an interesting deal. I see a lot of people out there avoiding a tow and things like that. There are still some games being played out there. Basically I just feel like we have a good car and a chance, which is all you can hope for in this race.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We do need to just start getting some proper results, and no better place for it than Le Mans. The Corvette’s always so good there. It’s been great the last two years, and it’s a great chance for us to get 50 points and a nice trophy. Obviously, the good thing on my side is I can literally do half of the race… up to 12 hours of it. So I am doing everything I can to get myself ready for those long stints, lack of sleep and try to manage the adrenaline so that you are not completely busted after a couple of stints, but I like the challenge. I did it last year. We obviously got a podium, which was great. That’s three of the last four starts at Le Mans for me with one being a win. The record there is going pretty well. But I’d like to get another win on the board, and I don’t see a reason why we can’t.”

LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “(Le Mans in 2025) definitely exceeded my expectations. You hear about it, but till you actually go and experience it, it’s two different stories. It’s absolutely in a world of its own. I was dumbfounded; my head was on a swivel and I was just taking everything in. It’s absolutely amazing.“For me, there’s a better understanding of things like the slow zones and learning all that. I think we got one or two penalties because of that last year. It’s one thing looking at them on a map, and it’s another thing looking at them at speed at 300 kph. So now I have a better understanding of where those are, the rules and the procedures. Hopefully we can eliminate those penalties because I mean, it’s tough. Once you fall behind there, you never get it back.”

LORCAN HANAFIN, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The Le Mans 24 Hours is a race that I’ve always wanted to do, a race that I’ve always wanted JMR to compete in. It took us seven years to get here, and finally it’s happening. Unlike some of our previous endurance races, this time we have two other categories racing together at the same race. That will be the challenge of having those other cars around you as well. And it’s an iconic track, so I can’t wait to see how we go there.”

HH PRINCE JEFRI IBRAHIM, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “First time at Le Mans and a dream come true. It’s been a long few days being in the town, going through scrutineering, doing the group photos and the car parade, as well. Today was my first day driving on the track – the most legendary track that I’ve always dreamt of driving. It’s such a cool track. I’m still learning, taking it step by step and trying to familiarize myself with the rules and having the Hypercars around me for the first time. It’s been a great day. I’ve missed being in the car. To be back in it feels like home. Then seeing the track through the windscreen and seeing the first corner and the Goodyear Bridge has been something I’ve always watched on TV… to see it in real life in the car was really amazing. That first lap was really fun. It’s been eight years since I first drove a racecar and it’s always been a dream for me to be at Le Mans. I’m super-grateful to be here, really. I’m focusing on what I can improve on for myself and hopefully in the next few days we can keep chipping away.”

 PARK CITY, KS (June 6, 2026) — Seth Bergman’s hard work has put him at the heart of the American Sprint Car Series championship fight in 2026.

The Snohomish, WA racer collected his second win of the season in the Salute to Service Sprint Car Showdown through a competitive 25 laps around 81 Speedway.

Starting the Feature from the front row, Bergman and polesitter Whit Gastineau raced side-by-side through the opening lap until Gastineau gained clearance of Bergman by using the high line of the 3/8-mile track.

Through the first nine laps, Bergman played second fiddle to Gastineau while Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Matt Covington joined the battle for the top spot as lap traffic began to play a factor.

On Lap 10, Bergman made his move for the lead by peeling to the bottom lane into Turn 1 while Gastineau ran the cushion. The two drivers stayed even across the backstretch until Bergman pulled out in front of Gastineau off of Turn 4 to secure the top spot.

As Bergman shifted his No. 23 Maxim Chassis to the cushion, Hafertepe pulled ahead of Gastineau on Lap 14 to secure second place as Gastineau played defense on Covington to keep his podium position.

While Hafertepe kept Bergman within his eyesight, he was unable to reach the 2024 Series champion as the traffic forced him to deviate from his racing line to chase down the leader.

Bergman never relinquished the lead as he drove to his 28th career ASCS National Tour triumph. The win placed him in a tie with 2003 Series champ Travis Rilat for ninth on the all-time wins list.

“You gotta go, you gotta set a pace,” Bergman said. “We had a really good night. We’ve yet to unload, and being good out of the box. Because then you’re chasing all night. But tonight, we unloaded really good, and we were able to fine-tune on this hot rod all night. We used the Dash as a little bit of a learning experience and gave us some really good direction for the Feature.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am with this team and race car. That was hands down the best race car I’ve had in a long time, and it’s not by chance. What’s so satisfying is that it’s something we’ve been working really, really hard at, and we’ve gotten our butts kicked a lot. It’s very humbling; you gotta grind through when you’re not good. And tonight, we were exceptional.”

Hafertepe finished the night with a runner-up result to retain the Series lead by 22 points over Covington and 23 points away from Bergman.

Recap Notes:

Quick Time Award: Seth Bergman

Heat Winners: Sam Hafertepe Jr., Whit Gastineau, Jeremy Campbell

Honest Abe Roofing Dash Winner: Whit Gastineau

Hard Charger Award: Hayden Mabe (+7)

Seth Bergman Takes Second Win of 2026 in Salute to Service Sprint Car Showdown at 81 PARK CITY, KS (June 6, 2026) — Seth Bergman’s hard work has put him at the heart of the American Sprint Car Series championship fight in 2026.

The Snohomish, WA racer collected his second win of the season in the Salute to Service Sprint Car Showdown through a competitive 25 laps around 81 Speedway.

Starting the Feature from the front row, Bergman and polesitter Whit Gastineau raced side-by-side through the opening lap until Gastineau gained clearance of Bergman by using the high line of the 3/8-mile track.

Through the first nine laps, Bergman played second fiddle to Gastineau while Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Matt Covington joined the battle for the top spot as lap traffic began to play a factor.

On Lap 10, Bergman made his move for the lead by peeling to the bottom lane into Turn 1 while Gastineau ran the cushion. The two drivers stayed even across the backstretch until Bergman pulled out in front of Gastineau off of Turn 4 to secure the top spot.

As Bergman shifted his No. 23 Maxim Chassis to the cushion, Hafertepe pulled ahead of Gastineau on Lap 14 to secure second place as Gastineau played defense on Covington to keep his podium position.

While Hafertepe kept Bergman within his eyesight, he was unable to reach the 2024 Series champion as the traffic forced him to deviate from his racing line to chase down the leader.

Bergman never relinquished the lead as he drove to his 28th career ASCS National Tour triumph. The win placed him in a tie with 2003 Series champ Travis Rilat for ninth on the all-time wins list.

“You gotta go, you gotta set a pace,” Bergman said. “We had a really good night. We’ve yet to unload, and being good out of the box. Because then you’re chasing all night. But tonight, we unloaded really good, and we were able to fine-tune on this hot rod all night. We used the Dash as a little bit of a learning experience and gave us some really good direction for the Feature.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am with this team and race car. That was hands down the best race car I’ve had in a long time, and it’s not by chance. What’s so satisfying is that it’s something we’ve been working really, really hard at, and we’ve gotten our butts kicked a lot. It’s very humbling; you gotta grind through when you’re not good. And tonight, we were exceptional.”

Hafertepe finished the night with a runner-up result to retain the Series lead by 22 points over Covington and 23 points away from Bergman.

Recap Notes:

Quick Time Award: Seth Bergman

Heat Winners: Sam Hafertepe Jr., Whit Gastineau, Jeremy Campbell

Honest Abe Roofing Dash Winner: Whit Gastineau

Hard Charger Award: Hayden Mabe (+7)

Up Next: The American Sprint Car Series will visit Arkansas for the first time in 2026 with a stop at Batesville Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 13.

Haudenschild steals the show after Kofoid and Gravel trade blows in a three-leader battle

PLYMOUTH, WI (Saturday, June 6) – Sheldon Haudenschild suited up and got behind the wheel with a heavy heart Saturday night.

He and his wife Zan sadly lost their beloved dog Pella in the morning after giving her a full and fun life over the years. Haudenschild fought through a flood of emotion to come and do his job with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at Plymouth Dirt Track. And he not only showed up; he won one for Pella.

A record crowd jammed into the Wisconsin track, and the best Sprint Car drivers in the world gave the fans a treat. Early on it was David Gravel and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid trading blows for the top spot. The two winningest drivers on tour this year went back and forth with sliders, crossovers, and lane swaps in a dramatic duel.

But disaster struck for Gravel late as he clipped a rut in Turn 4 while finishing a slide job and sent the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 hard into the wall. The impact caused severe rear-end damage and ended his night early.

The resulting caution set up a seven-lap shootout to the finish, and it was Haudenschild’s time to shine. After slipping back as far as eighth early in the race, he’d scratched and clawed his way up to second as the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 18 came to life. The Wooster, OH native glued his car to the bottom and motored by Kofoid with five laps to go. Kofoid had no answer as Haudenschild cruised to an emotional victory.

“Man, what an up and down race that was for me,” Haudenschild said. “I went from fourth to seventh pretty quick, and I was just struggling to keep it up there at the beginning of the race. Hats off to (Kyle) Ripper and Adam (Clark) and Dauson (Heitritter). What a day, man. I lost my dog this morning right here in the driveway of the track. It’s been a tough day.

“I feel like we’ve been really close to winning these races. The 83 and 2 are just really good right now. I kind of knew when I got back to him that my car was definitely good enough, and I could move around. I think Buddy was floating the top a little bit, and I kind of tried that. Yeah, I was just able to move around. Ripper did a really good job with this car.”

Haudenschild snapped a 21-race winless drought with Saturday’s score as he picked up his second victory of the season and the 48th of his career with The Greatest Show on Dirt. He’s the fourth different winner through four visits to Plymouth for the World of Outlaws. Plymouth became the 29th different track where Haudenschild has went to Victory Lane with the Series and third in the state of Wisconsin.

Kofoid came home second for his 11th podium of the season in the Roth Motorsports No. 83.

Garet Williamson rounded out the podium in the Fischer Motorsports No. 23 to notch his best finish of the season and extend his current streak of top 10s to four.

Cole Macedo and Carson Macedo completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

Carson Macedo clocked his first Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night in 2026.

David Gravel grabbed his 11th Simpson Quick Time of 2026 in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Kasey Jedrzejek (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Cole Macedo (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), Donny Schatz (WIX Filters Heat Three), and Garet Williamson (Golf Cart Services Heat Four).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to David Gravel.

Gravel also topped the Toyota Dash.

Joel Myers Jr. won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

Carson Macedo marched from 16th to fifth to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Joe B. Miller was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

Kasey Jedrzejek was the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.

David Gravel set the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to David Gravel.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars head to Sun Prairie, WI’s Angell Park Speedway on Sunday, June 7 for the Ted Johnson Memorial Race. 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 (35 Laps): 1. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[4]; 2. 83-Michael Kofoid[3]; 3. 23-Garet Williamson[5]; 4. 2C-Cole Macedo[7]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo[16]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[14]; 7. 51B-Joe B Miller[2]; 8. 85J-Logan Julien[13]; 9. 7S-Chris Windom[15]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz[6]; 11. 19-Joel Myers Jr[21]; 12. 17-Spencer Bayston[20]; 13. 6-Kasey Jedrzejek[8]; 14. 27-Emerson Axsom[9]; 15. 51-Ashton Torgerson[23]; 16. 16C-Skylar Gee[18]; 17. 92-Zach Daum[11]; 18. 28M-Conner Morrell[10]; 19. 15K-Creed Kemenah[22]; 20. 8-Will Gerrits[19]; 21. (DNF) 2-David Gravel[1]; 22. (DNF) 7A-Will Armitage[17]; 23. (DNF) 17B-Bill Balog[12]; 24. (DNF) 25T-Travis Arenz[24]

FOR PELLA: Heavy-Hearted Haudenschild Claims Thrilling Plymouth Victory

Haudenschild steals the show after Kofoid and Gravel trade blows in a three-leader battle

PLYMOUTH, WI (Saturday, June 6) – Sheldon Haudenschild suited up and got behind the wheel with a heavy heart Saturday night.

He and his wife Zan sadly lost their beloved dog Pella in the morning after giving her a full and fun life over the years. Haudenschild fought through a flood of emotion to come and do his job with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at Plymouth Dirt Track. And he not only showed up; he won one for Pella.

A record crowd jammed into the Wisconsin track, and the best Sprint Car drivers in the world gave the fans a treat. Early on it was David Gravel and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid trading blows for the top spot. The two winningest drivers on tour this year went back and forth with sliders, crossovers, and lane swaps in a dramatic duel.

But disaster struck for Gravel late as he clipped a rut in Turn 4 while finishing a slide job and sent the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 hard into the wall. The impact caused severe rear-end damage and ended his night early.

The resulting caution set up a seven-lap shootout to the finish, and it was Haudenschild’s time to shine. After slipping back as far as eighth early in the race, he’d scratched and clawed his way up to second as the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 18 came to life. The Wooster, OH native glued his car to the bottom and motored by Kofoid with five laps to go. Kofoid had no answer as Haudenschild cruised to an emotional victory.

“Man, what an up and down race that was for me,” Haudenschild said. “I went from fourth to seventh pretty quick, and I was just struggling to keep it up there at the beginning of the race. Hats off to (Kyle) Ripper and Adam (Clark) and Dauson (Heitritter). What a day, man. I lost my dog this morning right here in the driveway of the track. It’s been a tough day.

“I feel like we’ve been really close to winning these races. The 83 and 2 are just really good right now. I kind of knew when I got back to him that my car was definitely good enough, and I could move around. I think Buddy was floating the top a little bit, and I kind of tried that. Yeah, I was just able to move around. Ripper did a really good job with this car.”

Haudenschild snapped a 21-race winless drought with Saturday’s score as he picked up his second victory of the season and the 48th of his career with The Greatest Show on Dirt. He’s the fourth different winner through four visits to Plymouth for the World of Outlaws. Plymouth became the 29th different track where Haudenschild has went to Victory Lane with the Series and third in the state of Wisconsin.

Kofoid came home second for his 11th podium of the season in the Roth Motorsports No. 83.

Garet Williamson rounded out the podium in the Fischer Motorsports No. 23 to notch his best finish of the season and extend his current streak of top 10s to four.

Cole Macedo and Carson Macedo completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

Carson Macedo clocked his first Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night in 2026.

David Gravel grabbed his 11th Simpson Quick Time of 2026 in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Kasey Jedrzejek (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Cole Macedo (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), Donny Schatz (WIX Filters Heat Three), and Garet Williamson (Golf Cart Services Heat Four).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to David Gravel.

Gravel also topped the Toyota Dash.

Joel Myers Jr. won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

Carson Macedo marched from 16th to fifth to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Joe B. Miller was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

Kasey Jedrzejek was the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.

David Gravel set the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to David Gravel.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars head to Sun Prairie, WI’s Angell Park Speedway on Sunday, June 7 for the Ted Johnson Memorial Race. 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 (35 Laps): 1. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[4]; 2. 83-Michael Kofoid[3]; 3. 23-Garet Williamson[5]; 4. 2C-Cole Macedo[7]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo[16]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[14]; 7. 51B-Joe B Miller[2]; 8. 85J-Logan Julien[13]; 9. 7S-Chris Windom[15]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz[6]; 11. 19-Joel Myers Jr[21]; 12. 17-Spencer Bayston[20]; 13. 6-Kasey Jedrzejek[8]; 14. 27-Emerson Axsom[9]; 15. 51-Ashton Torgerson[23]; 16. 16C-Skylar Gee[18]; 17. 92-Zach Daum[11]; 18. 28M-Conner Morrell[10]; 19. 15K-Creed Kemenah[22]; 20. 8-Will Gerrits[19]; 21. (DNF) 2-David Gravel[1]; 22. (DNF) 7A-Will Armitage[17]; 23. (DNF) 17B-Bill Balog[12]; 24. (DNF) 25T-Travis Arenz[24]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

ROSSBURG, OH (June 6, 2026) – Coming into the week, Bobby Pierce had won virtually every big race in the sport of dirt Late Model racing, except the Dirt Late Model Dream.

His resume at Eldora Speedway was still among the best despite that hole. Two World 100 wins. Two more in the Dirt Track World Championship. A runner-up in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. But the annual June visit to Rossburg, OH always eluded him.

Up until recently, Pierce had never even come close to winning the Dream. He missed the show in his first three attempts, then finished no better than 10th in his first seven Feature starts. Pierce’s third-place finish in 2023 was his first Dream run in years that he was proud of. After backing it up with second-place efforts in 2024 and 2025, Pierce wasn’t going to be satisfied with anything less than victory in 2026.

Prior to the start of Saturday’s program, Eldora received a wave of rain in the morning and again in the late afternoon, which softened the track and allowed a healthy cushion to form that would play right into Pierce’s favor. He needed all the help he could get starting 13th, and his progress early in the race was notably behind schedule. He needed 20 laps to crack the top 10, but that was when he started to find his groove. By Lap 35, Pierce was in the top five, and he then climbed to second behind his fellow Illinois native, Brandon Sheppard, before halfway.

With 42 laps to go, Pierce cut down behind Sheppard down the frontstretch to set himself up for a Turn 1 slide job. The move cleared, but Sheppard went back to Pierce’s inside down the backstretch and kept it a side-by-side race for the lead. Sheppard went to the bottom in Turn 3, but got pinned behind the slower car of Jason Feger while Pierce pulled away up high.

Sheppard stayed with Pierce for several more laps and was in position to make another charge on Pierce in what was shaping up to be a thrilling finish until it all went away with 21 to go. Problems on Sheppard’s car meant he lost steering ability entering Turn 3 and pounded the wall. Third-running Hudson O’Neal had nowhere to go on the cushion and slid into Sheppard, ending both drivers’ chances at Eldora glory.

Their misfortune moved Max Blair and Nick Hoffman up to second and third, respectively, giving both of them a chance to challenge Pierce in the restart in pursuit of the biggest win of their career. Blair kept Pierce honest in the final laps, but he was never close enough to make it a battle as Pierce drove away to put the No. 32 in Victory Lane in the 32nd Dream.

“The Dream has been a race that, for several, several years, I struggled at the Dream,” Pierce said. “I would always do really well at the World, even back in the Pierce car days. I would do well at the World, struggle at the Dream. It was just a constant, every year, I would never look forward to this race. And then over the last couple years, we put down some solid finishes, got on the podium year after year after year. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t feeling the most confidence heading into this weekend, but it quickly turned around when we won our prelim race. From then on, it was just make the right calls and hope it happens.”

Behind Pierce, Blair and Hoffman, Dale McDowell and Devin Moran rounded out the top five.

Pierce Breaks Through for First Dirt Late Model Dream Victory at Eldora

ROSSBURG, OH (June 6, 2026) – Coming into the week, Bobby Pierce had won virtually every big race in the sport of dirt Late Model racing, except the Dirt Late Model Dream.

His resume at Eldora Speedway was still among the best despite that hole. Two World 100 wins. Two more in the Dirt Track World Championship. A runner-up in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. But the annual June visit to Rossburg, OH always eluded him.

Up until recently, Pierce had never even come close to winning the Dream. He missed the show in his first three attempts, then finished no better than 10th in his first seven Feature starts. Pierce’s third-place finish in 2023 was his first Dream run in years that he was proud of. After backing it up with second-place efforts in 2024 and 2025, Pierce wasn’t going to be satisfied with anything less than victory in 2026.

Prior to the start of Saturday’s program, Eldora received a wave of rain in the morning and again in the late afternoon, which softened the track and allowed a healthy cushion to form that would play right into Pierce’s favor. He needed all the help he could get starting 13th, and his progress early in the race was notably behind schedule. He needed 20 laps to crack the top 10, but that was when he started to find his groove. By Lap 35, Pierce was in the top five, and he then climbed to second behind his fellow Illinois native, Brandon Sheppard, before halfway.

With 42 laps to go, Pierce cut down behind Sheppard down the frontstretch to set himself up for a Turn 1 slide job. The move cleared, but Sheppard went back to Pierce’s inside down the backstretch and kept it a side-by-side race for the lead. Sheppard went to the bottom in Turn 3, but got pinned behind the slower car of Jason Feger while Pierce pulled away up high.

Sheppard stayed with Pierce for several more laps and was in position to make another charge on Pierce in what was shaping up to be a thrilling finish until it all went away with 21 to go. Problems on Sheppard’s car meant he lost steering ability entering Turn 3 and pounded the wall. Third-running Hudson O’Neal had nowhere to go on the cushion and slid into Sheppard, ending both drivers’ chances at Eldora glory.

Their misfortune moved Max Blair and Nick Hoffman up to second and third, respectively, giving both of them a chance to challenge Pierce in the restart in pursuit of the biggest win of their career. Blair kept Pierce honest in the final laps, but he was never close enough to make it a battle as Pierce drove away to put the No. 32 in Victory Lane in the 32nd Dream.

“The Dream has been a race that, for several, several years, I struggled at the Dream,” Pierce said. “I would always do really well at the World, even back in the Pierce car days. I would do well at the World, struggle at the Dream. It was just a constant, every year, I would never look forward to this race. And then over the last couple years, we put down some solid finishes, got on the podium year after year after year. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t feeling the most confidence heading into this weekend, but it quickly turned around when we won our prelim race. From then on, it was just make the right calls and hope it happens.”

Behind Pierce, Blair and Hoffman, Dale McDowell and Devin Moran rounded out the top five.

Feature (100 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[13]; 2. 111-Max Blair[8]; 3. 9-Nick Hoffman[15]; 4. 17M-Dale McDowell[16]; 5. 99-Devin Moran[12]; 6. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[14]; 7. 11R-Josh Rice[11]; 8. 12W-Ashton Winger[19]; 9. 22F-Chris Ferguson[6]; 10. 16S-Sam Seawright[3]; 11. 60-Dan Ebert[26]; 12. 19R-Ryan Gustin[23]; 13. 76-Brandon Overton[9]; 14. 74X-Ethan Dotson[18]; 15. 25F-Jason Feger[17]; 16. 58V-Daulton Wilson[10]; 17. 14JR-Trey Mills[1]; 18. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 19. 71-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 20. 51-Tyler Erb[7]; 21. 3S-Brian Shirley[22]; 22. 58-Garrett Alberson[4]; 23. 40B-Kyle Bronson[20]; 24. 22*-Drake Troutman[24]; 25. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[21]; 26. 0-Jake O’Neil[25]