All posts by ARP Trish

GOOD TO BE BACK: Aaron Reutzel Ends 12-Race Drought with High Limit Victory at Lakeside

October 12, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

Reutzel & Scelzi Both Cut Abreu’s Championship Lead with Three Races Left

GOOD TO BE BACK: Aaron Reutzel Ends 12-Race Drought with High Limit Victory at Lakeside
Reutzel & Scelzi Both Cut Abreu’s Championship Lead with Three Races Left

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Thornton Takes Night One of the UNOH Clash on the Wabash at Eldora

October 12, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

Ricky Thornton Jr. passed Brandon Sheppard with four laps remaining to win the opening night of the UNOH Clash on the Wabash at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway, earning $10,000 for the victory.

Thornton, last year’s World 100 winner at Eldora, started fourth and collected his 63rd career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory. The third different leader of the 40-lap race, Thornton beat Sheppard to the finish line by 1.065 seconds.

Sheppard led a race-high 20 laps and maintained his championship points lead heading into Saturday’s $50,000-to-win feature.

Sheppard holds a 65-point lead over Hudson O’Neal, who earned Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race honors by rallying from 21st to fifth. Devin Moran finished third after starting 11th, rounding out the Big River Steel Podium, and sits 75 points behind Sheppard. Kyle Bronson debuted a new Longhorn race car and finished fourth.

Thornton led the fewest laps of the race’s three leaders—Sheppard, Chris Madden, and himself—but made the decisive move in lapped traffic on lap 37.

“I didn’t think I was going to get back to him (Sheppard). I knew he was running across the middle to the bottom, and if I was able to get to him, I would have to move up and try to carry speed and momentum. It was really kind of weird. There wasn’t a curb up there. You could roll it straight, and it was smooth enough where you could just carry speed. I tore the right side of the car up when I got into Madden there in three. He got in like he was going to slide in the middle, and he started coming back down, but I was committed at that point. We hit pretty good there, and I definitely didn’t want that to happen.”

“I thought I was good all night. We need to work on a few small things. I felt like we got better here than we have been in the last two years. I still think we can be a little better come feature time tomorrow night. It was the most different I have ever been in a feature here.”

Sheppard, who is pursuing his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship, felt a victory had slipped away after he led the most laps Friday night.

“We were kind of running off of that brown a little bit when we were leading the race. It got real shiny. The two lapped cars in front of me were swinging out so wide, so I didn’t think I could get a good run on the top. Obviously, that is where I needed to be, and Ricky did that. We always race hard and clean together. I definitely felt I gave that one up in lapped traffic there, but we were a little bit different on tires than these other two guys in the top three. I got to where I couldn’t steer a little bit at the end. If I could have gotten to the top, it would have been at least a little harder for them to get by me.”

Moran followed his dominant Pittsburgher victory last weekend with a third-place finish at Eldora.

“Honestly, I didn’t really want to see that last caution because I knew Brandon was on a little bit different tire than us. We were way back, and both Ricky and I reeled him in. All in all, for how fast the track was, it was so hard to pass until about the last 15 or 20 laps. With the cool air, it just made it a little faster than they expected. It was not a horrible night for us. We are still within reach. I think we caught a little bit up on Hud, but we definitely lost a little bit to Shepp.”

Thornton’s Bobby and Jessica Koehler-owned Koehler Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Knight’s Companies, Hoker Trucking, Coltman Farms Racing, Elite Ready Mix, Capital Waste, Certified Inspection Services, Strange Oval, Sunoco Race Fuels, SI Towing and Recovery, and D&E Outside Services.

Completing the top 10 were Josh Rice, Bobby Pierce, Garrett Alberson, Chris Madden, and Nick Hoffman.

The UNOH Clash on the Wabash concludes tomorrow, Saturday, October 10, at Eldora Speedway with a $50,000-to-win main event for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. Hot Laps have been moved up to 4:45 p.m.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Race Summary

The UNOH Clash on the Wabash | Night 1

Friday, October 9, 2026

Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH

Allstar Performance Time Trials

Fast Time Group A: Nick Hoffman | 14.834 seconds

Fast Time Group B: Garrett Alberson | 14.802 seconds (Overall)

Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 44M-Chris Madden[2]; 2. 9H-Nick Hoffman[1]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 4. 111-Max Blair[3]; 5. 12J-Jason Jameson[6]; 6. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[5]; 7. 8-Dillon McCowan[7]; 8. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[8]; 9. 15C-Curt Schroeder[9]

Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 11-Josh Rice[2]; 2. 93F-Carson Ferguson[3]; 3. 22F-Chris Ferguson[1]; 4. 12M-Ryan Montgomery[6]; 5. 20-Jimmy Owens[8]; 6. 5J-Braden Jones[7]; 7. 97-Cody Overton[5]; 8. S21-Seth Daniels[4]

Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 3. 10-Garrett Smith[3]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 5. 6-Clay Harris[5]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 7. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 8. 5N-Dustin Nobbe[8]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 2. 17M-Dale McDowell[2]; 3. 60-Dan Ebert[4]; 4. 76-Brandon Overton[3]; 5. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[5]; 6. 1P-Earl Pearson Jr[6]; 7. 17SR-Brody Smith[8]; 8. 157-Mike Marlar[7]; 9. 8A-Rob Anderzack[9]

MyRacePass Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[2]; 3. 95-Boom Briggs[3]; 4. 49M-Luke Morey[4]; 5. 555-Brock Pinkerous[5]; 6. 74X-Ethan Dotson[7]; 7. 7T-Christian Thomas[6]; 8. 69-Jon Hodgkiss[8]

Lucas Oil Products Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 3. 8S-Brian Shirley[3]; 4. 17SS-Brenden Smith[5]; 5. 5T-Drake Troutman[7]; 6. 9 1 1-Freddie Carpenter[6]; 7. 89-Mike Spatola[8]; 8. 7*-Logan Hitt[4]

Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 111-Max Blair[1]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 3. 12J-Jason Jameson[4]; 4. 12M-Ryan Montgomery[2]; 5. 8-Dillon McCowan[10]; 6. 20-Jimmy Owens[5]; 7. 19R-Ryan Gustin[9]; 8. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[7]; 9. S21-Seth Daniels[14]; 10. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[12]; 11. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[13]; 12. 6-Clay Harris[6]; 13. 5N-Dustin Nobbe[15]; 14. 15C-Curt Schroeder[16]; 15. 5J-Braden Jones[8]; 16. (DNS) 97-Cody Overton

UNOH B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 17SS-Brenden Smith[3]; 3. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[4]; 4. 49M-Luke Morey[2]; 5. 157-Mike Marlar[13]; 6. 5T-Drake Troutman[6]; 7. 1P-Earl Pearson Jr[7]; 8. 74X-Ethan Dotson[8]; 9. 9 1 1-Freddie Carpenter[9]; 10. 89-Mike Spatola[12]; 11. 555-Brock Pinkerous[5]; 12. 8A-Rob Anderzack[16]; 13. 7*-Logan Hitt[15]; 14. 69-Jon Hodgkiss[14]; 15. 17SR-Brody Smith[10]; 16. 7T-Christian Thomas[11]

The UNOH Clash on the Wabash | Night 1 | Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings

1 – 4 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $10,000

2 – 6 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $5,600

3 – 11 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $3,500

4 – 10 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $2,700

5 – 21 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $2,500

6 – 3 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $2,300

7 – 13 – 32 – Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – $2,200

8 – 2 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $2,100

9 – 1 – 44M – Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – $2,050

10 – 7 – 9H – Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – $2,000

11 – 8 – 17M – Dale McDowell – Chickamauga, GA – $1,600

12 – 12 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $1,400

13 – 19 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $1,200

14 – 17 – 10 – Garrett Smith – Madison, GA – $1,000

15 – 18 – 8S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $950

16 – 24 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $925

17 – 23 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $900

18 – 20 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $875

19 – 25 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $150

20 – 9 – 93F – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $825

21 – 14 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $800

22 – 5 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $800

23 – 16 – 95 – Boom Briggs – Bear Lake, PA – $800

24 – 15 – 22F – Chris Ferguson – Mt. Holly, NC – $800

25 – 22 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $800

Race Statistics

Entrants: 50

Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Chris Madden

MD3 Lap Leaders: Chris Madden (Laps 1-14), Brandon Sheppard (Lap 15), Chris Madden (Laps 16-17), Brandon Sheppard (Laps 18-36), Ricky Thornton Jr (Laps 37-40)

Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Brandon Sheppard

Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton Jr

Margin of Victory: 1.065 seconds

Hellraizer Jacks Cautions: Chris Ferguson (Lap 14), Dan Ebert (Lap 37)

MyRacePass Series Provisional: Clay Harris; Dillon McCowan

Fast Time Provisional: n/a

Emergency Provisionals: Daniel Hilsabeck

Track Provisional: n/a

Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton Jr, Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran

Penske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton Jr, Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran, Kyle Bronson, Hudson O’Neal

Behrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Ricky Thornton Jr, Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran

PEM 4th Place Feature: Kyle Bronson

Diversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Hudson O’Neal

Wilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Bobby Pierce

Wehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Dale McDowell

Velocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Max Blair

XS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Brian Shirley

Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Hudson O’Neal (Advanced 16 positions)

MD3 Most Laps Led: Brandon Sheppard (20 Laps)

Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton Jr

Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Brandon Sheppard

O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Josh Rice

Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Chris Madden | Lap 4 | 15.685 seconds

FK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Dan Ebert

Victory Fuel Power Move of the Race: Ricky Thornton Jr

Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Justin Tharp

ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines

Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis

Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Kyle Bronson | 15.0703 seconds

Time of Race: 18 minutes 2 seconds

Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:

Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Earnings

1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 7,155 – $291,100

2 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 7,090 – $272,900

3 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 7,080 – $381,174

4 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 6,695 – $270,725

5 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 6,565 – $168,975

6 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 6,500 – $174,125

7 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 6,255 – $220,975

8 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 6,095 – $169,650

9 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 5,960 – $127,825

10 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 5,700 – $97,975

11 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 5,685 – $109,775

12 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 5,665 – $103,975

13 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 5,565 – $152,175

14 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – 5,480 – $120,450

15 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 4,900 – $67,850

16 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – 4,520 – $54,025

Thornton Takes Night One of the UNOH Clash on the Wabash at Eldora

Ricky Thornton Jr. passed Brandon Sheppard with four laps remaining to win the opening night of the UNOH Clash on the Wabash at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway, earning $10,000 for the victory.

Sheppard led a race-high 20 laps and maintained his championship points lead heading into Saturday’s $50,000-to-win feature.

Thornton led the fewest laps of the race’s three leaders—Sheppard, Chris Madden, and himself—but made the decisive move in lapped traffic on lap 37.

Sheppard, who is pursuing his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship, felt a victory had slipped away after he led the most laps Friday night.

Moran followed his dominant Pittsburgher victory last weekend with a third-place finish at Eldora.

Completing the top 10 were Josh Rice, Bobby Pierce, Garrett Alberson, Chris Madden, and Nick Hoffman.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Race Summary

The UNOH Clash on the Wabash | Night 1

Friday, October 9, 2026

Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH

Allstar Performance Time Trials

Fast Time Group A: Nick Hoffman | 14.834 seconds

Fast Time Group B: Garrett Alberson | 14.802 seconds (Overall)

The UNOH Clash on the Wabash | Night 1 | Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings

1 – 4 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $10,000

2 – 6 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $5,600

3 – 11 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $3,500

4 – 10 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $2,700

5 – 21 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $2,500

6 – 3 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $2,300

7 – 13 – 32 – Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – $2,200

8 – 2 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $2,100

9 – 1 – 44M – Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – $2,050

10 – 7 – 9H – Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – $2,000

11 – 8 – 17M – Dale McDowell – Chickamauga, GA – $1,600

12 – 12 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $1,400

13 – 19 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $1,200

14 – 17 – 10 – Garrett Smith – Madison, GA – $1,000

15 – 18 – 8S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $950

16 – 24 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $925

17 – 23 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $900

18 – 20 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $875

19 – 25 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $150

20 – 9 – 93F – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $825

21 – 14 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $800

22 – 5 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $800

23 – 16 – 95 – Boom Briggs – Bear Lake, PA – $800

24 – 15 – 22F – Chris Ferguson – Mt. Holly, NC – $800

25 – 22 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $800

Race Statistics

Entrants: 50

Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Chris Madden

MD3 Lap Leaders: Chris Madden (Laps 1-14), Brandon Sheppard (Lap 15), Chris Madden (Laps 16-17), Brandon Sheppard (Laps 18-36), Ricky Thornton Jr (Laps 37-40)

Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Brandon Sheppard

Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton Jr

Margin of Victory: 1.065 seconds

Hellraizer Jacks Cautions: Chris Ferguson (Lap 14), Dan Ebert (Lap 37)

MyRacePass Series Provisional: Clay Harris; Dillon McCowan

Fast Time Provisional: n/a

Emergency Provisionals: Daniel Hilsabeck

Track Provisional: n/a

Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton Jr, Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran

Penske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton Jr, Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran, Kyle Bronson, Hudson O’Neal

Behrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Ricky Thornton Jr, Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran

PEM 4th Place Feature: Kyle Bronson

Diversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Hudson O’Neal

Wilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Bobby Pierce

Wehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Dale McDowell

Velocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Max Blair

XS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Brian Shirley

Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Hudson O’Neal (Advanced 16 positions)

MD3 Most Laps Led: Brandon Sheppard (20 Laps)

Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton Jr

Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Brandon Sheppard

O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Josh Rice

Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Chris Madden | Lap 4 | 15.685 seconds

FK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Dan Ebert

Victory Fuel Power Move of the Race: Ricky Thornton Jr

Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Justin Tharp

ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines

Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis

Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Kyle Bronson | 15.0703 seconds

Time of Race: 18 minutes 2 seconds

Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:

Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Earnings

1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 7,155 – $291,100

2 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 7,090 – $272,900

3 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 7,080 – $381,174

4 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 6,695 – $270,725

5 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 6,565 – $168,975

6 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 6,500 – $174,125

7 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 6,255 – $220,975

8 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 6,095 – $169,650

9 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 5,960 – $127,825

10 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 5,700 – $97,975

11 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 5,685 – $109,775

12 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 5,665 – $103,975

13 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 5,565 – $152,175

14 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – 5,480 – $120,450

15 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 4,900 – $67,850

16 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – 4,520 – $54,025

17 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 4,220 – $34,475

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Seth Bergman Carries Zero Pressure in Hunt for Second ASCS National Championship

October 12, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

CRANDALL, TX (October 9, 2026) — Seth Bergman has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Sitting 118 points from the top of the American Sprint Car Series points standings with three races remaining, the 2024 champion knows the work ahead of him in the three-driver fight. Despite the stakes, the work isn’t adding stress to the veteran.

“Right now, the position we’re in, we’ve got nothing to lose,” Bergman said. “Two years ago, when we led all year, there was a lot more pressure then, and there’s more to think about when you’re the guy on the top. I feel like you got to be careful, a little bit cautious, and think more when you’re in that spot.

“Our goal is to win, and we’re in a position where we’re behind. The pressure is going out trying to make sure our cars and things are performing like they need to. We have the pace, and for me, it’s being precise and doing what I need to do. We just need three solid nights where we can try to win, not let Sam or Matt capitalize, and really, there’s not a lot of pressure in that because we’re chasing them.”

The Snohomish, WA native has endured a year that includes four Series wins while battling unseasoned woes that hurt his championship hopes towards the end of the campaign. Still, he is determined to stay in the conversation with Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Matt Covington after Saturday night at RPM Speedway.

When the ASCS National Tour visited the Crandall, TX track for the first time in 2024, Bergman took his No. 23 machine to Victory Lane as he drove to the year’s points crown. He’ll use the past laps and the time around the mid-south tracks in the season to stay at the top from the start.

“It’s a place that’s been good to us for a while,” Bergman said. “We had a really good 1/4-mile package, and we fudged it up a few times this year. But we’re rolling in there with a good game plan, and I feel like if we’re right on it, it should be a good opportunity for us to chalk up a win. It’s really simple; the mentality is to go in there and maximize everything we can through these last three races.”

The National Tour and ASCS Sooner Region will close the year with a return to Creek County Speedway for the Fuzzy’s Fall Fling on Oct. 16-17. After picking up two top-fives and three top-10s in three races at the Sapulpa, OK track in June between ASCS and POWRi, Bergman expects similar track conditions in the fall as in the summer.

“Right now, here in Tulsa, it’s been almost 90 degrees every day,” Bergman said. “So if that trend continues into next week, I don’t think you’ll see too much of a difference. I know at night it’s going to cool down a little bit, so if anything, you might see a little bit more grip in the track. But I expect to see a really racey Creek. We’re going to have moisture in the track, but I think it’s going to be slick as well. I think the racing will be similar; it’d just be a little more enjoyable with some cooler temps.”

While Creek County marks the starting point of a 109-day wait until Sprint Cars roar back to life at Volusia Speedway Park for the 57th Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, the veteran’s offseason work has already begun.

Bergman continues to review the good and bad from the year to see where he can improve and what areas he can toy with before Sprint Cars roar back to life in February.

“Our offseason has been in the works for a couple months already,” Bergman said. “Because the time off is so short now, our downtime here has us doing a lot of our offseason work to get things lined up and prepared. When we run at Creek and go home, we can get right into the work and be ahead of schedule.

“It’s more so about learning what held us back this year. We’re coming up with plans on how to fix those areas that we felt like were hurting us. Then also trying to build a stronger team, like we want to be an elite team no matter what we do or where we go. That comes down to having the right personnel, making sure cars and the engine program are where they need to be, getting parts in order, then having the goals in mind for the offseason that will set us up in a good position for next year.”

Bergman will go after his second Emmett Hahn Trophy in the final three races of the 2026 season with RPM on Saturday, Oct. 10, and Creek County on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17. The ASCS Sooner Region will join the National Tour to determine its newest champion.

How can you find info for RPM? Click here

How can you find info for Creek County? Click here

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

Seth Bergman Carries Zero Pressure in Hunt for Second ASCS National Championship CRANDALL, TX (October 9, 2026) — Seth Bergman has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Bergman continues to review the good and bad from the year to see where he can improve and what areas he can toy with before Sprint Cars roar back to life in February.

How can you find info for RPM? Click here

How can you find info for Creek County? Click here

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

ARTICLE:https://ascsracing.com/news/seth-bergman-carries-zero-pressure-in-hunt-for-second-ascs-national-championship/

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Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA heads to Barcelona for penultimate round of the WEC

October 12, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

What they’re saying:
Jeromy Moore, Chief Engineer Cadillac Racing: “We come to Barcelona on the back of a test where we ran more than 250 laps, allowing us to experience the track for the first time in a hypercar. We expect the track conditions to be much cooler when we race there next week, which will have an influence on how the tyres and car handles, but the test still allowed us to undertake a lot of key learnings.” “The track itself is quite high energy, meaning the teams who can manage the tyres across double stints will perform the best. Barcelona doesn’t have long straights to clear traffic or set up a pass on fellow hypercars so I expect strategy and quick pit stops to be even more important than usual.” No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R:Alex Lynn: “I’m so excited to be back racing with the team in Barcelona. It’s a circuit I know well, in fact I’’ve never finished off the podium in my career when racing there. I intend on hitting the ground running and contuining with that streak! I’m looking forward to being back with the team and being back in the car with Will and Norman again. ” Norman Nato: “Whilst Barcelona is a new round on the calendar, it’s a track I know really well due to my single-seater years. Although we’ve not had much experience in prototypes on this circuit, we went testing in August, got some valuable data, and it was great fun to drive the car there. We learned some good things on set-up and tyres, but conditions for the race will be different than what we faced during the test. Tyre deg will be a concern for everyone and traffic management will be a tough one. I’m really happy that Alex is fully recovered and is back in the car with Will and I for Barcelona. We’ll be targeting a strong result together and we are still in the fight for top three manufacturers in the Championship, which is the main target for the end of the season.” Will Stevens: “It will be exciting being back in Barcelona which is a track I know well, but that WEC has never been to. We had a productive test back in August, which was a useful opportunity given it’s a new track. We also welcome Alex back to the team and look forward to finishing the season out strong with our trio back together.” No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.RJack Aitken: “I’m looking forward to being back in Barcelona, a few years since I last raced there. It’s a fun track with some technical sections and a lot of deg. We’re hoping to continue the good form we’ve had in the last few races and challenge for more podiums.” Earl Bamber: “We had a really strong test day in Barcelona. One of the rare opportunites we get to test in WEC ahead of an event. It was productive not only for Barcelona, but for Fuji and COTA too. I’m really looking forward to racing in Spain and will be targeting our first WEC win of the season.” Sebastien Bourdais: “We are heading towards the end of the season now with two races to go. We’ve had a lot of really strong race weekends this season and will be looking to put it all together again and secure another podium finish or a win in Barcelona.”

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Kofoid Dominates Millstream’s Buckeye Brawl Opener

October 12, 2026 ARP Trish Leave a comment

The season’s winningest driver adds another to his tally with a strong performance in Ohio

FINDLAY, OH (October 8, 2026) – Michael “Buddy” Kofoid hit the entire field with a knockout punch Thursday night.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series rolled into Findlay, OH’s Millstream Speedway to kickoff Sheldon Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl Weekend. A stout field of 39 cars checked in, and Kofoid put a beatdown on them all in the Roth Motorsports No. 83.

The Penngrove, CA native rocketed out to the early advantage after starting on the pole for the 30-lapper. David Gravel settled into second and began to regain some ground on Kofoid as lapped traffic became a factor.

But late caution flags continued to clear the path ahead for Kofoid by giving him clean air. Garet Williamson ripped by Gravel late for second, but he also couldn’t pose a threat to Kofoid as the laps faded away. Kofoid took the checkered flag with more than a second advantage to claim round one of the three-round brawl.

“That whole race I could keep the car wherever I wanted it to be,” Kofoid said. “If I needed to pull out of line, I could do something good with it. It’s just a testament to how talented Dylan (Buswell) is as well as Nate (Knotts), and Peyton (Friedrich). They do an extremely good job. I’m very thankful to have them in my corner.”

Kofoid added to his Series-leading win total in 2026 with his 15th of the campaign. That also moved he and the Roth Motorsports crew one checkered flag away from making team history. If they can pick up one more before the season is over, they’ll equal the winningest World of Outlaws campaign in the long history of Dennis and Teresa’s famed team. The 24-year-old took sole possession of 23rd on the all-time win list with his 37th career score.

Garet Williamson finishes runner-up in the Fischer Motorsports No. 23 to get back on the podium for the first time in roughly a month, his 11th top three of the year.

David Gravel posted yet another solid finish with a third-place effort aboard the Big Game Motorsports No. 2. That’s 30 podiums in 2026 for the two-time and defending champion.

Spencer Bayston and Parker Price-Miller rounded out the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

Garet Williamson grabbed the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.

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

Heat Races belonged to Bill Balog (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Buddy Kofoid (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), Sheldon Haudenschild (WIX Filters Heat Three), and Garet Williamson (Golf Cart Services Heat Four).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to David Gravel.

Buddy Kofoid topped the Toyota Dash.

Donny Schatz won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

Ricky Peterson drove from 23rd to 15th to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Sheldon Haudenschild was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

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

Buddy Kofoid clocked the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Steven Snyder Jr.

UP NEXT: Sheldon Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl Weekend rolls into round two at Mansfield Speedway on Friday, Oct. 9 before the finale at Sharon Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 10. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 83-Michael Kofoid[1]; 2. 23-Garet Williamson[4]; 3. 2-David Gravel[2]; 4. 17-Spencer Bayston[6]; 5. 71-Parker Price Miller[12]; 6. 7S-Chris Windom[8]; 7. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[7]; 8. 41-Carson Macedo[3]; 9. 2C-Cole Macedo[11]; 10. 27-Emerson Axsom[14]; 11. 16C-Skylar Gee[9]; 12. 33W-Cap Henry[17]; 13. 11N-Darin Naida[20]; 14. 1S-Logan Schuchart[16]; 15. 98-Ricky Peterson[23]; 16. 15-Donny Schatz[21]; 17. 5-DJ Christie[19]; 18. 28M-Conner Morrell[15]; 19. 15K-Creed Kemenah[18]; 20. 15C-Chris Andrews[24]; 21. 6-Bryce Lucius[22]; 22. (DNF) 17B-Bill Balog[5]; 23. (DNF) 51-Steven Snyder Jr[13]; 24. (DNF) 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[10]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

Kofoid Dominates Millstream’s Buckeye Brawl Opener

The season’s winningest driver adds another to his tally with a strong performance in Ohio

FINDLAY, OH (October 8, 2026) – Michael “Buddy” Kofoid hit the entire field with a knockout punch Thursday night.

Garet Williamson finishes runner-up in the Fischer Motorsports No. 23 to get back on the podium for the first time in roughly a month, his 11th top three of the year.

David Gravel posted yet another solid finish with a third-place effort aboard the Big Game Motorsports No. 2. That’s 30 podiums in 2026 for the two-time and defending champion.

Spencer Bayston and Parker Price-Miller rounded out the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

Garet Williamson grabbed the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.

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

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to David Gravel.

Buddy Kofoid topped the Toyota Dash.

Donny Schatz won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

Ricky Peterson drove from 23rd to 15th to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Sheldon Haudenschild was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.

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

Buddy Kofoid clocked the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Steven Snyder Jr.

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

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/round-one-k-o-kofoid-dominates-millstreams-buckeye-brawl-opener/

Uncategorized

TOP FIVE STORYLINES: World of Outlaws, PA Posse Rivalry Reaches Peak with 64th Williams Grove National Open

September 29, 2026 ARP Trish

MECHANICSBURG, PA (September 29, 2026) – The biggest week in Sprint Car racing’s fiercest rivalry is here.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is making the long haul from California to Pennsylvania, where the PA Posse are battening down the hatches.

The final battle of the year between the two sides shines the spotlight on Mechanicsburg, PA’s Williams Grove Speedway for the 64th running of the J&S Classics National Open. The action opens on Friday, Oct. 2, before Saturday’s finale serves up major bragging rights and $75,000 to the winner.

The World of Outlaws and PA Posse have been squaring off for decades in the fall at the iconic 1/2 mile. The more pages added to the history books, the more the intensity grows. The next chapter is about to be written. It’s time for the National Open.

BUY FRIDAY NATIONAL OPEN TICKETS HERE
BUY SATURDAY NATIONAL OPEN TICKETS HERE

WATCH LIVE ON DIRTVision

Let’s look at the top stories to watch this weekend at Williams Grove:

SCHATZ’S SIX PACK

When it comes to the National Open, Donny Schatz has been breaking Beerhill Gang hearts for years.

It began in 2000 when Schatz topped the event during only his fourth year on tour. He went on to add five more (2004, 2005, 2007, 2012, and 2020) and holds the record for the most wins in the famed event with six. That mark could be much higher considering he’s also finished second on four occasions and third three times.

The 10-time Series champion heads to Pennsylvania in search of a record-extending seventh National Open. This year will be his first try since joining forces with the PA-based CJB Motorsports. The combination is fresh off a Bakersfield victory in California. They’ve struggled a bit at Williams Grove this year with a best result of 10th through four tries.

OUTLAW THREE-PEAT

There are bragging rights to hold on to for the World of Outlaws, having walked away with the big check the last two years.

Rewind to 2024 when Carson Macedo collected his second National Open title with Jason Johnson Racing. This year offers Macedo the chance to become the seventh driver with a trio of triumphs in the crown jewel.

Sheldon Haudenschild took the glory in 2025 by making a late pass on Bill Balog to win the 63rd running. That was with Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing, and he’ll look to become the 14th different multi-time victor aboard the KCP Racing No. 18 this week.

Those two will have fellow former National Open champion for the World of Outlaws, David Gravel, joining them. He first claimed the crown jewel in 2014 with Roth Motorsports and returned to Victory Lane in 2017 with CJB Motorsports.

In addition to going for a three-peat, the World of Outlaws is also looking to lock up season-long bragging rights in the rivalry with the Posse. The 2026 scoreboard currently reads 4-2 with The Greatest Show on Dirt holding the advantage.

NEW NATTY O THREATS

Former winners may headline the World of Outlaws roster, but a few more members of the traveling talent can’t be overlooked as they search for their first National Open triumph.

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid certainly stands out among those looking to add their name to the history books. The Penngrove, CA native boasts a pair of checkered flags at “The Grove,” including one earlier this year in July. His best National Open finish through three tries is fifth last year.

He may be from Hanover, PA, but Logan Schuchart is a certified World of Outlaws representative as he navigates his 13th consecutive year on tour. The history of his home region is important to him, and he’d love nothing more than to join the list of National Open champions. He’s been close with a trio of podiums, including a runner-up in 2021.

Bill Balog came so close to securing the Williams Grove crown jewel a year ago. The “North Pole Nightmare” led the most laps before Sheldon Haudenschild slipped by in the final circuits. He’ll be hungry for redemption following 2025’s runner-up.

LEADING THE POSSE

The PA Posse may present many capable competitors, but there’s no doubt that Chase Dietz leads the charge into the National Open.

It’s been nothing short of a dream season for the York, PA native and the Stehman Motorsports crew. They’ve won a nation-leading 22 410 Sprint Car races in 2026. One of those came against the World of Outlaws in July at BAPS. They also picked up a stout $50,019 payday at Lincoln’s Steve Smith Tribute Race. Outside of winning, Dietz traveled off the porch and qualified for both the Kings Royal and Knoxville Nationals, posting a top 10 in the latter.

A National Open would no doubt top Dietz’s extensive list of wins this year. His first World of Outlaws trophy came courtesy of opening night of the National Open last year. That’s one of eight career Williams Grove victories for Dietz, and three of those have come this season.

PA PRIDE

Expect plenty more potent Pennsylvanians to join Dietz in the quest to defend the porch and bank Saturday’s stout payday.

Anthony Macri is expected to return to action after a crash at Knoxville in August left him sidelined with injuries. It should come as no surprise if the “Concrete King” knocks off the rust fast and is a contender. The Dillsburg, PA native a 16-time Feature winner at Williams Grove.

Fayetteville, PA’s Lance Dewease is always among those to watch at the Mechanicsburg, PA 1/2 mile. His 118 wins there are by far and away the most of all-time. Five of those came at the National Open, so the chance to equal Donny Schatz for the most lies ahead aboard the Rich Eichelberger No. 8 this weekend for Dewease.

Danny Dietrich eyes a second National Open 10 years after earning his first. The Gettysburg, PA native owns 36 career Williams Grove victories (tied for 11th most), and two of those came this year in the Gary Kauffman Racing No. 48.

Owasso, OK’s Daryn Pittman may not officially be Posse, but there’s no doubt PA will claim him should he win this weekend considering his ride. The 2013 World of Outlaws champ is set to wheel the famed Kreitz Racing No. 69K. Pittman took the powder blue machine to a runner-up three years ago, his sixth second-place finish in the crown jewel.

These four will be joined by many more hoping to make Pennsylvania proud including Troy Wagaman Jr. (Hanover, PA), Freddie Rahmer (Salfordville, PA), Brock Zearfoss (Jonestown, PA), Cameron Smith (Spring Grove, PA), T.J. Stutts (Liverpool, PA), and Dylan Norris (Hanover, PA).

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

WHEN AND WHERE
Friday-Saturday, Oct. 2-3 at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA

AROUND THE TURN
Thursday, Oct. 8 at Millstream Speedway in Findlay, OH (TICKETS)
Friday, Oct. 9 at Mansfield Speedway in Mansfield, OH (TICKETS)
Saturday, Oct. 10 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH (TICKETS)

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (67/80 Races):
1. David Gravel – Big Game Motorsports No. 2 (8504 PTS)
2. Michael Kofoid – Roth Motorsports No. 83 (-120 PTS)
3. Sheldon Haudenschild – KCP Racing No. 18 (-202 PTS)
4. Carson Macedo – Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 (-234 PTS)
5. Logan Schuchart – Shark Racing No. 1S (-398 PTS)
6. Garet Williamson – Fischer Motorsports No. 23 (-598 PTS)
7. Donny Schatz – CJB Motorsports No. 15 (-664 PTS)
8. Cole Macedo – TwoC Racing No. 2C (-948 PTS)
9. Spencer Bayston – Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing No. 17 (-990 PTS)
10. Emerson Axsom – Klaasmeyer/Petry Motorsports No. 27 (-1004 PTS)

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (23 Drivers):
14 Wins – Michael Kofoid
10 Wins – David Gravel
9 Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild
6 Wins – Carson Macedo
3 Wins – Anthony Macri, Logan Schuchart, Donny Schatz, Corey Day
1 Win – Spencer Bayston, Tyler Courtney, Brad Sweet, Kasey Kahne, Rico Abreu, Aaron Reutzel, Brent Marks, Bryce Lucius, Chase Dietz, Chris Windom, Kyle Larson, Garet Williamson, Emerson Axsom, James McFadden, Justin Sanders

FEATURE LAPS LED (33 Drivers):
423 Laps Led – Michael Kofoid
349 Laps Led – David Gravel
164 Laps Led – Logan Schuchart
151 Laps Led – Carson Macedo
128 Laps Led – Sheldon Haudenschild
124 Laps Led – Garet Williamson
69 Laps Led – Bill Balog, Corey Day
66 Laps Led – Emerson Axsom
59 Laps Led – Kyle Larson
56 Laps Led – Anthony Macri
53 Laps Led – Donny Schatz
40 Laps Led – Aaron Reutzel, Chris Windom
37 Laps Led – Tyler Courtney
33 Laps Led – Brady Bacon, Rico Abreu
30 Laps Led – Chase Dietz
28 Laps Led – Ryan Timms, Justin Sanders
26 Laps Led – Steven Snyder Jr.
25 Laps Led – Brad Sweet, Kasey Kahne
21 Laps Led – Kasey Jedrzejek
17 Laps Led – Spencer Bayston
16 Laps Led – Bryce Lucius
15 Laps Led – Christopher Thram
12 Laps Led – Cole Macedo
11 Laps Led – Giovanni Scelzi
7 Laps Led – Brian Brown
6 Laps Led – Brock Zearfoss, James McFadden
3 Laps Led – Brent MarksPODIUM FINISHES (37 Drivers):
31 Podiums – Michael Kofoid
28 Podiums – David Gravel
25 Podiums – Sheldon Haudenschild
19 Podiums – Carson Macedo
10 Podiums – Logan Schuchart, Garet Williamson
7 Podiums – Donny Schatz
4 Podiums – Ryan Timms, Anthony Macri, Rico Abreu, Bill Balog, Emerson Axsom, Corey Day
3 Podiums – Spencer Bayston, Aaron Reutzel, Chris Windom
2 Podiums – Brady Bacon, Cole Macedo, Tyler Courtney, Giovanni Scelzi, Chase Dietz, Kasey Kahne, James McFadden
1 Podium – Ashton Torgerson, Scott Bogucki, Brad Sweet, Justin Whittall, Troy Wagaman Jr., Kasey Jedrzejek, Brent Marks, Bryce Lucius, Daryn Pittman, Logan Rumsey, Kelby Watt, Kyle Larson, Steven Snyder Jr., Justin Sanders

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS QUICKTIME AWARDS (23 Drivers):
23 Quick Times – David Gravel
6 Quick Times – Michael Kofoid
5 Quick Times – Sheldon Haudenschild, Bill Balog
3 Quick Times – Logan Schuchart, Brady Bacon
2 Quick Times – Kasey Jedrzejek, Corey Day
1 Quick Time – Ashton Torgerson, Will Armitage, J.J. Hickle, Brian Brown, Danny Dietrich, Rico Abreu, Aaron Reutzel, Justin Henderson, Chase Dietz, Carson Macedo, Daryn Pittman, Logan Rumsey, Kasey Kahne, Tanner Thorson, Emerson Axsom

HEAT RACE WINNERS (62 Drivers):
34 Heat Wins – David Gravel
24 Heat Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild
19 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo
18 Heat Wins – Bill Balog
15 Heat Wins – Michael Kofoid
13 Heat Wins – Logan Schuchart
12 Heat Wins – Garet Williamson
10 Heat Wins – Emerson Axsom
7 Heat Wins – Spencer Bayston
6 Heat Wins – Donny Schatz
5 Heat Wins – Christopher Thram, Cole Macedo
4 Heat Wins – Rico Abreu, Brent Marks, Ryan Timms
3 Heat Wins – Ashton Torgerson, Kasey Jedrzejek, Aaron Reutzel, Giovanni Scelzi, Anthony Macri, Kerry Madsen, Chris Windom, Steven Snyder Jr., Corey Day
2 Heat Wins – Chase Dietz, Kasey Kahne, Austin McCarl, Jacob Hughes, Tyler Courtney, Justin Whittall, Daryn Pittman, Kelby Watt, Brock Zearfoss, Rees Moran, Bryce Lucius, James McFadden, Max Mittry, Justin Sanders
1 Heat Win – Justin Peck, Tanner Holmes, Scotty Thiel, Will Armitage, Brian Brown, Danny Dietrich, Chad Trout, Joel Myers Jr., Andy Pake, Sam Henderson, Dayne Kingshott, Daison Pursley, Terry McCarl, Kyle Larson, Brady Bacon, Brent Shearer, Logan Rumsey, Danny Sams III, Riley Goodno, Chris Martin, Ayrton Gennetten, Carson McCarl, Kaleb Johnson, Skylar Gee

TOYOTA DASH APPEARANCES (75 Drivers):
45 Dashes – David Gravel
42 Dashes – Sheldon Haudenschild
36 Dashes – Michael Kofoid
28 Dashes – Carson Macedo
25 Dashes – Bill Balog, Garet Williamson
19 Dashes – Logan Schuchart
17 Dashes – Emerson Axsom
11 Dashes – Cole Macedo, Donny Schatz, Spencer Bayston
8 Dashes – Chris Windom
7 Dashes – Ashton Torgerson, Kasey Jedrzejek, Ryan Timms
6 Dashes – Aaron Reutzel
5 Dashes – Rico Abreu, Brent Marks, Chase Dietz
4 Dashes – Anthony Macri, Brian Brown, Brady Bacon, Logan Rumsey, Kelby Watt, Christopher Thram, Skylar Gee, Steven Snyder Jr., Corey Day
3 Dashes – Kerry Madsen, Tanner Holmes, Justin Henderson, Daryn Pittman, Bryce Lucius
2 Dashes – Scotty Thiel, Kasey Kahne, Troy Wagaman Jr., Will Armitage, J.J. Hickle, Austin McCarl, Joe B. Miller, Brenham Crouch, Conner Morrell, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Larson, Justin Whittall, Cory Eliason, Gage Pulkrabek, Max Mittry, James McFadden, Justin Sanders
1 Dash – Justin Peck, Parker Price-Miller, Brock Zearfoss, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Rees Moran, Bryce Norris, Brad Sweet, Danny Dietrich, Logan Rumsey, Kody Hartlaub, Freddie Rahmer, Chad Trout, Giovanni Scelzi, Joel Myers Jr., Andy Pake, Tanner Thorson, D.J. Christie, Ricky Peterson, Lance Dewease, Brent Shearer, Dylan Norris, Sam Henderson, Sean Rayhall, Jett Yantis, Kaleb Montgomery, Dominic Gorden

MICRO-LITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (37 Drivers):
4 LCS Wins – Donny Schatz, Garet Williamson, Cole Macedo
3 LCS Wins – Spencer Bayston, Emerson Axsom, Chris Windom, Logan Schuchart
2 LCS Wins – Michael Kofoid, Giovanni Scelzi, Skylar Gee, Tyler Courtney
1 LCS Wins – Cameron Martin, Bill Balog, Blake Hahn, Landon Crawley, Bryce Norris, Doug Hammaker, Daryn Pittman, Kerry Madsen, Justin Henderson, Joel Myers Jr., Daison Pursley, Zane DeVault, Logan Julien, Jordan Poirier, Matt Farnham, Jordan Thomas, Dylan Norris, Justin Whittall, Brent Shearer, Danny Dietrich, Rico Abreu, Lynton Jeffrey, Kelby Watt, Jacob Peterson, Sam Henderson, Bryce Lucius, Tim Kaeding

KSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (26 Drivers):
9 Hard Chargers – Carson Macedo
8 Hard Chargers – Logan Schuchart
7 Hard Chargers – Michael Kofoid, Donny Schatz
4 Hard Chargers – Spencer Bayston, Ashton Torgerson
3 Hard Chargers – Chris Windom, Cole Macedo
2 Hard Chargers – Garet Williamson, Sheldon Haudenschild, Ryan Timms, Shane Golobic
1 Hard Charger – Giovanni Scelzi, Brady Bacon, Tyler Ross, Cameron Smith, David Gravel, Emerson Axsom, Logan Julien, Tyler Courtney, Kasey Jedrzejek, James McFadden, Danny Dietrich, Corey Day, J.J. Hickle, Tanner Holmes

ACME FASTEST LAP AWARDS (29 Drivers):
11 Fastest Laps – Michael Kofoid
7 Fastest Laps – David Gravel
6 Fastest Laps – Logan Schuchart
5 Fastest Laps – Sheldon Haudenschild
4 Fastest Laps – Bill Balog, Carson Macedo
2 Fastest Laps – Brady Bacon, Aaron Reutzel, Kasey Jedrzejek, Garet Williamson, Anthony Macri, Kyle Larson, Steven Snyder Jr.
1 Fastest Lap – Brock Zearfoss, Cole Macedo, Ryan Timms, Brad Sweet, Kelby Watt, Kasey Kahne, Giovanni Scelzi, Rico Abreu, Christopher Thram, Bryce Lucius, Corey Day, Chase Dietz, Jace Park, Donny Schatz, Emerson Axsom, Justin Sanders

RACE READY CLOTHING HOTTEST LAP OF THE NIGHT AWARDS (22 Drivers):
20 Hottest Laps – David Gravel
9 Hottest Laps – Sheldon Haudenschild
7 Hottest Laps – Michael Kofoid
5 Hottest Laps – Carson Macedo
3 Hottest Laps – Logan Schuchart, Garet Williamson
2 Hottest Laps – Ashton Torgerson, Daryn Pittman, Bill Balog, Emerson Axsom
1 Hottest Lap – Austin McCarl, Brent Marks, Cole Macedo, Tyler Courtney, Ryan Timms, Giovanni Scelzi, Bryce Lucius, Nate Dussel, Logan Rumsey, Chris Windom, Spencer Bayston, Steven Snyder Jr.

2026 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS:
Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner
Wed, Feb 4 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Spencer Bayston (1)
Fri, Feb 6 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Michael Kofoid (1)
Sat, Feb 7 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Anthony Macri (1)
Sun, March 1 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Sheldon Haudenschild (1)
Mon, March 2 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Anthony Macri (2)
Fri, March 6 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL / Donny Schatz (1)
Fri, March 13 / Kennedale Speedway Park / Kennedale, TX / David Gravel (1)
Fri, March 20 / Lawton Speedway / Lawton, OK / David Gravel (2)
Sat, March 21 / Creek County Speedway / Sapulpa, OK / David Gravel (3)
Fri, March 27 / US 36 Raceway / Osborn, MO / Carson Macedo (1)
Sat, March 28 / 81 Speedway / Park City, KS / Michael Kofoid (2)
Fri, April 10 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO / Michael Kofoid (3)
Sat, April 11 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO / Michael Kofoid (4)
Sun, April 19 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Tyler Courtney (1)
Fri, April 24 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Brad Sweet (1)
Sat, April 25 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / David Gravel (4)
Tues, May 5 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA / Michael Kofoid (5)
Fri, May 8 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Kasey Kahne (1)
Sat, May 9 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / David Gravel (5)
Fri, May 15 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Rico Abreu (1)
Sat, May 16 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Logan Schuchart (1)
Tues, May 19 / Jacksonville Speedway / Jacksonville, IL / Carson Macedo (2)
Sat, May 23 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Aaron Reutzel (1)
Mon, May 25 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Michael Kofoid (6)
Fri, May 29 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND / Carson Macedo (3)
Sat, June 6 / Plymouth Dirt Track / Plymouth, WI / Sheldon Haudenschild (2)
Sun, June 7 / Angell Park Speedway / Sun Prairie, WI / Carson Macedo (4)
Fri, June 12 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Brent Marks (1)
Wed, June 17 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Michael Kofoid (7)
Thurs, June 18 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Michael Kofoid (8)
Fri, June 19 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Sheldon Haudenschild (3)
Sat, June 20 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / David Gravel (6)
Fri, June 26 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI / David Gravel (7)
Sat, June 27 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI / Sheldon Haudenschild (4)
Thurs, July 9 / Hartford Speedway / Hartford, MI / Sheldon Haudenschild (5)
Fri, July 10 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI / Michael Kofoid (9)
Sat, July 11 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI / Sheldon Haudenschild (6)
Tues, July 14 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH / Bryce Lucius (1)
Fri, July 17 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Corey Day (1)
Sat, July 18 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Anthony Macri (3)
Wed, July 22 / Ohsweken Speedway / Ohsweken, ON, Canada / David Gravel (8)
Sat, July 25 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY / Sheldon Haudenschild (7)
Sun, July 26 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY / David Gravel (9)
Wed, July 29 / BAPS Motor Speedway / York Haven, PA / Chase Dietz (1)
Fri, July 31 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Michael Kofoid (10)
Sat, Aug 1 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / David Gravel (10)
Fri, Aug 7 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO / Chris Windom (1)
Sat, Aug 8 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO / Logan Schuchart (2)
Wed, Aug 12 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA* / Sheldon Haudenschild
Thurs, Aug 13 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA* / Kyle Larson
Fri, Aug 14 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA* / Donny Schatz
Sat, Aug 15 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Kyle Larson (1)
Fri, Aug 21 / Ogilvie Raceway / Ogilvie, MN / Sheldon Haudenschild (8)
Sat, Aug 22 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN / Logan Schuchart (3)
Fri, Aug 28 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND / Garet Williamson (1)
Sat, Aug 29 / Fix It Forward Speedway / West Fargo, ND / Carson Macedo (5)
Mon, Aug 31 / Nodak Speedway / Minot, ND / Michael Kofoid (11)
Fri, Sept 4 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Sheldon Haudenschild (9)
Sat, Sept 5 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Michael Kofoid (12)
Sun, Sept 6 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Emerson Axsom (1)
Sat, Sept 12 / Dodge City Raceway Park / Dodge City, KS / Michael Kofoid (13)
Mon, Sept 14 / El Paso County Raceway / Calhan, CO / Michael Kofoid (14)
Fri, Sept 18 / Stockton Dirt Track / Stockton, CA / James McFadden (1)
Sat, Sept 19 / Stockton Dirt Track / Stockton, CA / Justin Sanders (1)
Tues, Sept 22 / Kings Speedway / Hanford, CA / Carson Macedo (6)
Fri, Sept 25 / Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway / Bakersfield, CA / Donny Schatz (2)
Sat, Sept 26 / Ventura Raceway / Ventura, CA / Corey Day (2)
Fri, Oct 2 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
Sat, Oct 3 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
Thurs, Oct 8 / Millstream Speedway / Findlay, OH
Fri, Oct 9 / Mansfield Speedway / Mansfield, OH
Sat, Oct 10 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Fri, Oct 16 / Lincoln Park Speedway / Putnamville, IN
Sat, Oct 17 / Belle-Clair Fairgrounds Park Speedway / Belleville, IL
Fri, Oct 23 / Texarkana 67 Speedway / Texarkana, AR
Sat, Oct 24 / Texarkana 67 Speedway / Texarkana, AR
Wed, Nov 4 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Thurs, Nov 5 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Fri, Nov 6 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Sat, Nov 7 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC

*denotes unofficial split-field prelim race.

TOP FIVE STORYLINES: World of Outlaws, PA Posse Rivalry Reaches Peak with 64th Williams Grove National Open

MECHANICSBURG, PA (September 29, 2026) – The biggest week in Sprint Car racing’s fiercest rivalry is here.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is making the long haul from California to Pennsylvania, where the PA Posse are battening down the hatches.

BUY FRIDAY NATIONAL OPEN TICKETS HERE
BUY SATURDAY NATIONAL OPEN TICKETS HERE

WATCH LIVE ON DIRTVision

Let’s look at the top stories to watch this weekend at Williams Grove:

SCHATZ’S SIX PACK

When it comes to the National Open, Donny Schatz has been breaking Beerhill Gang hearts for years.

OUTLAW THREE-PEAT

There are bragging rights to hold on to for the World of Outlaws, having walked away with the big check the last two years.

NEW NATTY O THREATS

Former winners may headline the World of Outlaws roster, but a few more members of the traveling talent can’t be overlooked as they search for their first National Open triumph.

LEADING THE POSSE

The PA Posse may present many capable competitors, but there’s no doubt that Chase Dietz leads the charge into the National Open.

PA PRIDE

Expect plenty more potent Pennsylvanians to join Dietz in the quest to defend the porch and bank Saturday’s stout payday.

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/top-five-storylines-world-of-outlaws-pa-posse-rivalry-reaches-peak-with-64th-williams-grove-national-open/

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Shirley Earns Steering Buddy Dark Horse with Brownstown Triumph

September 29, 2026 ARP Trish

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CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Championship Race

September 29, 2026 ARP Trish

CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Championship RaceCorvette GT3 drivers, teams set for long-distance title fights DETROIT (September 29, 2026) – In more than 25 years of competition, there have been a number of big events for Corvette Racing. But there may not be many bigger than this weekend’s 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta to close the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Chevrolet and Corvette Racing teams and drivers will battle not just for victory in the 10-hour Petit Le Mans but also season-long IMSA championships in both GT classes. A total of five Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will be on the grid – three in GTD PRO and two in GTD. · Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette); Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner, Nico Varrone (No. 4 Corvette)· DragonSpeed – GTD PRO: Giacomo Altoé, Casper Stevenson, Sebastien Bourdais (No. 74 Corvette)· 13 Autosport – GTD: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern (No. 13 Corvette)· DXDT Racing – GTD: Charlie Eastwood, Mason Filippi, Salih Yoluc (No. 36 Corvette)(Factory drivers in bold)

Leading Chase for Second Straight GTD PRO Sweep In GTD PRO, Chevrolet and Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports are in position to sweep the Manufacturer, Driver and Team championships for the second year in a row at Petit Le Mans. The points battles are tight enough that the final standings won’t be known until the end of the 10-hour race. Chevrolet leads the Manufacturer Championship by 68 points over Ford. Assuming the points aren’t significantly impacted by the qualifying results, as long as Chevrolet is the third-highest finishing manufacturer of the nine entered, then the Bowtie will win the GTD PRO Manufacturer Championship. If one of the Fords is second, then one of the Chevrolets needs to be the fifth-highest finishing manufacturer to win the championship. For the Driver and Team championships, Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg, in the No. 4 Corvette, lead the No. 1 BMW by 47 points with the No. 9 Lamborghini only 53 points behind. Given the closeness of the standings, Friday’s qualifying points distributions can make a difference in where the No. 4 Corvette needs to finish the race. The easiest way, obviously, would be for it to win and give the program its first Petit Le Mans victory since 2010 in addition to the titles. A year ago, Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports finished second and third in class. Milner and Catsburg teamed with Nico Varrone for a runner-up finish while Garcia, Sims and Dani Juncadella were right behind. This year’s class is bolstered by DragonSpeed’s move to GTD PRO in the No. 74 Corvette, including Sebastien Bourdais’ first race in a Corvette. He will race with team regulars Giacomo Altoé and Casper Stevenson, who recorded two fourth-place GTD finishes in the previous three races.Akin Award in Sight Again for Fidani, 13 AutosportIn GTD, Orey Fidani is on the cusp of winning a third straight Bob Akin Award Championship in 13 Autosport’s No. 13 Corvette. If Fidani, Matt Bell and Lars Kern finish ahead of the No. 70 Ferrari, then Fidani will punch his and 13 Autosport’s ticket back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Fidani and Bell are coming off a third-place class finish at Indianapolis and have been the highest-finishing Bronze Cup at two of the last three races. The Indy result moved the team up to fifth in the GTD Driver and Team championship standings. DXDT Racing is hoping to end the season with another strong run in a long-distance race. Corvette factory driver Charlie Eastwood, Mason Filippi and Salih Yoluc have contended in all four previous endurance races this season – including leading late at Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen. Petit Le Mans from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET on Saturday. It will air live on NBC from noon to 3 p.m. ET. Live and complete streaming coverage is on Peacock in the U.S. and IMSA’s YouTube channel internationally. IMSA Radio will air on-track sessions at IMSA.com, XM 252 and SiriusXM Online 996.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s a little bit of a different feeling coming to Petit Le Mans with our championship standing. Still our main focus is winning the Manufacturer Championship and doing what we can to help Tommy and Nicky keep the Driver Championship within the team. Obviously I also would really like to win this race. It’s been too long since we’ve won it, and I would like to add this to my list… just like I have for a lot of years now. I’m hopeful. We typically have good cars here and we are usually toward the front at one point or another in this race. It’s one that I really enjoy and maybe this is the year to cross it off my list.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The overriding aim going into Petit Le Mans is to absolutely maximize the points that both cars score toward the Manufacturer championship. Obviously we want to help the No. 4 car, and the way the championship is that is the priority. I hope we can be in a position to help them. At Indy, us finishing fourth and them finishing second is fine on paper. But we weren’t really in their race to be able to help them on strategy. I would like that to be the case.”

MARVIN KIRCHHÖFER, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “2024 was my first time at Petit Le Mans. I think it was my most favorite race that I did in IMSA. It’s one of the coolest events in the series and that’s why I’m excited to go back with the Corvette guys. The track layout is incredible. There’s always something happening so you need to be on the right side of the restarts. It’s just a great event. You drive into the dark and there’s not a lot of light, so that’s another nice challenge for our drivers. It was incredible to see how many fans came out in 2024 so I hope we will see something similar this year, and hopefully there’s a good end to the event for the Corvette and Pratt Miller guys in the championship.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Petit Le Mans is unique in many ways. The track is very challenging – a lot of very high-commitment corners, tricky in traffic, some big curbs to hit so it’s rough on the cars at times. The track by itself is tricky in the daytime then when you go into the nighttime, it’s really dark and difficult to see in some places. If it were the sixth race of the year, it would still be a challenging event. But then when you add that it is the last race of the year, it’s 10 hours… tensions are high. If you’ve had a rough year and you want to finish on a high, you’re trying really hard to have a good race. We have teams from Europe and others that come over to add to the grid and that adds to it. Then of course there are the championships on the line. The drivers, the crew, engineers… we all bring our A-game and our best to this one.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We still need to do the same thing at Petit Le Mans as we have all season and especially at Indianapolis. It’s going to be extremely difficult. It’s crazy with restarts in the dark. We just need to finish ahead of the BMW to make it easy. I feel like we obviously will have a good car and the team is confident. We have Nico coming… our superstar. Let’s see if we can nail it down at Road Atlanta.”

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s another big weekend at Petit Le Mans, which is how we like it. Obviously there is a lot of momentum within 13 Autosport after our podium at Indianapolis and regaining the Akin lead again for Orey. That’s our goal at the start of every year and we have a chance to realize that again. Petit Le Mans is one of my favorite races of the season, and that’s because of everything that can happen here. The traffic can be manic, the crowds are huge and you have the challenge of the race ending in the dark. It has all the ingredients of another classic IMSA race.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We are feeling confident coming to Road Atlanta. We tested last week after Indianapolis and were very happy with things. The car felt great and it was good to get some laps around the track before practice starts Thursday. It’s going to be a long race and a tough race, but these are the events where we are at our best. We’ll need to be in order to win the Akin Award again and get back to Le Mans.”

LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The test last week was really good. If that’s the car that we have for the race, then I’ll be very happy. This is one of my favorite races of the year so I’m really excited to be back. It’s been great talking to Matt and Orey to see how the team is coming along. There obviously is a lot of momentum from the podium at Indianapolis. It would be great if we can continue that this weekend, wrap up the Akin Award and start planning our return trip to Le Mans.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Petit Le Mans obviously is a special race every year. I did it for the first time last year, and there was a great buzz about it. It’s a long race but every single minute is so jam-packed. I’m looking forward to getting back into IMSA. When you only do the big five, it’s quite a front-loaded year with Daytona and Sebring, and then spreads out a little bit the rest of the season. So I’m looking forward to getting back with the DXDT guys and back to racing in IMSA.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This will be my first experience in the Corvette and in a GT3 car. I haven’t driven a GT car since Le Mans 2020 but it’s always fun to try new things and discover new things, so I’m looking forward to it. Petit Le Mans is a really cool event and it would be great to have more success in a GM car. I feel like in GTs, you do keep an eye on what is happening behind you. So it’s really only a bit difficult when you are fighting in your own class with other cars. But it’s not like in P2 where you’re passing cars and you’re getting passed, which is where it’s a bit more tricky. I’ve done this with a couple of GTs in the past, and it was always good fun. You have to survive, enjoy the show and hopefully we are in the end when it matters.”

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

2026 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PointsGTD PRO Drivers Standings1. Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg – 27292. Connor De Phillippi/Neil Verhagen – 26823. Andrea Caldarelli/Sandy Mitchell – 26764. Christopher Mies/Frederic Vervisch – 26055. Ben Barker/Dennis Olsen – 25808. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia – 2518 GTD PRO Teams Standings1. No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 27292. No. 1 Paul Miller Racing – 26823. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 26764. No. 65 Ford Racing – 26055. No. 64 Ford Racing – 25808. No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 2518 GTD PRO Manufacturers Standings1. Chevrolet – 29682. Ford – 29003. BMW – 28214. Lamborghini – 27845. Porsche – 2742 GTD Drivers Standings1. Philip Ellis/Russell Ward – 26932. Patrick Gallagher/Robby Foley – 26873. Dudu Barrichello – 2577 4. Aaron Telitz/Benjamin Pedersen – 24475. Matt Bell/Orey Fidani – 218812. Giacomo Altoé – 197816. Mason Filippi – 1742 GTD Teams Standings1. No. 57 Winward Racing – 26932. No. 96 Turner Motorsports – 26873. No. 27 Heart of Racing – 25774. No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing – 24475. No. 13 13 Autosport – 218810. No. 81 DragonSpeed – 197813. No. 36 DXDT Racing – 1742 GTD Manufacturers Standings1. Mercedes-AMG – 29542. Aston Martin – 28603. Ferrari – 28444. BMW – 27405. Lexus – 26096. Chevrolet – 2546 CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: By the Numbers• 1: One manufacturer, one brand and one race program for 28 years – Chevrolet, Corvette and Corvette Racing• 2: Where the No. 4 Corvette needs to finish in GTD PRO in order to clinch the GTD PRO Driver and Team championships• 3: Where Chevrolet has to finish among the nine manufacturers in GTD PRO to claim the Manufacturer Championship• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its 28 years: Sebring International Raceway, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and as of this weekend Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta• 3: Series in which Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams are still in championship contention heading into their respective finales: IMSA, European Le Mans Series and FIA WEC• 5: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at Road Atlanta since 1999 – Corvette C5-R (1999-04) Corvette C6.R (2005-2013), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019), Corvette C8.R (2020-2023) and now the eighth-generation Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which made its Road Atlanta debut in 2024• 10: Number of Road Atlanta victories for Corvette Racing dating back to 2000 – eight of those at Petit Le Mans• 10: Petit Le Mans wins for Chevrolet – eight in GT and two in Prototype. That ranks third among manufacturers in event history• 15: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 35: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Chang International Circuit (Thailand), Daytona, Detroit, Fuji, Houston, Imola, Indianapolis, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sāo Paulo (Brazil), Sebring, Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), Sonoma, Spa-Francorchamps, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 36: Combined Petit Le Mans starts for Tommy Milner (19) and Antonio Garcia (17)• 44: Number of drivers to win races in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list were TF Sport’s Peter Dempsey and Salih Yoluc at Sāo Paulo in WEC• 73: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year• 88: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. K-Tunes’ Kazunori Suenaga and Sena Sakaguchi joined the list in the No. 96 Corvette at Suzuka in Japan Cup competition• 159: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 119 in IMSA, 10 at Le Mans, six in the FIA WEC, 13 in GT World Challenge America, three in GT World Challenge Asia, GT America and the European Le Mans Series, and one in IGTC/GT World Challenge Europe• 396: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 49,405.78: Racing miles by Corvette Racing entries at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta since 1999. The five Corvettes need to combine for 235 laps – or 47 laps each – to go over the 50,000-mile mark at the track.• 517,183: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. The program went over the half-million mark at this year’s 24 Hours of Spa
Corvette Racing at Road Atlanta (wins in bold)1999 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/John Paul Jr. – 5th in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Scott Sharp – 4th in GTS
2000 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 3rd in GTS (Fellows pole)No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS
2001– No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Scott Pruett – 9th in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS (Pilgrim pole)
2002 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 3rd in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap)
2003* – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 3rd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 1st in GTS
2003 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Franck Freon – 5th in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GTS
2004 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTS (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)
2005* – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1 (O’Connell pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1
2005 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 6th in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 (Beretta pole, Gavin fastest race lap)
2006 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 4th in GT1 (O’Connell pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap)
2007 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 1st in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap)
2008 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 (O’Connell pole, Magnussen fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1
2009 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GT2
2010 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Emmanuel Collard – 1st in GT (Magnussen fastest race lap)
2011 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner/Antonio Garcia – 17th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Richard Westbrook – 4th in GT
2012 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 12th in GT
2013 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 6th in GT (Garcia/Magnussen ALMS GT title)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 10th in GT
2014 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 8th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Ryan Briscoe – 4th in GTLM
2015 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 6th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Ryan Briscoe – 3rd in GTLM
2016 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 3rd in GTLM (Gavin/Milner clinch GTLM title)
2017 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 2nd in GTLM (Garcia/Magnussen clinch GTLM title)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GTLM
2018 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM (Garcia/Magnussen clinch GTLM title)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 2nd in GTLM 2019 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 7th in GTLM
2020** – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 5th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM
2020 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GTLM
2021 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 6th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 4th in GTLM (Sims fastest race lap)
2022 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 5th in GTD PRO
2023 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTD PRO
2024 – No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims/Daniel Juncadella – 5th in GTD PRONo. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg/Earl Bamber – 12th in GTD PRONo. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell/Orey Fidani/Lars Kern – 11th in GTD PRO
2025 – No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims/Daniel Juncadella – 3rd in GTD PRONo. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone – 2nd in GTD PRONo. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell/Orey Fidani/Lars Kern – 9th in GTD PRONo. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Charlie Eastwood/Salih Yoluc/Alec Udell – 7th in GTD PRO
* Two-hour, 45 minute races / ** Six-hour race

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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Set for 38th Annual Pittsburgher

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

The premier dirt late model drivers in the nation are heading to “Dirt’s Monster Half Mile” this weekend as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series visits Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway (PPMS) for the 38th Annual Pittsburgher on Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3. The action begins Friday night with a complete Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series program with drivers battling for a $10,000 top prize. The intensity steps up on Saturday as the nation’s top teams and drivers battle for a massive $50,000 payday. Each night will feature a full schedule including Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and the respective A-Main for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The Penn Ohio Pro Stocks return on Friday for the Bob Walters Memorial. The RUSH Late Model Series will compete in a full program on both Friday and Saturday for the Bill Hendren Memorial. On Friday, pit gates open at 2:00 PM, followed by general admission at 3:00 PM and Hot Laps starting at 6:00 PM. Saturday follows a similar schedule with pit gates opening at 2:00 PM and general admission gates at 3:00 PM, while adding a driver autograph session from 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM prior to Hot Laps at 6:00 PM. Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, a half-mile oval known as “Dirt’s Monster Half Mile,” is situated at 170 Kelso Road, just a short drive from downtown Pittsburgh. Advanced tickets, camping passes, and official details are available at PPMS.com. The race for the 2026 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Championship is down to the wire. Brandon Sheppard holds a razor-thin 20-point advantage over Hudson O’Neal after Brownstown. Devin Moran sits third, followed by Ricky Thornton Jr. and Brandon Overton tied for fourth. Rounding out the top ten are Max Blair, Josh Rice, Brian Shirley, Garrett Alberson, and Clay Harris. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Purses:Friday, October 2: 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800 = $48,575 Saturday, October 3: 1. $50,000, 2. $20,000, 3. $10,000, 4. $8,000, 5. $7,000, 6. $6,000, 7. $4,500, 8. $4,000, 9. $3,800, 10. $3,600, 11. $3,400, 12. $3,200, 13. $3,000, 14. $2,500, 15. $2,400, 16. $2,300, 17. $2,200, 18. $2,100, 19. $2,000, 20. $2,000, 21. $2,000, 22. $2,000, 23. $2,000, 24. $2,000 = $150,000 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NRM NLMT2, (92) NRM NLMT3, (92) NRM NLMT4 Previous Pittsburgher Winners:2025 – Jonathan Davenport2024 – Jonathan Davenport2023 – Ricky Thornton Jr.2022 – Rained out2021 – Hudson O’Neal2020 – Ricky Thornton Jr.2019 – Don O’Neal2018 – Bobby Pierce2017 – Don O’Neal2016 – Josh Richards2015 – Scott Bloomquist2014 – Gregg Satterlee2013 – Scott Bloomquist2012 – Gregg Satterlee2011 – Keith Barbara2010 – Davey Johnson2009 – Bart Hartman2008 – Steve Baker2007 – Josh Richards2006 – Shane Clanton2005 – Donnie Moran2004 – Bart Hartman2003 – Matt Urban2002 – Rick Aukland2001 – Chub Frank2000 – Davey Johnson1999 – Todd Andrews1998 – Tim Hitt1997 – Rick Aukland1996 – Tim Hitt1995 – Scott Bloomquist1994 – Davey Johnson1993 – Scott Bloomquist1992 – Davey Johnson1991 – Donnie Moran1990 – Bob Wearing Jr.1989 – Scott Bloomquist1987-’88 – Race Not Held1986 – Donnie Moran1982-’85 – Race Not Held1981 – Tye Long1980 – Tye LongPURCHASE PITTSBURGHER 100 TICKETS

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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Set for 38th Annual Pittsburgher
The premier dirt late model drivers in the nation are heading to “Dirt’s Monster Half Mile” this weekend as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series visits Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway (PPMS) for the 38th Annual Pittsburgher on Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3. The action begins Friday night with a complete Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series program with drivers battling for a $10,000 top prize. The intensity steps up on Saturday as the nation’s top teams and drivers battle for a massive $50,000 payday. Each night will feature a full schedule including Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and the respective A-Main for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The Penn Ohio Pro Stocks return on Friday for the Bob Walters Memorial. The RUSH Late Model Series will compete in a full program on both Friday and Saturday for the Bill Hendren Memorial. On Friday, pit gates open at 2:00 PM, followed by general admission at 3:00 PM and Hot Laps starting at 6:00 PM. Saturday follows a similar schedule with pit gates opening at 2:00 PM and general admission gates at 3:00 PM, while adding a driver autograph session from 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM prior to Hot Laps at 6:00 PM. Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, a half-mile oval known as “Dirt’s Monster Half Mile,” is situated at 170 Kelso Road, just a short drive from downtown Pittsburgh. Advanced tickets, camping passes, and official details are available at PPMS.com. The race for the 2026 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Championship is down to the wire. Brandon Sheppard holds a razor-thin 20-point advantage over Hudson O’Neal after Brownstown. Devin Moran sits third, followed by Ricky Thornton Jr. and Brandon Overton tied for fourth. Rounding out the top ten are Max Blair, Josh Rice, Brian Shirley, Garrett Alberson, and Clay Harris. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Purses:Friday, October 2: 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800 = $48,575 Saturday, October 3: 1. $50,000, 2. $20,000, 3. $10,000, 4. $8,000, 5. $7,000, 6. $6,000, 7. $4,500, 8. $4,000, 9. $3,800, 10. $3,600, 11. $3,400, 12. $3,200, 13. $3,000, 14. $2,500, 15. $2,400, 16. $2,300, 17. $2,200, 18. $2,100, 19. $2,000, 20. $2,000, 21. $2,000, 22. $2,000, 23. $2,000, 24. $2,000 = $150,000 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NRM NLMT2, (92) NRM NLMT3, (92) NRM NLMT4 Previous Pittsburgher Winners:2025 – Jonathan Davenport2024 – Jonathan Davenport2023 – Ricky Thornton Jr.2022 – Rained out2021 – Hudson O’Neal2020 – Ricky Thornton Jr.2019 – Don O’Neal2018 – Bobby Pierce2017 – Don O’Neal2016 – Josh Richards2015 – Scott Bloomquist2014 – Gregg Satterlee2013 – Scott Bloomquist2012 – Gregg Satterlee2011 – Keith Barbara2010 – Davey Johnson2009 – Bart Hartman2008 – Steve Baker2007 – Josh Richards2006 – Shane Clanton2005 – Donnie Moran2004 – Bart Hartman2003 – Matt Urban2002 – Rick Aukland2001 – Chub Frank2000 – Davey Johnson1999 – Todd Andrews1998 – Tim Hitt1997 – Rick Aukland1996 – Tim Hitt1995 – Scott Bloomquist1994 – Davey Johnson1993 – Scott Bloomquist1992 – Davey Johnson1991 – Donnie Moran1990 – Bob Wearing Jr.1989 – Scott Bloomquist1987-’88 – Race Not Held1986 – Donnie Moran1982-’85 – Race Not Held1981 – Tye Long1980 – Tye LongPURCHASE PITTSBURGHER 100 TICKETS

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Transcript of Jack Aitken, driver of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

DETROIT (Sept. 28, 2026) – Jack Aitken, driver of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, was a guest on an IMSA media teleconference to discuss the upcoming 29th Annual Motul Petit Le Mans from the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia on October 3. Aitken will drive with Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti.
Just one Cadillac needs to start the race for the brand to clinch their fifth IMSA manufacturer title since 2017 and their 11th overall. And when the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac starts the race, Action Express Racing will unofficially clinch the team title, which will be the seventh for the organization. (The car must pass tech post-race). Heading into Road Atlanta, Aitken needs to finish ninth or better in class to lock up the driver championship. But qualifying awards points, so depending on where Aitken qualifies as well as second-place Lauren Heinrich, the only driver that can catch Aitken, there is a chance he could clinch the title after Thursday qualifying. Heinrich must win the race no matter what to even have a shot at the title. Transcript of select questions:
What are your thoughts going into Road Atlanta? “I think it’s a track and a race that we like. We’ve done well there over the last few years and particularly last year. So, we’re pretty confident we can come in and have a decent car off the bat. My goal is to try and have a great qualifying. And hopefully that means that we could go into the race worry-free and just enjoy it and race for the win. If we’re going in and we still have a similar gap in the championship, then we need to be a little bit smarter. But it’s nothing that we haven’t been doing all year long anyway. Like I said, we’ve got a good a good feel in the team right now and I’ve got a lot of trust in people around me, so very happy to just go in and treat it like any of the races that we’ve been to this year and come out with very good results.”

You’ve raced against a lot of guys in the top class, but what are your thoughts on Laurin Heinrich? “I mean, he’s obviously a phenomenal driver, so it’s always fun having those battles. Especially in this championship with the multi-class dynamic and the circuits that we visit, it sets out a great scene for it. I think we’ve had some really good fights this year. And for him to do it at such a young age is obviously really impressive as well. I’m sure whatever this year turns out to be we can expect to have a lot more fights with him over the next few years. Yeah, I’ll probably see even more improvement from him given his age, which is a slightly scary thought, but it’s been a fun year. And I’m curious to have more fights with him wheel-to-wheel.”

Some folks say that you and Cadillac Whelen (Action Express Racing) should pay a little more attention to collecting points instead of moving up the podium. And the way Action Express attacked it at Road America, and also at Indy, that’s not the case. So, I think the fans would all like to see everyone out there racing as hard as they can. What do you have to say to the people that suggest that maybe you should pay a little bit more attention to the points rather than moving up the podium?“I like to keep a very simplistic view of it, because it makes my life easier. I feel like I’m a broken record, but we’ve done a very good job over the last year, I think. Both in terms of putting a fast car out there and having pretty clean, efficient, well-called races and we do that by weighing up risk by planning out and prepping a lot of the stuff that we do and every professional, whether it’s the guys making the calls on the pit wall, or me or Earl or Fred in the car, put a lot of effort into trying to calibrate that risk reward level and kind of get it right. And all that to say, we feel like we live in a pretty happy spot and go for the moves that we think are, are going to pay off and work well for us. That’s about as far as we think about it. You can always argue to play it a bit safer when you have a lead in the championship. But it’s also dangerous to start changing your methods and to change the way that you approach things, because when you’re in a groove and when things are working well, you want to keep it as similar as possible. So to people that question, that method, is really more that we want to keep doing what we’re doing and the way we’re doing it because it works well for us and it’s to change as little as possible. And it’s also more fun to race that way. I think it’s more ambitious. It’s as simple as that from our point of view. I’m not saying it’s absolutely the right way to do it, but it’s the way that we like to go about it. It’s worked out well for the most part. The only race where we haven’t been on the podium. I don’t think it was because we were taking excessive risk, or anything like that. So, we’re going to carry that on into Petit Le Mans.”
Does that mean we can anticipate you defending your Petit Le Mans title in the last hours in Road Atlanta?
“That’s certainly the plan. But anything can happen at that race, and we’ve done well there over the years, so I think it’s a race that’s kind to us, whether it’s me or one of the other guys at the finish. So, we’re going to be racing for the win, I’m pretty sure.”

This championship is unique because both you and Laurin are not sharing it with any co-drivers. What are your thoughts on that? “I think it’s a bit of a shame. I mean it seems to be happening more often at the moment with drivers, generally being pulled in more directions, with more clashes between championships that are expanding and trying to fight for limited spots on the calendar. So, it’s slightly inevitable these days. But like I say, it’s a shame because, Earl is my full season teammate has been fantastic and has put more than his fair share into this championship. The fact that he misses one race and will pay for that by not being on the podium with me feels quite unfair, but it’s the way it is. And Fred has the endurance driver has contributed a huge amount as well. I sort of know from that position being I was in the endurance championship in 2023 when Whelen secured the teams and Drivers Championship then. I don’t know if there’s a way around it if there’ll be a way to have a drop round or something in the points to account for this kind of thing. But yeah, it does feel quite bittersweet. But I’ll buy him some drinks at the end of the year. Hopefully that evens it out.”
Jack you are listed as being from both Great Britain and South Korea. Can you talk about the support you have gotten from the South Korean fans?
“Yeah it’s been quite nice seeing the growth of, I guess South Korean interest and international motorsport. I think as a nation, there is quite a strong racing culture and car culture in general, but maybe not been as prevalent in the international championships until more recently and that growth has been really cool to watch and be a part of because I only really came into the sport in the last couple of decades obviously. The amount of messages of support and questions and interests that I get from South Koreans that are either looking to work in motorsport or drive or just support, it’s really cool. And yeah, I take a lot of heart from that. And even get a lot of people coming up to me and just saying hello and just expressing joy of, you know, discovering these championships and these cars and watching. So it means a lot to me. Yeah, I can’t wait. You know, it’s just really cool and I’m happy to see it. So hopefully it carries on growing and we’ve obviously got a South Korean manufacturer involved in these rule sets now as well, which is even better and yeah, it’s just really positive stuff and I’m happy to see it.”

Transcript of Jack Aitken, driver of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

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CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Tommy Milner Q&AZ

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

Zoom transcript with Corvette Racing factory driver heading to championship race

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports driver Tommy Milner met with members of the media via Zoom on Monday afternoon to discuss this weekend’s Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. He and No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R teammate Nicky Catsburg lead GTD PRO Driver Championship while Chevrolet leads the Manufacturer standings. The No. 4 pairing is coming off a runner-up class finish at Indianapolis two weeks ago and was second at Petit Le Mans a year ago with Nico Varrone.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.ROn the outlook for Petit Le Mans and entering the final race of the season leading the GTD PRO championships.“Certainly it’s great to be in the points lead going into the last race. That’s where you’d prefer to be, of course. But everything is still very close. Ultimately we need to have a very strong race, no matter what. There’s still many, many cars mathematically in the hunt for the championship, and so all of those teams will certainly be doing everything that they can to get that win. For us, it’s as we’ve approached all the other races this year. Obviously we need to score good points, no matter what. I know there’s lots of points possibilities and things like that we won’t bother ourselves with at this point. That won’t matter until the race gets going. But yeah, we’ve had a good year so far. Some ups and some downs, but obviously great to be P1 going into the last race. And then great to have Nico back as well. He’s a super, super talented young kid who’s been very fast this year. So yeah, for us, it’s going to be a little business as usual in many ways, and focusing on ourselves, making sure that we have the best Corvette that we can for the race and see what happens at the end.”Describe how crazy this race gets in the final hour with the traffic, the track being dark and everything you face at the end.“We’ve seen for many, many years now that the racing is very exciting at the end of Petit. Atlanta is a very dark racetrack, so there’s a lot of sections where there’s really no track lighting and with all the elevation change and things like that, you have lots of areas where you are driving at many times what it feels like blind and just kind of going off of muscle memory. The track itself is difficult, and then obviously you throw in a big sports car race at the end of the year, the last race of a championship, and everybody is driving absolutely at the limit of themselves and the car’s capabilities. Being in a GT car and Road Atlanta being as difficult as it is, just by yourself but when you add the traffic into the equation, the racing is very tricky in many situations. These days in IMSA, in all classes the competitiveness is so high and all the cars end up being very close on the racetrack… for us in a GT car, usually it’s not just one prototype car coming by; it’s two or three. Sometimes it’s one LMP2 and two GTPs, and so the closing speeds are different. You rely as much as you can on your spotters and all the information that you have from your team about what’s coming, but ultimately it’s our responsibility in the car to make the right decisions in places… when to kind of let those guys go by, especially in the Esses, making sure that we don’t put ourselves in a bad position. So there’s a lot that goes into it at the end of the race with the traffic, with the championships on the line, people wanting to win that race, obviously. All those things coming together make the race quite exciting, typically. I would say some tracks we go to are more mentally draining than others. Road Atlanta is definitely a combination of both mental and physical exhaustion at the end of the race.”

CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Tommy Milner Q&AZoom transcript with Corvette Racing factory driver heading to championship race

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2027 Pennsylvania Weekend Includes Return to Pittsburgh Alongside Bedford, Marion Center

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

CONCORD, NC (September 28, 2026) – The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet will be back in western Pennsylvania for a full weekend of racing in May 2027.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision will begin its three-night swing through the “Keystone State” with the World of Outlaws Billy Winn Classic at Bedford Speedway on Thursday, May 20. From there, it’s off to Marion Center Raceway for the World of Outlaws Connor Bobik Memorial on Friday, May 21. Then on Saturday, May 22, the Series will make its long-awaited return to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway with the World of Outlaws Penn National.

All three races will pay $20,000 to the winner, making it a can’t-miss weekend for both fans and racers in the area.

One of the largest and fastest tracks in Late Model racing, Pittsburgh will be hosting its first World of Outlaws race in two decades next season. The Series visited the 1/2-mile three times in the 2000s, with Bart Hartman (2004), Shane Clanton (2006) and Josh Richards (2007) each collecting victories.

Bedford and Marion Center have both been staples of the World of Outlaws schedule in recent years. In 2026, local favorite Mason Zeigler upset the Outlaws to win the Billy Winn Classic at Bedford, while Bobby Pierce won at Marion Center to become the first two-time Connor Bobik Memorial winner in the 16-year history of the event.

Stay tuned to WorldofOutlaws.com for ticket and other event information, as well as the release of the full 2027 schedule for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision in the coming months.

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

2027 Pennsylvania Weekend Includes Return to Pittsburgh Alongside Bedford, Marion Center

CONCORD, NC (September 28, 2026) – The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet will be back in western Pennsylvania for a full weekend of racing in May 2027.

All three races will pay $20,000 to the winner, making it a can’t-miss weekend for both fans and racers in the area.

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

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/2027-pennsylvania-weekend-includes-return-to-pittsburgh-alongside-bedford-marion-center/

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Cadillac looking to lock up championships at Road Atlanta

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

Media Resources: Images | Media Advances | Cadillac Newsroom

DETROIT (Sept. 28, 2026) – Cadillac Racing enters Petit Le Mans looking to make room in their trophy case, as they are looking to bring home some hardware back to Detroit by clinching the manufacturer title, the No. 31 team title and hopefully a driver title with Jack Aitken. A win in the 29th Annual Motul Petit Le Mans from the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, wouldn’t be too bad either. Just one Cadillac needs to start the race for the brand to clinch their fifth IMSA manufacturer title since 2017 and their 11th overall. And when the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac starts the race, Action Express Racing will unofficially clinch the team title, which will be the seventh for the team with drivers Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti. (The car must pass tech post-race). Heading into Road Atlanta, Aitken needs to finish ninth or better in class to lock up the driver championship. But qualifying awards points, so depending on where Aitken qualifies as well as second-place Lauren Heinrich, the only driver that can catch Aitken, there is a chance he could clinch the title after Thursday qualifying. Heinrich must win the race no matter what to even have a shot at the title. The good news for Action Express Racing, is they won this race last year with Aitken, Bamber and Vesti and they been on the podium all but one race in the last 10. Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing with the No. 10 (Ricky Talyor and Filipe Albuquerque) and No. 40 (Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz) are looking to further their momentum from early August at Road America. Ricky Taylor and Albuquerque won at Road America and then finished sixth at Indianapolis. Jordan Taylor and Deletraz finished fourth at Indianapolis. Colton Herta (No. 40) and Will Stevens (No. 10) will join Wayne Taylor Racing as the third drivers for the 10-hour event. The final IMSA GTP event of 2026 is the 29th Annual Motul Petit Le Mans from the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. The 10-hour race starts at 12:10 pm EDT on October 3 and will be broadcast on NBC from 12-3 pm and streamed flag-to-flag on Peacock and IMSAs YouTube page (outside United States). IMSA Radio will stream live audio coverage on XM 206, Channel 996 on the SiriusXM app and IMSA.com.

What they’re saying No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R Ricky Taylor: “Going into Petit with the VSeries.R, there’s a lot of good positive points to think about. I think we had a great race in Road America with it being a six-hour endurance race. Action Express won here last year with the V-Series.R. We’ve also got Will Stevens coming back to join us for the first time since Sebring as well, with us coming off of the COTA WEC race together. I think there is a lot of momentum and positivity around the weekend. Hopefully we can finish off the year with a good result for Cadillac.” Filipe Albuquerque: “The momentum is good. We want to keep going for podiums. Obviously, a win would be amazing. We tested at Road Atlanta earlier this month, and as a result, we understood more about the car. It’s not going to be as hot in the race as it was at the test, so we will need to address that.” Will Stevens: “With Petit being the season finale, I feel like it’s a race where you take all the momentum from the season. For me personally, it’s momentum from both WEC and the progress I see from everyone at WTR. Obviously getting the win recently at Road America has strengthened the team’s morale and helps bring confidence to everyone. I feel like the momentum is very much growing. It’s also very nice to go into the off season with a strong final race of the year. I think we have confidence that we can put the right package together to try and come away with a win here at Petit.”

No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R Jordan Taylor: “Coming into the final endurance race of the year, it’ll be great to have Colton Herta back with us. He did Daytona and Sebring with us, and then he’s been off in Formula 2 and Formula 1. It’ll be interesting to get some new insights from him when he jumps back in the car here in Atlanta. Obviously, we’ve learned a lot throughout this year. There’s been a lot of developments in the car, so I’m sure he’ll be pretty pleased to jump back in and see how far the cars have come. It’s one of the big races of the year, and it’s one that everyone wants to win. Hopefully we can end the year on a high note and head into the off season with some positive momentum.” Louis Deletraz: “The objective is to win for Cadillac. We’re not in the championship fight, but we’ve been quick, and winning Petit Le Mans in GTP has been a dream of mine. I have done it in LMP2, but not quite in GTP. It is a goal for me, but also for the team. I really enjoy working with Jordan, Colton, Cadillac and WTR, so the final race of the year is going to be just a full push, big smiles, and trying to get through traffic.” Colton Herta: “I’m excited to be back with Jordan and Louis at Road Atlanta. It’s been a while since we were last together at Sebring and few years since I’ve raced at this track. I know the team tested here earlier this month to get prepared for the weekend. It’ll be nice to be behind the wheel of the Cadillac V-Series.R again and ready to hit the ground running”

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R Earl Bamber: “It’s great to go to Petit with the team and manufacturers wrapped up as long as we start the race. Now we need to get Jack Aitken a driver’s title and another Petit win for the team to round out what has been an incredible 12 months.” Jack Aitken: “We go into the race with it still open, which can happen depending on how qualifying goes and anything can happen especially at Petit. It’s a race we’ve done well at in the years gone by. I think we’ll have a strong car and at least be in the mix. It’s been very tight overall in the last few races and we’ve been very consistent, but we can always be challenged, and we go into with the same mindset. Just be consistent.” Fredrick Vesti: “Heading to Petit Le Mans to one of the best races of the season. Can’t wait to fight it out on track and finish off what has been an incredible year. The gloves are off and we are ready to fight it for it.”

Cadillac looking to lock up championships at Road Atlanta

Media Resources: Images | Media Advances | Cadillac Newsroom

Cadillac Racing at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta 2025-2017 2025: First (No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R) start second – Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Frederik Vesti         Sixth (No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R) start eighth – Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Will Stevens          Eighth (No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R) start 11th – Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Norman Nato
2024: First (No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R) start fourth – Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon        Fifth (No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R) start first – Jack Aitken, Pipo Derani, Tom Blomqvist
2023: Second (No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R) start second – Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon        Sixth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering V-Series.R) start eighth – Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken
2022: Second (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Pipo Derani, Olivier Pla, Mike Conway         Third (No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Rockenfeller         Fourth (No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon         Fifth in class, eighth overall (No. 02 Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Ryan Hunter-Reay         Seventh in class, 39th overall (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Tristan Vautier, Loic Duval, Richard Westbrook
2021: Second (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start first – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Mike Conway         Fourth (No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi, Simon Pagenaud         Fifth (No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Renger van der Zande, Earl Bamber, Scott Dixon         28th overall (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Tristan Vautier, Loic Duval, Sebastien Bourdais
2020 (six-hour race on Sept. 5): Third (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Filipe Albuquerque         Fourth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Joao Barbosa, Sebastien Bourdais, Tristan Vautier         Fifth (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe        28th overall (No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Stephen Simpson, Matheus Leist
2020 (10-hour race on Oct. 17): First (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon        Fourth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Joao Barbosa, Sebastien Bourdais, Tristan Vautier        Fifth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Filipe Albuquerque       26th overall (No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start eighth – Chris Miller, Matheus Leist, Gabriel Aubry
2019: First (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start first – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran         Second (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start eighth – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor, Matthieu Vaxiviere         Fifth (No. 84 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Simon Trummer, Stephen Simpson, Chris Miller         Seventh (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Joao Barbosa, Filipe Albuquerque, Mike Conway         Ninth (No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start 10th – Tristan Vautier, Misha Goikhberg, Juan Piedrahita         22nd overall (No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start ninth – Will Owen, Spencer Pigot, Rene Binder
2018: First (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start 11th – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor, Ryan Hunter-Reay        Fourth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Tristan Vautier, Filipe Albuquerque, Christian Fittipaldi        Eighth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start ninth — Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran, Gabby Chaves
2017: Second (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start ninth – Dane Cameron, Eric Curran, Mike Conway        Fifth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start eighth – Christian Fittipaldi, Joao Barbosa, Filipe Albuquerque        37th overall (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start 13th – Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor, Ryan Hunter-Reay

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Wood Brothers Racing–Kansas Post Race

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

Event: Hollywood Casino 400

Location: Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas

Date: Sunday, September 27, 2026

Start: 10th

Finish: 35th

For the past nine races, Josh Berry and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy team have regularly found themselves in contention for top-five and top-10 finishes, including a strong stretch since the start of the NASCAR Cup Series Chase.

But that momentum was interrupted Sunday at Kansas Speedway, where Berry was collected in a multi-car accident during the Hollywood Casino 400 and ultimately finished 35th, 10 laps down.

Thanks in part to their recent strong performances, Berry and the Menards/Dutch Boy team earned a top-10 starting position after rain washed out Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions and the field was set per the NASCAR Rulebook.

Starting 10th for Sunday’s 267-lap race, Berry kept the No. 21 Mustang Dark Horse inside the top 10 until the competition caution at Lap 35. After making a pit stop under the yellow, Berry returned to the track just outside the top 10 and remained there through the end of Stage 1, taking the green-and-white checkered flag in 11th.

Berry continued to race just outside the top 10 during Stage 2 before the caution came out at Lap 115 for Noah Gragson’s engine failure. The No. 21 team took the opportunity to pit for tires and fuel, with Berry lining up 15th for the ensuing restart.

Shortly after the field returned to green, a multi-car accident developed on the inside line before the contact spread across the track and into the outside lane where Berry was running. With nowhere to escape the incident, the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Mustang sustained substantial damage.

Berry fell to 35th in the running order and two laps down as the team went to work making repairs. He returned to the track and continued to battle through the remainder of the afternoon, but the damage took its toll as Berry lost additional laps before taking the checkered flag in 35th, 10 laps down.

Event: Hollywood Casino 400

Location: Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas

Date: Sunday, September 27, 2026

Start: 10th

Finish: 35th

But that momentum was interrupted Sunday at Kansas Speedway, where Berry was collected in a multi-car accident during the Hollywood Casino 400 and ultimately finished 35th, 10 laps down.

Berry and the Wood Brothers team will look to rebound and return to their recent form next weekend in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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John Force Racing–Rockingham

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

SHORT SUNDAY OF RACING FOR JFR AT THE ROCKVandergriff/DeJoria go out in Round 2, Beckman/Hart in Round 1

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

SHORT SUNDAY OF RACING FOR JFR AT THE ROCKVandergriff/DeJoria go out in Round 2, Beckman/Hart in Round 1

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (Sept. 27, 2026) – The return to The Rock didn’t play out for the John Force Racing teams as they had prepared and planned for heading into the inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock at Rockingham Dragway. Jordan Vandergriff and Alexis DeJoria bowed out in Round 2 while Jack Beckman and Josh Hart exited in Round 1. Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team (No. 11 qualifier) set low elapsed time of the session in their first-round matchup against Chad Green, running 3.869 seconds at 331.61 mph to Green’s 3.912 seconds at 330.64 mph. The run gave Vandergriff lane choice in the second round against Austin Prock. In Round 2, Vandergriff ran a quicker 3.905 seconds at 329.19 mph to Prock’s 3.916 seconds at 322.81 mph but Prock grabbed the holeshot (.030 to .042) to win by an almost inconceivable two ten-thousandths of a second. “What a drag race,” said Vandergriff. “That is what I dreamed of being a part of and it’s what I view NHRA Drag Racing to be … winning and losing by two ten-thousandths of a second. We just ended up on the wrong side of it today. It was a great effort all weekend by Chris Cunningham, Jason Bunker and all the Cornwell Quality Tools boys. They gave me a great Chevy race car. We struggled through qualifying a little bit but we turned it around and, on race day, had a car that could run with anybody. We just ended up on the wrong side of a blockbuster race. We’ll regroup and head to St. Louis to see what we can do there.” DeJoria and the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car (No. 2 qualifier) put out a cylinder early in their Round 1 matchup against John Smith but still ran 3.959 seconds at 318.92 mph to Smith’s 4.429 seconds at 209.79 mph and moved on. In Round 2 against Paul Lee, the win went to Lee’s reaction time (.026 to .040) as both drivers ran identical 3.924-second laps at 328.95 mph. “The positive we can all take away from this race is the fact that we know what we have,” said DeJoria. “We did absolutely everything we were supposed to do but got beat. They were a tick faster. We have a really good consistent Bandero Café Chevy race car and now we’re getting fast. I’m heartbroken because these guys work so hard and we’re right on the brink of getting that first win with John Force Racing. Sometimes all you need is to catch a break and we just haven’t caught a break yet. I believe in this team and I’m so blessed to be a part of it. Everybody did a great job this weekend and it’s not over.” Beckman and the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet SS Funny Car team (No. 4 qualifier) made a strong 3.916-second run at 324.44 mph but Daniel Wilkerson grabbed the holeshot (.026 to .047) to earn the win with a run of 3.931 seconds at 327.27 mph. “That was a very, very frustrating loss,” said Beckman. “I’ve said since I won the championship in 2012 because of the Countdown that I’m not a fan of the Countdown because if you lose first round, you don’t get a chance to earn more points for the rest of the day. It’s unlike any other sport out there so it makes it extra devastating to lose first round. History will show today as a holeshot loss because if you roll in further on the starting beams, it makes your reaction time look better but your elapsed time look worse. I always stage shallow to give myself a longer reaction time, because my car is in the beam longer, but it gives us a better chance of running a quicker ET and maintaining lane choice. I think Wilkie’s car outran us by three thousandths of a second and that’s where our problem was. Every loss is a tough loss but a first-round exit in the Countdown is about as bad as it gets. The silver lining is that we have a great race car and we get a chance to redeem ourselves in five days at St. Louis.” Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel dragster (No. 5 qualifier) had lane choice for Round 1 against Will Smith but put a cylinder out very early in the run, clocking in at 3.829 seconds at 320.74 mph to Smith’s run of 3.767 seconds at 330.88 mph. “The last couple of races have been extremely humbling,” said Hart. “We shook, we smoked, we went low ET, and we went slower than the Funny Cars. Drag racing is a humbling sport, so we’ll continue to push through these major setbacks in the Countdown, but it’s definitely not what we intended to do.” The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings after 16 of 20 races are: 1. Shawn Langdon, 2,335; 2. Doug Kalitta, 2,310; 3. Tony Stewart, 2,180; 4. Leah Pruett, 2,168; 5. Antron Brown, 2,148; 6. Billy Torrence, 2,131; 7. (tie) Maddi Gordon, 2,128; Josh Hart, 2,128; 9. Will Smith, 2,118; 10. Clay Millican, 2,088. The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings after 16 of 20 races are: 1. Matt Hagan, 2,321; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, 2,237; 3. J.R. Todd, 2,215; 4. Ron Capps, 2,209; 5. Jack Beckman, 2,195; 6. Austin Prock, 2,177; 7. Alexis DeJoria, 2,151; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, 2,120; 9. Chad Green, 2,089; 10. Spencer Hyde, 2,065. The 17^th of 20 races on the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule is the Oct. 2-4 NHRA Midwest Nationals at the Rock at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill.

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Larson Dominates at Kansas Speedway to Earn Second Victory of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Season

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

Kyle Larson wrapped up a dominate afternoon at Kansas Speedway with a trip to victory lane in the Hollywood Casino 400. The win – Larson’s second of the season and his fourth in NASCAR’s top division at Kansas Speedway – came alongside a perfect day as the reigning champion drove to a stage sweep, clocked-in the fastest lap of the race, recorded 235 of 267 laps led, and tallied the victory to earn a 76-point day. With four races complete, Larson has extended the points lead to 26 points over Denny Hamlin.
A trio of Hendrick Motorsports-powered Chevrolet’s completed the Team Chevy top-10 at the Midwest-based oval. William Byron and the No. 24 team joined Larson with a pair of points-earning stages, going on to earn a seventh-place result. Chase Elliott drove his No. 9 Chevrolet to the team’s 10th top-10 finish of the season as he ended the day with an eighth-place finish.

RACE RECAP:

Stage One: With yet another practice and qualifying day for the NASCAR Cup Series canceled due to weather, Kyle Larson’s second-place effort last weekend put the reigning champion on the front row of the starting lineup for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Lining up on the outside lane, a masterful start saw the No. 5 Chevrolet take the lead on the opening lap and quickly extend his margin to just over three-seconds in only 10 laps around the 1.5-mile circuit. Also showing early speed within that distance was his teammate, William Byron, who turned an eighth-place starting position into a spot within the top-four. With a competition caution slated around the 35-lap marker, Larson continued to set an impressive pace even as he reached lap traffic – ending the green flag run with a 2.8-second cushion over second. While the field hit pit road under the competition caution, it was a four tire call by crew chief Cliff Daniels as the No. 5 pit crew kept their driver in the top position for the restart. Electing the inside lane, it was a drag race with Denny Hamlin for the top position as the pair ran side-by-side for the entirety of the opening lap of the run, but it was the Team Chevy driver that narrowly edged the No. 11 at the line by just .01-seconds to maintain the lead. While Hamlin was able to keep Larson within reach for the beginning portion of the run, the reigning champion progressively started to build his lead as the race reached 20 laps to go in the stage. Despite the added challenge of lap traffic in the closing laps, Larson was able to capitalize on his lead to comfortably take the first green-white checkered flag. Also driving to a points-earning effort in Stage One included three fellow Team Chevy Chase contenders with Carson Hocevar in fourth and teammates, Byron and Chase Elliott, in the seventh and eighth positions, respectively.

Stage Two: With a call for four tires and fuel under the stage break, the No. 5 pit crew fired off a stop to keep Larson in the top position once again for the start of Stage Two. While Hamlin briefly challenged Larson for the lead on the restart, it was the Team Chevy driver that effortlessly maintained the lead and quickly started to build a gap on the No. 11 within the opening laps. While Larson remained a steady fixture in the command position, Hocevar began to endure a challenging stage when a slow stop under a caution near the midway point saw the driver fall to the 12th position for the restart. But calamity coming to the green flag saw a handful of cars, including Hocevar, go spinning down the frontstretch. Coming to the attention of crew chief Luke Lambert, the No. 77 team went to work on damaged sustained to the right-front splitter. Despite spending a lengthy amount of time on pit road for repairs, the team was able to keep Hocevar on the lead lap for the restart. With a caution-free run to the end of the stage, it was Larson that continued to pace the field en route to a stage sweep.

Final Stage: The No. 5 pit crew continued to be undefeated in the race off pit road with a quick four tire and fuel stop under the stage break putting Larson back on the front row for the start of the final stage. This time, Larson was accompanied by Toyota’s Chase Briscoe for the restart, but the speed of his Chevrolet-powered machine put him back at the point for the final run of the race. Just past the 200-lap marker and approaching another long green flag run, Briscoe was the first true challenger of the day for Larson as he reached the back bumper of the No. 5 as the pair maneuvered through lap traffic. Approaching the window for the first green flag pit cycle of the day, Daniels called Larson to pit road with 52 laps to go with Briscoe in tow. An 8.7-second stop by the No. 5 pit crew and a strong exit off pit road by Larson saw the team build a solid one-second gap back towards Briscoe as they cycled back to the front of the field and on the horizon of the longest run of the race. Having led all but three laps of the day as the race hit 30 laps to go, a tight battle between the two saw Larson fall to second, but as the race hit single-digits, his speed prevailed as a masterful pass saw Larson regain the lead and never look back en route to his second trip to victory lane of the season.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos. Driver
1st – Kyle Larson7th – William Byron8th – Chase Elliott

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 30 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 8Poles: 6Top-Fives: 51Top 10s: 101Stage Wins: 21

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase will continue at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the South Point 400 on Sunday, October 4, at 5:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Larson Dominates at Kansas Speedway to Earn Second Victory of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Season

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos. Driver
1st – Kyle Larson7th – William Byron8th – Chase Elliott

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 30 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 8Poles: 6Top-Fives: 51Top 10s: 101Stage Wins: 21

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Finished: 21st“Proud of everyone on the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Magnum Pheasant Chevrolet team today at Kansas Speedway for fighting until the last lap. We didn’t have practice and qualifying yesterday, so we knew we were going to learn a bit about the car’s balance in the initial laps. We started off a touch loose, but overall good, and then made an adjustment that made me way too tight. The team went back to the drawing board and were able to reverse that and get it to where the car’s balance was pretty good, we were making top-10 lap times and I was driving forward. We’ll make some notes for 2027 and turn our focus to Las Vegas next week.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 1stJust kind of describe what it’s like to have such a dominant performance at a racetrack that’s been so good to you.“Yeah, it was great. Obviously, starting on the front row helped a lot, as well as just controlling the race, having good restarts and great power by our No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy. It wasn’t easy. I know it looked easy at times. There were definitely runs that were easier, but when the sun came out, it got difficult just to maintain my grip. I would stretch out, and then I’d catch traffic and I would just not be very good. I guess that the way that run just played out there, maybe coming out in traffic and the pace being down a little bit helped me live a little bit longer. I think it’s just sometimes easier to be the hunter rather than being hunted. I could see he (Chase Briscoe) was starting to struggle in front of me and still pushing really hard. I was just trying to take it easy, let him make a mistake and build some runs on exit. We were able to do that. Just proud of the team.” Throughout the course of the day, you expressed a little concern about your car once you come off the top. You worried about lap traffic. What did you finally have to do? Did you figure it out, or was it just a matter of making it work best possible?“Yeah, I think it’s just kind of a matter of making it work. I did have to change my line up there a lot. Once (Chase) Briscoe got by me, maybe that helped me just discover something that helped me a little bit. I was just not very good when I would catch traffic, but out in clean air, we were amazing. Huge thank you to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet. Congratulations to everybody at the Hendrick Automotive Group too, celebrating their 50th anniversary. We’ve gotten a couple special wins here for Mr. H, and I’m glad to do this one for all the 10,000 plus employees at Hendrick.” What is that like to have that crew pit on the car and to be able to drive off pit road first?“Yeah, it takes a team, and our pit crew has been on it all year. They have been ranked towards the top all season. It was a great day on pit road and hopefully they’re leading again. Huge thank you to them. And again, thanks to Cliff Daniels (crew chief), everybody on this No. 5 team for not having any practice and having the balance as good as it was.” Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 8th“It was an improvement from last week, for sure. Our No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet was pretty good. We had a couple runs there in the middle stages where it got a little tight. I just made a couple bad decisions on restarts, and everything we had gained, I felt like I lost it all right there. We finally started to get our balance back and going the right direction. I think I had given up a bit too much at that point of time.
Overall, it was definitely an improved day from where we’ve been. We just have to try and build on that. Hopefully we can just put some of these solid days together and try to continue to build on the good stuff from the day. There were some high spots for us, more than there has been lately, so we’ll see where it goes.” William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 7th“I thought the speed of our No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet was hard to judge. We were just tight all day, and we couldn’t really get it to rotate on the restarts. I felt like our pit crew was doing a really good job of getting track position on pit road. On every restart, we just couldn’t fire off and couldn’t go with speed. We just fought that throughout the day. I thought our long runs were reasonable, but we still fought some balance issues. We just didn’t have the balance we wanted, but I thought our Chevy was pretty good.” Is there anything you and Rudy Fugle (crew chief) can work on for the next two intermediate tracks?“Yeah, we’ll definitely keep working on it. Obviously, we have a good baseline at Hendrick Motorsports now. Congrats to Kyle (Larson, race winner) and the No. 5 team. We just have to keep working.” Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 26th“Our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet had speed on the long run, but we struggled on fire off. For the first 15-20 laps, our car was really tight and it would take too long to come in. At the same time, we were at the limit of the rears at the end of a run. If we could have found a way to not lose so much ground at the beginning, I think we could have had a solid finish because most runs, we would drive back forward at the end. We’ll learn from today and try to come back better next season.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 27th“A messy day here in Kansas, we had a few things not go our way and we fell behind pretty quick. From there, the balance wasn’t where we needed to be to make up the ground we had lost. It’s tough, our Delaware Life Chevrolet showed signs of solid speed early in the day. Once we got pushed back to the back half of the field, it felt like we couldn’t recover from there. I have faith in our group, we have a few more 1.5-mile tracks coming up, so it’s going to be important to maximize those going forward and build into next season.”

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CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: Podium & Points for TF Sport

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

No. 34 Corvette takes third in LMGT3, No. 33 extends championship lead OYAMA, Shizuoka, Japan (September 27, 2026) – TF Sport and the Corvette Z06 GT3.R returned to the podium in the FIA World Endurance Championship with a third-place LMGT3 finish for the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette after a wild Six Hours of Fuji.Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey claimed their second podium finish in three races after a strong come-back drive after an opening-lap spin. It came two races after the trio won in class at Brazil for their first victory of the season.
The result also vaulted the No. 34 drivers and team from eighth to third place in the championship standings with two races left.
Both TF Sport Corvettes finished in the top-five with the championship-leading No. 33 Z06 GT3.R finishing fifth. The result solidified Jonny Edgar, Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating as 1-2-3 in Drivers points while the No. 33 squad grew its lead in the Teams standings by two points to 24 with a total of 52 points remaining in the season.
Both Corvettes worked their way up from mid-pack at the start and into podium contention inside the final two hours. Yoluc had the worst of the luck of the two Corvettes at the start as he had contact on the start at the first corner and dropped from eighth down to 15th by the time he got the No. 34 going again.
Keating weathered the start a bit better and gained three spots at the start shortly before the first of four safety car periods despite bits of contact to his Corvette as well.
The TF Sport team split the pit strategies for the two Corvettes during the opening two hours. While Keating stopped for a driver change to Edgar just shy of the two-hour mark, Yoluc stayed out in the No. 34 and stopped from the lead near the 2:20 mark to Dempsey.
Both teams made their final driver changes with 1:40 remaining during a virtual safety car period with Eastwood and Catsburg taking over and rejoining just outside the top-five. Both Corvettes made their final stop during the final safety car period and elected to take fuel only, which moved the pairing to first and second with 20 minutes ago and Eastwood ahead of his teammate.
While the strategy gained valuable track position, other cars that took tires took advantage in the closing laps but the decision still proved valuable with a solid points haul for both Corvettes.
TF Sport’s next race in the FIA World Endurance Championship is Sunday, October 18 from Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

ANDREA HIDALGO, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “It was a positive result here at Fuji for the two Corvettes. The No. 34 had a great race and recovery from the spin and penalties, finishing on the podium and jumping up to third in the championship. Although the 33 didn’t finish on the podium, the group had a good race as well and were able to extend their championship lead. A great job by everyone at TF Sport. We’re all looking forward to more at Barcelona.”

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES

PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “A strong weekend for us and the first time here for me. The car felt good since FP1, really. We improved it a little for FP2. Qualifying being cancelled didn’t really make a major difference for our race. Unlucky with Salih getting spun around at Turn One, and we had a penalty that we had to serve twice which cost us another 20 seconds. The full-course yellows didn’t fall in the right place for us so that put us outside the top-10. The strategy was really good but we had no luck until an hour-and-a-half to go where the VSC fell at the right point for us to jump forward on strategy. Charlie did a phenomenal job at the end to try and hang on for the win on a double-stinted tires. To bring up P3 is good for the championship so there’s all to play for heading into the last two rounds.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It felt almost like an IMSA race, finishing in the dark almost. We were in an unfortunate position because some cars behind us had new tires, and Charlie and I didn’t so in a way we were sitting ducks and trying to defend. I must say that the call from the team not to take tires was a good one. We gained positions, and the 34 especially gained positions. They did very well today. It was just unfortunate at the end as some had (newer) tires than we did. But the fights we had, I enjoyed them. You win some and you lose some. This time we went backward but it was cool fighting. The Corvette was good today, and Ben did a good job.”What I found astonishing is that we were sitting here in the garage and Jonny said (before his first stint) it might be better if we don’t take tires. It doesn’t happen very often when a driver says that we’d be better if we don’t take tires because drivers want tires. That’s what makes a really good teammate and was awesome.”

JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was pretty good. My first stint was quite difficult. We kept Ben’s tires because with the strategy we were on, we were really unlucky with the safety car. We had less energy than the others so to not drop basically to last, we decided to keep Ben’s tires and save the time in pitlane. I think it worked out because even though it was difficult on track, we didn’t lose as much as what we gained in pitlane so that was a good call. The second stint was quite OK. I just got stuck behind the BMW.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was good. I had a good start and a good restart. It’s nice to be able to pass a few people. I think I was fourth when I brought it in and started 10th, so I feel like it’s pretty good. We weren’t really exactly sure what to do with the setup because it rained all day yesterday. At the start today it was pretty wet so I’m not surprised there was a big pileup in Turn One. I think most of the water on the track was there. Right there where you’re going into the brake zone, you have the pit exit line paint and the safety car line paint. Anytime you’re trying to race other people in the wet on top of paint, it’s not going to end well. I was glad to make it through. I did get hit… actually I got hit a lot out there in the last two hours. At the start, I got rear-ended by somebody but was able to keep the car straight. I don’t know why but when Darren Leung in the BMW was next to me, he kept on hip-checking me and bouncing off the side of me. I don’t really understand what he was trying to communicate. And under full-course yellow, I had one of the Peugeots run into the back of me!”

CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: Podium & Points for TF SportNo. 34 Corvette takes third in LMGT3, No. 33 extends championship lead OYAMA, Shizuoka, Japan (September 27, 2026) – TF Sport and the Corvette Z06 GT3.R returned to the podium in the FIA World Endurance Championship with a third-place LMGT3 finish for the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette after a wild Six Hours of Fuji.Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey claimed their second podium finish in three races after a strong come-back drive after an opening-lap spin. It came two races after the trio won in class at Brazil for their first victory of the season.
The result also vaulted the No. 34 drivers and team from eighth to third place in the championship standings with two races left.
Both TF Sport Corvettes finished in the top-five with the championship-leading No. 33 Z06 GT3.R finishing fifth. The result solidified Jonny Edgar, Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating as 1-2-3 in Drivers points while the No. 33 squad grew its lead in the Teams standings by two points to 24 with a total of 52 points remaining in the season.
Both Corvettes worked their way up from mid-pack at the start and into podium contention inside the final two hours. Yoluc had the worst of the luck of the two Corvettes at the start as he had contact on the start at the first corner and dropped from eighth down to 15th by the time he got the No. 34 going again.
Keating weathered the start a bit better and gained three spots at the start shortly before the first of four safety car periods despite bits of contact to his Corvette as well.
The TF Sport team split the pit strategies for the two Corvettes during the opening two hours. While Keating stopped for a driver change to Edgar just shy of the two-hour mark, Yoluc stayed out in the No. 34 and stopped from the lead near the 2:20 mark to Dempsey.
Both teams made their final driver changes with 1:40 remaining during a virtual safety car period with Eastwood and Catsburg taking over and rejoining just outside the top-five. Both Corvettes made their final stop during the final safety car period and elected to take fuel only, which moved the pairing to first and second with 20 minutes ago and Eastwood ahead of his teammate.
While the strategy gained valuable track position, other cars that took tires took advantage in the closing laps but the decision still proved valuable with a solid points haul for both Corvettes.
TF Sport’s next race in the FIA World Endurance Championship is Sunday, October 18 from Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES

TOM FERRIER, OWNER, TF SPORT: “Coming into the race, we would have taken third and fifth, for sure. A little disappointing when you start with 20 minutes to go and you’re 1-2, but we kind of gambled there and didn’t take tires to get us to the front. We probably didn’t quite have the performance at the end. It got a bit rough and tumble there at the end but happy to score some good points. It ups the lead in the championship and improves the position for the 34, so a good day.”

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Double points finish for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA at Fuji

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

What they’re saying:Jeromy Moore, Chief Engineer Cadillac Racing:“A mixed day for us today. We had a competitive car again, that showed strong pace, but also had some safety car periods that didn’t go our way and a couple of penalties that we picked up. We are coming away with more Championship points which is always a positive thing, but now we look ahead to the next race in Barcelona where we will be looking to fight for the win.”
No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Will Stevens: “Overall, I think we can be satisfied with P7. We looked good at points of the race and struggled at other points, and we had a few penalties along the way. With an hour or so to go, it looked like we’d be fighting for P9 or P10 at best, so the fact that we came away with P7 shows that if you keep plugging away and keep pushing, you can recover. From that side, it’s positive to come away with some points even on a tough day. There are still some details for us to work on over the final two races of the year, but hopefully we can keep chipping away and finish the season strongly in Barcelona and Monza.”
No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Norman Nato:“A double points finish with P5 and P7; it’s always good to score points with both cars, so it’s a strong result for everybody. We always want more and have the pace to be fighting for the win so it’s easy not to be happy with P7 today. Now we head to Barcelona and keep pushing for some more strong results.” No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Jack Aitken: “Another top-five finish, so it’s nice that we’ve been able to put together a consistent run of results. I think we were in the fight for the podium if we’d managed to get absolutely everything out of it today, but it was a pretty wild race with a lot of interruptions, so it was quite a tricky one. The car ran well and we had a pretty mistake-free race, which is always what we want. It’s just a shame not to come away with a trophy.”
No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Earl Bamber: “It was an okay day. We probably could have got a bit more out of it, but pace-wise we were there. A top-five finish is okay, but I think there was potentially a little more available.”
No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Sébastian Bourdais: “Overall, it was a decent day. There were some very tricky calls to make on the pit wall and, with the last one, you had to gamble on the future. When you look at how hard we fought to come back from the incident with Earl early on, and a start where he seemed to get all the bad breaks, to then be knocking on the door of a podium and come away with fifth, I don’t think we should be too disappointed. I guess once you start being disappointed with top-five finishes, that’s probably a good thing as well.”
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA heads to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the 6 Hours of Barcelona and the next round of the WEC on October 18th.

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Brian Shirley Breaks Through with Jackson 100 Win a Brownstown

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

You can finally call Brian Shirley a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series winner as the Chatham, Illinois racer became the 97th different winner on Saturday night at Brownstown Speedway. Shirley captured the 47th Annual WillScot Jackson 100 Presented by the Jackson County Visitors Center.

Shirley took the lead from Kyle Bronson on the 24th lap and led the rest of the way to not only pick up the $50,000 first place prize, but a $5,000 bonus from UNOH, and the fourth driver this year to be awarded a $1,000 check from Steering Buddy for becoming a first time series winner.

Shirley, who started ninth took the win withstanding challenges from Josh Rice before a caution with 14 laps to go. Shirley would pull away from the Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 winner to take the victory.

Rice finished in second with Max Blair taking the third spot. The defending Jackson 100 winner Ricky Thornton Jr., who led the first lap of the race, finished fourth with 3-time and reigning Indiana Icebreaker winner Devin Moran coming home in fifth.

Shirley scored his first win at Brownstown since a Summer Nationals victory in 2008.

“It sounds great to be a Lucas Oil winner. There are a few things I want to do in my career before I hang up the hat and one of them was win a Lucas Oil race. I wasn’t wanting to end my career without a Lucas Oil win. This is so rewarding, you know we race against the best guys in the country week in and week out and we get our teeth kicked in here and there.”

“Man, that was a long 100 laps. I was just counting and counting, and we were able to get it done. I thought we had a car that was capable of getting to the front and how we was going to manage that when we got to the front. I was really second guessing to go out and go around lapped cars or just ride so I had something left, luckily we had that caution, and I was hoping to see one a little sooner, but all-in-all the good Lord just said it was our night and luckily all things came together.”

Rice, who was looking for his second Crown Jewel victory of the season, finished 0.646 seconds behind Shirley.

“I felt it took 80 laps for my tires to come in where I could actually steer. I think that was my shot before that caution there. I just couldn’t get back into a rhythm once we had that caution it was like my right front cooled off and I couldn’t steer anymore. Hats off to Brian he did a heck of a job; he did what he had to do to win. He played the lapped traffic perfect. He could swing out on those straightaways where I had to kind of stay in the mud.”

Blair came from the 14th starting position to round out the Big River Steel Podium.

“I honestly think we were good enough to win. Josh never made a mistake on that bottom it was like I had a chain to his bumper for 100 laps. I thought I had a shot at him two or three times, but it was going to get hairy and probably was going to be contact, so I lifted and seen the next lap. Man, I love this place, it is a lot of fun. We weren’t real good last night, the track was little different tonight, so we changed a couple of things, so we are definitely headed in the right direction. I wish it would have been 130 laps.”

The winner’s Bob and Lisa Cullen-owned, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Thomason Express, Hoker Trucking, Allgaier Performance, Ted Brown’s Quality Paint and Body Shop, Slicker Graphics, Cheap Cars, J&J Gaming, and J&E Construction.

Completing the top ten were Frank Heckenast Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Jonathan Davenport, and Carson Ferguson.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Race Summary

47th Annual Jackson 100

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Brownstown Speedway | Brownstown, IN

Allstar Performance Time Trials

Fast Time Group A: Brody Smith | 13.730 seconds (overall)

Fast Time Group B: Josh Rice | 13.974 seconds

Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 4. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 5. 17SR-Brody Smith[1]; 6. 60-Dan Ebert[5]; 7. S21-Seth Daniels[9]; 8. 11C-Tyler Collins[8]; 9. D48-Derek Groomer[7]; 10. 17W-Lee Williams[10]

Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 3. 12J-Jason Jameson[8]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar[4]; 5. 21R-Colby Reed[9]; 6. 35-Dustin Linville[2]; 7. 93F-Carson Ferguson[5]; 8. 76S-Shelby Miles[6]; 9. JD3-Jack Dossey III[7]; 10. (DNS) 48J-Jug Wethington

Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[2]; 2. 11-Josh Rice[1]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 4. 111-Max Blair[4]; 5. 8-Dillon McCowan[5]; 6. 32-Chad Stapleton[7]; 7. 20-Tyler Neal[8]; 8. 18L-Trevor Landrum[6]; 9. 6-Clay Harris[10], 10. 1CJ-Justin Shaw[9]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 2. 15R-James Rice[2]; 3. 99-Devin Moran[4]; 4. 17SS-Brenden Smith[1]; 5. C7-Adam Stricker[6]; 6. 22F-Chris Ferguson[8]; 7. P3-Steve Peeden[7]; 8. 22X-Matt Boknecht[5]; 9. 23-Keegan Cox[9]

Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 60-Dan Ebert[3]; 2. 17SR-Brody Smith[1]; 3. 11C-Tyler Collins[7]; 4. 21R-Colby Reed[2]; 5. D48-Derek Groomer[9]; 6. 93F-Carson Ferguson[6]; 7. 17W-Lee Williams[11]; 8. S21-Seth Daniels[5]; 9. (DNS) 35-Dustin Linville; 10. (DNS) 76S-Shelby Miles; 11. (DNS) JD3-Jack Dossey III; 12. (DNS) 48J-Jug Wethington

UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (9 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 8-Dillon McCowan[1]; 2. 22F-Chris Ferguson[4]; 3. 32-Chad Stapleton[3]; 4. 18L-Trevor Landrum[7]; 5. P3-Steve Peeden[6]; 6. 20-Tyler Neal[5]; 7. 1CJ-Justin Shaw[9]; 8. 22X-Matt Boknecht[8]; 9. 6-Clay Harris[11]; 10. (DNS) C7-Adam Stricker; 11. (DNS) 23-Keegan Cox

47th Annual Jackson 100 | Feature Finish (100 Laps):

Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings

1 – 9 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $56,900

2 – 6 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $21,000

3 – 14 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $10,900

4 – 1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $9,300

5 – 12 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $8,300

6 – 3 – 99JR – Frank Heckenast Jr – Frankfort, IL – $6,000

7 – 4 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $5,800

8 – 5 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $5,000

9 – 10 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $3,800

10 – 24 – 93F – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $4,500

11 – 18 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $4,300

12 – 13 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $4,100

13 – 17 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $3,900

14 – 23 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $3,500

15 – 15 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – $2,400

16 – 2 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $3,200

17 – 22 – 32 – Chad Stapleton – Edinburgh, IN – $2,200

18 – 25 – D48 – Derek Groomer – Bloomington, IN – $2,100

19 – 11 – 12J – Jason Jameson – Lawrenceburg, IN – $2,000

20 – 7 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $2,900

21 – 19 – 17SR – Brody Smith – Dade City, FL – $2,000

22 – 20 – 22F – Chris Ferguson – Mt. Holly, NC – $2,000

23 – 16 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $2,900

24 – 8 – 15R – James Rice – Verona, KY – $2,000

25 – 21 – 11C – Tyler Collins – North Vernon, IN – $2,000

Race Statistics

Entrants: 39

Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.

MD3 Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 1); Kyle Bronson (Laps 2-23); Brian Shirley (Laps 24-100)

Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Brian Shirley

Wieland Feature Winner: Brian Shirley

Margin of Victory: 0.646 seconds

Hellraizer Jacks Cautions: Jason Jameson, Brody Smith, Chad Stapleton (initial start); Tyler Collins, Dan Ebert, Clay Harris (Lap 2); Derek Groomer (Lap 86)

MyRacePass Series Provisional: Clay Harris; Carson Ferguson

Fast Time Provisional: n/a

Emergency Provisionals: n/a

Track Provisional: Derek Groomer

Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Brian Shirley, Josh Rice, Max Blair

Penske Shocks Top 5: Brian Shirley, Josh Rice, Max Blair, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Devin Moran

Behrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Brian Shirley, Josh Rice, Max Blair

PEM 4th Place Feature: Ricky Thornton, Jr.

Diversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Devin Moran

Wilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Hudson O’Neal

Wehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Dillon McCowan

Velocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Dan Ebert

XS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Mike Marlar

Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Carson Ferguson (Advanced 14 positions)

MD3 Most Laps Led: Brian Shirley (77 Laps)

Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Josh Rice

Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Brandon Sheppard

O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Josh Rice

Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Frank Heckenast, Jr. | Lap 7 | 14.641 seconds

FK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Clay Harris

Victory Fuel Power Move of the Race: Max Blair

Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Martin

ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Race Engines

Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis

Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Hudson O’Neal | 14.0493 seconds

Time of Race: 36 minutes 35 seconds

Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:

Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Earnings

1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 6725 – $278,500

2 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 6705 – $265,500

3 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 6600 – $321,374

4 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 6230 – $252,425

5 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 6230 – $162,700

6 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 6125 – $164,025

7 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 5880 – $214,275

8 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 5800 – $166,700

9 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 5635 – $122,825

10 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 5410 – $105,975

11 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 5365 – $99,050

12 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 5345 – $92,175

13 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 5280 – $147,975

14 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – 5195 – $118,525

15 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 4640 – $66,700

16 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – 4290 – $53,125

17 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 3970 – $34,475

Big River Steel Top 5 Bonus Standings Presented by ARP ($100,000):

Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Gap

1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 210 – 0

2 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 205 – -5

3 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 195 – -15

4 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 190 – -20

5 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 170 – -40

Big River Steel 6th-15th Bonus Standings Presented by ARP ($25,000):

Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Gap

1 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 250 – 0

2 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 240 – -10

3 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 220 – -30

4 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 180 – -70

5 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – 175 – -75

6 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 165 – -85

7 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 160 – -90

8 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 150 – -100

9 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 130 – -120

Brian Shirley Breaks Through with Jackson 100 Win a Brownstown

Shirley scored his first win at Brownstown since a Summer Nationals victory in 2008.

Rice, who was looking for his second Crown Jewel victory of the season, finished 0.646 seconds behind Shirley.

Blair came from the 14th starting position to round out the Big River Steel Podium.

Completing the top ten were Frank Heckenast Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Jonathan Davenport, and Carson Ferguson.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Race Summary

47th Annual Jackson 100

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Brownstown Speedway | Brownstown, IN

Allstar Performance Time Trials

Fast Time Group A: Brody Smith | 13.730 seconds (overall)

Fast Time Group B: Josh Rice | 13.974 seconds

47th Annual Jackson 100 | Feature Finish (100 Laps):

Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings

1 – 9 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $56,900

2 – 6 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $21,000

3 – 14 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $10,900

4 – 1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $9,300

5 – 12 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $8,300

6 – 3 – 99JR – Frank Heckenast Jr – Frankfort, IL – $6,000

7 – 4 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $5,800

8 – 5 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $5,000

9 – 10 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $3,800

10 – 24 – 93F – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $4,500

11 – 18 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $4,300

12 – 13 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $4,100

13 – 17 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $3,900

14 – 23 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $3,500

15 – 15 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – $2,400

16 – 2 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $3,200

17 – 22 – 32 – Chad Stapleton – Edinburgh, IN – $2,200

18 – 25 – D48 – Derek Groomer – Bloomington, IN – $2,100

19 – 11 – 12J – Jason Jameson – Lawrenceburg, IN – $2,000

20 – 7 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $2,900

21 – 19 – 17SR – Brody Smith – Dade City, FL – $2,000

22 – 20 – 22F – Chris Ferguson – Mt. Holly, NC – $2,000

23 – 16 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $2,900

24 – 8 – 15R – James Rice – Verona, KY – $2,000

25 – 21 – 11C – Tyler Collins – North Vernon, IN – $2,000

Race Statistics

Entrants: 39

Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.

MD3 Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 1); Kyle Bronson (Laps 2-23); Brian Shirley (Laps 24-100)

Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Brian Shirley

Wieland Feature Winner: Brian Shirley

Margin of Victory: 0.646 seconds

Hellraizer Jacks Cautions: Jason Jameson, Brody Smith, Chad Stapleton (initial start); Tyler Collins, Dan Ebert, Clay Harris (Lap 2); Derek Groomer (Lap 86)

MyRacePass Series Provisional: Clay Harris; Carson Ferguson

Fast Time Provisional: n/a

Emergency Provisionals: n/a

Track Provisional: Derek Groomer

Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Brian Shirley, Josh Rice, Max Blair

Penske Shocks Top 5: Brian Shirley, Josh Rice, Max Blair, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Devin Moran

Behrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Brian Shirley, Josh Rice, Max Blair

PEM 4th Place Feature: Ricky Thornton, Jr.

Diversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Devin Moran

Wilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Hudson O’Neal

Wehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Dillon McCowan

Velocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Dan Ebert

XS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Mike Marlar

Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Carson Ferguson (Advanced 14 positions)

MD3 Most Laps Led: Brian Shirley (77 Laps)

Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Josh Rice

Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Brandon Sheppard

O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Josh Rice

Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Frank Heckenast, Jr. | Lap 7 | 14.641 seconds

FK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Clay Harris

Victory Fuel Power Move of the Race: Max Blair

Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Martin

ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Race Engines

Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis

Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Hudson O’Neal | 14.0493 seconds

Time of Race: 36 minutes 35 seconds

Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:

Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Earnings

1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 6725 – $278,500

2 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 6705 – $265,500

3 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 6600 – $321,374

4 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 6230 – $252,425

5 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 6230 – $162,700

6 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 6125 – $164,025

7 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 5880 – $214,275

8 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 5800 – $166,700

9 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 5635 – $122,825

10 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 5410 – $105,975

11 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 5365 – $99,050

12 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 5345 – $92,175

13 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 5280 – $147,975

14 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – 5195 – $118,525

15 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 4640 – $66,700

16 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – 4290 – $53,125

17 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 3970 – $34,475

Big River Steel Top 5 Bonus Standings Presented by ARP ($100,000):

Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Gap

1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 210 – 0

2 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 205 – -5

3 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 195 – -15

4 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 190 – -20

5 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 170 – -40

Big River Steel 6th-15th Bonus Standings Presented by ARP ($25,000):

Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Gap

1 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 250 – 0

2 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 240 – -10

3 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 220 – -30

4 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 180 – -70

5 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – 175 – -75

6 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 165 – -85

7 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 160 – -90

8 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 150 – -100

9 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 130 – -120

10 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 125 – -125

Uncategorized

HYDE LEAVES ROCKINGHAM FOCUSED ON ST. LOUIS AND NEXT COUNTDOWN RACE

September 28, 2026 ARP Trish

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (September 27, 2026) — Spencer Hyde, driver of the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car, has officially added the final new national event track to his NHRA resume. This weekend, he qualified in the No. 12 position at the inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock at Rockingham Dragway. The 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year highlighted one of his sponsors, The Caine Group, a local North Carolina company.

“I love it here in North Carolina, and I was fortunate enough to meet Jim and Janet Russell back at the fall Charlotte race last year,” said Hyde. “We got hooked up with them and put a deal together for Charlotte this year, and then they had so much fun they wanted to come back and do something for Rockingham too. We didn’t do a full car wrap for this event. We just did a tier-two level sponsorship, which was great. They wanted to continue to honor their late son Caine, who loved racing. I just wish we could perform better for them, but we’re happy that they’re here to support.”

Spencer Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will head to St. Louis looking to build Countdown momentum, photo credit Innovation Creative Experts

The NHRA is celebrating their 75^th anniversary this season, and a big part of what has made this year special is the addition of four new tracks hosting national events. Rockingham is the final new track on tour and is known for its grandstands. The left-side grandstands are built into a hill, and fans enter the track by looking down the grandstands at the dragstrip.

“The grandstands here were packed,” said Hyde. “I love the whole left side of the track, the big hill that the grandstands are carved out of. I think that’s the coolest thing. And even when the grandstands are full, the pits seem busy. There are people everywhere here. And from what I understand, a lot of these people showed up and bought tickets at the gate, which is really cool. So obviously, this is a hotbed for drag racing, and I hope we keep coming back here.”

Hyde’s best run of the weekend was his fourth and final qualifying pass on Saturday, a 3.976 second, 319.15 mph run that was enough to put him in the No. 12 spot against J.R. Todd on race day. In the first round, Todd grabbed a slight starting line advantage, and the only full-time Canadian driver in the Funny Car class could not catch up before the finish line stripe.

“We now head to St. Louis, to finish out this three-in-a-row stretch in the Countdown,” said Hyde. “We’re going to keep trying to make the Caine Group, Hyde Construction and OUTLAW Light Beer proud. There are four races left in our playoffs, and this Head Racing team will make every one of them count.”

Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will be back in NHRA competition next week at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals on October 2-4 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, just outside of St. Louis. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, October 2 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, October 3. The third race day of the 2026 Countdown to the Championship will be contested on Sunday. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Midwest Nationals visit nhra.com.

Qualifying Results – Funny Car
Q1: 4.4555, 192.88 mph; Qual. 10
Q2: 8.7520, 63.18 mph; Qual. 13
Q3: 4.0350, 306.12 mph; Qual. 12
Q4: 3.9763, 319.15 mph; Qual. 12
Bonus Points: 0

Race Results
First Round
J.R. Todd, Jupiter, Fla., DHL Toyota GR Supra, (0.0247), 3.9117 sec, 336.57 mph def. Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car, (0.0494), 4.4697 sec, 202.16 mph

Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings – Funny Car

HYDE LEAVES ROCKINGHAM FOCUSED ON ST. LOUIS AND NEXT COUNTDOWN RACE

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (September 27, 2026) — Spencer Hyde, driver of the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car, has officially added the final new national event track to his NHRA resume. This weekend, he qualified in the No. 12 position at the inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock at Rockingham Dragway. The 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year highlighted one of his sponsors, The Caine Group, a local North Carolina company.

“I love it here in North Carolina, and I was fortunate enough to meet Jim and Janet Russell back at the fall Charlotte race last year,” said Hyde. “We got hooked up with them and put a deal together for Charlotte this year, and then they had so much fun they wanted to come back and do something for Rockingham too. We didn’t do a full car wrap for this event. We just did a tier-two level sponsorship, which was great. They wanted to continue to honor their late son Caine, who loved racing. I just wish we could perform better for them, but we’re happy that they’re here to support.”

Spencer Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will head to St. Louis looking to build Countdown momentum, photo credit Innovation Creative Experts

The NHRA is celebrating their 75^th anniversary this season, and a big part of what has made this year special is the addition of four new tracks hosting national events. Rockingham is the final new track on tour and is known for its grandstands. The left-side grandstands are built into a hill, and fans enter the track by looking down the grandstands at the dragstrip.

“The grandstands here were packed,” said Hyde. “I love the whole left side of the track, the big hill that the grandstands are carved out of. I think that’s the coolest thing. And even when the grandstands are full, the pits seem busy. There are people everywhere here. And from what I understand, a lot of these people showed up and bought tickets at the gate, which is really cool. So obviously, this is a hotbed for drag racing, and I hope we keep coming back here.”

Hyde’s best run of the weekend was his fourth and final qualifying pass on Saturday, a 3.976 second, 319.15 mph run that was enough to put him in the No. 12 spot against J.R. Todd on race day. In the first round, Todd grabbed a slight starting line advantage, and the only full-time Canadian driver in the Funny Car class could not catch up before the finish line stripe.

“We now head to St. Louis, to finish out this three-in-a-row stretch in the Countdown,” said Hyde. “We’re going to keep trying to make the Caine Group, Hyde Construction and OUTLAW Light Beer proud. There are four races left in our playoffs, and this Head Racing team will make every one of them count.”

Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will be back in NHRA competition next week at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals on October 2-4 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, just outside of St. Louis. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, October 2 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, October 3. The third race day of the 2026 Countdown to the Championship will be contested on Sunday. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Midwest Nationals visit nhra.com.

Qualifying Results – Funny Car
Q1: 4.4555, 192.88 mph; Qual. 10
Q2: 8.7520, 63.18 mph; Qual. 13
Q3: 4.0350, 306.12 mph; Qual. 12
Q4: 3.9763, 319.15 mph; Qual. 12
Bonus Points: 0

Race Results
First Round
J.R. Todd, Jupiter, Fla., DHL Toyota GR Supra, (0.0247), 3.9117 sec, 336.57 mph def. Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car, (0.0494), 4.4697 sec, 202.16 mph

Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings – Funny Car

Matt Hagan, 2321
Jordan Vandergriff, 2237
J.R. Todd, 2215
Ron Capps, 2211
Jack Beckman, 2195
Austin Prock, 2177
Alexis DeJoria, 2151
Daniel Wilkerson, 2120
Chad Green, 2089
Spencer Hyde, 2065

ARP Racing News

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Brian Shirley Breaks Through with Jackson 100 Win a Brownstown

HYDE LEAVES ROCKINGHAM FOCUSED ON ST. LOUIS AND NEXT COUNTDOWN RACE

Spencer Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will head to St. Louis looking to build Countdown momentum, photo credit Innovation Creative Experts

HYDE LEAVES ROCKINGHAM FOCUSED ON ST. LOUIS AND NEXT COUNTDOWN RACE

Spencer Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will head to St. Louis looking to build Countdown momentum, photo credit Innovation Creative Experts

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