Wood Brothers Racing–Kansas Post Race

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

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.

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.

John Force Racing–Rockingham

RACE RECAP – ROCKINGHAM Race 16 of 20 
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
RACE RECAP – ROCKINGHAMRace 16 of 20 
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 17th 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.

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


MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet 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 ElliottChevrolet’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 AdvancesChevrolet 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 ElliottChevrolet’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.
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.”

CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: Podium & Points for TF Sport

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.
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!”
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.”

Double points finish for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA at Fuji 


September 27th 2026 – Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA secured a double points finish at the 6 Hours of Fuji, with the No.38 taking the checkered flag in P5 and the No.12 in P7. Qualifying for the 6 Hours of Fuji on Saturday had been cancelled due to poor visibility. As a result, the starting grid was determined by the combined fastest times from all free practice sessions. Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA lined up in P7 (No.38) and P10 (No.12). A chaotic and incident-filled race followed, with the VSC and safety car coming out and neutralising the race on a number of occasions. Despite overtaking being notoriously difficult around this track, both cars were able to make up positions throughout the race. By hour four, the No.38 had progressed to P4 and the No.12 was running in P9. With an hour to go, the No.12 received a drive through penalty, which had to be served immediately after the latest safety car period, resulting in the car dropping down the field. The No.38 also fell foul of the safety car period, having to stop for fuel and losing position. With 20 mins of the race to go, the race was restarted and both cars set about a final push to the finish. The No.38 took the checkered flag in P5 with the No.12 taking P7, securing further Championship points and closing the gap to third in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
 

Double points finish for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA at Fuji September 27th 2026 – Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA secured a double points finish at the 6 Hours of Fuji, with the No.38 taking the checkered flag in P5 and the No.12 in P7. Qualifying for the 6 Hours of Fuji on Saturday had been cancelled due to poor visibility. As a result, the starting grid was determined by the combined fastest times from all free practice sessions. Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA lined up in P7 (No.38) and P10 (No.12). A chaotic and incident-filled race followed, with the VSC and safety car coming out and neutralising the race on a number of occasions. Despite overtaking being notoriously difficult around this track, both cars were able to make up positions throughout the race. By hour four, the No.38 had progressed to P4 and the No.12 was running in P9. With an hour to go, the No.12 received a drive through penalty, which had to be served immediately after the latest safety car period, resulting in the car dropping down the field. The No.38 also fell foul of the safety car period, having to stop for fuel and losing position. With 20 mins of the race to go, the race was restarted and both cars set about a final push to the finish. The No.38 took the checkered flag in P5 with the No.12 taking P7, securing further Championship points and closing the gap to third in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
 
 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.

Brian Shirley Breaks Through with Jackson 100 Win a Brownstown

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

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

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

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 75th 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 75th 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

  1. Matt Hagan, 2321
  2. Jordan Vandergriff, 2237
  3. J.R. Todd, 2215
  4. Ron Capps, 2211
  5. Jack Beckman, 2195
  6. Austin Prock, 2177
  7. Alexis DeJoria, 2151
  8. Daniel Wilkerson, 2120
  9. Chad Green, 2089
  10. Spencer Hyde, 2065

BEACHSIDE BARNBURNER: Day Claims Wild World of Outlaws Ventura Debut

After a pair of runner-ups, the Clovis, CA native tops a three-leader thriller in his home state

VENTURA, CA (September 26, 2026) – Corey Day was tired of running second in his home state.

An off weekend from the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship chase allowed Day to return to his roots this week. The Clovis, CA native hooked up with the Jason Meyers Racing No. 14 team for a trio of World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races in the “Golden State.”

The first two led to Day being forced to settle for second. Carson Macedo slid by him late on Tuesday at Kings Speedway, and Donny Schatz held him off Friday at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

Day simply refused to fall a spot shy again on Saturday when the scene shifted to Ventura Raceway for the Toyota Racing Battle at the Beach presented by ARP as the Series made its highly anticipated debut at the Southern California 1/5 mile.

The 20-year-old faced a fierce battle for third with Bill Balog in the early going as the two traded the position and nearly made contact multiple times. Up front, Steven Snyder Jr. and Emerson Axsom gave the fans a show with a war of their own for the top spot. They swapped sliders and crossovers until Snyder Jr. finally secured the lead. A pivotal restart allowed Day to surge from fourth to second, and then one mistake on the cushion from Snyder Jr. was all it took. Day slid by the Three Stooges Racing No. 51 and held off late challenges from Bill Balog and Sheldon Haudenschild to head to Victory Lane.

“That was sick,” Day said. “It was awesome. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, and I’m sure no one else did, but that was phenomenal. That was one of the better races I’ve had this year and one of the better tracks we’ve gotten to race on. Hats off to the whole Ventura track crew. It’s a privilege to be able to race at a facility like this and to have a badass track like that to go with it is awesome.”

Day’s second World of Outlaws win of 2026 is the fifth of his career. He also became the eighth multi-time winner with The Greatest Show on Dirt this season. Add in his two consecutive Turkey Night Grand Prix triumphs with the USAC National Midgets, and Day is now on a three-race win streak at Ventura.

Sheldon Haudenschild rolled the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 18 up to second for his 25th podium of the season.

Bill Balog fought up front all race long and looked as if he may have a shot to win before ultimately rounding out the podium.

Emerson Axsom and Buddy Kofoid completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

Emerson Axsom laid down the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.

Corey Day set Simpson Quick Time and established a new track record in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Corey Day (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Steve Snyder Jr. (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), and Garet Williamson (WIX Filters Heat Three).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Emerson Axsom.

Steven Snyder Jr. topped the Toyota Dash.

Carson Macedo wheeled from 14th to seventh for his second consecutive KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

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

Emerson Axsom’s fourth-place effort made him the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.

Steven Snyder Jr. clocked the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

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

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars make the long haul east to Mechanicsburg, PA’s Williams Grove Speedway for the $75,000-to-win 64th J & S Classics National Open on Oct. 2-3. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 14-Corey Day[3]; 2. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[8]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog[4]; 4. 27-Emerson Axsom[2]; 5. 83-Michael Kofoid[6]; 6. 23-Garet Williamson[5]; 7. 41-Carson Macedo[14]; 8. 17-Spencer Bayston[10]; 9. 2-David Gravel[12]; 10. 7S-Chris Windom[7]; 11. 21-Dominic Scelzi[17]; 12. 24-Max Mittry[9]; 13. 51-Steven Snyder Jr[1]; 14. 2C-Cole Macedo[13]; 15. 15-Donny Schatz[15]; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart[16]; 17. 5K-Gauge Garcia[20]; 18. 0-Tim Kaeding[18]; 19. 73-Braden Chiaramonte[21]; 20. 16C-Skylar Gee[25]; 21. 6-Bryce Lucius[24]; 22. (DNF) 3-Kaleb Montgomery[22]; 23. (DNF) 88N-DJ Netto[19]; 24. (DNF) 28M-Conner Morrell[23]; 25. (DNF) 10-Dominic Gorden[11]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

BEACHSIDE BARNBURNER: Day Claims Wild World of Outlaws Ventura Debut

After a pair of runner-ups, the Clovis, CA native tops a three-leader thriller in his home state

VENTURA, CA (September 26, 2026) – Corey Day was tired of running second in his home state.

An off weekend from the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship chase allowed Day to return to his roots this week. The Clovis, CA native hooked up with the Jason Meyers Racing No. 14 team for a trio of World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races in the “Golden State.”

The first two led to Day being forced to settle for second. Carson Macedo slid by him late on Tuesday at Kings Speedway, and Donny Schatz held him off Friday at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

Day simply refused to fall a spot shy again on Saturday when the scene shifted to Ventura Raceway for the Toyota Racing Battle at the Beach presented by ARP as the Series made its highly anticipated debut at the Southern California 1/5 mile.

The 20-year-old faced a fierce battle for third with Bill Balog in the early going as the two traded the position and nearly made contact multiple times. Up front, Steven Snyder Jr. and Emerson Axsom gave the fans a show with a war of their own for the top spot. They swapped sliders and crossovers until Snyder Jr. finally secured the lead. A pivotal restart allowed Day to surge from fourth to second, and then one mistake on the cushion from Snyder Jr. was all it took. Day slid by the Three Stooges Racing No. 51 and held off late challenges from Bill Balog and Sheldon Haudenschild to head to Victory Lane.

“That was sick,” Day said. “It was awesome. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, and I’m sure no one else did, but that was phenomenal. That was one of the better races I’ve had this year and one of the better tracks we’ve gotten to race on. Hats off to the whole Ventura track crew. It’s a privilege to be able to race at a facility like this and to have a badass track like that to go with it is awesome.”

Day’s second World of Outlaws win of 2026 is the fifth of his career. He also became the eighth multi-time winner with The Greatest Show on Dirt this season. Add in his two consecutive Turkey Night Grand Prix triumphs with the USAC National Midgets, and Day is now on a three-race win streak at Ventura.

Sheldon Haudenschild rolled the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 18 up to second for his 25th podium of the season.

Bill Balog fought up front all race long and looked as if he may have a shot to win before ultimately rounding out the podium.

Emerson Axsom and Buddy Kofoid completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

Emerson Axsom laid down the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.

Corey Day set Simpson Quick Time and established a new track record in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Corey Day (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Steve Snyder Jr. (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), and Garet Williamson (WIX Filters Heat Three).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Emerson Axsom.

Steven Snyder Jr. topped the Toyota Dash.

Carson Macedo wheeled from 14th to seventh for his second consecutive KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

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

Emerson Axsom’s fourth-place effort made him the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.

Steven Snyder Jr. clocked the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

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

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars make the long haul east to Mechanicsburg, PA’s Williams Grove Speedway for the $75,000-to-win 64th J & S Classics National Open on Oct. 2-3. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 14-Corey Day[3]; 2. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[8]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog[4]; 4. 27-Emerson Axsom[2]; 5. 83-Michael Kofoid[6]; 6. 23-Garet Williamson[5]; 7. 41-Carson Macedo[14]; 8. 17-Spencer Bayston[10]; 9. 2-David Gravel[12]; 10. 7S-Chris Windom[7]; 11. 21-Dominic Scelzi[17]; 12. 24-Max Mittry[9]; 13. 51-Steven Snyder Jr[1]; 14. 2C-Cole Macedo[13]; 15. 15-Donny Schatz[15]; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart[16]; 17. 5K-Gauge Garcia[20]; 18. 0-Tim Kaeding[18]; 19. 73-Braden Chiaramonte[21]; 20. 16C-Skylar Gee[25]; 21. 6-Bryce Lucius[24]; 22. (DNF) 3-Kaleb Montgomery[22]; 23. (DNF) 88N-DJ Netto[19]; 24. (DNF) 28M-Conner Morrell[23]; 25. (DNF) 10-Dominic Gorden[11]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/beachside-barnburner-day-claims-wild-world-of-outlaws-ventura-debut/

Hoffman Completes Weekend Sweep at I-55 With $20,000 Saturday Score

PEVELY, MO (September 26, 2026) – The driver who grew up in the shadow of the arch is now the King of the Arch.

Nick Hoffman was on a rail on Friday night at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park, and he didn’t miss a beat in the second half of the weekend doubleheader on Saturday.

From fourth in the starting order, Hoffman needed a few more laps than he did on Friday to find his way to the front. Out front, it was a race between Dallon Murty up high and Jason Feger down low in the opening laps, with Murty pulling away for the early advantage.

While hugging the wall the same way he did on Friday, Hoffman picked off Feger for second with eight laps on the board. Six circuits later, Hoffman had caught Murty when the slower car of Kayden Clatt on the cushion forced Murty to get off the top and down to the same lane as Hoffman.

With Hoffman’s line suddenly impeded, he had to move up a lane to make the pass for the lead. A strong run through the middle of Turns 3 and 4 gave Hoffman enough momentum to clear Murty for the lead on Lap 18, moving into the spot that he never relinquished the rest of the way.

That didn’t mean Hoffman went unchallenged late in the race, however. Feger got back around Murty for second with 25 laps remaining, and inside of 10 to go, he was on Hoffman’s back bumper. A caution for Logan Zarin spun backwards in Turn 3 set up a three-lap sprint to the finish, which Hoffman came out on top of for his eighth win of the season with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.

“Jason’s one of my buddies and it’s fun racing with him,” Hoffman said. “That’s a hell of a run for them guys, too. I seen him peeking down there and I knew I had to get back in line just to defend. So, I had to turn left down the front straightaway and block. I was really happy that [Rickey] Frankel turned the No. 1Z around there, because I wanted to get reracked there. I felt like I was in trouble there if he could have got the middle rolling. It just worked out for me.”

Feger settled for second ahead of Drake Troutman, who knocked his deck out pounding the cushion on the last restart climbing up to third. Dallon Murty reset his World of Outlaws career best in fourth, while Bobby Pierce recovered from a spin earlier in the race to finish fifth.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision travels south to Boothill Speedway for the Bayou Classic on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 2-3. Tickets will be available at the gate.

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

RACE NOTES:

Nick Hoffman set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Trey Mills won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Trey Mills won Heat 1.

Jason Feger won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Dallon Murty won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Nick Hoffman won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Chase Junghans and Kayden Clatt won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Jason Feger won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Tristan Chamberlain won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Trey Mills won the MD3 Rookie of the Race Award.

Jason Feger was the Air National Guard Second-Place Finisher.

Drake Troutman was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Dallon Murty was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Bobby Pierce was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Dustin Sorensen was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Trey Mills was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Ryan Gustin was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Tyler Erb was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Dennis Erb Jr. was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Daulton Wilson was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Gordy Gundaker was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Brent Larson was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Logan Zarin was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (55 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 2. 25-Jason Feger[1]; 3. 5-Drake Troutman[10]; 4. 13-Dallon Murty[2]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce[13]; 6. 19-Dustin Sorensen[12]; 7. 14-Trey Mills[3]; 8. 19R-Ryan Gustin[5]; 9. 9M-Tim McCreadie[7]; 10. 1-Tyler Erb[14]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[16]; 12. 58V-Daulton Wilson[9]; 13. 11-Gordy Gundaker[11]; 14. B1-Brent Larson[15]; 15. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[24]; 16. 09-Michael Leach[6]; 17. 33-Rickey Frankel[19]; 18. 1Z-Logan Zarin[21]; 19. 18J-Chase Junghans[17]; 20. 74X-Ethan Dotson[23]; 21. 33H-Wil Herrington[8]; 22. 18-Shannon Babb[20]; 23. 55E-Eli Johnson[25]; 24. 10J-Jordan Bauer[22]; 25. 50-Kayden Clatt[18]

Hoffman Completes Weekend Sweep at I-55 With $20,000 Saturday Score

PEVELY, MO (September 26, 2026) – The driver who grew up in the shadow of the arch is now the King of the Arch.

Nick Hoffman was on a rail on Friday night at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park, and he didn’t miss a beat in the second half of the weekend doubleheader on Saturday.

From fourth in the starting order, Hoffman needed a few more laps than he did on Friday to find his way to the front. Out front, it was a race between Dallon Murty up high and Jason Feger down low in the opening laps, with Murty pulling away for the early advantage.

While hugging the wall the same way he did on Friday, Hoffman picked off Feger for second with eight laps on the board. Six circuits later, Hoffman had caught Murty when the slower car of Kayden Clatt on the cushion forced Murty to get off the top and down to the same lane as Hoffman.

With Hoffman’s line suddenly impeded, he had to move up a lane to make the pass for the lead. A strong run through the middle of Turns 3 and 4 gave Hoffman enough momentum to clear Murty for the lead on Lap 18, moving into the spot that he never relinquished the rest of the way.

That didn’t mean Hoffman went unchallenged late in the race, however. Feger got back around Murty for second with 25 laps remaining, and inside of 10 to go, he was on Hoffman’s back bumper. A caution for Logan Zarin spun backwards in Turn 3 set up a three-lap sprint to the finish, which Hoffman came out on top of for his eighth win of the season with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.

“Jason’s one of my buddies and it’s fun racing with him,” Hoffman said. “That’s a hell of a run for them guys, too. I seen him peeking down there and I knew I had to get back in line just to defend. So, I had to turn left down the front straightaway and block. I was really happy that [Rickey] Frankel turned the No. 1Z around there, because I wanted to get reracked there. I felt like I was in trouble there if he could have got the middle rolling. It just worked out for me.”

Feger settled for second ahead of Drake Troutman, who knocked his deck out pounding the cushion on the last restart climbing up to third. Dallon Murty reset his World of Outlaws career best in fourth, while Bobby Pierce recovered from a spin earlier in the race to finish fifth.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision travels south to Boothill Speedway for the Bayou Classic on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 2-3. Tickets will be available at the gate.

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

RACE NOTES:

Nick Hoffman set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Trey Mills won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Trey Mills won Heat 1.

Jason Feger won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Dallon Murty won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Nick Hoffman won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Chase Junghans and Kayden Clatt won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Jason Feger won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Tristan Chamberlain won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Trey Mills won the MD3 Rookie of the Race Award.

Jason Feger was the Air National Guard Second-Place Finisher.

Drake Troutman was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Dallon Murty was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Bobby Pierce was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Dustin Sorensen was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Trey Mills was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Ryan Gustin was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Tyler Erb was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Dennis Erb Jr. was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Daulton Wilson was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Gordy Gundaker was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Brent Larson was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Logan Zarin was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (55 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 2. 25-Jason Feger[1]; 3. 5-Drake Troutman[10]; 4. 13-Dallon Murty[2]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce[13]; 6. 19-Dustin Sorensen[12]; 7. 14-Trey Mills[3]; 8. 19R-Ryan Gustin[5]; 9. 9M-Tim McCreadie[7]; 10. 1-Tyler Erb[14]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[16]; 12. 58V-Daulton Wilson[9]; 13. 11-Gordy Gundaker[11]; 14. B1-Brent Larson[15]; 15. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[24]; 16. 09-Michael Leach[6]; 17. 33-Rickey Frankel[19]; 18. 1Z-Logan Zarin[21]; 19. 18J-Chase Junghans[17]; 20. 74X-Ethan Dotson[23]; 21. 33H-Wil Herrington[8]; 22. 18-Shannon Babb[20]; 23. 55E-Eli Johnson[25]; 24. 10J-Jordan Bauer[22]; 25. 50-Kayden Clatt[18]

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/hoffman-completes-weekend-sweep-at-i-55-with-20000-saturday-score/

John Force Racing–Saturday recap

SATURDAY RECAP – ROCKINGHAM Race 16 of 20 
Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase
STRONG SATURDAY FOR JFR AT THE ROCKAll four teams move up the qualifying ladder for Sunday’s eliminations
SATURDAY RECAP – ROCKINGHAMRace 16 of 20 
Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase
STRONG SATURDAY FOR JFR AT THE ROCKAll four teams move up the qualifying ladder for Sunday’s eliminations
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (Sept. 26, 2026) – A clear and sunny day with temperatures barely reaching 80 degrees allowed John Force Racing’s four teams to improve on their performances in the final two qualifying sessions in preparation for the first round of the inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock at Rockingham Dragway.   Alexis DeJoria and the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car team rebounded nicely from Friday’s first two qualifying attempts, setting low elapsed time in both of Saturday’s. The Bandero Café tripped the lights in the first session with a run of 3.892 seconds at 334.82 mph and followed it up with a final run of 3.924 seconds at 331.86 mph. The No. 2 qualifier will face No. 15 qualifier John Smith (4.205 seconds at 251.68 mph) in Round 1. Jack Beckman and the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet SS Funny Car team ran identical 3.911-second passes in Friday’s qualifying sessions, which qualified the team in the No. 4 spot. They pushed a bit too hard in Saturday’s first qualifying session but rallied with a 3.926-second run at 327.51 mph in the final session. Beckman will face No. 13 qualifier Daniel Wilkerson (3.982 seconds at 325.85 mph) in Round 1. Josh Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel team clicked off a rock solid 3.744-second run at 334.32 mph in the first qualifying session Saturday to move into the No. 5 position and overpowered the track in the fourth and final session. Hart will face No. 12 qualifier Will Smith (3.786 seconds at 330.40 mph) in Round 1. Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team struggled in the first three qualifying sessions so, in Sunday’s final session, the Funny Car rookie kept his foot on the accelerator pedal despite the car making significant moves left and right as it approached the finish line. The move paid off with a run of 3. 970 seconds at 276.07 mph, earning the No. 11 qualifying position. Vandergriff will face No. 6 qualifier Chad Green (3.920 seconds at 327.27 mph) in Round 1. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 27. Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car: “This Bandero Cafe Chevy SS nitro Funny Car team made Saturday ours. I knew we could do it. Neff, Jonnie, all our guys have what it takes. We watched our teammate, Jack Beckman, go down the track the pair in front of us and we backed him up with our run. We earned six bonus points today, we’re the No. 2 qualifier going in tomorrow and we don’t have to race Jordan first round, so that’s another plus. I’m gonna sleep a lot better tonight.” Quote from Jack Beckman, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet SS Funny Car: “The HendrickCars.com Chevy ran two 3.91s and a 3.92 in pretty different conditions during our four qualifying runs. The 3.91 was low in Q1 and that 3.91 in Q2 was third low of the session and wasn’t anywhere close to what we were shooting for. But we learned on that run that this track was better than we gave it credit for. We pushed too hard in Q3 and smoked the tires but, in Q4, we were right there, just two thousandths of a second off low ET. I think that Q3 run, where we push too hard, might be the one that helps us tune to win the race tomorrow. Sometimes the ones that don’t look perfect are the ones that tell us what we need to do or how far we can go.” Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster: “I feel good about how our Speedmaster car is running and weather conditions will be similar tomorrow. Grubnic called his shot in Q3 like we did at the beginning of the season and it went right down Broadway like we expected. Before Q4, he told me we ‘We’re going to try something but I may not get away with it.’ I like that type of communication. It means a lot to me as a driver so I can plan my mindset when I go up there. It’s been a very, very good day so I’m confident about tomorrow. We’ll just focus on one pass at a time and turn on four win lights.” Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car: “It was an eventful qualifying session for the Cornwell Quality Tools Chevy team. I think I held it a little long on that Q4 run because I knew we needed to make a full pass but it got to a point where I had to come out of it because it got too sideways. Maybe it was my fault, maybe it was the track. Whatever the case, it was still a 3.97 with an early shut off so we’re feeling really good about tomorrow.” TV Schedule Television coverage on Sun., Sept. 27, includes qualifying on FS1 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET before eliminations action at from 3 – 6 p.m. ET on FS1. 

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Kansas–Kyle Larson

NASCAR Cup Series Kansas Speedway Team Chevy Driver Quotes September 26, 2026
 


Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Kansas Speedway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom
NASCAR Cup SeriesKansas SpeedwayTeam Chevy Driver QuotesSeptember 26, 2026
 


Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Kansas Speedway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes: 

There was a lot of talk before The Chase started that there might be a different feeling when it comes to pressure with no eliminations. I’m curious, has it felt much different than a year ago?“Well, we’re only three races in, which was a round in the past, so we’ll see as it builds deeper into The Chase. I can definitely see how the pressure just lingers longer. I feel like in the previous format, you would have a lot of pressure, for sure, but then you would get a reset and a deep breath. There’s no reset or deep breath here, so you have to keep plugging away and really focus on executing good, solid races. I would say it’s been equal pressure to this point and it’s going to continue to build, especially if you’re in the hunt.”   Is it surprising and/or frustrating to see a guy like Carson Hocevar, who doesn’t seem to have the greatest respect from the other drivers, get so much love from fans?“No, because he’s different than all of us. He acts different, talks different, dresses different. He’s just different. I think that’s refreshing for fans. He drives more aggressive and willing to do crazier things than the rest of us probably are. No, I mean, it’s not frustrating at all on that aspect. I’m not jealous of any exposure he’s getting from it because he’s doing a good job with it. He’s just different and people like different. You have to keep your eye on him when you’re on the racetrack, but as a fan, I can see why he’s likable in that aspect.”   I’s been nearly three months since the last mile-and-a-half track. How fair is it to expect the Toyota’s to still be the ones to beat this weekend?“We’ll see, but I’m looking at it as — yeah, they’ll for sure be the ones to beat. I just felt like they were always a large step ahead of everybody on the mile-and-a-half stuff, so even if that gap has closed, I don’t expect us to have surpassed them on speed. But we’ll see . These three tracks are good for us, as well, and I felt like we were the next best to the Toyota’s at these three earlier in the year. Maybe not Vegas, but at least here and at Charlotte, from what I remember. Hopefully, we’ve closed the gap a lot. I definitely think we’ve probably closed it some, but they were really, really good, even dating back to last year.”   From your standpoint, does a one-point lead really mean anything different from, say, if it was a one-point deficit in the sense that, hey, we’re there now and now we just need to hold it? Do you feel a sense of adrenaline knowing that you’re there at least?“Well, I would always rather be one point ahead than one point behind. But even going back to after the win, I think we were nine points back, and I was like, okay, we’re there… we have a shot. If we can just keep having good finishes, we’ll get the points lead and all that. Now that you’re leading, nothing really changes, other than you’d like to not fall back. But even if you do, you still have time to make up for it. We’ll just keep plugging away. I’ve been really happy with the speed and, especially, the execution in these first three. I think they’ve gone pretty flawless for our team Now we have some tracks that we probably are even more confident at than the first three, outside of Bristol. But yeah, it’s just tough. It’s a lot of racing, a lot of tough competitors, and just a tough, tough series.”   So much was made during the offseason and during the process of landing on this postseason format. Do you think that three weeks in, the sample size is small, but this format is rewarding the things that it should to create an eventual champion come Homestead?“There’s not ever going to be a perfect format that I think that everybody in the world will agree on, but I think this has definitely been a much better format for crowning a –every champion is deserving, but crowning a deserving champion. I think now that we’ve been into it — I don’t know if it was you or somebody else a few weeks ago asked about stage points, I feel like stage points feel even more important than they’ve ever been, which you can argue is a good thing or a not so great thing. And, you know, we’ve scored the most stage points all year, I believe, now. But I feel like, if you really want to talk about I guess consistency, you can say, yeah, you need to be consistent all race. But I feel for the guys like Ryan Preece. He’s put together a really, really solid Chase to this point, yet he’s still maybe over 100 points out because he hasn’t been able to score hardly any stage points. If we didn’t have stage points, I bet he’d be three to five positions ahead of where he’s at in points right now. So, yeah, that’s the only thing I would look at being different, maybe.”  Before The Chase started, there was this invisible line that teams wanted to hit of being fifth or higher in points. Now, three races into The Chase, we have three drivers in the top-four who started outside the top-five in The Chase points. Do you feel that there will be a different viewpoint next season where you should stack up prior to The Chase? And did you think your climb through three races was going to happen this fast?“I would say I looked at our 55-point deficit as, not that we were out of winning the championship in any form, but I definitely did not think that was a deficit that we could overcome in two races. That’s what I’ve realized is that the points can swing a ton in this format, especially if you win. I look at (Ryan) Blaney for having two DNF’s and he’s in the 40s or something behind us, and in two races, he could be leading the points if he gets a win. Not even two wins, he could just take one win and good stage points and he could be leading. So, yeah, I think with seven races left, if you’re 80-something or more points back, you still have a shot, the way I look at it with this format and wins being so much more important. That part of it’s been nice.”   Kyle, how does this track challenge you? “Yeah, I don’t know. It’s not the most challenging mile-and-a-half, but it’s really kind of fast-paced, I feel like. It can change time to time here, depending on which way the wind is blowing. I feel like this place is really wind sensitive, depending on which direction it’s blowing. So that’s something that I always try to pay attention to when I’m here because it can affect your balance significantly. Restarts are crazy, as always, but here especially. It’s a pretty straightforward kind of mile-and-a-race, but one where if you don’t execute and you get yourself buried, it’s hard to overcome that track position.”   What’s crazier about the restarts than anywhere else?“I wouldn’t pinpoint this as the craziest, but just like every track, even if it doesn’t fit four wide, we’re going to try. Often you see people four wide, middle of the pack, or fanning out to everywhere because you need clean air. It’s fun because you feel like you have an opportunity every restart.”   It’s been a bit of a slower year for Hendrick Motorsports, compared to their normal traditional numbers. Despite that you still find yourself first in the point standing, does that mean something to you a little bit more than it traditionally would have been in the year that you might be a little bit down or a little bit, not as much in victory lane as you normally are, but yet you’re still ahead in the field?“Well, I just think it really, in a way, just shows the resilience of Hendrick Motorsports. I think it’d be easy, as an organization, to get down and, not give up, but lose hope a little bit. But I feel like at HMS, nobody ever lost hope. You know, it’s a long season and we all kind of felt like if we keep working hard, eventually it would turn around. We’re still not to where we want to be, but it is nice to say that a Hendrick Motorsports car has led the points at some point of the year, just for how challenging it’s been. So, yeah, now it’s just about keeping it up there and giving ourselves a chance as we approach the end of The Chase. I’ve been very, very proud of not only our 5 team, but every man and woman at Hendrick Motorsports. As you said, it’s been a tough year, but nobody’s slowed down.”  You mentioned the Toyota’s and the speed they had earlier. But Cliff (Daniels) and your team have been aggressive throughout The Chase and it’s panned out for the most part. Do you feel that if the Toyota’s are fast again, you guys are going to have to find a way to be aggressive to find another way to beat them in terms of strategy?“Yeah, that’s a good question. I don’t know. I guess, yeah, we have been aggressive when you look at it with strategy calls; staying out at Darlington, getting a little bit off sequence at Gateway, and then staying out at Bristol last week. I didn’t even really think about it like that, but we’ll see. You don’t really know what the race calls for on Saturday’s, so we’ll see. Once you get in the race, you kind of see where your speed’s at, what position you’re in and things. And then, you can get an idea on what you want your strategy plan to be if a caution comes out on a certain lap. Again, I feel like our team has just executed great in these first three race. Our pit crew has been solid. The strategy’s been solid. The car’s been solid. I feel like I’ve done a good job behind the wheel. Our spotter’s been great. We just have to stay focused, locked in and keep going.”  What are you able to take from a practice session this early? I know the temperature differences may not be as different as a typical weekend, but is there much you’re able to work on?“Yeah, you try not to pay attention to the lap time as much, but just more so feel your car and feel its balance. That can always be a little bit different, as well, once you get to Sunday with the race starting later and it being a little bit hotter. But you can still get some sense of your balance. And then, yeah, you just try to focus on qualifying; what that balance you feel in practice and what you need for qualifying. Also, what the lines feel like because I feel like it’s always changing, for sure, with the grip level on the track and what parts of the track feel grippier than others. So, yeah, you just try to learn that here in practice. And also, not over-read anything, I think, is good.”  Through the first three races, 13 Chase drivers have been involved in incidents. Last year, through the first three races of the Playoffs, only six drivers were involved in incidents. Do you feel like that’s the level of aggressiveness of The Chase that’s made drivers more aggressive?“Yeah, I’m not sure. I mean, at Gateway, there was just a lot of brake failures, so I think that can kind of sway those stats a little bit. I’m just trying to think of Darlington and Bristol, I don’t know. I don’t really remember who got involved in anything in those races. Obviously, you know, the Blaney thing was unique, as well.  But I’m not sure. I don’t really feel like the racing has been any different all year. I feel like we’re always aggressive, and you’re going for every position that you can, while being smart about it. So yeah, it’s probably just coincidence, I’m guessing, but I don’t know.”  Starting here at Kansas, we head into a stretch of three mile-and-a-half intermediate ovals. How important is it to find speed here tomorrow when setting up success for the next few weeks?“Yeah, I mean, with three mile-and-a-halves, we’d love to come here and be solid and have speed because I think that will give you more confidence as you go to Vegas and Charlotte. But, I mean, the cars haven’t changed, really, so if you were good there the previous time, you’re probably going to be pretty good when you go back again. We were good here. Just good, not great, at these next three, but I think we’ll be better. So, yeah, just show up and see what you got.” 

TURNING BACK TIME: Schatz Rips Bakersfield Cushion to Victory Lane

The 10-time champion fends off one of the sport’s top young stars for his second win of the season

BAKERSFIELD, CA (September 25, 2026) – Donny Schatz looked 49 years young on Friday night.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series rolled into Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway amid a California swing that’s been controlled by California drivers and cars.

First it was James McFadden taking the Fresno, CA-based Tarlton Motorsports to Victory Lane at Stockton. Aromas, CA’s Justin Sanders pocketed $83,000 the next night in the Dennis Roth Classic finale. Then Lemoore, CA’s Carson Macedo was the hometown hero on Tuesday at Kings Speedway.

But Fargo, ND’s Donny Schatz crashed the California party.

Schatz turned back the clock in “Bako.” The 10-time Series champion got his elbows up on a tricky cushion to rip from fifth to second. Heartbreaking mechanical woes for Michael “Buddy” Kofoid while leading handed Schatz the top spot, but the job was far from done. Behind Schatz sat Clovis, CA’s Corey Day enjoying an off weekend from the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series to return to his roots. Few are better at hammering the top than Day, but Schatz fended off several challenges from the 20-year-old gasser to take the CJB Motorsports No. 15 to Victory Lane.

“He (Day) threw everything at me,” Schatz said. “I had to do the same thing in return. He was going for it. He’s obviously one of the best racers in the country. First race I’ve finished all week, and it was a win. Awesome for these guys, man. I’ve caused so many bent parts. It’s been a hell of a week. We were hanging out at Brent Kaeding’s, kind of where I started when I first came out to California. Brent kind of took me under his wing and kind of did that again this week to help us get through. I appreciate their help.”

Schatz is up to 318 career World of Outlaws victories, and Friday marked his second since joining CJB Motorsports. It was his first in the state of California since a 2017 Calistoga triumph. Bakersfield became the seventh different “Golden State” facility where he’s won, joining Silver Dollar Speedway, Calistoga Speedway, Thunderbowl Speedway, Stockton Dirt Track, Kings Speedway, and Placerville Speedway. Bakersfield is also the 91st different overall track where Schatz has grabbed a checkered flag with The Greatest Show on Dirt.

Corey Day collected his second straight runner-up finish in his home state aboard the Jason Meyers Racing No. 14.

Chris Windom was impressive all night in the Sides Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink No. 7S to finish third and bring home his third podium of the season.

Spencer Bayston and Emerson Axsom completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

Bill Balog clocked the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.

Corey Day set Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Corey Day (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Skylar Gee (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), and Buddy Kofoid (WIX Filters Heat Three).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Buddy Kofoid.

Kofoid also topped the Toyota Dash.

Carson Macedo wheeled from 22nd to 10th 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 laid down the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

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

TURNING BACK TIME: Schatz Rips Bakersfield Cushion to Victory Lane

The 10-time champion fends off one of the sport’s top young stars for his second win of the season

BAKERSFIELD, CA (September 25, 2026) – Donny Schatz looked 49 years young on Friday night.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series rolled into Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway amid a California swing that’s been controlled by California drivers and cars.

First it was James McFadden taking the Fresno, CA-based Tarlton Motorsports to Victory Lane at Stockton. Aromas, CA’s Justin Sanders pocketed $83,000 the next night in the Dennis Roth Classic finale. Then Lemoore, CA’s Carson Macedo was the hometown hero on Tuesday at Kings Speedway.

But Fargo, ND’s Donny Schatz crashed the California party.

Schatz turned back the clock in “Bako.” The 10-time Series champion got his elbows up on a tricky cushion to rip from fifth to second. Heartbreaking mechanical woes for Michael “Buddy” Kofoid while leading handed Schatz the top spot, but the job was far from done. Behind Schatz sat Clovis, CA’s Corey Day enjoying an off weekend from the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series to return to his roots. Few are better at hammering the top than Day, but Schatz fended off several challenges from the 20-year-old gasser to take the CJB Motorsports No. 15 to Victory Lane.

“He (Day) threw everything at me,” Schatz said. “I had to do the same thing in return. He was going for it. He’s obviously one of the best racers in the country. First race I’ve finished all week, and it was a win. Awesome for these guys, man. I’ve caused so many bent parts. It’s been a hell of a week. We were hanging out at Brent Kaeding’s, kind of where I started when I first came out to California. Brent kind of took me under his wing and kind of did that again this week to help us get through. I appreciate their help.”

Schatz is up to 318 career World of Outlaws victories, and Friday marked his second since joining CJB Motorsports. It was his first in the state of California since a 2017 Calistoga triumph. Bakersfield became the seventh different “Golden State” facility where he’s won, joining Silver Dollar Speedway, Calistoga Speedway, Thunderbowl Speedway, Stockton Dirt Track, Kings Speedway, and Placerville Speedway. Bakersfield is also the 91st different overall track where Schatz has grabbed a checkered flag with The Greatest Show on Dirt.

Corey Day collected his second straight runner-up finish in his home state aboard the Jason Meyers Racing No. 14.

Chris Windom was impressive all night in the Sides Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink No. 7S to finish third and bring home his third podium of the season.

Spencer Bayston and Emerson Axsom completed the top five.

NIGHTLY NOTES

Bill Balog clocked the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.

Corey Day set Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Corey Day (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Skylar Gee (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), and Buddy Kofoid (WIX Filters Heat Three).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Buddy Kofoid.

Kofoid also topped the Toyota Dash.

Carson Macedo wheeled from 22nd to 10th 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 laid down the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.

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

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars close out the California swing with the Series debut at Ventura Raceway for the Toyota Racing Battle at the Beach presented by ARP on Saturday, Sept. 26. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

Perfect Night: Ryan Timms Dominates for First-Career Eldora Victory with High Limit

PERFECT NIGHT: Ryan Timms Dominates for First-Career Eldora Victory with High Limit
Liebig Motorsports #10 Team Records Perfect Night in BeFour the Crowns Showdown
ROSSBURG, OHIO. (September 25, 2026) – To this day, Ryan Timms vividly remembers how intimidated he felt during the 2022 4-Crown Nationals – when he made his first laps around the daunting Eldora Speedway. Fast forward four years to the same event on Friday night, and the now 20-year-old scored his first win at the iconic facility – a win that he claimed as one of the most special of his career.
Making his 21st attempt at the Rossburg, Ohio half-mile, Timms’ record at “The Big E” was less than ideal and he’d be the first to tell you. He did had have a few solid runs with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets, but he had only recorded one single top-10 finish in his first 17 winged attempts at the track.
That all changed during the Night BeFour the Crowns Showdown, though, as Timms and his Liebig Motorsports #10 team absolutely dominated from start-to-finish of the night. In fact, they were quite literally perfect by topping Capitol Renegade Qualifying, going fourth-to-first in TJ Forged Heat 1, winning the FK Rod Ends Dash from the pole, and then leading all 25 laps of the Interstate Batteries A-Main for a $12,000 score.
For the 20-year-old Oklahoma City, Oklahoma native, it was his 17th overall score of the 2026 season with half-mile wins at iconic venues such as Knoxville, Port Royal, Sedalia, and now Eldora. The win marked his second Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing win this month and the third of his young career.
Following Timms for all 25 laps on Friday was outside pole sitter Giovanni Scelzi, who settled for second-place honors in the Chili’s Grill & Bar #77 with his Spire Motorsports boss Jeff Dickerson in the house. With only six series events left in 2026, they’ve cut the gap down to 14pts behind Reutzel/RSR in the battle for a championship runner-up in their first High Limit season.
In the third position with his second-career Eldora podium was Tanner Holmes in the Buch Motorsports #13. He and crew chief Sean Strausbaugh continue to click together – earning top-five finishes in California, Washington, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Ohio within the last month.
Brady Bacon, after finishing second on Thursday with the USAC Sprint Cars and then qualifying third on Friday with USAC Silver Crown, drove the Vermeer Motorsports #55 to his best effort yet with a P4 finish in High Limit action. He took the final lock-in to Saturday’s Heat Races at the 4-Crown Nationals.
Closing out the top-10 at the Night BeFour the Crowns Showdown was Tyler Courtney in the NOS Energy Drink #7BC, Aaron Reutzel in the PowerPlus #87, Rico Abreu in the Carquest Auto Parts #24, Kasey Kahne in the LiUNA #4, Daison Pursley in the NAPA Auto Parts #9, and Chase Randall in the Bush’s Chicken #9R.
THE ALL-IN NOTEBOOK (Friday, September 25, 2026)Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio)The Night BeFour the Crowns Showdown
Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps – Tyler Courtney (13.099)Capitol Custom Trailers QuickTime (Flight A) – Ryan Timms (13.019)Capitol Custom Trailers QuickTime (Flight B) – Tyler Courtney (13.076)TJ Forged Heat One Winner – Ryan TimmsDMI Heat Two Winner – Giovanni ScelziBR Motorsports Heat Three Winner – Cameron SmithRod End Supply Heat Four Winner – Rico AbreuFK Rod Ends Dash Winner – Ryan TimmsWinters Performance B-Main Winner – Kalib HenryDURST Dice Roll Driver – Rico Abreu (7th-to-7th)Jake’s Golf Carts Fastest Lap – Ryan Timms (14.381 on Lap 5)Rod End Supply Hard Charger – Chase Randall +12 (22nd-to-10th)Whiskey Meyers Victory Lane Visitors – Liebig Motorsports #10 (2nd of year)CASM Win Sticker – Ryan Timms (3rd of career)Lap Leader(s) – Ryan Timms 1-25
Interstate Batteries A-Main Results (25 Laps): 1. 10-Ryan Timms[1]; 2. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[2]; 3. 13-Tanner Holmes[3]; 4. 55-Brady Bacon[4]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[6]; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel[5]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu[7]; 8. 4-Kasey Kahne[11]; 9. 9-Daison Pursley[12]; 10. 9R-Chase Randall[22]; 11. 1A-Cameron Smith[8]; 12. 88W-Austin McCarl[9]; 13. 5-Kasey Jedrzejek[14]; 14. 66-Ryan Newton[15]; 15. 26-Justin Peck[13]; 16. 17GP-Kerry Madsen[18]; 17. 101-Kalib Henry[21]; 18. 6-Zach Hampton[23]; 19. 88-Tanner Thorson[24]; 20. 42-Sye Lynch[10]; 21. 28-Jace Park[19]; 22. 17A-Jack Anderson[16]; 23. 71-Parker Price Miller[20]; 24. 19-Brent Marks[25]; 25. 24D-Danny Sams III[17]
NEW Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing Championship Standings (After 48/54 Races):1. 2,849 pts – Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #24 (Rico Abreu)2. -99 pts – Ridge & Sons Racing #87 (Aaron Reutzel)3. -113 pts – Spire Motorsports #77 (Giovanni Scelzi)4. -238 pts – Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC (Tyler Courtney)5. -261 pts – Rudeen Racing #26 (Justin Peck)6. -313 pts – Chase Briscoe Racing #19 (Brent Marks)7. -351 pts – JST Motorsports #88 (Tanner Thorson)8. -465 pts – Buch Motorsports #13 (Tanner Holmes)9. -507 pts – Vermeer Motorsports #55 (Brady Bacon)10. -616 pts – Kasey Kahne Racing w/ Mike Curb #9 (Daison Pursley)11. -937 pts – CJB Motorsports #5 (Brenham Crouch sub w/ Kasey Jedrzejek)12. -953 pts – Chase Randall Racing #9R (Chase Randall)13. -992 pts – Mosites Lynch Racing #42 (Sye Lynch)14. -1,081 pts – Randerson Racing #24D (Danny Sams III)15. -1,118 pts – Michael Dutcher Motorsports #17GP (Brock Zearfoss)
WHAT’S NEXT: The famed 4-Crown Nationals will conclude on Saturday, September 26 with four spectacular open-wheel divisions all competing for $15,000-to-win features at Eldora Speedway. Joining Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing on the docket are the USAC Sprint Cars, USAC Midgets, and USAC Silver Crown. On Sunday, September 27, High Limit heads back to Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway for a rescheduled Driven2SaveLives Sunday Funday marking the finale of the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series. Tickets are available for purchase at HighLimitRacing.com, or you can watch every event live on FloRacing.

CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: High Hopes for Double-Points Finish

Rain, fog cancels qualifying for TF Sport Corvettes and rest of FIA WEC field OYAMA, Shizuoka, Japan (September 26, 2026) – TF Sport’s two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will provisionally start the Six Hours of Fuji in the eighth and 10th positions in the LMGT3 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship after Saturday’s qualifying session was cancelled.
Heavy rain pelted Fuji Speedway throughout the day Saturday, and that plus dense fog spelled the fate for the qualifying and Hyperpole session for both Hypercar and LMGT3. It was a turn of bad luck for TF Sport and its Corvettes as the team showed strong pace in Saturday morning’s rainy final practice session. Instead the field will start in order of fastest combined practice times. The No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey will be the first of the TF entries on the grid. Eastwood was the quickest driver in final practice, and Dempsey was the fastest of the driving trio across the three practice sessions. The LMGT3 Team Championship-leading No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Nicky Catsburg, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating will start directly behind its sister entry. Both Edgar – who leads the Drivers Championship on his own – and Keating also were quick in Saturday’s session but still will start in points-paying position, just like the No. 34. The TF squad and its Corvettes are looking to make it two in a row at Fuji Speedway and win their third LMGT3 race of the season. Solid results for the No. 33 and No. 34 Corvette GT3s will go a long way toward determining this year’s final championship standings. The Six Hours of Fuji for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 11 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Sunday / 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. Live streaming coverage of the race plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will provide live streaming audio coverage as well.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-(NO) QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I think it’s a big shame. Both cars seemed really strong in the rain. Ben was really quick. The car felt quick. Nicky and I didn’t get a whole lot of laps. We were trying some things and scrubbing some tires, but it felt like even with minimal laps we were really fast and the car felt easy to drive. It’s a big shame because I think we would have had a strong result. We should start P10 which isn’t too bad. But based on this morning I think we would have had a very good chance fighting for pole or if not that then I expect we would have been in the top-five at least. It’s a shame but nothing we can do about it.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I really wanted to qualify. I’ve yet to put in Hyperpole this season, and I feel like today was my opportunity to do that in the wet because I looked quick in the morning practice in the wet. From a competition perspective, it’s not a terrible result. It looks like we’ll start P10 but second-place in the championship will start on the back row. Third-place will be between the 34 and 33. So as it sits right now, I feel like we’re going to have a decent shot at having a good race. I wanted to qualify but it is what it is.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R (after FP3): “We obviously ended up P1 there. I only had four laps at the end and got in with 10 or 11 minutes to go. With the wet, you’re always chipping away lap by lap especially in practice; you don’t want to overcook it. We had a race in the wet at Silverstone a couple of weeks ago, and the Corvette performed super well so I was confident in what the car can do. It bodes well for this afternoon but to be honest we look good in the dry as well. So I really have no massive preference if it’s wet or dry tomorrow.”
CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: High Hopes for Double-Points FinishRain, fog cancels qualifying for TF Sport Corvettes and rest of FIA WEC field OYAMA, Shizuoka, Japan (September 26, 2026) – TF Sport’s two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will provisionally start the Six Hours of Fuji in the eighth and 10th positions in the LMGT3 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship after Saturday’s qualifying session was cancelled.
Heavy rain pelted Fuji Speedway throughout the day Saturday, and that plus dense fog spelled the fate for the qualifying and Hyperpole session for both Hypercar and LMGT3. It was a turn of bad luck for TF Sport and its Corvettes as the team showed strong pace in Saturday morning’s rainy final practice session. Instead the field will start in order of fastest combined practice times. The No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey will be the first of the TF entries on the grid. Eastwood was the quickest driver in final practice, and Dempsey was the fastest of the driving trio across the three practice sessions. The LMGT3 Team Championship-leading No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Nicky Catsburg, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating will start directly behind its sister entry. Both Edgar – who leads the Drivers Championship on his own – and Keating also were quick in Saturday’s session but still will start in points-paying position, just like the No. 34. The TF squad and its Corvettes are looking to make it two in a row at Fuji Speedway and win their third LMGT3 race of the season. Solid results for the No. 33 and No. 34 Corvette GT3s will go a long way toward determining this year’s final championship standings. The Six Hours of Fuji for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 11 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Sunday / 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. Live streaming coverage of the race plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will provide live streaming audio coverage as well.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-(NO) QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I think it’s a big shame. Both cars seemed really strong in the rain. Ben was really quick. The car felt quick. Nicky and I didn’t get a whole lot of laps. We were trying some things and scrubbing some tires, but it felt like even with minimal laps we were really fast and the car felt easy to drive. It’s a big shame because I think we would have had a strong result. We should start P10 which isn’t too bad. But based on this morning I think we would have had a very good chance fighting for pole or if not that then I expect we would have been in the top-five at least. It’s a shame but nothing we can do about it.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I really wanted to qualify. I’ve yet to put in Hyperpole this season, and I feel like today was my opportunity to do that in the wet because I looked quick in the morning practice in the wet. From a competition perspective, it’s not a terrible result. It looks like we’ll start P10 but second-place in the championship will start on the back row. Third-place will be between the 34 and 33. So as it sits right now, I feel like we’re going to have a decent shot at having a good race. I wanted to qualify but it is what it is.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R (after FP3): “We obviously ended up P1 there. I only had four laps at the end and got in with 10 or 11 minutes to go. With the wet, you’re always chipping away lap by lap especially in practice; you don’t want to overcook it. We had a race in the wet at Silverstone a couple of weeks ago, and the Corvette performed super well so I was confident in what the car can do. It bodes well for this afternoon but to be honest we look good in the dry as well. So I really have no massive preference if it’s wet or dry tomorrow.”
PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We’ve had the car in a good window since we got here – both in dry and wet conditions. So I think we’re ready for whatever this place is willing to throw at us. As a team we’ve been strong. We’ll start P8, which is typically around where we’ve started. Hopefully Salih can do a good couple of stints, get the car to the front and try to do something similar to what we did at Interlagos.“You want to perform in the last few races of the year. We wanted to rebound from a pretty tough event at COTA. It’s my first time here. Obviously I’m having to learn another new track. But I’m really enjoying Japan in general and Fuji is phenomenal. The car feels good. Charlie is doing a good job as always and showing us up! We’re just trying to keep up with him.”

Hoffman Gets First I-55 Late Model Win in King of the Arch Opener

PEVELY, MO (September 25, 2026) – The month of September continues to be unforgettable for Nick Hoffman.

He won his first World 100. He announced his his role as the new full-time dirt Late Model driver at Spire Motorsports for 2027. And now, Hoffman is a World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision winner at the track that means more to him than any.

A native of nearby Belleville, IL, Hoffman spent countless nights as a child in the grandstands at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park watching his dad, Darrell, along with all of his other racing heroes.

A move to Mooresville, NC took him away for a few years, but he returned as a teenager to hit the track himself in a DIRTcar UMP Modified. Hoffman won several races on the open-wheel side at Pevely, but ever since he started Late Model racing, a Pevely win has always been high on his to-do list.

Prior to Friday night, his best result in the full-fendered division was a seventh last year with the World of Outlaws. But after winning his Heat Race to start third in the Feature, he knew he had a chance to improve on that. The first two laps were spent racing side-by-side with Tim McCreadie for second, with Hoffman eventually clearing McCreadie off Turn 4 to win that battle.

Two laps later, Hoffman reached the back bumper of race leader Dallon Murty, and he slid up in front of the No. 13 in Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead. From there, Hoffman remained glued to the inside wall in the corners for the rest of the race, driving away from the rest of the field in the process.

Behind Hoffman, things were a whole lot more dicey. World of Outlaws points leader Bobby Pierce struggled for most of the night, resorting to a Last Chance Showdown to earn the 17th spot in the starting order. The “Smooth Operator” didn’t stay there for long, though, as Pierce pounded the Pevely cushion to climb all the way to second with 10 laps remaining. But with a gap of nearly five seconds between himself and Hoffman at that point, it looked like second was as high as he could get – until the caution came out with nine to go.

The final run to the checkered flag was a duel between the top two cars on tour, but Hoffman’s low line won out over Pierce up high. The win was Hoffman’s seventh of the season in World of Outlaws competition, but it snapped an 18-race drought dating back to his $100,000 score at Mansfield Speedway on May 30. Hoffman also moved into a tie with his good friend Jonathan Davenport for 15th on the all-time Series wins list with 18 wins in his career.

“I was going to probably get yelled at by my old man [Darrell] if I let [Pierce] pass me on the top,” Hoffman said. “Earlier, he said, ‘If you’re doing it right, you’re going to knock that spoiler off to win this race tonight.’ I just wanted to prove to him that I can get it done around the bottom. I just gambled on tires, I don’t know what [Pierce] was on, but almost the whole field was on softer stuff than I was. It was kind of a gamble there and it just played out. I had to get to the lead to control the race a little bit. It was throwing dry crumbs across the racetrack where you couldn’t run that middle very well, and I was just gauging myself off them lap cars. A couple guys could get the top rolling, but I remember Trevor Gundaker squirting off the bottom really nice, so I knew I just had to stay committed to that.”

Behind Hoffman and Pierce, McCreadie held on for third to complete the podium ahead of Dennis Erb Jr. in fourth and Jason Feger in fifth.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision will be back at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park on Saturday, Sept. 26, for the second half of the King of the Arch. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

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

RACE NOTES:

Aaron Marrant set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Tyler Erb won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Dallon Murty won Heat 1.

Tristan Chamberlain won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Nick Hoffman won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Tim McCreadie won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Bobby Pierce and Ethan Dotson won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Dallon Murty won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Bobby Pierce won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Daulton Wilson won the MD3 Rookie of the Race Award.

Bobby Pierce was the Air National Guard Second-Place Finisher.

Tim McCreadie was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Dennis Erb Jr. was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Jason Feger was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Shannon Babb was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Daulton Wilson was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Tristan Chamberlain was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Tyler Erb was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Dallon Murty was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Brent Larson was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Ethan Dotson was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Ryan Gustin was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Logan Zarin was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[3]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[17]; 3. 9M-Tim McCreadie[2]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 5. 25-Jason Feger[14]; 6. 18-Shannon Babb[6]; 7. 58V-Daulton Wilson[12]; 8. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[4]; 9. 11-Gordy Gundaker[9]; 10. 1-Tyler Erb[10]; 11. 13-Dallon Murty[1]; 12. B1-Brent Larson[24]; 13. 74X-Ethan Dotson[18]; 14. 19R-Ryan Gustin[8]; 15. 1Z-Logan Zarin[11]; 16. 18J-Chase Junghans[13]; 17. 14-Trey Mills[22]; 18. 19-Dustin Sorensen[23]; 19. 11G-Trevor Gundaker[20]; 20. 1X-Aaron Marrant[5]; 21. 09-Michael Leach[21]; 22. 55E-Eli Johnson[15]; 23. 11H-Jeff Herzog[19]; 24. 33H-Wil Herrington[16]

Hoffman Gets First I-55 Late Model Win in King of the Arch Opener

PEVELY, MO (September 25, 2026) – The month of September continues to be unforgettable for Nick Hoffman.

He won his first World 100. He announced his his role as the new full-time dirt Late Model driver at Spire Motorsports for 2027. And now, Hoffman is a World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision winner at the track that means more to him than any.

A native of nearby Belleville, IL, Hoffman spent countless nights as a child in the grandstands at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park watching his dad, Darrell, along with all of his other racing heroes.

A move to Mooresville, NC took him away for a few years, but he returned as a teenager to hit the track himself in a DIRTcar UMP Modified. Hoffman won several races on the open-wheel side at Pevely, but ever since he started Late Model racing, a Pevely win has always been high on his to-do list.

Prior to Friday night, his best result in the full-fendered division was a seventh last year with the World of Outlaws. But after winning his Heat Race to start third in the Feature, he knew he had a chance to improve on that. The first two laps were spent racing side-by-side with Tim McCreadie for second, with Hoffman eventually clearing McCreadie off Turn 4 to win that battle.

Two laps later, Hoffman reached the back bumper of race leader Dallon Murty, and he slid up in front of the No. 13 in Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead. From there, Hoffman remained glued to the inside wall in the corners for the rest of the race, driving away from the rest of the field in the process.

Behind Hoffman, things were a whole lot more dicey. World of Outlaws points leader Bobby Pierce struggled for most of the night, resorting to a Last Chance Showdown to earn the 17th spot in the starting order. The “Smooth Operator” didn’t stay there for long, though, as Pierce pounded the Pevely cushion to climb all the way to second with 10 laps remaining. But with a gap of nearly five seconds between himself and Hoffman at that point, it looked like second was as high as he could get – until the caution came out with nine to go.

The final run to the checkered flag was a duel between the top two cars on tour, but Hoffman’s low line won out over Pierce up high. The win was Hoffman’s seventh of the season in World of Outlaws competition, but it snapped an 18-race drought dating back to his $100,000 score at Mansfield Speedway on May 30. Hoffman also moved into a tie with his good friend Jonathan Davenport for 15th on the all-time Series wins list with 18 wins in his career.

“I was going to probably get yelled at by my old man [Darrell] if I let [Pierce] pass me on the top,” Hoffman said. “Earlier, he said, ‘If you’re doing it right, you’re going to knock that spoiler off to win this race tonight.’ I just wanted to prove to him that I can get it done around the bottom. I just gambled on tires, I don’t know what [Pierce] was on, but almost the whole field was on softer stuff than I was. It was kind of a gamble there and it just played out. I had to get to the lead to control the race a little bit. It was throwing dry crumbs across the racetrack where you couldn’t run that middle very well, and I was just gauging myself off them lap cars. A couple guys could get the top rolling, but I remember Trevor Gundaker squirting off the bottom really nice, so I knew I just had to stay committed to that.”

Behind Hoffman and Pierce, McCreadie held on for third to complete the podium ahead of Dennis Erb Jr. in fourth and Jason Feger in fifth.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision will be back at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park on Saturday, Sept. 26, for the second half of the King of the Arch. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

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

RACE NOTES:

Aaron Marrant set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Tyler Erb won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Dallon Murty won Heat 1.

Tristan Chamberlain won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Nick Hoffman won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Tim McCreadie won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Bobby Pierce and Ethan Dotson won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Dallon Murty won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Bobby Pierce won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Daulton Wilson won the MD3 Rookie of the Race Award.

Bobby Pierce was the Air National Guard Second-Place Finisher.

Tim McCreadie was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Dennis Erb Jr. was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Jason Feger was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Shannon Babb was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Daulton Wilson was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Tristan Chamberlain was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Tyler Erb was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Dallon Murty was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Brent Larson was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Ethan Dotson was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Ryan Gustin was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Logan Zarin was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[3]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[17]; 3. 9M-Tim McCreadie[2]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 5. 25-Jason Feger[14]; 6. 18-Shannon Babb[6]; 7. 58V-Daulton Wilson[12]; 8. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[4]; 9. 11-Gordy Gundaker[9]; 10. 1-Tyler Erb[10]; 11. 13-Dallon Murty[1]; 12. B1-Brent Larson[24]; 13. 74X-Ethan Dotson[18]; 14. 19R-Ryan Gustin[8]; 15. 1Z-Logan Zarin[11]; 16. 18J-Chase Junghans[13]; 17. 14-Trey Mills[22]; 18. 19-Dustin Sorensen[23]; 19. 11G-Trevor Gundaker[20]; 20. 1X-Aaron Marrant[5]; 21. 09-Michael Leach[21]; 22. 55E-Eli Johnson[15]; 23. 11H-Jeff Herzog[19]; 24. 33H-Wil Herrington[16]

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/hoffman-gets-first-i-55-late-model-win-in-king-of-the-arch-opener/

O’Neal Sweeps Brownstown Speedway’s C.J. Rayburn Memorial

O’Neal Sweeps Brownstown Speedway’s C.J. Rayburn Memorial
BROWNSTOWN, IN (September 25, 2026) – Hudson O’Neal returned Friday night to the track where he began his racing career and led wire-to-wire to win the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series C.J. Rayburn Memorial at Brownstown Speedway. In addition to the $10,000 winner’s purse, O’Neal earned a $5,000 bonus from Big River Steel, bringing his total winnings to $15,000 for SSI Motorsports. O’Neal completed a clean sweep of the night and cut Brandon Sheppard’s championship points lead to 25 heading into Saturday night’s $50,000-to-win Jackson 100. Sheppard passed Ricky Thornton Jr. with 10 laps remaining to finish second. Thornton rounded out the Big River Steel podium in third. Josh Rice and Brandon Overton completed the top five. O’Neal visited Wieland Victory Lane for the 40th time in his Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series career. The 26-year-old Martinsville, Indiana, native recorded his ninth career win at Brownstown, where he began racing 10 years ago. “It means a lot to win this race. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a big race or a local race; it just seems to mean a little more. I grew up racing here, and it’s been a few years since I have won here. So it’s pretty cool to be standing back up here on this stage. It’s a good time to start doing it, too. We have a tight points battle. It’s coming down to the wire, so finding some speed at the right time of the year is really important for us,” said the 2019 Jackson 100 winner. “C.J. Rayburn meant so much to my dad (Don O’Neal) throughout his career, even at the end. My dad credited C.J. for a lot of his career. So it’s pretty cool to win this and put my name on this trophy. Knowing my dad, it probably means a little bit more to him as well. Hopefully we can get our second Jackson win tomorrow.” Sheppard entered the weekend with a 55-point lead over O’Neal, but O’Neal trimmed 30 points from that advantage Friday night. “I felt like we had a pretty good car there. I felt pretty balanced. The later the race went, the better I was getting. Hudson kind of found a line that I was running late in lapped traffic, and he was diamonding off between a few of those guys. So, I don’t know if there was anything I could do to pass him. Congrats to him. He did a good job. It was a fun race. The track was pretty tricky there. We are 50/50 in that type of track condition here.” Thornton, who has won two of the last three Jackson 100s, ran second until 10 laps remained and finished third. “I felt like I had about 12 laps to do something. Congrats to Hud. His stuff was good, and he could get through traffic a little bit better than we could. We have a lot to work on for tomorrow.” O’Neal’s winning Todd and Vickie Burns/SSI Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Wheeler Metals, Sub-Surface of Indiana, Merrill Bonding, Professional Concrete Cutting and Drilling, O’Neal’s Salvage and Recycling, Lineal Contracting, Sunoco Race Fuels, Beeman Lumber, Indiana USSSA Fastpitch Softball, Seven Spurs Ranch, Penske Racing Shocks, Dicky’s Doghouse, and Lucas Oil Products. Jonathan Davenport, Devin Moran, Clay Harris, Max Blair, and Mike Marlar completed the top 10. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 5th Annual CJ Rayburn MemorialFriday, September 25, 2026Brownstown Speedway | Brownstown, IN Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Hudson O’Neal | 13.635 seconds (Overall)Fast Time Group B: Jonathan Davenport | 13.782 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 11-Josh Rice[3]; 3. 12J-Jason Jameson[2]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 5. 157-Mike Marlar[5]; 6. 76S-Shelby Miles[7]; 7. D48-Derek Groomer[9]; 8. 18L-Trevor Landrum[8]; 9. 17SR-Brody Smith[6]; 10. 42-Terry Casey[10] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 2. 111-Max Blair[3]; 3. C7-Adam Stricker[1]; 4. 8-Dillon McCowan[6]; 5. 60-Dan Ebert[4]; 6. 93F-Carson Ferguson[5]; 7. 11C-Tyler Collins[7]; 8. 4-Cody Mahoney[8]; 9. 22X-Matt Boknecht[9]; 10. 1CJ-Justin Shaw[10]
Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 6-Clay Harris[2]; 3. 22F-Chris Ferguson[7]; 4. 20-Tyler Neal[4]; 5. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[8]; 6. 17SS-Brenden Smith[6]; 7. S21-Seth Daniels[5]; 8. P3-Steve Peeden[9]; 9. JD3-Jack Dossey III[10]; 10. 71D-Don O’Neal[3]
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 3. 99-Devin Moran[4]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[8]; 5. 32-Chad Stapleton[6]; 6. 15R-James Rice[5]; 7. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 8. 21R-Colby Reed[9]; 9. (DNS) 1G-Devin Gilpin
Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 2. 93F-Carson Ferguson[4]; 3. D48-Derek Groomer[5]; 4. 60-Dan Ebert[2]; 5. 11C-Tyler Collins[6]; 6. 17SR-Brody Smith[9]; 7. 76S-Shelby Miles[3]; 8. 18L-Trevor Landrum[7]; 9. 42-Terry Casey[11]; 10. 1CJ-Justin Shaw[12]; 11. 4-Cody Mahoney[8]; 12. (DNS) 22X-Matt Boknecht
UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 2. 17SS-Brenden Smith[3]; 3. S21-Seth Daniels[5]; 4. 32-Chad Stapleton[2]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson[6]; 6. 15R-James Rice[4]; 7. JD3-Jack Dossey III[9]; 8. P3-Steve Peeden[7]; 9. 21R-Colby Reed[8]; 10. (DNS) 71D-Don O’Neal; 11. (DNS) 1G-Devin Gilpin 5th Annual CJ Rayburn Memorial | Feature Finish (40 Laps):Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings1 – 1 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $15,0002 – 3 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $5,6003 – 4 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $3,5004 – 5 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $2,8005 – 8 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $2,5006 – 2 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $2,3007 – 12 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $2,2008 – 6 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $2,1009 – 7 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $2,05010 – 17 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – $2,00011 – 15 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $1,60012 – 19 – 93F – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $1,40013 – 9 – 12J – Jason Jameson – Lawrenceburg, IN – $1,20014 – 21 – D48 – Derek Groomer – Bloomington, IN – $1,00015 – 11 – C7 – Adam Stricker – Batavia, OH – $95016 – 10 – 22F – Chris Ferguson – Mt. Holly, NC – $92517 – 13 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $90018 – 24 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $87519 – 23 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $85020 – 20 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $82521 – 14 – 20 – Tyler Neal – Paragon, IN – $80022 – 16 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $80023 – 25 – 11C – Tyler Collins – North Vernon, IN – $80024 – 22 – S21 – Seth Daniels – Jackson, OH – $80025 – 18 – 99JR – Frank Heckenast Jr – Frankfort, IL – $800 Race Statistics  Entrants: 39Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Hudson O’NealMD3 Lap Leaders: Hudson O’NealHellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Hudson O’NealWieland Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealMargin of Victory: 1.057 secondsHellraizer Jacks Cautions: n/aMyRacePass Series Provisional: Garrett Alberson; Dan EbertFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: Tyler CollinsBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Ricky Thornton, Jr.Penske Shocks Top 5: Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Josh Rice, Brandon OvertonBehrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Ricky Thornton, Jr.PEM 4th Place Feature: Josh RiceDiversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Brandon OvertonWilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Devin MoranWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Dillon McCowanVelocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Jason JamesonXS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Adam StrickerHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Mike Marlar (Advanced 7 positions)MD3 Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (40 Laps)Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Brandon SheppardO’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Josh RicePro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | Lap 3 | 15.328 secondsFK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Frank Heckenast JrVictory Fuel Power Move of the Race: Brandon SheppardOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Jason DurhamARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Mike Marlar | 13.2684 secondsTime of Race: 10 minutes 52 seconds Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Earnings1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 6535 – $273,5002 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 6510 – $259,7003 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 6395 – $313,0744 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 6060 – $158,6005 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 6020 – $243,1256 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 5905 – $153,1257 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 5640 – $193,2758 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 5550 – $109,8009 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 5505 – $119,92510 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 5250 – $102,475

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Kansas–Carson Hocevar

NASCAR Cup Series Kansas Speedway Team Chevy Driver Quotes September 25, 2026
 


Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at Kansas Speedway. 

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom
NASCAR Cup SeriesKansas SpeedwayTeam Chevy Driver QuotesSeptember 25, 2026
 


Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at Kansas Speedway. 

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes: 


How aware are you of what (Ryan) Blaney’s been saying this week? Did you watch the clips from the podcast? I heard you reference what he said on the podcast. Did you consume the whole thing? What did you think of what he’s been saying?“Yeah, I saw it, and I was shocked that he went on there, obviously. But, you know, he’s very scrappy. I’ve been cool with him. You know, before, I thought we’d been racing really well together. There are a lot of times, like at Atlanta, where he’s coming out on top, but it’s me and him. He’s the only Ford up there. I’m the only Chevy up there. And then, it’s us versus the Toyota’s, so we kind of had to help each other at times. So, that’s been a good working relationship-ish.  And then, yeah, we’ve been cool. I think Ryan’s one of the coolest guys in the garage. I mean, he’s got a cool mustache, drinks whiskey and all that, right? I think he looks the part really well. I thought he made me more of a fan, honestly. When he went on there, I had respect for that, for sure. He could have held some ice on his eye and whatnot, but he went right out there and did it, and I have the utmost respect for that.  I didn’t want to hit him, and looking back, I one-hundred percent see where he wanted to maybe just throw a shove in there and then yell. I think we both saw each other, but in the moment, you’re not going to see that. You’re going to predict the worst.”   Is there any part of Saturday night that you regret, as far as any of the post-race stuff? “No, I don’t think so. You know, I was a little worried. My dad’s probably the least controversial or confrontational person I’ve ever met in my life. He’s got a local business, so he freaks out if he gets a bad Google review. So, yeah, I texted him and I was like, man, sorry about that. He was proud that I defended myself. I feel like that’s what you’d want to see out of a son, per se.  I feel like if we’re racing anywhere lower than second, I would maybe look at it differently. But I think Blaney would too, right? I think neither one of us would have put ourselves near that spot. But at Bristol, you’ve kind of got to be second or at least where the choose is. You line up behind Ty (Gibbs) there and that’s probably the best possible spot to win the race. You’re going to be the most aggressive just trying to hold on to that spot, so I think that’s just the Bristol experience.”    The handful of incidents that you’ve been involved in that’s triggered the most, I guess, animus, it seems to be situations where there’s a perceived code that you should maybe lift in that situation. It’s a question of the give or take. What is your personal philosophy, when and where, to give someone that break that they seem to expect you to give that you’re seemingly not?“Yeah, I mean, I get pointed by periodically throughout races, and I point people by, as well, right? But certain situations, obviously, I think you want to be as aggressive as possible because this car is obviously really tough to pass with in dirty air. But at the same time, I think I bear a lot of the responsibility for probably 95 percent of those incidents. Bristol, maybe, is in the minority there.  But at the same time, I think similar to Bristol, if you kind of play the defense, I think this car loads the defense, right? You can aero block and sometimes you’ve got to blitz and just see if you can make some aggressive moves to catch the quarterback off guard, per se, right? For me, I gladly point people by, especially the ones I probably have dumped or maybe owe one towards me. A lot of it’s just trying to get every spot you can and knowing when that spot is available, similar to a second at Bristol towards the end of the race. You know, you might not get that spot back. Especially for me in that spot, I got loose and Blaney got under me, right? I was like, dang, I want to try and still fight for this. I just think a lot of it’s racing. A lot of it’s circumstantial. I think the Chase probably raises that intensity for everybody. Sometimes the defense raises their bar, and then things just get elevated and you’re playing a game of chicken with racecars.”    Ordinarily, like a week after a fight or an on-track thing, there’s still a lot of tension. We saw that with Brad (Keselowski) and the RFK guys after Darlington. There seems to be this weird sort of like kinsmanship or at least some mutual respect. You’ve talked about how much you admire him, and he’s not really beat you up, really, publicly. Is there an opportunity or a willingness on your end to go seek him out this weekend and say, hey, let’s try to figure this out so it doesn’t linger on the rest of the chase or next year?“Yeah, I mean, for me, I’ve watched this sport all my life. This tends to be the stuff that brings people closer together and you laugh about it. I’ve never had a problem, really, with him on a racetrack. We’ve been running good together. I think he’s as stand-up of a guy as he could be. He could look at it and know that that was just racing and whatnot. In the heat of the moment, ever driver is going to be biased towards themselves. And then you look at it and maybe look at things differently. You know, I looked at some things differently, obviously, from the situation. But at the same time, when you’re in the heat of the moment, it’s just the heat of the moment.”   I don’t know if you saw Joey’s (Logano) clip earlier in the week, but he said, essentially, if you didn’t have the reputation you did, you probably would have won the race last week. How do you balance that going forward because the ultimate goal is winning?“Yeah, I mean, I think that’s possible. But at the same time, I had a lot of fun racing with Ty (Gibbs). Him and I have been letting each other go and been racing a lot, super respectfully, right? But towards the end of the race, and obviously with a special tribute car, obviously he’s going to be wanting to win with that with how fast they were. But also, for the 20 extra points with how close he is to a shot for the points championship. I thought we’d been racing each other fine, and I enjoyed it. It seemed like a really good race. It was fun to go back and watch, honestly, even though we didn’t win. I’d much rather be in it than get lucky, per se, and not be fast enough. I was proud of everything we did, and I don’t know that I could have done anything differently looking back. Hopefully, the next time we got to Bristol, we’re just as fast and in position again.”   A few minutes ago, you referenced looking at some things differently, looking back on it. What do you look back on differently, or what led you to say that? “Yeah, I looked at the fight and whatnot. You know, hearing Blaney’s comments, I just saw his point of view and I was like, oh okay… that makes sense why he wasn’t expecting me to defend myself and vice versa, right? So yeah, you just look at that, and then you try to look at the race and what you could have done differently. Just look at different points of views. I’m not saying I could have or would have done anything differently, you just look at it from other perspectives. You look at it from every possible angle because that’s how you learn from it.”   He said he felt like it was a 50-50 type of thing, so do you see it that way now?“Yeah, I thought so. I thought the same. I thought it was that he was wanting to put me in a spot where I would lift, and I was trying to stay in there long enough that he would give me a lane, right? And you’re kind of just playing that game of, you cut me a break or not, and a lot of times when you’re not talking to one another, obviously, during the race, you’re going to be biased and hope the other guy does what you’re trying to push him to do.”   Here at Kansas Speedway in the spring, you had a very fast car, and if it wasn’t for pit road issues, you could have been a lot closer to the front. Talking to Luke (Lambert), he says that you guys have really put in a lot of work with this place, and he’s worked with you a lot about versatility, some lanes and things like that. Can you talk about how you feel like you’ve gotten better with the work that you’ve put into this place to potentially have had, if everything had worked out, maybe a race-winning car last time and maybe have it this weekend?“Yeah, I mean, we’ve just been working pretty hard on this place. You know, we felt like mile-and-a-halves, we’ve been pretty good at, but this one, we were always just kind of okay. I thought in the spring, they made a lot of progress on our car. Ultimately, you’re trying to replicate that or improve upon that. So luckily for the Chase teams, you get a little extra sim time, and the team wants to take advantage of all that.”    I know you mentioned your dad earlier, but I know after the race Jeff (Dickerson) was surprised just how you were able to defend yourself. Were you a little surprised with yourself and what you were able to do?“Yeah, I was surprised, and so was everybody else. But luckily, I have a height advantage on Ryan, I guess, so that helps my athleticism. If we were in a running competition, I’m screwed, though. No matter who it is, I can’t run. So luckily, standing still, I can do okay and defend myself.”   Just looking overall, at least in terms of the Chase, I know that your expectation going in was more of we’ll see what happens. So far, has this perhaps surpassed at least your expectations of what your mindset was from the start of the Chase?“Yeah, I feel like when you start focusing on the Chase, you start running hypotheticals, or you just start focusing on the points. You start running hypotheticals through your head of – oh, if we could have run better than this guy or that guy. Maybe you’re running sixth, but the guy you’re running with in the points is running fifth, and all of a sudden, you’re going to start overextending and driving too hard when you could have just ran sixth. So, for us, we’re just ultimately focusing on the race finishes and just kind of letting the points play out. If anything, we’ll look at where we’re at, but I want to be blind of who I’m racing with, just because I want to race the whole field.  But I think it’s been solid for us. We’re in the single digits right now and less than triple digits away from the points lead, so I don’t think that’s too bad.”   You spoke in the past about having a kind of ‘bring-it-on mentality’ for other drivers. If someone wants to do something about it, to do something about it. Now that someone kind of has, do you think anything will change in the future, or is it the same mindset going forward?“No, I mean for me, I race really, really aggressively. The biggest thing that I don’t want to be is a hypocrite. Obviously, if I’m going to get raced really hard, I’m going to be understanding of that. For me, I just love racing. There’s a lot of times where there’s a reason the best car is not always going to win the race. You’re trying to do every possible scenario and every possible race technique to outrun a guy that’s got a faster car than you. Otherwise, we would just do chassis dynos and see who can run the fastest lap, reward it and send everybody home.”    Have you given any thought to what your celebratory post-race might look like at Talladega if you were able to go back-to-back?“I don’t know. I’ll probably not run into the wall again for multiple reasons… I don’t want the win taken away this time (laughs). But I don’t know. I hope to do it again. I hope the crowd gets as loud. It would be a lot of fun. I don’t know if anybody has done it since Dale Earnhardt Jr. did it in 2004, I think. But, yeah, so that would be really cool for me, obviously. We tend to run really well at the superspeedways, and I enjoy those probably the most. Being an Earnhardt fan, both Jr. and Sr., obviously, they were really good at those, so it’s fun to at least just have one in the column right now.”

Laplante Riding Wave of Career-Best Results in Closing Stages of Sophomore Year

 CRANDALL, TX (September 25, 2026) — In a season packed with adversity, Ryder Laplante has risen above setbacks to enjoy his best statistical year in Sprint Car racing. 

The American Sprint Car Series sophomore began the first eight races of the year with two top-10 finishes between Volusia Speedway Park and Central Arizona Speedway. Then, an injury at Texas Motor Speedway forced him to miss the Series event at Benton Speedway in May. 

Since the Calera, OK native returned to racing in June, he’s enjoyed a career-high stretch as an ASCS National Tour driver, including a current fifth-place points standing, top-10s in nine of the last 10 races, and a podium appearance in the Frontier Speedweek opener at Big Sky Speedway. 

The 19-year-old pilot credits his second-half success to the team’s welcoming of veteran crew chief Bobby Craft when Laplante returned to the seat in June. 

“Well, he’s a legend,” Laplante said. “It’s no good way to explain it, but just his knowledge. Like, he knows more than I’ll ever know probably in this industry. His work ethic for his age as well, I think most people at his age would want to step back and have other people doing it for him. But he’s always hands-on with it, always trying to teach me and my dad something new. 

“Most crew guys and crew chiefs can’t tell a driver what to do and can’t explain it well. But he’s always been able to explain it to me; he can tell me how to position my car and where to put it on the track to find the most speed, and he’s helped out a lot more than he’ll probably ever know.” 

Laplante took his first Series top-five of the season in July at Batesville Motor Speedway, then followed up with his first Sprint Car win of 2026 in IMCA competition at Abilene Speedway one week later.  

While Laplante kept building the Series top-10 streak with a fourth-place finish at Viking Speedway, he also showed out in the first 360 Sprint Car race at Marshalltown Speedway in August, finishing runner-up to Garrett Benson. 

“That all was a pretty big deal for us,” Laplante said. “First off, of course, it keeps the seat warm when you’re not racing with the Series. Every time we’ve tried to learn something on the off-races, it works out. At Marshalltown, Abilene, and all the others, it helps us find speed going into the ASCS races and having complete nights in general.” 

Through the last 12 Series races, Laplante recorded personal-best marks that top both his 2024 and 2025 statistics. Before Batesville, he possessed one podium and seven career top-10 finishes.  

So far this year, he’s scored three top-five finishes, 12 top-10s, and tied his career-best Feature result of third at Big Sky. His current fifth-place standing in points is the highest he’s ever been in the champion standings with three events remaining. 

“It’s been amazing,” Laplante said. “It has really boosted our confidence, knowing that you’re meant to be where you’re at and showing that you can put in the results. The team as a whole, we’re really clicking well.  

“If you’re consistent, which is really hard to do going up and down the road with the guys we race, it does get aggravating to a point because you’re too consistent. Like, you want to be better in the heat of it, but once you look at the big picture, you realize you’re not doing too bad.” 

RPM Speedway awaits the Series on Saturday, Oct. 10, as the penultimate weekend of the campaign. Laplante has logged many laps at the Crandall, TX track, with two Micro Sprint wins in 2017 and 2018, then competed in 360 and 410 Sprint Cars from 2024-25.  

Before the Series visits, he’ll gain more laps at the 1/4-mile track on Saturday night in a 305 Sprint Car for the Smiley Sitton Memorial. 

“I mean, we’ve always had bad luck there every time we go,” Laplante said. “We shouldn’t, though, because I have more laps there than anyone. It’s a fun bullring; it’s my type of track, so we’ll put our cards on the table, and hopefully it works out. We’re going there this weekend for the 305 show to get laps ahead of the ASCS weekend.” 

Closing his 2026 season at Creek County Speedway the following week for the Fuzzy’s Fall Fling, Laplante looks to finish with a smooth run between the two nights for his first top-five Series points finish as prep for the 2027 Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals awaits. 

“If we can get through Creek County with the same parts we show up with, I’ll be more than happy,” Laplante said. “It was a good year for us, especially with how it started for me. We bounced back, and we’re finally getting consistent again.  

“We’ll try to carry that into next year and going into Volusia (Speedway Park), where we had a good showing to start. If we can find a couple tenths in the shop through the off-season, I think we’ll be in for an even better year.” 

Laplante will close out his second season of ASCS National Tour racing at RPM Speedway on Oct. 10, then Creek County on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17. 

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. 

Laplante Riding Wave of Career-Best Results in Closing Stages of Sophomore Year   CRANDALL, TX (September 25, 2026) — In a season packed with adversity, Ryder Laplante has risen above setbacks to enjoy his best statistical year in Sprint Car racing. 

The American Sprint Car Series sophomore began the first eight races of the year with two top-10 finishes between Volusia Speedway Park and Central Arizona Speedway. Then, an injury at Texas Motor Speedway forced him to miss the Series event at Benton Speedway in May. 

Since the Calera, OK native returned to racing in June, he’s enjoyed a career-high stretch as an ASCS National Tour driver, including a current fifth-place points standing, top-10s in nine of the last 10 races, and a podium appearance in the Frontier Speedweek opener at Big Sky Speedway. 

The 19-year-old pilot credits his second-half success to the team’s welcoming of veteran crew chief Bobby Craft when Laplante returned to the seat in June. 

“Well, he’s a legend,” Laplante said. “It’s no good way to explain it, but just his knowledge. Like, he knows more than I’ll ever know probably in this industry. His work ethic for his age as well, I think most people at his age would want to step back and have other people doing it for him. But he’s always hands-on with it, always trying to teach me and my dad something new. 

“Most crew guys and crew chiefs can’t tell a driver what to do and can’t explain it well. But he’s always been able to explain it to me; he can tell me how to position my car and where to put it on the track to find the most speed, and he’s helped out a lot more than he’ll probably ever know.” 

Laplante took his first Series top-five of the season in July at Batesville Motor Speedway, then followed up with his first Sprint Car win of 2026 in IMCA competition at Abilene Speedway one week later.  

While Laplante kept building the Series top-10 streak with a fourth-place finish at Viking Speedway, he also showed out in the first 360 Sprint Car race at Marshalltown Speedway in August, finishing runner-up to Garrett Benson. 

“That all was a pretty big deal for us,” Laplante said. “First off, of course, it keeps the seat warm when you’re not racing with the Series. Every time we’ve tried to learn something on the off-races, it works out. At Marshalltown, Abilene, and all the others, it helps us find speed going into the ASCS races and having complete nights in general.” 

Through the last 12 Series races, Laplante recorded personal-best marks that top both his 2024 and 2025 statistics. Before Batesville, he possessed one podium and seven career top-10 finishes.  

So far this year, he’s scored three top-five finishes, 12 top-10s, and tied his career-best Feature result of third at Big Sky. His current fifth-place standing in points is the highest he’s ever been in the champion standings with three events remaining. 

“It’s been amazing,” Laplante said. “It has really boosted our confidence, knowing that you’re meant to be where you’re at and showing that you can put in the results. The team as a whole, we’re really clicking well.  

“If you’re consistent, which is really hard to do going up and down the road with the guys we race, it does get aggravating to a point because you’re too consistent. Like, you want to be better in the heat of it, but once you look at the big picture, you realize you’re not doing too bad.” 

RPM Speedway awaits the Series on Saturday, Oct. 10, as the penultimate weekend of the campaign. Laplante has logged many laps at the Crandall, TX track, with two Micro Sprint wins in 2017 and 2018, then competed in 360 and 410 Sprint Cars from 2024-25.  

Before the Series visits, he’ll gain more laps at the 1/4-mile track on Saturday night in a 305 Sprint Car for the Smiley Sitton Memorial. 

“I mean, we’ve always had bad luck there every time we go,” Laplante said. “We shouldn’t, though, because I have more laps there than anyone. It’s a fun bullring; it’s my type of track, so we’ll put our cards on the table, and hopefully it works out. We’re going there this weekend for the 305 show to get laps ahead of the ASCS weekend.” 

Closing his 2026 season at Creek County Speedway the following week for the Fuzzy’s Fall Fling, Laplante looks to finish with a smooth run between the two nights for his first top-five Series points finish as prep for the 2027 Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals awaits. 

“If we can get through Creek County with the same parts we show up with, I’ll be more than happy,” Laplante said. “It was a good year for us, especially with how it started for me. We bounced back, and we’re finally getting consistent again.  

“We’ll try to carry that into next year and going into Volusia (Speedway Park), where we had a good showing to start. If we can find a couple tenths in the shop through the off-season, I think we’ll be in for an even better year.” 

Laplante will close out his second season of ASCS National Tour racing at RPM Speedway on Oct. 10, then Creek County on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17. 

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/ryder-laplante-riding-wave-of-career-best-results-in-closing-stages-of-sophomore-year/

THE MONTH AHEAD: Nine-Race October Sends 2026 World of Outlaws Season Toward Conclusion

CONCORD, NC (September 24, 2026) – The 2026 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season is motoring toward the finish line.

One full month of racing remains before the Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals brings the year to a close on Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 4-7, at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. While the end is within sight, it doesn’t mean the path to get there is slowing.

The Greatest Show on Dirt will soon embark on a nine-race October that takes the best Sprint Car talent in the world to seven tracks in five states. The stretch includes a crown jewel, new tracks to the tour, and more.

WATCH EVERY LAP LIVE ON DIRTVision

Let’s look at where to find the World of Outlaws in October:

Williams Grove Speedway | J&S Classics National Open (Oct. 2-3): The month begins with the most intense matchup of the World of Outlaws and Pennsylvania Posse rivalry. The two sides will clash at Williams Grove Speedway’s 64th running of the J&S Classics National Open. The crown jewel brings a heated atmosphere to the 1/2 mile as the battle is for major bragging rights and a $75,000 payday.

The Pennsylvania fans have been left disappointed the last two years with the World of Outlaws prevailing. It was Carson Macedo claiming his second National Open in 2024 before Sheldon Haudenschild nabbed his first a year ago. The Posse’s most recent winner is Brent Marks in 2023. Nobody owns more “Natty O” titles than Donny Schatz with six, a record Fayetteville, PA’s Lance Dewease could match this year.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Millstream Speedway | Sheldon Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl Weekend: Round One (Oct. 8): Sheldon Haudenschild and NOS Energy Drink are upping the ante in 2026 as their collaborative World of Outlaws promotion grows to three $18,000-to-win rounds. It begins at Findlay, OH’s Millstream Speedway on Thursday, Oct. 8. The Series returned to the track in 2025 after 31 years away and is back again this season for its 11th overall visit.

David Gravel came out on top when the tour came back last year. Steve Kinser is the only multi-time Millstream winner, claiming half of the 10 stops at the northern Ohio oval.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Mansfield Speedway | Sheldon Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl Weekend: Round Two (Oct. 9): Sheldon Haudenschild and NOS Energy Drink’s Ohio showcase moves east to Mansfield Speedway for the middle leg. Matt Tift revived the track and pieced together a stout schedule that already welcomed the World of Outlaws Late Models in May and will host their Sprint Car counterpart next month. It’s set to be The Greatest Show on Dirt’s first visit to Mansfield in 45 years. Only two current Series full-timers, Donny Schatz and Bill Balog, were even alive during the last Mansfield stop.

A legendary trio topped the three previous three trips to Mansfield. It was Doug Wolfgang winning the debut in 1980, the “Ohio Traveler” himself, Rick Ferkel, next, and Sammy Swindell most recently.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Sharon Speedway | Sheldon Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl Weekend: Round Three (Oct. 10): The Ohio weekend closes out in the northeast corner of the state when the tour heads to Hartford, OH’s Sharon Speedway. The World of Outlaws first traveled to Sharon in 2002, and the 3/8 mile has become a staple of the schedule over the past half-decade.

Dale Blaney brought his hometown fans to their feet by driving from the third row to Victory Lane to become the oldest winner in Series history at 61 years old. Steve Kinser boasts the most Sharon scores with four.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Lincoln Park Speedway | Cushion Capital Clash (Oct. 16): After the Ohio tripleheader, the tour heads from the “Buckeye State” to its neighbor, the “Hoosier State.” Putnamville, IN’s Lincoln Park Speedway will host the second and final Indiana appearance of 2026 as the Series makes its fifth ever stop at the bullring.

The return to Lincoln Park last year didn’t disappoint. A thrilling duel between David Gravel and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid led to final-lap contact and Gravel in Victory Lane to become the fourth different winner through four trips. The other three are Steve Kinser (1979), Dave Blaney (1988), and Donny Schatz (2016).

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Belle Clair Fairgrounds Park Speedway | Battle at Belle Clair (Oct. 17): Illinois race fans rejoiced when racing was brought back to the Belle Clair Fairgrounds earlier this year with the opening of a brand new 1/4-mile dirt track. Their joy grew even more when a World of Outlaws date was added to their 2026 slate.

The event will mark the World of Outlaws debut at the brand-new bullring as Belle Clair becomes the 12th different track in the “Land of Lincoln” to ever host the country’s best Sprint Car drivers.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Texarkana 67 Speedway | Jason Johnson Classic presented by FK Rod Ends/Short Track Nationals (Oct. 23-24): It’s from one new track for the World of Outlaws to another as Texarkana 67 Speedway will welcome the Series for the first time for two major events packed into one weekend.

First up is the seventh running of the Jason Johnson Classic presented by FK Rod Ends on Friday, Oct. 23. The World of Outlaws pays tribute to the “Ragin’ Cajun” with a $20,000-to-win main event. Then, when Saturday takes center stage, the World of Outlaws will sanction the historic Short Track Nationals for the first time. The 39th running of the event will hand out $25,000 to the winner.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

THE MONTH AHEAD: Nine-Race October Sends 2026 World of Outlaws Season Toward Conclusion

CONCORD, NC (September 24, 2026) – The 2026 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season is motoring toward the finish line.

One full month of racing remains before the Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals brings the year to a close on Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 4-7, at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. While the end is within sight, it doesn’t mean the path to get there is slowing.

The Greatest Show on Dirt will soon embark on a nine-race October that takes the best Sprint Car talent in the world to seven tracks in five states. The stretch includes a crown jewel, new tracks to the tour, and more.

WATCH EVERY LAP LIVE ON DIRTVision

Let’s look at where to find the World of Outlaws in October:

Williams Grove Speedway | J&S Classics National Open (Oct. 2-3): The month begins with the most intense matchup of the World of Outlaws and Pennsylvania Posse rivalry. The two sides will clash at Williams Grove Speedway’s 64th running of the J&S Classics National Open. The crown jewel brings a heated atmosphere to the 1/2 mile as the battle is for major bragging rights and a $75,000 payday.

The Pennsylvania fans have been left disappointed the last two years with the World of Outlaws prevailing. It was Carson Macedo claiming his second National Open in 2024 before Sheldon Haudenschild nabbed his first a year ago. The Posse’s most recent winner is Brent Marks in 2023. Nobody owns more “Natty O” titles than Donny Schatz with six, a record Fayetteville, PA’s Lance Dewease could match this year.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Millstream Speedway | Sheldon Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl Weekend: Round One (Oct. 8): Sheldon Haudenschild and NOS Energy Drink are upping the ante in 2026 as their collaborative World of Outlaws promotion grows to three $18,000-to-win rounds. It begins at Findlay, OH’s Millstream Speedway on Thursday, Oct. 8. The Series returned to the track in 2025 after 31 years away and is back again this season for its 11th overall visit.

David Gravel came out on top when the tour came back last year. Steve Kinser is the only multi-time Millstream winner, claiming half of the 10 stops at the northern Ohio oval.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Mansfield Speedway | Sheldon Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl Weekend: Round Two (Oct. 9): Sheldon Haudenschild and NOS Energy Drink’s Ohio showcase moves east to Mansfield Speedway for the middle leg. Matt Tift revived the track and pieced together a stout schedule that already welcomed the World of Outlaws Late Models in May and will host their Sprint Car counterpart next month. It’s set to be The Greatest Show on Dirt’s first visit to Mansfield in 45 years. Only two current Series full-timers, Donny Schatz and Bill Balog, were even alive during the last Mansfield stop.

A legendary trio topped the three previous three trips to Mansfield. It was Doug Wolfgang winning the debut in 1980, the “Ohio Traveler” himself, Rick Ferkel, next, and Sammy Swindell most recently.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Sharon Speedway | Sheldon Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl Weekend: Round Three (Oct. 10): The Ohio weekend closes out in the northeast corner of the state when the tour heads to Hartford, OH’s Sharon Speedway. The World of Outlaws first traveled to Sharon in 2002, and the 3/8 mile has become a staple of the schedule over the past half-decade.

Dale Blaney brought his hometown fans to their feet by driving from the third row to Victory Lane to become the oldest winner in Series history at 61 years old. Steve Kinser boasts the most Sharon scores with four.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Lincoln Park Speedway | Cushion Capital Clash (Oct. 16): After the Ohio tripleheader, the tour heads from the “Buckeye State” to its neighbor, the “Hoosier State.” Putnamville, IN’s Lincoln Park Speedway will host the second and final Indiana appearance of 2026 as the Series makes its fifth ever stop at the bullring.

The return to Lincoln Park last year didn’t disappoint. A thrilling duel between David Gravel and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid led to final-lap contact and Gravel in Victory Lane to become the fourth different winner through four trips. The other three are Steve Kinser (1979), Dave Blaney (1988), and Donny Schatz (2016).

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Belle Clair Fairgrounds Park Speedway | Battle at Belle Clair (Oct. 17): Illinois race fans rejoiced when racing was brought back to the Belle Clair Fairgrounds earlier this year with the opening of a brand new 1/4-mile dirt track. Their joy grew even more when a World of Outlaws date was added to their 2026 slate.

The event will mark the World of Outlaws debut at the brand-new bullring as Belle Clair becomes the 12th different track in the “Land of Lincoln” to ever host the country’s best Sprint Car drivers.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

Texarkana 67 Speedway | Jason Johnson Classic presented by FK Rod Ends/Short Track Nationals (Oct. 23-24): It’s from one new track for the World of Outlaws to another as Texarkana 67 Speedway will welcome the Series for the first time for two major events packed into one weekend.

First up is the seventh running of the Jason Johnson Classic presented by FK Rod Ends on Friday, Oct. 23. The World of Outlaws pays tribute to the “Ragin’ Cajun” with a $20,000-to-win main event. Then, when Saturday takes center stage, the World of Outlaws will sanction the historic Short Track Nationals for the first time. The 39th running of the event will hand out $25,000 to the winner.

For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/the-month-ahead-nine-race-october-sends-2026-world-of-outlaws-season-toward-conclusion/

Baggsy–THROWING IT DOWN AT THE 130 SHOWDOWN

Baggsy returned to Ireland to party with his good friend James Deane, celebrating 20 years of James’ drifting career. Great craic, as they say.
 
Mondello Park, Ireland’s home of motorsport added another event to its list, but this one is different to the others; celebrating 20 years of an illustrious career of a certain James Deane.
That’s right, Mr 130 himself threw a huge drift party and invited Baggsy to be one of the special guests to drive and compete in a super fun Top 24 showdown.
With an invite like that, it’s hard for the team to say no, right?! So let’s run it back and show you how it all went down.
On Friday the SB Motorsport team unloaded the DY-2JZ GT86 into the allocated pit garage.The weather was slowly improving after Mondello Park received rain from all directions, the team crossed their fingers for better weather over the weekend.
And the weather did improve; Saturday was dry which allowed Baggsy to run several practice laps around Mondello to dial in the GT86. 
“The car felt great. It’s always good to be back driving at Mondello Park – it’s a track I know well and really enjoy. Having won the LZ World Tour round here in 2023, I’ve got some fond memories of the place, so I’m looking forward to getting back out there. It’ll be so much fun to drive with James (Deane) and the boys again.“– Steve “Baggsy” Biagioni
A solid 89.1 point Superlap in Qualifying earned P9 after a fiercely competitive session.

With a great day of practice sessions and a strong performance in Qualifying, the team rejoiced in the only way they know how – FEAST 🍽️🥳.

Sunday featured plenty of sunshine, seat time and epic battles.
Baggsy’s first round was up against Harry Kerr, an extremely strong Irish driver and it was a very close contest. Mad speed, wild angles, insane transitions and close proximity – everything you dreamed of in a drift battle.
Baggsy gets the win and advances to the next round 💪🏼.
Throughout the weekend, the SB13 shop was in full swing selling the latest and greatest Baggsy and Initiate merchandise. Signing sessions, photos and great chats were had! The team had such a blast in the beautiful Irish sunshine.
Waiting in the Top 16 was a legend in Japanese drifting – one of the OGs – Masato Kawabata. It was jaw-dropping seeing 2 driving styles throwing it down on track, it was a real sight to behold.
The sheer pace, the outrageous angles, the plumes of tyre smoke, it was pure cinema at Mondello Park.
That was, until Baggsy has a small impromptu meeting with a wall 😅. The GT86 was fixed up, looked sharp and went back out for Run 2, though it wasn’t enough to take down the D1GP legend on this occassion.
He changed swapped out his race helmet for his cap and had a mega time watching the rest of the drifting, cheering on his friends, chatted with fans and visitors in the paddock and at the SB13 shop.
So that’s the SB Motorsport team done at the 130 Showdown. It wasn’t the finish the team wanted, but the weekend was all about having fun with the lads and celebrating James Deane’s pretty amazing career.
It was a mega weekend at Mondello Park, the 130 Showdown was so much fun, Baggsy and team had an absolute blast.
Great craic.

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