Ty Gibbs earns first Cup career victory in overtime at Bristol

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April 12, 2026

20260412191805-b46c7f5b-me — Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Ty Gibbs capitalized on a late strategic call to maintain track position at the front with worn tires. He withstood an overtime shootout against two NASCAR Cup Series champions, earning his first Cup career victory in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 12.

The 2022 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, led the final 25 of 505 over-scheduled laps. He qualified in fifth place but dropped out of the top-10 mark in the early stages. After settling in 13th place at the conclusion of the first stage period, Gibbs battled back. He then settled into seventh place and accumulated four stage points following the second stage.

Restarting in fifth place for the third and final stage period, Gibbs spent the majority of this stage methodically gaining ground on the two dominant front-runners, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. He eventually overtook the latter for the runner-up spot. Then, during a late-race caution with less than 25 laps remaining, Gibbs was one of five competitors who elected to remain on the track on worn tires while Blaney and Larson pitted for service.

Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com

Gibbs managed to fend off late challenges from Tyler Reddick, Blaney, and Larson at the start of the next restart with 15 laps remaining. However, his late momentum stalled as another late-race caution with four laps remaining sent the event into overtime. Despite being placed in a tire deficit, Gibbs used the outside lane to fend off both Larson and Blaney. He also prevailed after a last-lap dive from Blaney. In doing so, he achieved his first victory in his fourth full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series.

On-track qualifying determined the starting lineup on Saturday, April 11. Blaney notched his first Cup pole position of the 2026 season with a pole-winning lap at 127.064 mph in 15.101 seconds. Blaney shared the front row with Tyler Reddick, who posted his fastest-qualifying lap at 126.871 mph in 15.124 seconds.

Before the event, William Byron started at the rear of the field. This was due to unapproved adjustments made to the steering system in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Ryan Blaney, who elected to lead the field from the outside lane, launched his No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry ahead through the frontstretch. Tyler Reddick, who started on the inside lane from the front row, briefly struggled to launch alongside Blaney.

As Riley Herbst tried to follow suit behind Blaney, Ross Chastain threw a bold right-side move to draw alongside and overtake Herbst for second place through the backstretch. As the field stacked up and navigated through Bristol for a full cycle, Blaney led the first lap over Chastain while Kyle Larson, who scrubbed the frontstretch’s outside wall, battled Herbst for third place.

Over the next four laps and as the competitors were trying to manage through the traction compound applied around Bristol’s racing surface, Blaney stretched his early advantage to seven-tenths of a second. As a majority of the front-runners raced in single-line formation towards the inside lane, Chastain retained second place behind Blaney. Kyle Larson, Herbst and Reddick completed the top five. Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe and Chris Buescher were racing in the top 10, respectively. Ty Gibbs slipped from his fifth-place starting spot and was pinned on the outside lane. This caused him to drop out of the top-10 mark to 14th place. He was in front of Zane Smith as Blaney stretched his lead to a second at the Lap 10 mark.

Through the first 25-scheduled laps, Blaney was leading by eight-tenths of a second. He was followed by Chastain while Larson, Herbst, Reddick, Hocevar, Wallace, Bell, Briscoe and Buescher occupied top-10 spots. Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez, Ty Gibbs, Zane Smith, Joey Logano, Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Preece and Austin Dillon followed in the top 20.

Meanwhile, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Erik Jones were racing in the top-25 mark. They were ahead of Josh Berry, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Connor Zilisch, and Cole Custer. William Byron was mired in 34th place.

Ten laps later, Blaney, who was trying to lap Ty Dillon, had his advantage decrease to three-tenths of a second. A hard-charging Larson overtook Chastain for the runner-up spot on Lap 30. By Lap 37, Byron, still mired in 34th place, was lapped by Blaney, who continued to fend off Larson through every turn and short straightaway. As Blaney led past the Lap 40 mark, Chastain, Herbst and Reddick remained in the top-five mark. Hocevar, Bell, Wallace, Briscoe, and Buescher trailed in the top 10.

On Lap 50, Larson, who overtook Blaney to lead for the first time six laps earlier, led by two-tenths of a second. Throughout Larson’s lead, he rubbed fenders with John Hunter Nemechek through the backstretch as Larson was trying to lap him. Once Larson was able to clear both Nemechek and Cole Custer, he retained a steady lead of half a second over Blaney. Behind, Christopher Bell trailed in third place by three seconds.

On Lap 61, the event’s first caution flew. Brad Keselowski, racing in 22nd place, spun through Turns 1 and 2 after being hit by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. from the left rear. During the event’s first caution period, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Larson pitted for service. Chase Elliott and Josh Berry elected to remain on the track. Following the pit stops, Larson exited pit road first ahead of Blaney, Bell, Herbst and Chastain. Amid the pit stops, Reddick was penalized for speeding on pit road.

The start of the next restart on Lap 70 featured Larson throwing a bold three-wide move to the right side of both Berry and Elliott through the first two turns. But Larson gained the upper edge through the backstretch. With four fresh tires working to his advantage, Larson used the outside lane to storm back to lead the next lap. As Larson rocketed away, Berry retained second place over Bell. Blaney and Elliott occupied the remaining top-five spots over Herbst, Chastain, Briscoe, Cindric, and Hocevar.

By Lap 80, Larson grew his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Berry and Bell. Blaney and Elliott retained top-five spots over Herbst, Briscoe, Hocevar, Cindric and Wallace. Meanwhile, Chastain dropped to 11th place over Buescher, Hamlin, Suarez and Zane Smith. Larson proceeded to stretch his advantage to two seconds over Berry by Lap 90.

At the Lap 100 mark, Larson stabilized his lead to more than two seconds over Berry while both Bell and Blaney trailed in third and fourth, respectively, by three seconds. Over the next 10 laps, Bell and Blaney, both of whom overtook Berry earlier, trailed the leader Larson by one and three seconds, respectively. Amid Larson’s dominance, teammate Elliott had dropped to 11th place with his worn tires while teammate Byron, who was mired in 36th place, was lapped a second time. Meanwhile, teammate Alex Bowman, who returned from a four-race absence due to a vertigo diagnosis, was mired a lap down in 30th place.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 125, Larson cruised to his first Cup stage victory of the 2026 season. Bell, who trailed Larson by a second, settled in second ahead of Blaney, Briscoe and Berry while Denny Hamlin, Hocevar, Herbst, Wallace and Cindric were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, Reddick, who was dealing with braking issues and struggling to climb back atop the leaderboard following his pit road speeding penalty, was mired in 26th place behind Logano while Elliott was mired in 16th place. In addition, 27 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap while names like Zilisch, Nemechek, Bowman, Todd Gilliland, Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Dillon, Custer and Byron were mired either one or two laps behind the leaders.

Under the event’s first stage break period, the entire lead lap field led by Larson and including both Berry and Elliott pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Larson edged Bell off of pit road first while Briscoe, Hamlin, Berry, Hocevar, Blaney, Herbst, Cindric and Wallace followed suit in the top 10, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Bell and McDowell were penalized for speeding on pit road, while Zane Smith was also penalized for equipment interference.

The second stage period started on Lap 136 as Larson and Hamlin occupied the front row. The second stage’s start only lasted eight laps when Bell, who was trying to recover from his pit road speeding penalty, spun his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE entry at the bottom of the track through the first two turns. Bell’s incident occurred seconds after he got loose, smacked the frontstretch’s outside wall and sustained a broken right-rear toe link. At the time of caution, Larson, who used the outside lane to motor ahead of both Hamlin and Briscoe to retain the lead, was scored the leader.

The next restart on Lap 151 only lasted eight laps before the caution returned when Shane van Gisbergen got loose in Turn 3, spun up the track and was piled into by Nemechek, Bowman and Gilliland through Turns 3 and 4, which left all four competitors with damage to their respective entries. At the time of caution, Larson, who mirrored his launch from the previous restart to retain the top spot from the outside lane during the latest restart, was leading over Briscoe, Berry, Hocevar and Hamlin.

As the event restarted on Lap 168, Larson rocketed away from the field and from the outside lane through the first two turns. While Larson led the next lap, Briscoe battled and fended off Berry from the outside lane for second place while Berry, Hocevar, Wallace, Blaney and Hamlin followed suit, respectively. As the field fanned out through every turn and straightaway, Larson led Briscoe by two-tenths of a second through the Lap 175 mark, by more than half a second by Lap 180, and by more than a second by Lap 190.

At the Lap 200 mark, Larson stabilized his lead to more than a second over Blaney, with Blaney assuming the runner-up spot from Briscoe six laps earlier. Meanwhile, Briscoe trailed in third place by more than two seconds while Berry and Hocevar were racing in the top-five mark. Behind, Logano, who was mired in the mid-pack region in the early portions of the race, had carved his way up to sixth place ahead of Wallace, Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and Cindric while Elliott, Noah Gragson, Reddick, Buescher, and Keselowski maintained top-15 spots over Chastain, Preece, Stenhouse, Gilliland, and AJ Allmendinger. Amid the battles at the front, Herbst was mired in 25th place, Byron was scored three laps down in 32nd place, and Bell was mired four laps down in 33rd place, while Bowman was ruled out of the event following his late multi-car wreck.

Twenty-five laps later, Larson continued to lead by less than three-tenths of a second over hard-charging Blaney, three seconds over third-place Briscoe and four seconds over fourth-place Hocevar and fifth-place Hamlin. Two laps later, Larson, who was trying to lap Daniel Suarez, then got loose entering the frontstretch, which allowed Blaney to reel in and nearly draw alongside Larson in a bid for the lead. Amid Blaney’s challenges, Larson retained the lead just past the Lap 230 mark while Briscoe, Hocevar, Hamlin and Berry trailed in the top-six mark. As Larson led Blaney by three-tenths of a second and was trying to navigate through lapped traffic at the Lap 240 mark, Hamlin navigated past teammate Briscoe for third place while Hocevar dropped to fifth place in front of Berry, Logano, Ty Gibbs, Wallace and Cindric.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 250, Larson, who was fiercely dueling with Suarez as the latter was trying to remain on the lead lap, captured his second stage victory of the event as he also fended off Blaney. Hamlin, Hocevar, Briscoe, Berry, Gibbs, Logano, Wallace and Cindric were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 25 of 38 starters, including Suarez, were scored on the lead lap while names that included Herbst, Zane Smith, Ty Dillon, Zilisch, Byron and Bell were mired either one or multiple laps down.

During the event’s second stage break period, the lead lap field led by Larson returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Larson edged Hamlin by a nose to exit pit road first and they were followed by Briscoe, Logano, Hocevar, Gibbs, Blaney, Berry, Wallace and Reddick, respectively. By then, Blaney, who lost four spots on pit road due to a slow pit service from his No. 12 Team Penske pit crew during the first stage break period, lost five spots during his latest pit service.

With 240 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Larson and Briscoe occupied the front row in front of Hamlin, Gibbs, Hocevar, Logano and Blaney. At the start, Larson launched his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry ahead from the outside lane while Briscoe struggled to launch from the inside lane. Larson’s launch allowed him to lead the next lap over Hamlin while the field fanned out through every turn and straightaway. Amid the battles within the field, Noah Gragson used the outside lent to muscle from 17th to 11th while Gibbs and Logano battled for fourth place behind Briscoe. Meanwhile, Blaney was mired in seventh place behind Hocevar before Logano battled Hocevar for fifth place. At the front, Larson proceeded to lead by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin with 230 laps remaining.

Down to the final 220 laps of the event, Larson retained the lead by six-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Briscoe, Blaney and Gibbs were racing in the top-five mark over Hocevar, Logano, Reddick, Wallace and Berry. Larson proceeded to stretch his lead to two seconds with 210 laps remaining while Blaney navigated his way back up to second place over Hamlin. Despite losing seven-tenths of a second of his lead during the next 10 laps, Larson maintained a reasonable lead over Blaney while Gibbs, Hamlin and Hocevar were racing in the top five over Briscoe, Logano, Reddick, Berry and Wallace.

Then, with less than 190 laps remaining, the caution flew when Herbst bumped and sent Kyle Busch for a spin through Turns 3, 4 and the frontstretch. As Busch slid through the frontstretch, Erik Jones also spun as he slammed on the brakes in an attempt to avoid the latter. Jones, who made contact against Busch’s entry, was then hit by McDowell and Bell while he, too, was sideways just past the start/finish line. During this latest caution period, the lead lap field returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Larson exited Gibbs off of pit road first. They were followed by Hamlin, Blaney, Hocevar, Briscoe, Logano, Reddick, Berry and Keselowski.

As the event restarted under green with 180 laps remaining, Larson used the first two turns and the outside lane to fend off Hamlin. Larson proceeded to lead the next lap over Hamlin while Blaney reeled in and bumped Hamlin through the backstretch. Blaney quickly assumed the runner-up spot from Hamlin while teammate Ty Gibbs and Logano pinned Hamlin against a tight three-wide battle for third place during the following lap. As Hamlin lost ground on the lead, Logano and Gibbs battled for third place while Blaney was reeling in Larson for the lead with 175 laps remaining.

Then with 163 laps remaining, Blaney bumped Larson in the rear bumper through the first two turns. He then rubbed against Larson through the backstretch before he stormed back ahead with the lead through Turns 3 and 4. With the clean air and a faster car working to his advantage, Blaney proceeded to stretch his advantage to more than half a second with 160 laps remaining. Blaney then grew his lead to more than a second over Larson with 150 laps remaining while Gibbs, Logano and Hamlin trailed in the top five over Reddick, Briscoe, Hocevar, Preece and Berry.

With 135 laps remaining, Blaney continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Larson, while third-place Ty Gibbs trailed by nearly three seconds. Over the next 10 laps, Blaney increased his lead to more than two seconds over Larson. Another six laps later, the caution flew due to Connor Zilisch spinning in Turn 2 after he darted up the track and scrubbed the outside wall. During the latest caution period, Blaney led the lead lap field to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Blaney’s pit crew executed a clean pit service that allowed the driver to exit pit road first over Larson and Gibbs.

When the event restarted with 110 laps remaining, Blaney fended off Gibbs through the first two turns to retain the lead entering the backstretch. As Blaney led the next lap, Larson, who elected to restart behind Blaney on the preferred outside lane, reassumed the runner-up spot from Gibbs while the field scattered as Josh Berry made contact with the wall. Amid Berry’s incident, the event remained under green. At the front, Gibbs retained third place over Gilliland, who opted for a two-tire pit service for major track position, while Logano and Hamlin fiercely dueled for fifth place. Meanwhile, Blaney led by nine-tenths of a second with 105 laps remaining.

Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Blaney was leading by a second over both Larson and Gibbs while Gilliland maintained fourth place over Logano, Hamlin, Hocevar, Briscoe, Reddick and Preece, respectively. Behind Wallace, Cindric, Elliott, Buescher and Austin Dillon trailed in the top-15 mark while Zane Smith, Allmendinger, Suarez, Gragson, Stenhouse and Herbst rounded out the top-21 lead lap field.

Twenty-five laps later, Blaney extended his late advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Larson as Gibbs trailed the latter by only three-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Gilliland continued to occupy fourth place and he trailed the lead by more than four seconds while Logano retained fifth place over Hamlin, Hocevar, Briscoe, Reddick and Wallace by within a second. Over the next 15 laps, Hocevar, Hamlin and Briscoe all overtook Logano on the track while Gibbs repeatedly challenged Larson for the runner-up spot through every turn and straightaway. Meanwhile, Blaney maintained the lead by three seconds.

With 50 laps remaining, Blaney, who was mired within heavy lapped traffic, had his advantage decrease to two seconds over Gibbs as Gibbs overtook Larson for the runner-up spot six laps earlier. Over the next 10 laps, Blaney had a near-miss moment when he snapped sideways and nearly veered towards the outside wall entering Turn 3 while navigating through lapped traffic. Despite having his advantage shrink to one-and-a-half seconds with 40 laps remaining, Blaney maintained a steady lead over Gibbs while Larson, Hocevar, Gilliland, Briscoe, Hamlin, Reddick, Logano and Preece trailed in the top 10, respectively.

Down to the final 35 laps, Blaney, who was mired within five lapped competitors, had his advantage shrink to nine-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Gibbs as Gibbs used the inside lane to gain slight ground through the turns. As Blaney navigated through the lapped competitors, Gibbs approached the lapped competitors and had his late charge slightly stalled, but he only trailed Blaney by eight-tenths of a second with 30 laps remaining.

With 28 laps remaining, Blaney ran into the rear bumper of Keselowski through the first two turns as the former had issues navigating past the latter to lap Keselowski. This allowed Gibbs to gain slight ground, but Blaney stretched his advantage back up to a second with 25 laps remaining.

Then, with 24 laps remaining, the caution flew when Elliott, who was racing in the top-20 mark and scored a lap down, spun his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry in Turn 2. By then, only 13 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap while Keselowski, who was just lapped by Blaney, was awarded the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap. During the latest caution period, eight competitors led by Blaney and Larson pitted for service while the rest led by Gibbs and including Hocevar, Briscoe, Hamlin, and Reddick remained on the track.

The start of the next restart, with 15 laps remaining, featured teammates Gibbs and Briscoe sharing the front row ahead of Hocevar, Hamlin, Reddick, Blaney, Larson, and Buescher. At the start, Gibbs muscled ahead from the outside lane while Briscoe struggled to launch from the inside lane. As Gibbs led, Reddick used the outside lane to storm past both Hocevar and Briscoe while boosting all the way into the runner-up spot. With Gibbs leading the next lap, Reddick then challenged Gibbs for the lead over the next four laps.

With 10 laps remaining and as Gibbs remained in the lead, Larson, who pitted for two fresh tires, used the outside lane to assume the runner-up spot from Reddick. Blaney used his four fresh tires to join the battle and overtake Reddick before he battled Larson through the turns and straightaways. After dueling with Larson during the next three laps, Blaney cleared Larson to assume second place for good with seven laps remaining. Two laps later in Turn 1, Larson hit Blaney in the rear, and Blaney lost brief momentum to Gibbs. As Blaney started to reel in Gibbs for the lead, the caution flew with four laps remaining when Herbst was sent for a spin by Kyle Busch exiting the frontstretch and towards the Turn 1 outside wall. Busch and Herbst’s second run-in of the event was enough to send the event into overtime.

At the start of overtime, Gibbs gained a slight edge over Blaney with the launch through the frontstretch and he used the outside lane to slightly emerge ahead of both Blaney and Larson through the backstretch. As Gibbs remained on the outside lane to stall Larson’s momentum, Blaney used the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4 to try to gain an upper hand.

When the white flag waved, and the final lap started, Gibbs was leading by a slim margin over Blaney. Blaney then tried to use the inside lane to motor ahead through Turns 1 and 2, but Gibbs used the outside lane through the backstretch to launch back ahead with the lead. As Blaney tried to mount a final charge from the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4, he got briefly loose entering the frontstretch as Gibbs used both the outside lane and momentum to storm his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE entry back ahead and beat Blaney by 0.055 seconds.

With the victory, Ty Gibbs, who won in his 131st series start, became the 207th competitor overall to record a win in the NASCAR Cup Series division. He also became the eighth competitor to record a first career Cup victory driving for his grandfather’s team, Joe Gibbs Racing, and the sixth to do so at Bristol Motor Speedway. Gibbs’ first Cup victory was the first ever for sophomore crew chief Tyler Allen and the first for the No. 54 since Lennie Pond won at Talladega Superspeedway in August 1978.

Photo by Andrew Boyd for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“Yeah, it’s awesome,” Ty Gibbs said on the frontstretch on FS1. “It’s awesome what you can do with great people. To be in this position is great. I would love for my father [Coy Gibbs] to see this, but he knew it was going to happen and expected it as well. I really appreciate this. Honestly, I didn’t really care if I was going to win or not. I thought the race was awesome. I really appreciate, always, racing Ryan Blaney and Kyle [Larson], too. Those guys always run me really well. We all run really good together and hard. Hopefully, we put a great show up for the fans. I really appreciate it. Thank you for team No. 54 and everybody that’s a part of this whole deal. What a great day.”

While celebrating on the frontstretch, Ty Gibbs took a moment to share a victorious embrace with his grandfather and team owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, Joe Gibbs, on pit road.

“This is the man right here!” Ty Gibbs said. “I’ve never seen somebody work so hard in my life. Him and my mom, I come to the shop at 6 a.m. or 7 p.m. or when everybody’s there, and they’re not there. They’re always there. They work their asses off. I really appreciate it. This is a great role model. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.”

Joe Gibbs, who dedicated the victory to his late son Coy, Ty’s father, was also left elated on pit road.

“This is one of my best experiences,” Joe Gibbs said. “Obviously, when Denny [Hamlin] won, honoring JD’s [Gibbs] life, it was such a huge deal. When I think about [son] Coy [Gibbs], he brought Ty up the entire time. I know he’s probably watching. It’s just a huge deal for all of us. I just appreciate everything so much. Everybody back at Joe Gibbs Racing, thank y’all so much for us being able to enjoy this. It’s one of the great blessings I’ve had in life.”

Compared to Gibbs’ 25 laps led, Blaney and Larson led a combined race-high 474 laps. But the latter two fell shy of winning at Bristol. However, Blaney led 190 laps and rallied from slow pit services, achieving his fifth top-five result at Bristol. But he ended up one spot shy of winning at the track for the first time.

“Great battle, for sure,” Blaney said. “Good battle all day, I thought, with a lot of different cars. I gave it my best shot the last restart. I got a good restart and was close, but just couldn’t get it done. Gosh, I really wanted to win at Bristol here. It came close, but congrats to Ty. He’s been really close. Nothing’s more special than your first Cup win. It’s pretty cool to win here at this place and to race him, too. We’ll move on, but fun day. Just wish we could have made it happen.”

Larson, who led a race-high 284 laps, settled in third place for his second top-three result of the 2026 season. Amid the disappointment of falling short of a victory for a second time this weekend, where he finished in the runner-up spot in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event, Larson was left pleased with the result, and he strives to snap his winless streak at the track he won at a year ago next weekend at Kansas Speedway.

“That [last run] was probably my worst run, I think,” Larson said. “We were making some adjustments at that point and I just got a little bit out of the track. [Gibbs and Blaney] were just better than me, and then, the strategy got kind of crazy there at the end. We took the third-place car and finished third. Happy with the points earned today and look forward to next week.

Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe finished in the top five. Todd Gilliland, Joey Logano, Ryan Preece, Denny Hamlin and Carson Hocevar completed the top-10 in the final running order.

There were 12 lead changes for four different leaders. The event featured nine cautions for 72 laps. In addition, only 16 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the eighth event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Tyler Reddick leads the standings by 62 points over Ryan Blaney. He leads by 86 over Denny Hamlin, 105 over Ty Gibbs, 122 over Chase Elliott and 126 over Kyle Larson.

Results:

Ty Gibbs, 25 laps led
Ryan Blaney, 190 laps led
Kyle Larson, 284 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
Tyler Reddick
Chase Briscoe
Todd Gilliland
Joey Logano
Ryan Preece
Denny Hamlin
Carson Hocevar
Bubba Wallace
Daniel Suarez
Chris Buescher
Brad Keselowski
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Cindric
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
Austin Dillon, one lap down
Zane Smith, one lap down
Ross Chastain, one lap down
Riley Herbst, one lap down
Chase Elliott, one lap down, six laps led
Erik Jones, two laps down
Michael McDowell, two laps down
Kyle Busch, two laps down
Noah Gragson, two laps down
Christopher Bell, four laps down
Cole Custer, four laps down
Ty Dillon, four laps down
William Byron, five laps down
Cody Ware, five laps down
Josh Berry, 15 laps down
Connor Zilisch, 27 laps down
Shane van Gisbergen, 170 laps down
John Hunter Nemechek, 181 laps down
Chad Finchum – OUT, Steering
Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, April 19, and air at 2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM, and HBO MAX.

Gibbs Notches First Career NASCAR Cup Series Win at Bristol

By

Official Release

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April 12, 2026

Reddick and Briscoe Help Make Three Toyota’s Inside the Top Five at .553-mile Short Track

BRISTOL, TENN. (April 12, 2026) – Ty Gibbs earned his first NASCAR Cup Series victory Sunday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway, holding off his competitors in a dramatic two-lap overtime shootout. Gibbs took the lead with 19 laps remaining in the scheduled distance and led the final 25 laps to secure his first win in NASCAR’s top series.

Gibbs added his name to Toyota’s growing list of winners this season, as three different Toyota teams have combined for five victories through the first eight races.

Tyler Reddick finished fourth and Chase Briscoe placed fifth, rounding out the top five for Toyota. Denny Hamlin finished ninth, giving Toyota four cars in the top 10.

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
|Bristol Motor Speedway
Race 8 of 36 – 266.5 miles, 500 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, TY GIBBS

2nd, Ryan Blaney*

3rd, Kyle Larson*

4th, TYLER REDDICK

5th, CHASE BRISCOE

9th, DENNY HAMLIN

11th, BUBBA WALLACE

21st, RILEY HERBST

23rd, ERIK JONES

27th, CHRISTOPHER BELL

35th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

You’ve been knocking on the door of this first career Cup Series victory for a while now. You get to say you’re a winner today in the Cup Series. Describe the emotion?

“It’s awesome. It’s awesome to be with great people. To be in this position is great. I’d love for my father to have seen this. I knew he knew it was going to happen and expected it as well. It was great day for us. My boys didn’t give up. Pit crew is just amazing. This is our family. It’s been great. So it’s just such great deal.

Very honored to be in this situation. Thank you for Monster Energy. Been with me my whole career. Mitch Covington, Dave Gowland, Elton, everybody a part of it. They’ve been with me since I was a kid. I really appreciate this.”

What did it take to have the composure to bring this thing home?

“Honestly, I didn’t really know or care if I was going to win or not. I thought the race was awesome. I thought we all put on the racing was great. Feel like it’s been us the whole year. I really appreciate always racing Ryan Blaney and Kyle too. Those guys always run me real well. We all run together and hard. Hopefully we put a great show on for the fans. Thank you for Team 54, everybody that’s a part of this whole deal. What a great day.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Comparion Insurance Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

A lot that happened in the middle. Overcame a speeding penalty. How does this one feel?

“It feels really good. For me, unfortunately, miscommunication before that first pit sequence. Just had my wrong mark. It was a really good bounce-back for our Toyota Camry. Billy (Scott, crew chief), everybody on this 45 team did a really good job. Yeah, we had to fight for it all day long. We had more speed this time around, which was great, but unfortunately still fighting brake and steering issues along the way. Very physical day inside the race car. I may even take a day off tomorrow (smiling).”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Lance Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

Can you talk about your day?

“Yeah, a clean, solid executed race. It’s what we needed. We weren’t good enough speed-wise for the top two or three guys. We just hung around that fifth to seventh place all day long. Needed a little bit more. It was a clean, solid day. That’s what we needed. Super happy for Ty (Gibbs). It’s been a long time coming. To do it the way he did it, on old tires, to beat the two guys that dominated all day long, that I was impressive. Just super happy for him and the whole family. Looking forward to seeing him in Victory Lane.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Spire Motorsports Food City 500 Race Report

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Official Release

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April 12, 2026

Daniel Suárez – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 13TH
FINISH: 12TH
POINTS: 15TH

Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, fought hard all day despite handling issues and earned a 12th-place finish in Sunday’s 503-lap race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway to secure his sixth top-20 finish of the season and 10th in 15 starts at the short track.

Suárez started 13th and reported at the halfway point of Stage 1 that his Chevrolet was tight on entry and a bit loose on exit. When the yellow flag was shown for the first caution of the day, crew chief Ryan Sparks responded by calling for air pressure adjustments, fuel and a fresh set of four Goodyear tires. The No. 7 team restarted in the same position and went on to finish Stage 1 in 14th. Following pit stops, Suárez restarted 13th when the field returned to green for Stage 2. On the second caution for incident on Lap 145, Suárez brought the black-and-green machine to pit road for additional adjustments and rejoined the field in 23rd. He continued to search for more overall grip when the yellow flag was shown again just 16 laps later. The No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet ultimately finished Stage 2 in 25th before pitting at the break and lining up 21st for the Final Stage.

The Monterrey, Mexico native continued to fight similar handling conditions throughout the last segment. On Lap 377, he went a lap down to the leader but received the free pass shortly after during a Lap-383 caution and restarted 19th with 110 laps to go in the race. Later, on Lap 464, Suárez again went a lap down but was able to take the wave around when the yellow flag was displayed on Lap 487. He lined up 15th with 14 laps remaining in the scheduled 500-lap distance and was able to gain additional positions in NASCAR Overtime to cross the finish line in 12th.

Daniel’s Post-Race Comments
“I’m proud of my team. We never gave up. We started the race strong, but lost a bit of balance and fell behind, and track position became really important making it tough to stay in the mix. Still, we kept fighting in the No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet and were able to recover well by the end, so I’m really proud of the effort. We still have some work to do, but as a group, we’re getting stronger and stronger.”

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 19TH
FINISH: 24TH
POINTS: 19TH

Michael McDowell battled for a finish of 24th in Sunday afternoon’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway following an eventful day in Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

McDowell qualified 19th and struggled with a loose-handling Chevy early in first frame at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”. The Cup Series veteran slotted into 23rd with top-10 pace and pitted for a fresh set of Goodyear Eagles and Sunoco Racing fuel on Lap 64 to wrap up Stage 1 in the 25th position. Unfortunately, the second-year Spire Motorsports driver took the green flag from the 28th position after a costly speeding penalty on pit road sent the No. 71 to the tail end of the field for the start of Stage 2. Crew chief Travis Peterson elected to change up his strategy, pitting for fresh rubber during a caution on Lap 145 with only three other competitors following. The team restarted 27th with 100 laps to go in the stage, but McDowell continued to experience handling woes throughout the long run. He maintained his position on the lead lap, coming home with a finish of 22nd at the end of the second segment.

The Glendale, Ariz., native began the Final Stage from the tail end of the field following a second penalty, this time for the crew going over the wall too soon at the stage break. Contact with a competitor on Lap 313 brought out the yellow flag and McDowell suffered a flat left rear tire. He nursed his Chevrolet to pit road for full service without any additional damage and restarted from the 23rd position. The No. 71 machine was passed by the leader at the Lap-359 mark and elected to take the wave around when a spin brought out the seventh caution of the day. McDowell continued to battle on older tires through the final two green-flag runs to finish 24th, the first car two laps down after 400 long miles at Bristol.

Michael’s Post-Race Comments
“Overall, just a tough day for our Delaware Life Chevrolet. Any time we felt like we were creeping back into the conversation we had an issue. Regardless, we still managed to somewhat salvage our day. Coming back from two penalties and a flat tire isn’t easy. I’m proud of the fight in this No. 71 group. We have some good tracks ahead, so we will get through it, but just not our day here in Bristol.”

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 10TH
FINISH: 10TH
POINTS: 13TH

Carson Hocevar, driver of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, earned his third top-10 finish of the season with a 10th-place result in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hocevar collected the second-best result for the Chevrolet camp and managed an average running position of 6.1.

The 23-year-old driver qualified 10th, but raced to the sixth position by the completion of the first lap at the half-mile track. Despite battling a low overall grip level, he held on to the seventh position at the green-and-white checkered flag to end Stage 1. Following a round of pit stops during the break, he restarted fifth and preserved his top-five track position for the duration of the stage, rounding out the segment in fourth. In total, the No. 77 team racked up 11 stage points on the day to aid in their hunt for a spot in The Chase.

The Portage, Mich., native started the Final Stage in sixth, holding the spot until a Lap-383 caution forced the team to pit road. Despite restarting eighth on Lap 391, he engaged in a spirited drive to fourth, the position he appeared to be destined for until a caution flag was waived on Lap 478. While a majority of the drivers on the lead lap ducked to pit road for fresh Goodyear rubber, the No. 77 team made the decision to remain on the race track, restarting in second. Unfortunately, Hocevar was unable to hold off his challengers who had fresher tires, and ultimately crossed the finish line in 10th to gain two spots in the driver championship point standings.

Carson’s Post-Race Comments
“Tenth was the lowest we ran all day. Not the way we wanted to end it, but we were really good on the long run. It was really tough to drive forward on the restarts at the end because I was just too loose. I’m happy we had the speed to run top five all day and have a shot at it at the end. We did a really good job of getting some nice stage points early in the race, so it was a really good day points-wise overall. We excel at the intermediates, so I think this whole team is looking forward to Kansas next week.”

Up Next…
The NASCAR Cup Series takes on Kansas Speedway on Sunday, April 19. The AdventHealth 400 will be televised live on FOX at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

The ninth of 36 points-paying races on the Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

To stay up-to-date on all the latest news and exclusive content, follow Spire Motorsports on Facebook, X and Instagram, and visit Spire-Motorsports.com.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports fields full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing.

The team, co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executive Jeff Dickerson and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss, earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on Feb. 21, 2026, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the Fr8 Racing 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In 2026, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Mooresville, N.C., organization will also field the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.

Rick Ware Racing: Food City 500 from Bristol

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Official Release

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April 12, 2026

RICK WARE RACING
Food City 500
Date: April 12, 2026
Event: Food City 500 (Round 8 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile concrete oval)
Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (125 laps/125 laps/250 laps)
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 500-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

RWR Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 36th, Finished 31st / Running, completed 500 of 505 laps)

RWR Points:

● Cody Ware (35th with 64 points)

RWR Notes:

● This was Ware’s milestone 150th career NASCAR Cup Series start, and all have come with RWR.

Race Notes:

● Ty Gibbs won the Food City 500 to score his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory. His margin over second-place Ryan Blaney was .055 of a second.

● There were nine caution periods for a total of 72 laps.

● Only 16 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Tyler Reddick remains the championship leader after Bristol with a 62-point advantage over second-place Blaney.

Sound Bites:

“We fired off pretty disconnected. We weren’t terrible. Our long-run pace was good all day long. We just had to work on getting the car firing off better, and I felt like the team did a really good job, not just throwing random changes at it, but making good adjustments, trying things that we know have worked in the past. We fought all day for 500 laps to try to better our Costa Oil Chevrolet. We did that. Our long-run pace there on that last, long green-flag run was really stout, and what we needed was the race to go green for the last 25 laps but, unfortunately, that’s not how it played out. So, just another weekend where we needed a little bit of luck to go our way, but proud of the team and looking forward to Kansas.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Costa Oil 10-Minute Oil Change Chevrolet

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday, April 19, at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

RCR NCS Race Recap: Bristol Motor Speedway

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April 12, 2026

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Long Beard XR Chevrolet Team Battle to Top-20 Finish in Trying Day at The Last Great Colosseum

Finish: 18th
Start: 24th
Points: 27th

“The Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Long Beard XR Chevrolet team battled today, and we’ll take an 18th-place finish at the end of it. Our Chevrolet was just way too loose for the majority of the day. Crew chief Richard Boswell and the guys kept making adjustments and we made it better in the last stage. We started to lose front turn in the middle of the corner at the end of a run. The top line probably would have been a better choice on the final restart because everybody just parked, but you never know until it happens. Everyone at RCR and ECR will keep working to make our cars better.” -Austin Dillon

Challenging Day for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Bank OZK Chevrolet Team at Bristol Motor Speedway

Finish: 25th
Start: 29th
Points: 24th

“Not the finish any of us wanted for the No. 8 Bank OZK Chevrolet here this afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway. We battled the rear of the car the entire race, and despite the best efforts of the team, we got a lap down in the third stage and were never able to get back that track position. We’re going to keep putting in the work and hopefully that begins to translate next weekend in Kansas.” -Kyle Busch

Ford Racing Notes and Quotes – Blaney’s Runner-Up Bristol Finish Leads Ford

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April 12, 2026

Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Food City 500 — Bristol Motor Speedway
Sunday, April 12, 2026

Ford Unofficial Finishing Results:

2nd – Ryan Blaney

6th – Todd Gilliland

7th – Joey Logano

8th – Ryan Preece

13th – Chris Buescher

14th – Brad Keselowski

16th – Austin Cindric

19th – Zane Smith

26th – Noah Gragson

32nd – Josh Berry

36th – Chad Finchum

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Before the last yellow I was side-by-side for the lead and I slipped into three and that kind of cost us a shot to get it before that last yellow. I thought I had a good restart, but the bottom was just hard to hit. I didn’t maybe get the best one and two the last lap and didn’t have a far enough position, and then I really got a good three and four coming to the checkered, but it was a little bit too late. I’m disappointed we didn’t win, but, overall, I’m really proud of the effort. I had a great day and got better all day. It’s definitely something to be proud of.” HOW WAS THE FEEL OF THE TIRES? “I thought it laid a lot of rubber down, which was good in the race, which was better than what we thought after practice, for sure. I thought it was good. It clumped the bottom like crazy. The top came in. I thought it was a pretty good tire personally. We’ve got to keep working on the car itself in dirty air, for sure, but I thought the tire was pretty good. It’s weird. I didn’t think it fell off a ton, but it clumped and put a lot of rubber down, so I don’t know what to think about that, but it was fun working through the rubber progression through the day.” ANYTHING ABOUT THE LAST RESTART OR FINAL LAP RACING WITH TY? “I got a good restart. I thought I got a really good restart. I just got done talking about the rubber clumps on the bottom. It was really hard to hit it right and I got a decent first lap. I didn’t get a great one and two the last lap and it didn’t kind of let me be even with Ty. I got a really good three and four the last lap, it just wasn’t quite enough. I’m not gonna throttle up and destroy somebody. I thought I got a pretty good restart, I just wish I would have maybe got a better lap, but it was so hard to do. It was easy to miss and I missed it. Honestly, I look back at where I lost the race was before the last yellow I slipped into three and was up the track when I was side-by-side with Ty and that really hurt us. It was a little too late.” WHAT IS THIS MOMENT LIKE FOR TY? “You never forget your first one, that’s for sure. Even though I’m bummed we didn’t win the race, I’m happy that Ty was able to get his first one because I remember what that was like and I remember the elation and the joy, especially when you’ve come close a handful of times, which he has. Honestly, Ty has dealt with a lot of criticism from the outside, and I feel like he’s handled it pretty well and it’s good to see that he’s been able to prove himself on the racetrack. You never forget that first one. I hope they have a good time.” HOW MUCH DO YOU LOOK BACK ON WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE IN A RACE LIKE THIS? “Yeah, I’ll pick through a little bit, but it was so hard to hit the bottom in three with pace. So many guys missed it all day and messed up. I’ll probably think about that corner more than any, but I don’t know if there’s really anything I could have done differently. I had to commit and I just probably missed my entry by about a foot and you miss the whole bottom and you slide up and it’s a handful. I’ll think about it a little bit tonight and forget about it tomorrow.” PIT ROAD WAS AN ISSUE AGAIN TODAY. “We’ve got to get it better for sure.”

TODD GILLILAND, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We weren’t great to start and that’s kind of how we were in practice, but it seemed like when the groove moved up to the top for us we were way better. It was like a different car It’s a pretty awesome day for us. To recover from qualifying 35th at Bristol is tough to do, so, honestly, I’m just so proud of my team. We’ve got to work on qualifying. I think a lot of it is on me. That’s not a great feeling to have as a driver, but I’m so proud of our fight today.” THE TWO TIRE CALL AND THEN THE LATE CAUTIONS. YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T WANT TO SEE THOSE AT THE END, RIGHT? “No, even before that last caution with like 30 to go I was fairly content. You hate to say that as a driver, but for the day that we had, I was content. I’m proud of my crew chief, Chris (Lawson) with those calls. We were on the same page for two tires. Immediately when the caution came out, I said, ‘I think two tires or even stay out here.’ I’m thankful he didn’t let me stay out, but two tires was definitely the right call and I’m just really proud.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Kroger/Muscle Milk Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We ended up eighth because we had a good restart with our Kroger/Muscle Mile Ford Mustang Dark Horse. On a green-white-checker we were able to take advantage and move forward, so that’s a good feeling. We’ve just got to find a way to break into that top five for those restarts because if we can be there, we’re just as good. It’s just when you start 10th or 12th to make up that ground is extremely difficult. They made great adjustments during the race and got our car in contention. The pit crew rebounded and did a great job, so we’re gonna work on putting it all together from practice to qualifying to the race and we’ll be fighting for the wins.”

CHEVROLET NCS AT BRISTOL: Post-Race Report

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Official Release

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April 12, 2026

NASCAR Cup Series
Bristol Motor Speedway
Food City 500
Team Chevy Post-Race Report
April 12, 2026

Larson Leads Chevrolet with Podium Finish at Bristol Motor Speedway

Kyle Larson wrapped up a trip to “The Last Great Colosseum” with a third-place finish to lead Chevrolet in Sunday’s Food City 500. The result, which matches his best of the season with eight races complete, was accompanied by a pair of career feats, including his third all-time stage sweep at the Tennessee half-mile. The reigning champion also tallied a race-high 284 laps led to become just the ninth driver in series’ history to achieve 2,000 laps led at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Earning his third top-10 qualifying effort of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar put together a strong points day – becoming one of the eight drivers to earn points in both stages en route to his second career top-10 finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.

RACE RECAP:

Stage One:

Three of Team Chevy’s double-duty drivers earned a top-10 starting position for Sunday’s Food City 500 – led by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who took the green flag from the sixth position. Both lining up on the outside lane, a masterful start for Chastain and Kyle Larson saw the pair of Chevrolet drivers jump up to the second and third positions, respectively, on the opening lap. Making the pass for second, Larson quickly closed in on then race leader, Ryan Blaney, on Lap 35 as they already began to maneuver through lap traffic. Capitalizing on his track position, Larson made the pass to take the lead 10 laps later to pace his first laps of the race. Confidently making his way through traffic, Larson maintained the top position until a spinning Brad Keselowski brought out the first caution of the day on Lap 61. Larson’s first report from behind the wheel mentioned that his No. 5 Chevrolet was free on entry before approaching lap traffic. Larson was among the majority of the field to make their first trip to pit road of the race. Lining up on the outside lane of the front-row, a fresh set of tires paid dividends for the reigning champion – rocketing back to the lead on the restart. Picking up right where he left off, Larson not only held onto the top position but pulled away to a nearly 2.5-second lead and lapped up to the 28th position en route to the stage win.

Stage Two:

Under the stage break, Larson reported that he was overall happy with the handling of his Chevrolet-powered machine. With no requests for any major adjustments, crew chief Cliff Daniels called his driver to pit road for a routine four tires and fuel stop, and with his pit crew delivering once again, the driver won the race off pit road to regain the top position for the start of Stage Two. Once again proving his strength on the outside lane, Larson found his way back to the command on the restart to begin the next 114-lap run. Able to make it on fuel for the entirety of Stage Two, the majority of the field, including the No. 5 team, made it a nonstop run with Larson holding off a hard charging Blaney to drive to his third career stage sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Final Stage:

Back in a familiar position, Larson found himself on the front row to take the green flag for the longest stage of the race. Quickly facing lap traffic around the high-banked half-mile, a side-by-side battle with Blaney saw Larson lose the lead near the 100-lap marker of the final stage as the driver started to lack right-rear grip during the run. Settled into the third position, a caution with just 23 laps to go saw the opportunity to make a gamble on pit strategy. Only eight of the lead-lap cars opted to hit pit road, including Larson, with Daniels calling for a two-tire stop. Restarting in the sixth position, fresher tires than the leaders saw Larson make a quick charge back to the front to enter into a three-wide battle for the lead with 10 laps to go. Finding his way back to the third position, yet another caution flew to set the race up for an overtime finish. With a tight battle among the top-three contenders, Larson went on to take the checkered flag in the third position to score his ninth career top-five finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Results

Pos. Driver
3rd – Kyle Larson
10th – Carson Hocevar

Chevrolet’s season statistics with eight NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 1
Poles: 1
Top-Fives: 14
Top 10s: 25
Stage Wins: 4

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Kansas Speedway with the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday, April 19, at 2 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 18th

“The Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Long Beard XR Chevrolet team battled today, and we’ll take an 18th place finish at the end of it. Our Chevrolet was just way too loose for the majority of the day. Richard Boswell (crew chief) and the guys kept making adjustments and we made it better in the last stage. We started to lose front turn in the middle of the corner at the end of a run. The top line probably would have been a better choice on the final restart because everybody just parked, but you never know until it happens. Everyone at RCR and ECR will keep working to make our cars better.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 3rd

“It was just really aggressive, hard racing there at the end. Ty (Gibbs, race winner) did a great job of hanging on with fresher tires behind him. Just proud of this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team. We had a great day. (Ryan) Blaney probably had the best car, but his pit crew was putting him behind all day, which allowed us to lead a lot of laps and win both stages. I knew he’d be hard to beat. I was watching my mirror; he’d have a bad pit stop and drive right back up to second with no problem. We were just a little too free to run the pace he was running around the bottom, even on the top, too. All-in-all, we’ll take it – two stage wins and a third-place finish.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 25th

“Not the finish any of us wanted for the No. 8 Bank OZK Chevrolet here this afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway. We battled the rear of the car the entire race, and despite the best efforts of the team, we got a lap down in the third stage and were never able to get back that track position. We’re going to keep putting in the work and hopefully that begins to translate next weekend in Kansas.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 15th

“Overall, it was a really solid day. We stayed on the lead lap all day with long green flag runs. I felt like we had anywhere between a 10th to 15th-place car all day. The track was very tricky with the PJ1. Basically, you just couldn’t really run the top to makeup time. I thought our Chevrolet had pretty good balance on the bottom. We didn’t need that last caution or we could have finished a few spots better. We still came home with a 15th-place finish. It was a big improvement from where we’ve been the last few weeks, so that’s nice to see. Hopefully we can go to Kansas, a racetrack that we struggled at last year, and keep building on it.”

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two.

Finished: 37th

“I don’t know if we kind of just misjudged it, being in Group A (in practice). I thought we were OK in practice, but to start the race, we were in trouble. It’s a bummer that we didn’t get a chance to work on it. I know Blake (Harris, crew chief) and this No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team would have liked some pit stops to try and make the car better and get going back in the right direction. We were just struggling, and then got caught up in somebody else’s mess. I hate it for this team, but we’ll move onto the next one (at Kansas Speedway).”

Bowman on how he felt in the car:

“I felt good. I’m frustrated right now, right? Bristol (Motor Speedway) is one of my favorite racetracks and we just missed it. At the same time, it’s nice to be back in the racecar. I appreciate everyone’s support and definitely thankful to be back.”

We really need one good week to start getting the ball rolling in the right direction again. Honestly, I thought this could be a really good one for us, even after qualifying. I think this is a good place for us, historically, but we just didn’t have it today. Hopefully we can get things pointed in the right direction next weekend at Kansas (Speedway).”

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 10th

“That was the lowest we were all day. Not the way we wanted to end it. We were really good in the long run, but it was really tough to drive on the restarts. Just too loose. I’m happy we had the speed to run top five all day and have a shot at it at the end. Got some nice stage points, so a really good day points-wise. We excel at the intermediates, so we’re looking forward to Kansas next week.”

Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 33rd

“We had a decent day at Bristol Motor Speedway. We didn’t quite have the speed that we needed, and then made a mistake that cost us from there. We’ll take what we can from it, move onto Kansas Speedway next weekend and see what we can do there. Appreciate Roto-Rooter coming on board and being a part of the entire weekend. It was an honor to have them on both cars.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

PROCK’S STRONG POMONA CHARGE STOPPED EARLY BY SAFETY SYSTEM MALFUNCTION

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Official Release

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April 12, 2026

POMONA, CA (April 12, 2026) – Tasca Racing and driver Austin Prock delivered a weekend of measurable progress and competitive performance at the 2026 NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, highlighted by a strong top five qualifying effort and the team’s quickest pass of the season to date.

Piloting the PPG Nitro Mustang Funny Car, Prock and the Prock-led crew continued to build momentum through challenging and evolving track conditions, steadily improving performance across all four qualifying sessions.

Friday’s opening pass in Q1 resulted in a 4.593-second run at 278.46 mph after Prock pedaled the car following early issues near the 330-foot mark. The team responded in Q2 with a significant step forward, running a 4.015 at 312.86 mph. The run showed clear low-ET potential before a dropped cylinder just past the 330-foot mark cut the performance short, positioning the team fourth in qualifying after two sessions.

After a lengthy delay on Saturday due to track cleanup, Q3 presented improved conditions, but the PPG Mustang overpowered the track and lost traction before half-track, resulting in a 6.005-second pass. Undeterred, the team rebounded in Q4 with its strongest run of the weekend. Prock delivered a 3.967 at 323.58 mph, combining his best reaction time of the event with a clean, fast pass that indicated additional performance remained on the table. The effort secured the No. 5 qualifying position heading into eliminations.

Facing Jason Rupert in the opening round on Sunday, Prock posted a strong 0.063 reaction time and had the quicker car early in the run. However, a malfunction in the safety system prematurely shut the car off, resulting in a 4.945-second pass at 157.23 mph and a first-round exit.

Despite the early elimination, the weekend marked a clear step forward for Tasca Racing as the team continues to refine its combination early in the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

“We’re making progress,” said Prock. “This PPG Mustang showed it can run with the best cars out here. We had a car capable of winning first round today, and while the result didn’t go our way, the performance gains are real. There’s more in this car, and we’re heading in the right direction.”

Tasca Racing now shifts its focus to the 4 Wide Nationals in Charlotte, the next event on the NHRA schedule, building on the performance gains and momentum established in Pomona.

Hunter Lawrence Rises to the Occasion in Nashville to Seize Control of Monster Energy Supercross Title Fight

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Official Release

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April 12, 2026

Cole Davies Dominant En Route to Fourth Eastern Divisional 250SMX Win

NASHVILLE (April 11, 2026) – The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship made its anticipated return to “Music City” for Round 13 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship as a massive crowd gathered inside Nissan Stadium to witness the closest three-rider title fight in 450SMX Class history. When the dust settled, Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence stepped up and seized control of the championship battle with an emphatic victory that saw him take sole possession of the points lead heading into the final four races of the season.

The start of the premier class 20 Minutes + 1 Lap Main Event saw Quad Lock Honda’s Shane McElrath grab the holeshot, but he was quickly surpassed by several riders that ultimately moved Team Tedder Racing KTM’s Justin Hill into the lead ahead of Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki’s Ken Roczen and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado. Lawrence slotted into the top five as Roczen went on the attack and seized control of the early lead. Behind them, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac, the championship co-leader, was mired outside the top 10.

As Roczen paced the field, Lawrence charged up to second and was the fastest rider on the track. The pace up front stabilized through the middle of the Main Event with a gap that hovered between one to two seconds as the top two pulled away from the rest of the field. With just over eight minutes to go Roczen lost traction before a triple jump, which allowed Lawrence to jump by into the lead. Roczen attempted to fight back, but Lawrence completed the pass and sprinted away to a gap of nearly two seconds. Roczen went down a short time later and dropped to fourth behind Hill and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb.

Lawrence found himself more than 15 seconds clear of the field through the final five minutes, while the battle for the podium raged on behind him. Webb attempted to make a pass on Hill for second but was initially denied. Webb regrouped and made the move stick a short time later. Roczen then followed through into third, with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton pressing from fourth.

Back up front, Lawrence never put a wheel wrong and rode to a decisive fourth win this season by a margin of 7.1 seconds over Webb, as the reigning champion earned his first podium in four races. Roczen grabbed a fourth consecutive podium in third. Tomac, who was fastest qualifier and won his Heat Race, never factored into the Main Event and ran as high as eighth before a late crash relegated him to 12th, equaling his worst result of the season.

With four races to go Lawrence has opened a 10-point lead in the championship standings over Roczen, who moved from third to second. Tomac fell to third and now sits 15 points out of the lead after sharing possession of the red plate entering Nashville.

Hunter Lawrence – 1st Place – 450SMX Class
“It feels great [to be back on top of the podium]. I’m so happy my wrist wasn’t holding me back today. That’s probably the coolest thing. Every Saturday I want to go out and have no limitations holding me back from anything. It feels like a home race with my collaboration with Gibson [Guitars] and how welcoming everyone is and I always look forward to coming back.”

Cooper Webb – 2nd Place – 450SMX Class
“This race was hard. The track was sketchy and you wanted to push, but you couldn’t. I’m happy with [second] and we got through safe. I had another terrible start, which is not how you want to draw it up. We’ve got some work to do to catch that lead group, but I’ll take the podium after the past few weekends. It’s a good boost of confidence for me.”

Ken Roczen – 3rd Place – 450SMX Class
“I just felt a little bit off today compared to the past few weekends, but nonetheless we still have only four races to go, and anything goes in the Main Event. I was doing pretty good and once Hunter [Lawrence] got by me, I was going to settle for second and that felt like it was a win for me today. I ended up tossing it right before the finish line and luckily, I got the bike started and back going. I would have loved to finish second, but I’ll take a podium. That’s like a win for us. We’ve got a bunch of racing to go.”

Eli Tomac – 12th Place – 450SMX Class
“What a day – the whole day was good, other than the Main Event result. I was comfortable with my setup all day, so I’m just frustrated not only with the bad gate selection – I should have avoided the inside on the start – but also the crash. That bad start really put me in a tough spot from the get-go and I had my work cut out for me trying to make passes on such a slick, tight track. I lost a bunch of points today, but all I can do at this point is ride my best at the remaining rounds and let the chips fall where they may.”

250SMX Class

The 15 Minutes + 1 Lap Eastern Divisional 250SMX Class Main Event began with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing machine of Daxton Bennick out front for the holeshot ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Nate Thrasher and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Drew Adams. Also in the mix were the East’s two title combatants, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker. Thrasher was able to take advantage of his strong start to quickly power by Bennick, and grab hold of the early lead.

Davies and Hammaker latched on to one another and made a march forward, with Davies capitalizing on his explosive whoop speed to make passes. Less than five minutes into the race Davies moved to the front of the field, while Hammaker bided his time and worked his way up to second a short time later. As he looked to make up ground on the lead Hammaker made a costly miscue when his foot hit a tuff block and shot his Kawasaki sideways, which sent Hammaker to the ground. He quickly remounted in fourth, but several seconds outside podium contention.

Davies built a lead of more than five seconds halfway into the Main Event and added to a dominant advantage through the remainder of the race. Meanwhile, Hammaker dug deep and clawed his way back onto the podium. He passed Thrasher for third and with time running out on the race clock was all over Bennick for second. The Husqvarna rider lost traction with his rear tire in his attempt to fend off Hammaker, which initiated a collision between the pair and sent both riders to the ground. Thrasher slipped by into second, while Hammaker remounted in third and Bennick in fourth.

Davies cruised to his fourth win of the season by a margin of 17.2 seconds over Thrasher, who benefitted from the misfortunes of his rivals to capture his first podium result of the season. Hammaker salvaged a podium result in third after an adversity filled race but was later penalized two positions by race officials after he cut the track re-entering the race following his first crash. That moved ClubMX Yamaha’s Devin Simonson, who passed Bennick on the final lap, up to third for a maiden podium result.

Following the penalty to Hammaker, Davies’ points lead expanded to 29 points with three races to go. Bennick sits third, 40 points out of the lead.

Cole Davies – 1st Place – Eastern Divisional 250SMX Class
“The whoops were sketchy today. They were super steep and since [the track crew] left them all day the cups were really gnarly. I’m stoked, that was a good race. I didn’t get off to a good start, but I made it happen and I’m stoked with that.”

Nate Thrasher – 2nd Place – Eastern Divisional 250SMX Class
“Honestly, I did not ride good at all. I just didn’t have a flow. I was really great in practice and solid in the Heat Race. The track just kept getting harder packed and I started struggling a little bit. I got a little pumped up and did the best I could. I’m pumped to be on the podium, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Devin Simonson – 3rd Place – Eastern Divisional 250SMX Class*
“I was able to pick up on some lines battling with Henry [Miller] and made the pass on him quick [for fifth]. A bunch of carnage was happening out front, I honestly don’t know what, but I saw on the pit board I was battling for fourth, so I gave it everything I had and came out with this one.”

The Monster Energy SMX World Championship and Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship will continue next Saturday, April 18, with Round 14 from Huntington Bank Field for the sport’s first visit to Cleveland in 30 years. Live broadcast coverage will be highlighted by a network showcase on NBC at 3 p.m. ET, in addition to comprehensive coverage on Peacock, beginning at 9 a.m. ET with Race Day Live, followed by the Gate Drop at 3 p.m. ET. A special encore network presentation will air on NBC as well on Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m. ET. Additionally, a domestic Spanish language broadcast is available on Peacock while international viewers can choose from dedicated English, French, and Spanish broadcasts via SMX Video Pass (www.SMXVideoPass.com).

All 17 rounds of the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and 11 rounds of the Pro Motocross Championship are on sale. Tickets for the SMX World Championship Playoff Rounds and Final are now on sale at SuperMotocross.com. Saturday FanFest will take place at all postseason races, Friday FanFest and camping will be available in Columbus and Ridgedale, additional details to follow.

For information about the Monster Energy SMX World Championship, please visit www.SuperMotocross.com and be sure to follow all of the new SMX social media channels for exclusive content and additional information on the latest news:
Instagram: @supermotocross
Facebook: @supermotocross
X: @supermotocross
YouTube: @supermotocross
TikTok: @supermotocross

About the Monster Energy SMX World Championship:
The Monster Energy SMX World Championship™ is the premier off-road motorcycle racing series in the world that combines the technical precision of stadium racing with the all-out speed and endurance of outdoor racing. Created in 2022, the Monster Energy SMX World Championship Series combines the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the AMA Pro Motocross Championship into a 28-round regular season that culminates with the season-ending SMX World Championship Playoffs. Visit SuperMotocross.com for more information.

About Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship:
Monster Energy AMA Supercross is the most competitive and highest-profile off-road motorcycle racing championship on the planet. Founded in America and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) since 1974. Over 17 weeks, Supercross attracts some of the largest and most impressive crowds inside the most recognizable and prestigious stadiums in North America to race in front of nearly one million live fans and broadcast to millions more worldwide. For more information, visit SupercrossLIVE.com.

About Pro Motocross Championship:
The Pro Motocross Championship features the world’s fastest outdoor motocross racers, competing aboard homologated bikes from one of seven competing manufacturers on a collection of the roughest, toughest tracks on the planet. Racing takes place each Saturday afternoon, with competition divided into two classes: one for 250cc machines, and one for 450cc machines. MX Sports Pro Racing, the industry leader in off-road powersports event production, manages the Pro Motocross Championship. For more information, visit ProMotocross.com.

About Feld Motor Sports, Inc.:
Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting specialized arena and stadium-based motorsports entertainment. Properties include Monster Jam®, Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and the Monster Energy SMX World Championship. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a subsidiary of Feld Entertainment, Inc. Visit monsterjam.com, SupercrossLIVE.com, and feldentertainment.com for more information.

About MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.:
MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., manages and produces the world’s premier motocross racing series – the Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. MX Sports Pro Racing is an industry leader in off-road powersport event production and management, its mission is to showcase the sport of professional motocross competition at events throughout the United States. Through its various racing properties, partnerships and affiliates, MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., organizes events for thousands of action sports athletes each year and attracts millions of motorsports spectators. Visit MXSportsProRacing.com for more information.

Brady Golan Dominates at NOLA in FR Americas Season Opener

By

Official Release

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April 12, 2026

unnamed — Photo courtesy of Gavin Baker Photography

Whitney Strickland Wins in Masters Cup While Making Series Debut

AVONDALE, La. (April 11, 2026) – Brady Golan dominated Race 1 to win the 2026 Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) season opener at NOLA Motorsports Park on Saturday morning. For the second year in a row, Golan stood atop the podium at the 2.75-mile track just outside New Orleans.

Notes of Interest:

Brady Golan won the opening race of the 2026 season. The victory marked Golan’s second win at NOLA Motorsports Park, and the third of his FR Americas career.
Christian Bogle returned to FR Americas for the first time since 2021, and earned his first-career FR Americas podium in Race 1 at NOLA.
Cooper Shipman moved up to FR Americas for the 2026 season after winning the 2025 Formula 4 United States Championship and the FR Americas scholarship that accompanied the prize. Shipman’s third-place result marked the second of his career, after also finishing in third during his series’ debut at Barber Motorsports Park in 2025.
Toney Driver Development scored a 1-2 finish with Golan and Bogle on the podium.
Reigning Team Champion, Kiwi Motorsport scored their first podium of 2026 with Shipman’s third-place result.

After an aborted standing start, the field raced toward a waving green flag to start the opening race of the 2026 season. Already lined up two-by-two, the third-place starter Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N-E-Where Transport / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) challenged pole sitter Evagoras Papasavvas (No. 71 Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3). The Crosslink Motorsports teammates made contact, allowing Brady Golan (No. 40 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS F3) to take the lead as the full course yellow was displayed.

When the green flag waved to restart the race, Golan put on a clinic opening up a nearly 10-second lead before a late-race caution regrouped the field. With just three minutes left on the clock, the race restarted with enough time for a green-white-checkered finish. Having his gap erased didn’t stop the Toney Driver Development driver from once again pulling away from the field. As the checkered flag waved two laps later, he held a 5.699-second margin over the field, claiming his first win of the 2026 season.

Hauanio had an up-and-down day starting the race third and then dropping back to 13th after making contact with his teammate. Despite that, he raced through the field to cross the line in second.

Barrett Wolfe (No. 13 Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3), another of Hauanio’s Crosslink Motorsports teammates, started the race sixth, but quickly climbed to second as Hauanio and Papasavvas had early contact. After spending most of the race in that position, Wolfe dropped to third on the white flag lap before seeing the checkered flag.

After the race, the stewards reviewed video footage and determined that both Hauanio and Wolfe left the track in Turn 1 to overtake Cooper Shipman (No. 10 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3). While the incidents occurred at different times—Wolfe’s during the initial start and Hauanio’s during the later restart—the result was the same, as both drivers were issued a five-second penalty. With the penalty, Hauanio dropped to seventh on the official results, while Wolfe was scored ninth. Christian Bogle (No. 7 Pelican Energy Consultants / Toney Driver Development Ligier JS F3) and Shipman were promoted to second and third, respectively.

“We had a good car today,” said Golan after the race. “We did a lot of work in the off season, so I’m super happy to see that it’s turned out well. It’s always nice to have a massive lead, but we built up a decent one again after the restart, too. We’ve had by far the fastest and most reliable car of the year. So, I’m super happy with Toney Driver Development. They’ve done an incredible job.”

Displaying consistency throughout the race, Whitney Strickland (No. 21 TF Companies / Hillenburg Motorsports Ligier JS F3) claimed his first win in the FR Americas Masters Cup Contingency. He was joined on the podium by Kevin Janzen (No. 24 US Power Group/Data Center Solutions / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) and Anthony Autiello (No. 07 Hope For The Warriors / Momentum Motorsports Ligier JS F3), who finished second and third, respectively.

“It’s been pretty fun,” said Strickland after climbing from the car. “I’m getting used to the Ligier JS F3 car—it’s my first weekend in it really, so I’m pretty happy to get a good result. I want to thank TF Companies for letting me come out here and do this. My management team took over the company, and as CEO, I got a little break to come do this race. I also have to thank Hillenburg Motorsports for the support, and my wife for being the team mom.”

Evagoras Papasavvas Takes FR Americas Race 2 Win at NOLA

Whitney Strickland Takes Second-Consecutive Masters Cup Victory

AVONDALE, La. (April 11, 2026) – Evagoras Papasavvas earned his first-career win in Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) Race 2 at NOLA Motorsports Park on Saturday afternoon. Capitalizing on a race of attrition, the former INDY NXT driver captured his first victory in the top level of Racing America’s Formula Ladder.

Notes of Interest:

Evagoras Papasavvas earned his first FR Americas win in just his second start during the opening day of the 2026 season at NOLA Motorsports Park.
Cooper Shipman earned a career-best in FR Americas with a runner-up finish in Race 2 at NOLA Motorsports Park. Shipman is competing in FR Americas this season with support from the Champion’s Scholarship program, which he won by taking the Formula 4 United States Championship title last year.
Moving up the ladder into FR Americas for the 2026 season, Kekai Hauanio earned his first podium with a third-place finish in Race 2.
Whitney Strickland went two-for-two on Saturday, winning the Masters Cup in both races.
FR Americas continues to be recognized as a viable training ground for drivers looking to prepare for INDY NXT and INDYCAR due to the similarities in the cars and how they handle. Today’s winner, Papasavvas, competed in a partial INDY NXT season just last year.

Brady Golan (No. 40 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS F3) led the field to the start lights, but a stall on the grid resulted in contact and significant damage to the Race 1 winner’s machine. The incident brought out an immediate yellow flag as second-place starter Cooper Shipman (No. 10 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) led the field to the safety car. Once the incident cleared, Shipman led the field to the green flag. It was Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N-E-Where Transport / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) who got the jump as the field rushed toward Turn 1. Taking control of the race, Hauanio pulled away as he set the pace and led all the way to the final minutes of the race. As the field rushed toward the white flag, Hauanio hit the rumble strips off Turn 16 locking his car into gear. Unable to shift, Hauanio’s teammate Papasavvas (No. 71 Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) made his way around as they raced down the front straight and Shipman quickly followed.

When they crossed the finish line, Papasavvas led, followed by Shipman and Hauanio.

“I mean with two laps left, it came to a point where you have to think about the championship, so I was just thinking about getting P2 and getting the second-place points, which was going to be good. I’m super happy going from sixth to first. I made some moves early and just put myself in the right place. I stayed focused on hitting my marks and one by one ticking them off. The car felt pretty good and it ended up working out in my favor. I have to thank Body Wise, Tiger Natural Gas, my family, Ares Elite Sports Vision, and just everyone at Crosslink Motorsports.”

FR Americas will contest their final race of the Racing America at NOLA weekend tomorrow at 9:10 a.m. CT. Live timing and scoring will be available on Race Monitor, with additional news and updates shared on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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250SMX Class

Brady Golan Dominates at NOLA in FR Americas Season Opener

Evagoras Papasavvas Takes FR Americas Race 2 Win at NOLA

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