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McLaughlin Ends Drought With Dominant Laguna Seca Win

By
Official Release
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Scott McLaughlin

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026) – Scott McLaughlin ended a long winless streak and the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in style, dominating the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey for his first victory in more than two years.

Pole sitter McLaughlin drove the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by 1.3739 seconds over the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood. The win was the eighth of McLaughlin’s INDYCAR SERIES career and his first since Sept. 1, 2024, in the second race of a doubleheader weekend at the Milwaukee Mile, snapping a drought of 36 races.

“My little girl (Lucy, born in October 2024) hasn’t seen me win yet, and now she has,” McLaughlin said. “So, Dad’s coming home with a trophy, baby. Let’s go!

“These guys and girls at Team Penske have stood behind me the whole time. Congrats to Alex (Palou) on his fifth (championship), but we’re working hard to beat them, and today was a big step in the right direction.”

Alexander Rossi finished third in the No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet for his first podium finish since placing third at this event for Arrow McLaren in June 2024.

Felix Rosenqvist placed fourth in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda. David Malukas put two Team Penske cars in the top five in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

Alex Palou punctuated the fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship that he clinched last weekend at Milwaukee with a quiet drive to eighth place in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing after he won this race the last two years. But Palou and the CGR team celebrated its record-tying fourth consecutive season title with donuts on the front straightaway by the driver and again in a boisterous post-race Astor Challenge Cup presentation.

McLaughlin left absolutely no doubt about his dominance in this race on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. He only trailed during pit stop sequences and ended up leading 87 of 95 laps, erasing all memories of the six podium finishes without a win since his last triumph.

There was only one caution period in the race, for a Lap 1 incident in which Sting Ray Robb’s No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing – Goodheart Chevrolet hit the rear of Dennis Hauger’s No. 19 Ault Block Chain Honda of Dale Coyne Racing in Turn 6, sending Hauger spinning into the tire barrier.

McLaughlin had no problem pulling away from the field on the restart on Lap 4, and his precise driving and Team Penske’s clean, quick work during three pit stops took care of the rest.

“We had to be solid,” McLaughlin said. “That’s what it’s going to take to win a championship. What a great warmup we had. Bring on 2027.”

Kirkwood, who started sixth, had climbed to second by Lap 20 after Palou pitted to switch to a different tire strategy and shadowed McLaughlin for the rest of the way, pitting at the same time as McLaughlin on all three stops. McLaughlin’s lead was nearly four seconds at the halfway point, but Kirkwood pulled as close as 1.2 seconds on Lap 72 due to running his final stint on the faster but less-durable Firestone Firehawk alternate tire.

But McLaughlin eased away in the closing laps on the more durable Firestone primary tire, as Kirkwood admitted he and the Andretti Global team took a safety-first approach to ensure the driver would finish a career-best second in the standings. Kirkwood ended up 86 points behind champion Palou.

“Second in the championship, and that’s my best road-course finish,” Kirkwood said. “We just played it super clean, super methodical. I wish I could have had a go at Scotty there at the end on the better tires, but we knew who we were fighting, and that was for the championship, mostly. So, we played it safe there. Second place is best of the rest.”

2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Rossi also was a fixture in the top three for most of the race, producing the best day for ECR since teammate Christian Rasmussen won in August 2025 at Milwaukee. Rasmussen also finished third this year at World Wide Technology Raceway, but road courses have been a weak spot for ECR this season. The best previous finish on this type of circuit was sixth by Rossi in June at Road America.

“I don’t think I could state the significance of it just with how challenging this year has been for the whole organization and how much road courses have been a huge struggle of ours,” Rossi said. “There was a lot of doubt coming into this event whether we could find a direction, so I think this is just a huge reward for all the effort.”

Despite finishing last in the 25-car field due to the incident with Robb, Hauger hung on to win series Rookie of the Year honors. He finished with 228 points, 15 ahead of Mick Schumacher of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the rookie race.

The 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opens Sunday, March 7 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

BECKMAN TAKES PLAYNHRA FUNNY CAR ALL-STAR CALLOUT AT CORNWELL QUALITY TOOLS NHRA U.S. NATIONALS

By
Official Release
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Langdon, Capps, Hartford and M. Smith secure No. 1 spots at The Big Go

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 6, 2026) – Funny Car’s Jack Beckman won the PlayNHRA All-Star Callout on Sunday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park for John Force Racing, defeating Matt Hagan in the final round of the bonus race as part of this weekend’s Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all qualified No. 1 in Indianapolis at the 14th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Beckman went 3.980-seconds at 323.19 mph in the final round of the Callout in his 12,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet SS, powering past Hagan, who slowed at the finish line. Remarkably, it also gives the veteran his fifth victory in the Indy Funny Car bonus race.

Sporting a John Force tribute car this weekend in Indy from his dominant 1996 championship season, the past world champion defeated Chad Green and J.R. Todd earlier in the day before meeting Hagan in the final round. Beckman will attempt to sweep the weekend and win the U.S. Nationals for the third time in his career.

“Our first shootout win was special to get one, and then when you get two, you’re like, ‘This is awesome,’ and then when I got four, and then I was done driving [after the 2020 season], I thought, ‘Still pretty good amount of trophies, more than I ever thought or dreamed I was going to get in here,’ and to come back into a competitive car right away, and then to get to close the deal on a day like today is incredible,” Beckman said. “We just treated it like race day, and it worked out.

“It’s a long race and if you can’t handle the ups and downs of that, you’re in the wrong sport. Our performance is measured in thousandths of a second, so I’m going to try to get a good night’s rest and hopefully come back a little bit closer to normal tomorrow because I know we’ve got a car that can repeat.”

Seeking his third career U.S. Nationals victory, Capps jumped to the provisional No. 1 spot in his 12,000-horsepower Carlye Tools/NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra with a 3.914 at 332.18. It sent Capps back into the points lead on what could be a wild Monday at The Big Go. Austin Prock took second with a 3.921 at 317.87 and Beckman took third with a 3.937 at 326.79.

Monday will also determine the regular season championship and the $150,000 payout, with Capps currently holding a three-point lead over Hagan, with Jordan Vandergriff and Todd 12 and 30 points back, respectively.

“In our book, we felt like we should win the regular season,” Capps said. “Our plan coming into qualifying was absolutely to try to get those little points. But who does it ever? Not very often. I promise you that if you walked into anyone’s trailer and they had that written as their goals – every crew chief, driver, team member had that thought. Like, but could you do it? You get the four points here instead of three and yesterday I was like, ‘Wow, we’re already technically at that point where Hagan was. We had passed him just in qualifying,’ and I’m not sure I’d ever done that.”

In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon’s Friday run proved to be the best of all five sessions as the past world champion took the No. 1 spot for the sixth time this season thanks to his run of 3.727 at 334.98 in his 12,000-horsepower SealMaster dragster for Kalitta Motorsports.

Langdon will enter raceday 68 points behind teammate Doug Kalitta, needing to make up three rounds on Monday at The Big Go to win the $150,000 and the regular season championship. A victory at Indy would help his chances and he’ll open raceday against Clay Millican, looking for his third U.S. Nationals victory.

“Yes and no that I thought the No. 1 would hold,” Langdon said. “I thought there could be an opportunity for someone else to take it. It was a good run for Friday night, but we weren’t really satisfied with that. We obviously wanted to do a little bit more, but we were just trying to see what we could get away with, and we weren’t able to do that Saturday.

“So the last run we really had to slow everything down, get everything back in check and get some information for tomorrow. We were able to do that and feel very confident for tomorrow.”

Tony Stewart clinched the second spot with a 3.744 at 328.22 and Kalitta took third after going 3.746 at 335.82.

Pro Stock’s Matt Hartford came on strong to close out qualifying at Indy, making the quickest run over the final three sessions, including a strong 6.572 at 208.97 to end the day in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro.

It’s the first No. 1 qualifier of the season for Hartford, who is after his second Indy victory after winning in 2023. He’s on a strong pace to be in contention on Monday and will open raceday Kenny Delco. Hartford already has three wins in 2026, but an Indy win during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season would certainly be special.

“It just feels great that our entire team is making some good decisions in the trailer before we roll up,” Hartford said. “The weather conditions that we started with from Friday to today are completely different, but we knew that when we got here that Sunday Q4 and Q5 were going to be the two best sessions. When we went low in Q4, we knew it wasn’t remotely safe, and that E.T. would probably be in the bottom half by the time we got done with Q5. I’m just really, really thankful for my team and how hard they’ve worked to allow this to happen.”

Dallas Glenn’s 6.574 at 208.01 put him second, while rookie Cody Anderson took third after going 6.574 at 207.91.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith started qualifying in the No. 1 spot and finished there five sessions later, moving back into the top position to close out Sunday with a run of 6.757 at 200.98.

The six-time world champion earned his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and will open raceday at Indy against Chris Bostick. A three-time winner at Indy, Smith has a great opportunity to win again at The Big Go, and with the way the team has performed thus far, an all-Matt Smith Racing final round is the goal for Monday.

“You know, I’ve won this race three times. I’d like to get a fourth one,” Smith said. “If I can’t do it, then I want one of the other three bikes that we have on our camp to do it, and I think we have a really good shot at doing it. I mean, we have three bikes in the top eight.

“We came back in Q5 and put it all together. I made a little axle adjustment and it went right down the track and took the top spot. I’m totally confident with how we tested at Rockingham coming here with this kind of weather. I felt good. I’ve felt good all weekend. We’ve just got to turn on four win lights tomorrow.”

Gaige Herrera took second with a 6.781 at 198.79 and Angie Smith qualified third after going 6.787 at 198.50.

Eliminations for the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals begin at 10 a.m. ET on Monday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

INDIANAPOLIS — Monday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, the 14th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Sunday. DNQs

listed below pairings.

Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.727 seconds, 334.98 mph vs. 16. Clay Millican, 3.844, 327.11; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.744, 328.22 vs. 15. T.J. Zizzo, 3.836, 328.62; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.746, 335.82 vs. 14. Will Smith, 3.828, 325.45; 4. Billy Torrence, 3.767, 329.34 vs. 13. Maddi Gordon, 3.818, 324.67; 5. Leah Pruett, 3.772, 326.24 vs. 12. Josh Hart, 3.812, 323.50; 6. Jasmine Salinas, 3.776, 329.91 vs. 11. Tripp Tatum, 3.805, 308.43; 7. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.778, 330.88 vs. 10. Antron Brown, 3.797, 330.07; 8. Justin Ashley, 3.781, 331.12 vs. 9. Shawn Reed, 3.784, 331.28.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Jake Sanders, 3.862, 306.26; 18. Dan Mercier, 3.873, 314.75; 19. Tony Schumacher, 3.883, 323.19; 20. Krista Baldwin, 3.887, 321.65; 21. Lex Joon, 4.823, 162.53; 22. Jacob Opatrny, 11.406, 74.57.

Funny Car — 1. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.914, 332.18 vs. 16. John Smith, Dodge Charger, 4.089, 305.36; 2. Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.921, 317.87 vs. 15. Julie Nataas, GR Supra, 4.089, 309.70; 3. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.937, 326.79 vs. 14. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.076, 303.78; 4. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.944, 319.45 vs. 13. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.037, 324.05; 5. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.947, 331.77 vs. 12. Hunter Green, Charger, 4.024, 313.95; 6. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.947, 329.26 vs. 11. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.002, 317.87; 7. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.948, 327.59 vs. 10.

J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.981, 327.74; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.970, 319.98 vs. 9. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.974, 321.96.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Bobby Bode, 4.098, 278.58; 18. Chris King, 4.112, 287.96; 19. Blake Alexander, 4.115, 275.39; 20. Dylan Winefsky, 4.119, 308.43; 21. Justin Schriefer, 4.124, 292.46; 22. Dave Richards, 4.130, 312.42; 23. Terry Haddock, 4.922, 162.22.

Pro Stock — 1. Matt Hartford, Chevy Camaro, 6.572, 208.97 vs. 16. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.646, 205.98; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.574, 208.01 vs. 15. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.625, 208.14; 3. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.574, 207.91 vs. 14. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.623, 206.51; 4. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.583, 206.86 vs. 13. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.618, 207.66; 5. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.585, 206.67 vs. 12. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.614, 208.52; 6. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.588, 209.36 vs. 11. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.613, 207.02; 7. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.590, 207.85 vs. 10. Troy Coughlin

Jr., Camaro, 6.604, 208.39; 8. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.590, 207.46 vs. 9. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.593, 206.57.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Deric Kramer, 6.661, 206.45; 18. Alan Prusiensky, 6.783, 202.12; 19. David Vaseloff, 6.863, 199.20.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.757, 200.98 vs. 16. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.982, 193.24; 2. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.781, 198.79 vs. 15. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.967, 194.04; 3. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.787, 198.50 vs. 14. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.933, 195.45; 4. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.818, 197.86 vs. 13. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.928, 193.54; 5. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.825, 197.57 vs. 12. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 6.925, 195.08; 6. John Hall, Beull, 6.830, 198.03 vs. 11. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.925, 195.65; 7. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.861, 196.67 vs. 10. Michael Ray, Buell, 6.893, 196.67; 8. Clayton Howey, Suzuki, 6.865, 194.77 vs. 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.876, 194.30.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Wesley Wells, 7.085, 187.60; 18. Hector Arana, 7.091, 192.17; 19. Mark Paquette, 7.158, 179.83.

INDIANAPOLIS — Sunday’s final results from the PLAYNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout at the 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

PLAYNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout — Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.980, 323.19 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.290, 227.19.

INDIANAPOLIS — Final round-by-round results from the PLAYNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout at the 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

PLAYNHRA FUNNY CAR ALL-STAR CALLOUT:

ROUND ONE — J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.981, 327.74 def. Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 4.054, 285.17; Alexis DeJoria, Chevy Camaro, 3.971, 330.15 def. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 6.820, 99.19; Jack Beckman, Camaro, 4.253, 252.14 def. Chad Green, Mustang, 6.931, 98.97; Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.947, 331.77 def. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.976, 325.22;

SEMIFINALS — J. Beckman, 3.963, 327.43 def. J. Todd, 4.044, 316.97; M. Hagan, 3.979, 328.78 def. A. DeJoria, 4.530, 191.97;

FINAL — J. Beckman, 3.980, 323.19 def. M. Hagan, 4.290, 227.19.

How to Build a Bronco: The Order the Decisions Actually Go In

By
SM
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Most people plan a Bronco build backward. They pick a trim because they like the interior, order it, then take it to a shop and ask for 37-inch tires, at which point they find out the gearing is wrong and the truck they just bought was the expensive way to get there.

Nearly every costly mistake in this category comes from making decisions out of sequence. Here is the order that saves money, and roughly what each stage costs.

StageDecisionTypical cost
1Tire size and final ride heightSets everything else
2Base vehicle and trim$40,000 to $65,000
3Suspension and gearing$6,000 to $15,000
4Wheels and tires$3,000 to $6,000
5Paint or wrap$4,000 to $15,000
6Interior and sound deadening$1,500 to $10,000
7Road test and sortingIncluded, or it should be

Start at the end

Decide the tire size first. Everything upstream depends on it, and this is the single decision that reorders the entire build.

Thirty-fives and thirty-sevens are different builds, not different trim levels. A truck on 37s needs more lift, more clearance work, different gearing, and often fender modification. Decide that at stage four instead of stage one, and you pay to redo stages two and three.

Write down the finished truck you want before you configure anything. Tire size, ride height, color, and whether it is a daily driver or a weekend vehicle. Every decision after that flows from those four answers.

Then buy the right base vehicle

Now pick the trim, because now you know what you actually need from it.

The Sasquatch package is the clearest example of why order matters. It bundles 35-inch tires on beadlock-capable wheels, position-sensitive Bilstein dampers, high-clearance fender flares, Dana electronic locking differentials front and rear, and a 4.70 final drive ratio. It runs roughly $4,350 with the automatic.

If your build ends at 37s with an aftermarket suspension system, half of that package is money you set on fire. The Bilsteins come off. The 35s come off. But the lockers and the 4.70 gearing absolutely do not, and both are far cheaper from Ford than retrofitted later. A front locker retrofit is not a casual afternoon, and a regear is real labor.

So the useful question is never whether to buy Sasquatch. It is which half of it you are paying for.

Base with Sasquatch is the cheapest route to lockers and 4.70 gearing. Badlands gives you those lockers standard on 33s, plus pre-wired auxiliary upfitter switches in the overhead console, which matter the moment you add lights or a winch. Outer Banks is the wrong direction for a build, since you are paying for road-comfort appointments a builder will likely change.

Body style belongs here too. The 4-door has a 116.1-inch wheelbase versus the 2-door’s 100.4, and carries 83 cubic feet with the seats folded versus 52.3. The 2-door has the better breakover angle and tighter turning circle. It also feels considerably taller and busier on the highway once you lift it, because there is less wheelbase underneath to settle it down.

Suspension and gearing together

These are one stage, not two, and treating them separately is where budget builds go wrong.

Larger tires effectively raise the gear ratio, so the engine works harder to move the same truck. Acceleration softens, the transmission hunts, and the driveline runs loaded in ways it was never calibrated for. The correction is a regear to match the tire size.

Extra ride height alters the angles every suspension component was engineered around. Control arms swing through a different arc, driveshafts sit steeper, and steering geometry shifts. The fix takes corrected control arms, a track bar that recenters the axle, and an alignment performed after the suspension has settled rather than the afternoon it went together.

Recalibrate the speedometer while you are here. Taller tires cover more ground per revolution, so an uncalibrated truck under-reports speed, which throws off the odometer, your service intervals, and any roadside conversation you would rather not have.

None of this work photographs. That is precisely why it gets left out, and why two trucks with identical parts lists can differ by fifteen thousand dollars.

Paint during teardown, not after

If the color is changing, do it now, while the truck is apart.

A color-change respray runs $4,000 to $15,000 and costs 30 to 60 percent more than a same-color job, because the shop has to cover door jambs, engine bay edges, trunk edges and the fuel filler area. Most of that penalty disappears when the panels are already off for other work.

Vinyl wrap is the alternative at $4,000 to $8,000 on a truck, lasting five to seven years against ten to fifteen for paint. Wrap wins on reversibility. On a truck already permanently modified in a dozen ways, reversibility is worth less than it sounds.

Interior and sound deadening in one pass

Same principle. Sound deadening installs during teardown, so it belongs in the same job as any upholstery work rather than as a separate project later.

Reupholstery runs $250 to $750 per seat, with front and rear together landing around $1,500 for a single color. A full interior in premium leather can reach $10,000. Heated seat elements sit under the upholstery and need laying in before the final material goes on, so decide on those now or pay for the same teardown twice.

One thing to ask any shop directly: how they handle airbag seams and seat-mounted occupancy sensors. Those have to keep functioning after reupholstery, and the answer tells you quickly who you are dealing with.

The stage everyone skips

A build can be assembled correctly and still need sorting.

Bolts settle. Suspension finds its position over the first few hundred miles. Driveline vibrations appear at 45 miles an hour and vanish completely at 30 and at 65. None of it shows up in a parking lot, and none of it shows up in photographs.

Shops that road test before delivery find these things and fix them. Shops that do not have hands-on quality control hand the problem to the customer, who discovers it somewhere on an interstate, far from the people who built the truck.

Run these seven stages as one process and the total lands well below what the same specification costs assembled piece by piece across separate shops. That sequencing is the entire argument for buying a finished build. FL Auto Sales Group, a Tampa builder producing custom Ford Broncos along with Bronco Raptors and vintage Broncos, runs it as a single structured process and ships nationwide. 

Whether you commission the build or buy one finished, the questions are the same. What was the base vehicle, and why? What was regeared, and to what ratio? Was the speedometer recalibrated? What was corrected in the suspension geometry beyond the lift? How many miles went on the truck before delivery?

A shop that did the work answers all five in about two minutes. A shop that assembled parts will steer you back to the spec sheet.

Kucharczyk Romps to Win, Johnson Captures Title in Finale

By
Official Release
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MONTEREY, Calif. (Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026) – Tymek Kucharczyk got his revenge, and Nikita Johnson got the crown Sunday in the INDY NXT by Firestone season finale.

Kucharczyk ran away to victory in the second race of the Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car one day after his title hopes in the INDYCAR development series were ended when he was hit and spun by a rival on the first lap.

“Really proud of the work,” Kucharczyk said. “Everyone on the team did amazing. Big congrats to Nikita. What can I say? ‘What if’ if yesterday didn’t happen? But nevertheless, really proud of today. We maximized what we had.”

Johnson dodged a first-lap incident in today’s 30-lap race and cruised to a distant second place in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR machine to clinch the season championship and an INDYCAR SERIES career enhancement package. Johnson, from St. Petersburg, Florida, became the youngest champion in series history at 18 years, 3 months and 12 days old.

He finished 29 points ahead of season runner-up Enzo Fittipaldi in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports entry to clinch the first INDY NXT championship for longtime junior open-wheel team Cape Motorsports, owned by brothers Dominic and Nicholas Cape.

“It’s amazing,” Johnson said. “It’s good to finally show my emotions. I think a lot of people thought I was passionless, but I’m just emotionless when I drive, right? I just go out there and do the work. I’m happy that the work is done now, and I can finally go celebrate.”

Lochie Hughes rounded out the podium finishers on a sun-splashed California morning in the No. 26 Andretti Global entry.

Jacob Abel finished fourth in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports car, while Fittipaldi rounded out the top five.

For the second straight day, a first-lap incident was the major flashpoint of the race.

On Saturday, contact from Myles Rowe in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy machine sent Kucharczyk into a spin and to the bottom of the field on the first lap. He recovered to finish 10th, but his title hopes were over after entering the weekend third, 29 points behind leader Johnson.

In this race, Saturday winner Josh Pierson said he had an apparent mechanical malfunction while starting second that caused his No. 29 Starchive Andretti car to sputter on an upshift just past the flag stand. That hesitation led to contact from behind from the No. 12 Abel Motorsports machine of Milwaukee winner Max Garcia. Pierson’s car spun and collected the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing entry of Niels Koolen, and both cars careened into the gravel and were out of the race.

Johnson, who started fifth, avoided the melee that triggered the only caution period of the race and powered to second place for the only restart. Pole sitter Kucharczyk left no doubt about his intent on the restart on Lap 5, pulling away immediately.

The Polish rookie then inexorably drove away from the field, building a lead of nearly four seconds by Lap 11, five seconds by Lap 15 and 7.3 seconds by Lap 24.

Kucharczyk then cruised to his second victory of his first season of racing in North America, as he also won in May on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He ended up third in points, 34 behind champion Johnson, after leading all 30 laps today.

“I was pushing every lap,” Kucharczyk said. “I left nothing on the table. I’m really proud. It was an amazing year.”

After the restart, Johnson faced some pressure from Hughes. But Johnson managed the gap and showed the composed driving style that helped him earn nine podium finishes and top-10 results in all 17 races this season. He also was the only driver to complete all 656 laps this season.

“I’m happy that we got it done, and I can’t thank the Cape boys enough,” Johnson said. “They’ve always been in my corner the whole time. My whole family, everybody that supports us back home.”

Justin Allgaier maintains O’Reilly Chase points lead despite late fade at Darlington

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Justin Allgaier capped off the first Chase of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event, Fleetio 200, at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, September 5, by retaining the points lead despite fading amid a strong on-track performance.

The 2024 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion from Riverton, Illinois, was untouchable throughout the first stage period as he took command from teammate, Chaser and pole-sitter Carson Kvapil through the first two turns on the opening lap. The early pace was all about maintaining the clean air from Kvapil while also preserving the tires for Allgaier. Despite opting to pit with a majority of the field for fresh tires during the event’s first caution period that first flew just past the Lap 30 mark, Allgaier used his four fresh tires to go from fifth to first in a single lap during a six-lap shootout to conclude the first stage period. When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Allgaier, who led all but four of the opening 45 laps, notched his ninth stage victory of the 2026 season.

“The Arby’s Steak Nugget Chevrolet was really good early in the night,” Allgaier said on the CW Network. “I felt like when we were out front there, we were able to kind of save some tires and cruise. I felt like our pace was really good.”

After remaining on the track along with a majority of the field, Allgaier retained the lead from Kvapil during the second stage’s start on Lap 52. Following a caution for an on-track incident on Lap 60 and a Lap 64 restart, Allgaier was outdueled by Kvapil. For the stage’s remainder, which featured two additional cautions for on-track incidents, Allgaier lost ground on the lead and ultimately fell to sixth place when the stage concluded.

Restarting in fifth place for the third and final stage period, Allgaier, who pitted with the field during the second stage’s break period, ran as high as third place on the track, but could not mount closer to the lead. Then, as he was struggling with the rear and handling of his No. 7 entry, Allgaier scraped the outside wall entering the third turn when his left-front tire locked up. The incident occurred with 23 laps remaining as he was trying to maintain fourth place from Austin Hill. Amid the incident, Allgaier continued without drawing a caution, but he continued to fade on the leaderboard. 

With 17 laps remaining, Allgaier dropped out of the top-five mark, and he fell out of the top-10 category with five laps remaining. When the checkered flag flew, he ended up in 17th place. 

“The last part of the race there, even with making great adjustments on the pit box and fantastic pit stops all night, we just didn’t have the car that we needed at the end,” Allgaier said. “Obviously, I was hanging on. I was just trying to do everything I could. I had a really weird moment where the left front locked up getting into [Turn] three and knocked the fence down. Once that happened, you’re just kind of along for the ride, hanging on and trying to do as little damage as you can.”

Despite having his 10-race streak of finishing in the top-10 mark at Darlington snapped and not sweeping both Darlington victories (he won earlier in March), Allgaier maintains the points lead by seven points over Sheldon Creed. Overall, he led the event’s most laps (60 of 147). He now shifts his focus to the remaining eight Chase events, beginning next weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway, and aims to maintain his dominance throughout the season to contend for his second championship.

“We still got the points lead,” Allgaier said. “We got to another racetrack we’re really good at next week and go have some fun.”

Justin Allgaier’s 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase for the championship resumes next Saturday, September 12, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, for the Nu Way 225. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM.

Rajah Caruth’s late rally spoiled by fuel pickup issues at Darlington

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Rajah Caruth endured a roller-coaster run in his first event as a Chase contender in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division that concluded on a down note during the Fleetio 200 at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, September 5. 

The 24-year-old Caruth from Washington, D.C., took the green flag in ninth place and was racing in the exact spot when he made an unscheduled pit stop under green flag conditions on Lap 26 after reporting an alternator issue, later turned fuel pickup issue, to his No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry. After his pit crew went under the hood to diagnose the issue, Caruth returned to the track and was pinned two laps behind the leaders.

During the event’s first caution period that first flew on Lap 33 due to Preston Pardus spinning on the frontstretch, mixed pit strategies amongst the field ensued, which kept Caruth pinned two laps down. After settling in 33rd place at the conclusion of the first stage period and notching no stage points, he pitted for service prior to the start of the second stage period. 

In the early stages of the second stage period, Caruth cycled his way back on the lead lap after he regained his two-lost laps: the first on Lap 59 when Daniel Dye wrecked on the frontstretch and the second on Lap 69 when Corey Day wrecked William Sawalich following the latter duo’s run-ins. Despite navigating his way back to the front, Caruth did not accumulate stage points when the second stage period concluded as he was scored in 17th place.

After enduring a slow pit service that had him restarting outside the top-20 mark for the third and final stage period, Caruth spent the latter stage’s first three laps navigating his way up to 16th place when a multi-car wreck with 46 laps remaining generated an opportunity for Caruth, who returned to pit road for four fresh tires. During the final restart with 40 laps remaining, he used the tires to motor up as high as sixth place on the track.

Then with eighth laps remaining, Caruth’s late run was spoiled when he fell off the pace for a second time due to a fuel pickup issue. Despite coasting his entry back to pit road after coasting it for a full lap under reduced pace on the track when weaving it back and forth, Caruth lost two laps to the leaders for a second time and took the checkered flag in 26th place.

With the result, Caruth, who commenced his first O’Reilly Chase in 12th place in the standings with 2,020 points, racked up a total of 11 points and retains his points position. He now faces a 104-point deficit to commence his first Chase for the series’ championship. Despite capping off his first Chase event on a low note, Caruth leaned on the positives and the on-track pace gained from the Darlington event.

“[I’m] Just looking at the positives,” Caruth said on the CW Network. “We were respectable in the first stage before we had, I’m guessing it was a fuel pickup issue. No way to totally know before we go back and read and dissect it. I just was proud of all our effort. We could have easily took ourselves out of it by pusying the issue or putting ourselves in bad spots working through traffic. We got up to sixth place and was in good position to get a good result, but it happens, man. It’s sports.”

Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

To go along with the positives, Caruth expressed confidence as he looks ahead to the remaining eight Chase events and draw both himself and his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team back into championship contention prior to this year’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

“I definitely feel that confidence,” Caruth added. “I definitely feel it. Just gotta keep showing up and keep working hard. We’ll just keep digging.”

Rajah Caruth’s Chase for the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship resumes next Saturday, September 12, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, for the Nu Way 225. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM.

ARCA Menards West at All American Speedway: NAPA Auto Parts 150 Pres by West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame Post-race Notes

By
Official Release
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  • Ethan Nascimento (No. 4 Nascimento Motorsports / RJ’s Paintshop Chevrolet) prevailed in a frantic five-lap dash to the finish in Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series West NAPA Auto Parts 150 Presented by West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame at All American Speedway. Nascimento traded the lead three times with reigning series champion Trevor Huddleston (No. 50 High Point Racing / Racecar Factory Ford) after the final restart at lap 146, and traded paint with him on the final lap to move Huddleston up the track and out of the lead down the backstretch. The two made more contact in turns three and four and then had a drag race to the finish line, which Nascimento got to first by just 0.039 seconds.
  • Nascimento is the tenth first-time winner at All American Speedway in the last 13 ARCA Menards Series West races at the track.
  • Nascimento’s victory is the third time in the last seven races that saw a last-lap pass for the victory. Gio Scelzi (2020) and PJ Pedroncelli (2021) also made a last-lap pass to seal the victory.
  • Hailie Deegan (No. 16 Columbia Bank Chevrolet) notched her second consecutive third-place finish at team owner Bill McAnally’s home track, finishing just 0.219 seconds behind Nascimento. The BMR shop is located just 10 minutes from the track, and McAnally is a former promoter of the speedway.
  • Defending race winner Robbie Kennealy (No. 1 Jan’s Towing / Jan’s Racing Ford), the defending race winner, ran as high as second but was pinned in the inside lane on a restart inside the final 50 laps and gave up a couple of positions before racing his way back to fourth. It is his fifth top-five finish of the season.
  • Will Robinson (No. 25 Ivy Asset Group Toyota) had a quiet run to finish fifth, his best career series finish; he previously finished 16th at Tucson Speedway and 13th at Colorado National Speedway.
  • Cole Denton (No. 71 Jan’s Towing / Jan’s Racing Ford) started from the Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole and led early but slowly faded through the field, often due to starting in the inside lane on restarts. Denton, who turned 16 just before the previous race at Portland International Raceway, scored his series leading third Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole Award of the season earlier in the day.
  • Eric Johnson, Jr. (No. 5 Pacific Office Automation Toyota) battled just to get to the racetrack after his flight from home in La Center, Washington to Sacramento was canceled. He and his father rented a car and made the 14-hour drive to the track, arriving just 10 minutes before the driver’s meeting. Johnson qualified a career-best second and led the first handful of laps before fading through the field, eventually finishing seventh.
  • Andrew Chapman (No. 55 High Point Racing / Racecar Factory Ford) recovered from a spin with Kenna Mitchell (No. 13 Central Coast Cabinets Ford) to finish eighth. Mitchell, who clinched the track’s Late Model championship earlier in the night, needed to pit for repairs and finished 15th, 31 laps in arrears.
  • Josiah Reaume (No. 72 RBR Engineering Chevrolet) finished ninth, his second career top-ten finish and best of his career. He finished tenth earlier this season at Tri-City Raceway.
  • Fifteen-year-old Donald Witkowski (No. 77 King Taco / REX MD / Wallace Signs Toyota) finished tenth in his ARCA Menards West debut.
  • Mason Massey (No 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet) entered the night 18 points out of the ARCA Menards West points lead, but engine issues sidelined him after 87 laps. With his 17th-place finish, and combined with Huddleston’s second place finish and bonus points for leading the most laps, Huddleston unofficially leads the series standings by 35 points over Massey with four races remaining.
  • The next race for the ARCA Menards Series West is the Madera 150 Presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 26. The race, set to begin at 10:20 pm ET / 7:20 pm PT, will be televised live on FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will have live timing & scoring data throughout all on-track activity and live race audio. Follow @ARCA_Racing on X (formerly Twitter) for up-to-the-minute updates.

About ARCA 
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly and regional tour racing all across the country, the organization to sanctions over 100 races per year in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, ASA STARS National Tour, ASA CRA Super Series, ASA Midwest Tour, ASA Southern Super Series plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. For more information about ARCA visit , or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing). 
About Menards
A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states.  Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building.  You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more.  To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro!
 
Menards has what you need to complete your outdoor projects and keep your yard in tip-top shape including mowers, trimmers, blowers, pressure washers and more, plus a beautiful garden center stocked with plants, shrubs, trees, landscaping tools, grass seed, fertilizer options, outdoor décor and patio furniture.  Menards also has everyday essentials like health & beauty products, housewares, pet and wildlife supplies, automotive items and even groceries.  And at Christmas, an Enchanted Forest display area with impressive trees, lighting, decorations, ornaments, inflatables and more. 

Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too!  For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.

TOYOTA RACING – NOAPS Darlington Post-Race Report – 09.05.26

By
Official Release
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CREWS IMPRESSIVE IN DARLINGTON DEBUT
Gray, Jones start Chase fight with top-10 runs

DARLINGTON, S.C. (September 5, 2026) – Toyota Development Driver Brent Crews had an impressive debut at Darlington Raceway as the 18-year-old drove through the field in the final stage to finish third in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series race on Saturday evening. The Rookie of the Year leader earned his ninth top-five finish of the season.

Taylor Gray (seventh) and Brandon Jones (10th) started their Chase runs with solid top-10 finishes, as both teams remain in the Championship fight. Sam Hunt Racing’s Dean Thompson (11th) continued the organization’s recent performance surge as he just missed the team’s third straight race with a top-10 finish.

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS)
Darlington Raceway
Race 25 of 33 – 200 miles, 147 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Sheldon Creed*
2nd, Corey Day*
3rd, BRENT CREWS
4th, Sammy Smith*
5th, Austin Hill*
7th, TAYLOR GRAY
10th, BRANDON JONES
11th, DEAN THOMPSON
20th, HARRISON BURTON
30th, WILLIAM SAWALICH
34th, GLEN REEN
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES
BRENT CREWS, No. 19 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
What did you learn about Darlington tonight?
“Well, it was a lot of fun. I got to move around a bunch. It was a hot day. It was a lot of fun. Learning a lot of different things. We tried a lot of different things in practice and just kept learning all night. At the end, when I was running everyone down, it kind of felt like Millbridge (Speedway). That was really cool. Blessed with the opportunity to come here and race. Wish I could have raced here earlier in the year, and maybe our result would have been a little different here, but it was a great learning day, and we had a super-fast No. 19 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra.”

TAYLOR GRAY, No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
Solid top-10 to start the Chase, and continuing to show improvement at Darlington. How was your race?
“Really proud of everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. Thankful for everyone at Operation 300 and TOYOTA RACING, M-Experiment. This is probably my weakest track in the Chase, so we went to work really hard on this place over the last few months knowing we were coming here the first race of the Chase, and we made good improvements. I feel like we struggled a little bit firing off, and honestly, didn’t expect the race to go that green there at the end, but yeah, really proud of progression and the effort from the 54 group. We will go on to Gateway.”

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 over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

PROCK, PRUETT, C. ANDERSON & HERRERA WIN MISSION #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE AT CORNWELL QUALITY TOOLS NHRA U.S. NATIONALS

By
Official Release
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Langdon, Capps, Hartford and Herrera are provisional No. 1 qualifiers at The Big Go

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 5, 2026) – Back-to-back Funny Car world champion Austin Prock claimed his third Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win of the year on Saturday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, defeating J.R. Todd in the final round of the specialty race as part of this weekend’s prestigious Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Leah Pruett (Top Fuel), Cody Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday in Indy, while Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the provisional No. 1 qualifiers in Indianapolis at the 14th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Selections in the opening round of Sunday’s PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout were also made on Saturday. Top seed Jack Beckman selected Chad Green, Matt Hagan picked Spencer Hyde, Ron Capps called out Alexis DeJoria and defending Callout winner Prock will meet Todd for the second straight day.

Prock, who has won the U.S. Nationals the past two years, went 3.921-seconds at 317.87 in his 12,000-horsepower Ford Racing Mustang to power past Todd’s 4.006 at 325.06. It gives Prock the Mission #2Fast2Tasty title for 2026, as well as 16 bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Prock has been red-hot in recent months, advancing to five final rounds in the Challenge since May. Indy was a perfect capper to that as he looks to have another huge weekend at The Big Go and become the first Funny Car driver in NHRA history to win Indy three straight years.

“We went the first six races without winning a single round, and then after Chicago, we made it to our first semifinal round, and I think we’ve been almost we’ve been in every Mission #2fast2Tasty Challenge except one. It just shows how far this team’s come. Those are the kind of stats that’ll win you a third championship in a row,” Prock said.

“Both runs that we’ve made were full pulls that had a few cylinders out, and the E.T. board still shows we’re second quick, we’re third quick. We’re making impressive runs on six cylinders in this Ford Mustang. There’s a lot of racing to go and I guarantee you this Ford Mustang will be dialed in on Monday.”

Capps jumped to the provisional No. 1 spot in his 12,000-horsepower Carlye Tools/NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra with a 3.914 at 332.18.

Top Fuel’s Leah Pruett was thrilled to find Indy success on Saturday, defeating points leader Doug Kalitta in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge with a run of 3.873 at 319.98 in her 12,000-horsepower Dodge dragster. It is Pruett’s first Challenge victory of the season and it came at the perfect time as the standout looks to try and chase down the reigning world champion in the Countdown to the Championship.

Kalitta earned a whopping 22 bonus points for the Countdown through his success in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge this year, but it was Pruett who got the final bonus win of the season, giving her momentum and confidence as she chases her first U.S. Nationals victory in Top Fuel.

“I barely even hit the light, I was like, ‘That sucked,’ and I am not happy at all. I’m just waiting for Doug to just scream on by at 340-mph and he didn’t. That car saved that round. I saved our first round against Maddi, and yeah, it’s it all comes back to unity and team,” Pruett said.

“To get a win like that at Indy with the crowd, with the changing variables, the history, the pageantry, everything about it is fulfilling. I’m embracing it because all this is emotional warfare in preparation for the biggest, baddest Big Go that there could ever be. That’s where I’m at.”

Langdon stayed in the top spot thanks to Friday’s run of 3.727 at 334.98 in his 12,000-horsepower SealMaster dragster for Kalitta Motorsports. Tony Stewart is second with a 3.744 at 328.22 and Pruett is third with Friday’s 3.772 at 326.24.

Pro Stock rookie Cody Anderson enjoyed the first victory of his young career, taking down veteran Greg Stanfield in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge with a run of 6.642 at 204.91 in his Troy Humphrey Motorsports/Daiken/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. Anderson left with an strong .020 reaction time and held off Stanfield to enjoy a winning moment on the sport’s grandest stage.

His father, six-time world champion and points leader Greg Anderson, won the overall Mission #2Fast2Tasty title, but Saturday belonged to his son, as Cody continues to show impressive improvements in his debut season.

“It’s super special, and any win feels good,” Cody said. “This place is extra special and iconic since it’s Indy. This win gives me a lot of confidence. It’s hard to win one round, especially on race day, and just to get two win lights is a huge confidence boost, and to be able to leave on Greg Stanfield is a big deal. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going for race day.”

Added Greg: “It’s pretty damn cool. I felt so bad when I crossed the finish line in the first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty round and got my butt whipped. Cody held up his end of the bargain. I’m so very, very proud of the boy. It’s pretty cool to see, and for it to happen at Indy means more since I’ve said all my career, I love this place more than anywhere else.”

Matt Hartford moved into the provisional No. 1 spot with his run of 6.626 at 205.54 in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson dueled in the final of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, with Herrera clinching victory – and the season title – when Gadson went red by .002. Herrera would have been tough to beat, going to No. 1 as well with a standout run of 6.842 at 196.50 on his RevZilla/Vance & Hines Suzuki.

It could be the start of a big weekend for Herrera, who is after his third straight Indy victory as well, which is something only Dave Schultz has done in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

“This was kind of how I saw it playing out that one of us was going to possibly go red,” Herrera said. “I mean, that’s how it’s been with us. I feel like we’re both going to lay it all out there. I won’t lie. I went up there and squeezed my [clutch] lever a little extra tighter than normal to make sure I wasn’t the one to go red. We go out there to cut each other’s head off and it’s live or die by the sword.

“I’m also very happy to get this Mission [2Fast2Tasty overall win. This is a great deal and it makes it a lot more fun to race on Saturdays.”

Qualifying continues at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The first round of the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout is slated for 12:45 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS — Saturday’s results after the first three of five rounds of qualifying for the 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, 14th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Sunday for Monday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.727 seconds, 334.98 mph; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.744, 328.22; 3. Leah Pruett, 3.772, 326.24; 4. Jasmine Salinas, 3.776, 329.91; 5. Justin Ashley, 3.781, 331.12; 6. Antron Brown, 3.797, 330.07; 7. Tripp Tatum, 3.805, 308.43; 8. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.809, 328.46; 9. Josh Hart, 3.812, 323.50; 10. Maddi Gordon, 3.818, 324.67; 11. Doug Kalitta, 3.825, 331.12; 12. Clay Millican, 3.844, 327.11; 13. Dan Mercier, 3.873, 314.75; 14. Jake Sanders, 3.878, 306.26; 15. Tony Schumacher, 3.920, 312.93; 16. T.J. Zizzo, 3.934, 288.89.

Not Qualified: 17. Will Smith, 4.499, 166.76; 18. Billy Torrence, 4.674, 216.24; 19. Lex Joon, 5.213, 143.73; 20. Shawn Reed, 5.218, 131.79; 21. Krista Baldwin, 5.399, 128.07; 22. Jacob Opatrny, broke.

Funny Car — 1. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.914, 332.18; 2. Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.921, 317.87; 3. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.937, 326.79; 4. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.944, 319.45; 5. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.947, 329.26; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.970, 319.98; 7. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.974, 321.96; 8. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.979, 327.59; 9. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.998, 323.89; 10. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 4.002, 315.49; 11. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.037, 324.05;

  1. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.044, 283.49; 13. Hunter Green, Charger, 4.045, 318.77; 14. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.076, 303.78; 15. Chris King, Charger, 4.112, 287.96; 16. Dylan Winefsky, Charger, 4.119, 308.43.

Not Qualified: 17. Bobby Bode, 4.134, 252.52; 18. Dave Richards, 4.196, 303.71; 19. Julie

Nataas, 4.205, 295.79; 20. Blake Alexander, 4.793, 171.99; 21. Justin Schriefer, 4.809, 169.13; 22. Terry Haddock, 6.713, 110.47; 23. John Smith, broke.

Pro Stock — 1. Matt Hartford, Chevy Camaro, 6.626, 205.54; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.637, 204.29; 3. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.642, 204.91; 4. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.645, 205.47; 5. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.645, 203.58; 6. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.652, 204.79; 7. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.654, 205.72; 8. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.656, 203.40; 9. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.660, 203.40; 10. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.661, 205.04; 11. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.661, 203.31; 12. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.663, 203.12; 13. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.665, 203.77; 14. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.683, 205.01; 15. Jeg

Coughlin, Camaro, 6.686, 206.20; 16. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.711, 206.07.

Not Qualified: 17. Shane Tucker, 6.740, 206.16; 18. Alan Prusiensky, 6.826, 197.94; 19. David Vaseloff, 6.863, 199.20.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.842, 196.50; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.858, 199.26; 3. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.875, 195.99; 4. Clayton Howey, Suzuki, 6.886, 194.35; 5. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.905, 196.64; 6. John Hall, Beull, 6.910, 195.65; 7. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.927, 193.18; 8. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.947, 193.38; 9. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.954, 195.82; 10. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.967, 194.04; 11. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 6.976, 192.08; 12. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.983, 192.63; 13. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.994, 190.73; 14. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.002, 194.27; 15. Wesley

Wells, Suzuki, 7.085, 187.42; 16. Hector Arana, EBR, 7.091, 192.06.

Not Qualified: 17. Mark Paquette, 7.158, 179.83; 18. Steve Johnson, 7.822, 167.88; 19. Michael Ray, 10.841, 72.94.

INDIANAPOLIS — Saturday’s final results from the NHRA Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at the 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Top Fuel Challenge — Leah Pruett, 3.873 seconds, 319.98 mph def. Doug Kalitta, 4.502 seconds, 187.16 mph.

Funny Car Challenge — Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.921, 317.87 def. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 4.006, 325.06.

Pro Stock Challenge — Cody Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.642, 204.91 def. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.645, 203.58.

Pro Stock Motorcycle Challenge — Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.842, 196.50 def. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light.

INDIANAPOLIS — NHRA Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge final round-by-round results from the 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

TOP FUEL CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Doug Kalitta, 3.825, 331.12 def. Justin Ashley, 4.189, 214.04; Leah Pruett, 4.083, 263.20 def. Maddi Gordon, 4.242, 210.97;

FINAL — L. Pruett, 3.873, 319.98 def. D. Kalitta, 4.502, 187.16.

FUNNY CAR CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 4.538, 264.55 def. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 5.427, 148.10; Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 4.229, 263.00 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.950, 159.97;

FINAL — A. Prock, 3.921, 317.87 def. J. Todd, 4.006, 325.06.

PRO STOCK CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Cody Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.668, 205.22 def. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.668, 204.48; Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.672, 205.94 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.648, 205.41;

FINAL — C. Anderson, 6.642, 204.91 def. G. Stanfield, 6.645, 203.58.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.858, 196.99 def. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.910, 195.39; Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.875, 195.99 def. Matt Smith, Buell, Foul – Red Light;

FINAL — G. Herrera, 6.842, 196.50 def. R. Gadson, Foul – Red Light.

What Can a Vehicle’s History Reveal?

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SM
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Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels

Buying a used car can be a smart financial decision, but it also comes with risks that are not always visible during a test drive or visual inspection. A vehicle may look excellent on the outside while having a complicated past involving accidents, insurance claims, auction sales, or significant repairs.

That is why researching a vehicle’s history has become an important part of the used-car buying process.

What Can a Vehicle’s History Reveal?

Every vehicle has a unique Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), which can be used to identify the car and connect it with information recorded throughout its life.

Depending on the vehicle and available data sources, a history search may reveal information such as previous auction listings, historical photographs, reported damage, sale records, vehicle specifications, or other records associated with the VIN.

For buyers, this information provides additional context that cannot always be discovered through a standard inspection alone.

For example, a car may have been professionally repaired after an accident and appear to be in excellent condition today. Historical auction photographs could still show the extent of the previous damage and help a potential buyer make a more informed decision.

Why Auction History Is Particularly Useful

Many used vehicles, especially cars imported from international markets, have previously appeared at automotive auctions.

Auction listings can contain valuable historical information, including photographs of the vehicle at the time of sale, recorded mileage, damage descriptions, auction dates, and other details.

Platforms such as CarHistory.autos help make vehicle and auction history easier to research using a VIN.

Having access to historical information can help buyers compare a seller’s description with records that may have been available earlier in the vehicle’s life.

Historical Photos Can Tell a Different Story

One of the most useful elements of vehicle research is access to older photographs.

Written descriptions such as “minor damage” can be difficult to interpret because the actual severity may vary considerably. Photos provide additional visual context.

They may help reveal whether previous damage affected a bumper or body panel, or whether the vehicle had more extensive damage before being repaired.

This does not automatically mean that a previously damaged vehicle is a bad purchase. Properly repaired vehicles can continue to provide years of reliable service. The important factor is transparency: buyers should understand what they are purchasing and evaluate the price accordingly.

A VIN Check Should Complement a Physical Inspection

Online vehicle-history research should not replace a professional inspection.

Instead, the two methods work best together.

A VIN search can provide historical context, while a mechanic can evaluate the vehicle’s current mechanical and structural condition. If historical records indicate significant previous damage, the buyer can also ask the mechanic to pay particular attention to the affected areas.

Combining digital research with a physical inspection creates a much clearer picture of the vehicle.

What to Check Before Buying a Used Vehicle

Before completing a purchase, buyers should verify the VIN displayed on the vehicle against its documents, research available vehicle-history and auction records, review historical photographs when available, and compare the findings with the seller’s description.

It is also worth checking the vehicle’s current condition with a qualified mechanic and investigating the applicable title, registration, lien, theft, recall, and insurance information through authoritative sources available in the relevant country or jurisdiction.

No single database contains every event in a vehicle’s history, so using multiple sources is often the safest approach.

Transparency Benefits Buyers and Sellers

Vehicle-history research is not only useful for buyers.

Sellers can also benefit from understanding what information exists about a vehicle online. Knowing its documented history allows a seller to answer questions more accurately and explain previous repairs instead of allowing potential buyers to discover unexpected information themselves.

For dealerships and automotive professionals, transparency can also help build trust with customers.

Final Thoughts

The used-car market contains excellent opportunities, but making a good purchase requires more than finding the right model at the right price.

Researching a vehicle’s VIN, reviewing available historical records and auction photographs, and arranging a professional inspection can significantly improve the quality of the information available before making a decision.

Services such as CarHistory.autos can be one part of that research process by helping users discover available vehicle and auction history connected with a VIN.

A few minutes of research before purchasing a vehicle can uncover information that might otherwise remain hidden until much later.

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