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CHEVROLET NCS AT DARLINGTON 2: Post-Race Report

By
Official Release
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NASCAR Cup Series
Darlington Raceway
Cook Out Southern 500
Team Chevy Post-Race Report
September 6, 2026

Larson Starts Title-Defending Campaign with a Top-Five Finish at Darlington Raceway
 
Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team started their championship title-defending campaign with a strong top-five finish in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Despite a deep starting position due to the metric, the California native raced his way into the top-10 during Stage Two and became a familiar face at the front of the pack for much of the remainder of the race – going on to lead a race-high 99 laps en route to his 10th top-five finish of the season. Larson will head to the second stop of the Chase at World Wide Technology Raceway ranked seventh in the standings and 49-points behind the lead.

RACE RECAP:

Stage One:

With the starting lineup set by the metric, Daniel Suarez and the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team inherited a spot on the front row to lead the NASCAR Cup Series to the green flag and the start of the Chase at Darlington Raceway. A strong start saw the Spire Motorsports driver edge his Chevrolet to the top of the leaderboard to pace the opening lap of his title-contention run. But it was early in the run when Suarez reported that he was struggling with the balance of his Chevrolet, ultimately holding on to a top-15 running position en route to the competition caution on Lap 35. A two-stop stage saw the green flag pit cycle begin near the halfway mark of the run. At that point, it was fellow Chase contender, William Byron, that made the steady climb up through the field to make his first appearance in the top-10 of the evening. Once the cycle was deemed complete, the North Carolina native found himself up in the eighth position for the final 35-lap run of Stage One. Hovering around the position for much of the run, Byron was settled in ninth when a caution flew with six laps to go – ultimately bringing the opening stage to a close.

Stage Two:

Byron and Elliott were among the teams that gained track position in the race off pit road, lining up in the eighth and ninth positions, respectively, to start Stage Two. The stage started with yet another green flag run, and while maintaining their running positions, their Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Larson, joined the duo in the top-10 for the first time of the evening. Continuing to pace the Bowtie brigade, Byron reported that he was still looking for better drive in his Chevrolet-powered machine before his next trip to pit road. With another green flag pit cycle underway, crew chief Cliff Daniels opted for a longer run on this set of tires – ultimately giving Larson a brief tenure in the lead before calling his driver to pit road for four tires and fuel. The stage length required a second green flag pit cycle, and while employing a similar strategy, Larson was among the tail-end of the leaders to make his stop – finding his way back to the lead once again before making the dive to pit road. Cycling back up into the seventh position, the reigning champion found his footing late in the run – entering the top-five and quickly making a pass on the No. 1 seed, Denny Hamlin, with 16 laps to go in the stage. It was an impressive run by Larson with the California native driving up into the second position and a margin of just 1.5-seconds behind then race leader, Christopher Bell, at the drop of the second green-white checkered flag.

Final Stage:

The No. 5 pit crew delivered a stellar performance during the stage break to give Larson the win in the race off pit road and a front row starting position to take the green flag for the final stage. Wasting no time, Larson powered his Chevrolet to the lead on the opening lap, going on to pull away to a nearly three-second lead over second with 110 laps to go in the race. Continuing to set a strong pace, Larson maintained the margin throughout the run before being called to pit road for a scheduled stop with 88 laps to go. Cycling back up into the second position, a caution flew just before the end of the green flag pit cycle, and with the direction to stay out, Larson found a familiar spot back on the front row for the restart. Finding his rhythm around the wall of “The Lady in Black”, Larson continued to click off laps in the closing portion of the race as a caution flew on Lap 316 for his teammate, Byron, who’s spin spiraled into what ended up being a race-ending mechanical issue. With the field heading to pit road for what was setting up for the final stop of the race, Larson exited in the third position after service from the No. 5 crew. After a brief red flag for precipitation, it was a gamble from atop the No. 5 box to stay out once the caution period resumed to give Larson crucial track position back on the front row for the restart and a 24-lap run to the end. The restart saw Larson quickly take over the lead once again but with a trio of hard-charging drivers in his rearview mirror that had four fresh Goodyear tires. A valiant effort saw the reigning champion lead Chevrolet with a top-five finish to start his title-defending campaign.

 
Team Chevy Unofficial Top-20 Results
Pos. Driver

5th – Kyle Larson
11th – Carson Hocevar
12th – Alex Bowman
14th – Chase Elliott
17th – Michael McDowell

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 27 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 6
Poles: 6
Top-Fives: 44
Top 10s: 90
Stage Wins: 18

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase will continue at World Wide Technology Raceway with the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, September 13, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 29th

“Disappointing night for the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet team. We struggled with balance all night, and ended real tight. I couldn’t turn on the bottom and running the top was the only shot we had. We have a lot of work to do. We have nine races to find speed, balance and a little bit of everything. We’re going to keep digging and hopefully that starts to show at World Wide Technology Raceway.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 5th

How hard was it to hang on there at the end?

“Yeah, I thought more people would stay out. I think another two or three people staying out would have helped. I think, ultimately, they would have got to me. I was just hoping I could get some laps where I could take care of my tires. (Christopher) Bell got to second really quickly and we were just instantly on the defense trying to block lines, so I wasn’t really able to manage my tires like I would have liked. I feel like I did the best job I could, honestly, but I just didn’t think he would get to second that fast so I could have spent those first five or seven laps saving my tires so I would have something when he got there. And then ultimately, I held him off longer than I thought I could. There was a point where I thought I had maybe damaged his tires enough where maybe I could hang onto it. He was just too close to me in (turn) one and I couldn’t run up the hill like I wanted to.”

You started deep in the field with the metric. What’s it feel like to walk away with a top-five to start the Chase?

“Yeah, it was a great day for this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team. That first run of the race, we really struggled, and I was like, man, this is going to be a long race and we’re going to lose a lot of points here. But we got the first adjustment in and our Chevy really woke up. I felt like I could run the lines that I’m comfortable running here. My entry was secure enough to allow me to do that. It helped me manage my tires really well on the long run, and we had our strategy working out for us in the second-half of the first stage and all of the second stage. It was amazing to get to second. We had the hiccup there on pit road and lost control of the race there, but then the race kind of got messy after that and you just didn’t know how it was going to play out.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 21st

“It was a long night. Listen, something about the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team this year is that we’ve done an amazing job executing, and if we have a 10th-place car, we finish better, and that’s been our signature for the entire year. Today, we didn’t have the speed at the start of the race. We went from leading the race to back in 20th. And then, we just didn’t execute the little things. Our last pit stop was bad. The adjustments, I feel like we never really improved our car a whole lot. We have to go back and regroup. We also had a couple issues with the fuel pump and an issue with the engine, a couple little things. It wasn’t the way we wanted to start the Chase, but overall, I know I have a great team. At Spire Motorsports, we’re going to go back to work and come back stronger next weekend.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Sidelined by a mechanical issue in the final stage.

Finished: 37th

“I’ve never had that happen. I felt like I had a flat left-rear tire in (turns) one and two, so I slowed down quite a bit and I was going to pit and try to be early on the cycle. I’m not sure, it was super odd. I don’t know if I was blowing up in that process and got oil on my tire or what. We had an eighth or ninth-place run going, but it was just an unfortunate end to the evening for this No. 24 Valvoline Restore & Protect Chevrolet team.”

Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 28th

“Man, our Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet fired off really good at the start of the race when the sun was up. We were able to move forward and run solid lap times, staying on the lead lap despite our starting position. Once the track got fully shaded though, the balance took a big swing and we struggled the rest of the night. We were working in a two inch by two inch box with adjustments. The car fired off tight, then would get out of the track with both fronts and rears. The rear end would have a swinging sensation. I hate it for these guys because we showed a lot of promise at the beginning, especially without having practice or qualifying yesterday. We’ll keep grinding.”

Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 17th

“A long night here in Darlington, but we showed a lot of speed. I felt like we were right on the fringe of taking home a top-10 finish today, but during that last restart it felt like something broke. Regardless, proud of our No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet, this was a lot of progress from where we were in the spring for our guys. We have run well at Gateway in the past, I am looking forward to getting back there with Spire Motorsports and continuing to build this momentum over the last nine weeks.”

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 11th

“Overall, I was pretty happy with our race, considering we started 34th with the metric. Our No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet handled pretty well throughout the evening. Obviously, we want more, but this is our first run at this whole Chase thing and we’re just gaining experience. We were up there with a lot of other Chase drivers, which is ultimately what we want to do.”

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.

RCR NCS Race Recap: Darlington Raceway

By
Official Release
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Handling Issues Plague Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet Team at Darlington Raceway

Finish: 29th
Start: 9th
Points: 26th

“Disappointing night for the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet team. We struggled with balance all night, and ended real tight. I couldn’t turn on the bottom and running the top was the only shot we had. We have alot of work to do. We have nine races to find speed, balance and a little bit of everything. We’re going to keep digging and hopefully that starts to show at World Wide Technology Raceway.” -Austin Dillon

Changing Track Conditions Contribute to Austin Hill and the No. 33 Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet Team’s Night at Darlington Raceway

Finish: 28th
Start: 32nd
Points: 31st

“Man, our Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet fired off really good at the start of the race when the sun was up. We were able to move forward and run solid lap times, staying on the lead lap despite our starting position. Once the track got fully shaded though, the balance took a big swing and we struggled the rest of the night. We were working in a two inch by two inch box with adjustments. The car fired off tight, then would get out of the track with both fronts and rears. The rear end would have a swinging sensation. I hate it for these guys because we showed a lot of promise at the beginning, especially without having practice or qualifying yesterday. We’ll keep grinding.” -Austin Hill

TOYOTA RACING – NCS Darlington Post-Race Report – 09.06.26

By
Official Release
-

BELL WINS ANOTHER CROWN JEWEL, CLAIMS VICTORY AT DARLINGTON
Bell’s first victory of the season moves him to second in the point standings

DARLINGTON, SC. (September 7, 2026) – Christopher Bell and crew chief Adam Stevens proved to have the right strategy as their last pit call put Bell on fresh tires, and the Oklahoma-native was able to drive through the field and passed Kyle Larson for the win in the closing laps to claim his victory in the Southern 500. It is Bell’s second Crown Jewel victory (2024 Coca-Cola 600) and the fifth Crown Jewel win for Toyota in the last six Crown Jewel events (Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, Southern 500).

This is the first time in Toyota’s history to have six drivers claim victories in a single Cup Series season. Bell, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick and Corey Heim have totaled 15 wins for Toyota. 15 victories are the most victories in a single season since 2019.

With Bell, Gibbs in second and Reddick in third, Toyota drivers swept the top-three positions for the fourth time this season (Nashville, Michigan, Chicagoland) and the 19th time in Toyota’s Cup Series history. Chase Briscoe finished sixth and Bubba Wallace was scored eighth to put four Toyota drivers in the top-six and five of the top-eight.

Bell is now second in the point standings – just 13 points behind teammate Denny Hamlin. Toyota drivers continue to hold five of the top-six positions in the points.

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Darlington Raceway
Race 27 of 36 – 501.32 miles, 367 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, CHRISTOPHER BELL
2nd, TY GIBBS
3rd, TYLER REDDICK
4th, Ryan Blaney*
5th, Kyle Larson*
6th, CHASE BRISCOE
8th, BUBBA WALLACE
15th, ERIK JONES
18th, DENNY HAMLIN
19th, COREY HEIM
24th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
30th, RILEY HERBST
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
Was it worth the wait?
“It’s been too damn long. Oh, my gosh, man. I’m just so, so proud of all of these guys on this No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota, all the mechanics, all the pit crew members. They deserve it more than anyone. This has been a long time coming. Darlington has been one that I’ve always wanted to win since I got into the sport. This is the ultimate driver’s track. You fans, you guys are the best. That’s why we’re here.”

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What more did you need there in the end?
“I don’t know. I may have needed to drink another Monster Energy at the end. We had to come from deep because of the metric order. We kind of got hosed there, but fought hard and worked our way forward from 28th to second. Not what we were thinking was going to happen, but we are really happy and appreciate all of the hard effort from this Monster Energy Toyota team. We just kept fighting hard, and we were second. I really want to win this race. I’ve had some seconds here, so a little frustrating, but congrats to Christopher (Bell) and the 20 team. Really happy for them.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Chumba Casino Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
What more did you need tonight?
“It is tough for our Chumba Casino Toyota team. In the spring, we were fortunate to have our issue early and we were able to claw our way back to the front. Just with the way it played out with the shorter runs and stuff, we were definitely needing the longer runs. Just kind of unfortunate. I think when we had that weather delay, we were definitely thinking we were going to have a long run coming up, and it ended up being shorter. We just lost some track position there. The guys made a good adjustment on the last stop, and we were able to work our way back forward. I was thinking it would go green out, and it never does here for whatever reason even though it looks like it is going to all day. Just fell behind at a bad time, but it was nice that we were able to claw our way back at the end there – just a little off. We lead laps almost every year here, just seems like it gets away from us every time so that is unfortunate.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Are you left wondering what could have been?
“Yeah, what could have been. We went back to dead last and got back to the lead within 100 laps, you had a pretty good car. I just didn’t have it go my way there on that last restart. There was a couple of guys that stayed out on that restart and we chose the bottom, and my gut told me the bottom would be better – it would give me more options, and it just didn’t work out. Christopher (Bell) was able to sneak his way up there and get the lead. Just unfortunate – definitely had a Bass Pro Shops Camry capable of winning today, and ended up sixth, so that is unfortunate.”

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.

Blaney Starts Chase with Fourth Place Finish at Darlington Raceway

By
Official Release
-

Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Southern 500 — Darlington Raceway
Sunday, September 6, 2026

Ford Finishing Results:

4th – Ryan Blaney
7th – Josh Berry
9th – Joey Logano
10th – Ryan Preece
13th – Austin Cindric
16th – Todd Gilliland
20th – Chris Buescher
23rd – Brad Keselowski
25th – Zane Smith
32nd – Noah Gragson
38th – Chad Finchum

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THE OVERALL DAY. THE PIT CREW DID THEIR JOB. “Yeah, they did their job. It was a good call to take tires. We had about four laps on them and, honestly, that restart wasn’t very good for me. I was really tight so I’m like, ‘We probably should take the opportunity to work on it and get tires.’ We were able to pick our way through there and have a good finish out of it. When the night came we lost a little bit of handle. We just got tight and it just took forever to get it back turning when the track cooled off, but, overall, it was a good day with good stage points and a decent finish, so we’ll keep going.” DID IT SURPRISE PEOPLE HOW QUICKLY THE TRACK CHANGED? “Yeah. I mean it goes through a big swing when the temp goes down. Once the sun starts setting it starts in three and four because that’s where the shade is and then it kind of works its way to one and two and then the track really changes, so you try to stay on top of it and I probably didn’t do the best job of getting to where we needed to be early and had to play some catch-up, but, overall, we stuck with it, ran all the laps and got a decent finish out of it, so I’m proud of the effort.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was a lot of fun. There were a couple runs where I thought we were super, super good. I just struggled a little bit firing off, but the trade off of that was we were kind of always moving forward throughout the runs and then just how the race played out at the end. I thought we made the right call getting the tires. I probably should have picked the top, but, all in all, the guys did a really good job. We had a really solid car for no practice or anything and the pit crew had some sloppy ones to get it started but they locked in there at the end and held their own when it counted and that’s all you can ask for.” YOU SEEMED TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THROUGH THE FIELD CONSISTENTLY THE WHOLE RACE. WAS THAT JUST HAVING A GOOD CAR? “Yeah, I think obviously we had a good car. We struggled a little bit firing off. I think the trade off for that was some long run pace. There were a couple runs where I was super happy with the car and a couple runs where I would just kind of ask it for more, but we’re running fifth so it’s just a great job by the guys. The cars have been a lot better this last two months and its shown. To come here, the first race of the Chase and to be the first non-Chase car and probably wasn’t even close for most of the night for how we ran, so I’m just proud of the guys. They’ve dug in hard and obviously I’m excited to get another top 10 and keep the streak going, but I felt like there was more out there tonight.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We fought our own issues there, but it was much better than the last time we were here. We were about a ninth or 10th place car and we finished there. A couple of restarts from the end we kind of drove up there to seventh or so and I’m like, ‘Oooh, I’ve got something.’ And then we tried to stay out and make something happen. Four laps is kind of right at that edge and Larson hung pretty good with clean air, but if you don’t have that it’s pretty tough. We fought and battled to try to just go back to where we were, so it was a net neutral, but then you go and look at the 12 and the 12 got us way back up there to fifth or so. We were ahead of him when the caution came out, but we’re at that spot I think where those risks are well warranted. We didn’t get any stage points, so you kind of have to go for it.” THE MECHANICAL ISSUE YOU FACED. ANY IDEA WHAT IT WAS? “I don’t know yet. It sputtered the whole day, so it’s something. I don’t know. It kept getting worse and I’m not really sure what it is yet.” ALL THINGS CONSIDERED IT WAS A GOOD NIGHT? “From what it could have been. I thought for a minute there we were gonna have to come down pit road and try to fix it because it kept getting worse, but it kind of never got as bad as I thought it was gonna get. It definitely feels like it was down about 80 horse and on the straightaways it was just sputtering, but we’d hang in on the long run OK because of it.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Losing track position there was tough, but I feel like 10th is better than a 30th or a 25th or a 20th and we did make gains. Do I want to win? Yeah, but hindsight being 20/20 I think we maximized what we were gonna maximize today.” NEXT WEEK IS ANOTHER WEEK, RIGHT? “ I feel good about. The metric and everything is gonna work in our favor, so I think we should be fine.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Kroger/Gold Peak Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We had good fire off and got going and were able to pass a ton of cars after unfortunately getting qualifying rained out, so it was a big start. We kind of got rolling there. I don’t know where we were running exactly, but I had a moment off four and got the fence and bent some rear suspension and spent most of the race just hanging on until we had a chance to fix it under yellow. That was all of the second stage waiting and then we finally got it fixed and was just trying to get our laps back. We finally got them there with 30 laps to go and just didn’t have enough racing left to recover. It’s unfortunate. I screwed up and I hate it for this team. They had a lot of high hopes coming in here and didn’t get the result out of it.” THIS NEW FORMAT IS A BIT MORE FORGIVING, SO YOU HAVE MORE TIME TO RECOVER. “Yeah, for sure. I’m a big fan of what we’ve got now and the fact that we can still reset and keep digging, but we’re gonna need some phenomenal weeks to really get back in the hunt here after that, which we kind of knew from the get-go that it was gonna take that. A couple more tracks coming up in the immediate future and I really don’t feel like we have any bad ones, so we’ll be in a good spot.”

Scott McLaughlin erases win drought with dominant drive at Laguna Seca

By
Tucker White
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MONTEREY, Calif. - SEPTEMBER 6: Scott McLaughlin, driver of the #3 Team Penske Chevrolet, celebrates winning the NTT IndyCar Series Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sept. 6, 2026, in Monterey, California. Photo: Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment

Scott McLaughlin took his cooldown lap at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. His race strategist, Tim Cindric, told him to do a burnout. He proceeded to the frontstretch and did just that, alongside five-time series champion, Alex Palou.

“It’s been terrible, right? I’ve been waiting six years to do that,” he said. “My initial one I wanted to park it against the fence and do it. I lost it in the smoke. I was too close to the wall when the smoke cleared.”

Driving backwards down pit lane, his car stalled out momentarily, but he re-fired it and drove to victory lane. As Palou climbed out to officially celebrate his championship, McLaughlin took off his helmet, which stuck to his HANS device. He stood up and hopped into the arms of his pit crew.

The driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet started from pole position and led a race high 87 of 95 laps to win the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Which snapped a 35-race winless streak, dating back to the 2024 Milwaukee Mile 250 Race 2.

“A culmination of some hard work,” McLaughlin said. “I think the whole team, all three cars, just been working on basically I think from the Mid-Ohio test for us, at least on my car, we found a bit of a direction.

“Always felt, yeah, Raul was my guy. We’ve been having that good energy, that feeling that we could do this, but it was just about putting the parts together.

“Today was fantastic. We’ve had poles. Haven’t quite completed the races. You could see that it was there. Really proud to get our first win together on a road course where the last couple years we probably struggled at the most.

“Yeah, what a great way to end the season. We have a lot of hard work to do over the off-season to come back stronger, combat against the 10. I think J.D. would agree, it’s just a good finish to the season, gets everyone excited.”

It’s his eighth career victory in 103 NTT IndyCar Series starts and first since the 2024 Milwaukee Mile 250 Race 2.

Kyle Kirkwood, as his car nearly rolled away from him on pit lane, post-race, brought his No. 27 Andretti Global Honda to a runner-up finish, and clinched a runner-up finish in points.

“Yeah, we played it a little bit safer than I might have hoped for the last race of the season, but we had to for the championship,” Kirkwood said. “We made all the decisions based on that.

“Probably could have had a go at Scottie at the end on the first few laps on reds. The number one goal was to make the tires last. That’s what we did. Came home with a second, which is something to be proud of.”

Alexander Rossi earned his first podium of the season, and first with Ed Carpenter Racing, with a third-place finish in his No. 20 ECR Chevrolet.

“It’s no secret that this has been a pretty terrible year for myself and the whole ECR team with the litany of issue, some out of our control, some in our control,” Rossi said.

“Ultimately road courses have been something that have been a pretty big challenge for us in the second half of this year. Really ever since the Indy GP, there’s been a huge amount of emphasis and effort behind the scenes to kind of dig out of that hole. It’s very difficult to do in this championship.

“Just really proud of the whole organization and everyone involved for kind of staying true to the course and fighting through a lot of adversity.

“This is a great result to kind of reward that effort, just rebuild the confidence in everyone that we’re capable of doing this. It’s a good boost going into what’s going to be a long off-season, but an important one, to make sure we execute a lot better and clean up a lot of our issues that we can control in 2027.”

Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas rounded out the top-five.

Christian Lundgaard, Marcus Armstrong, Palou, Ericsson and Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top-10.

Scott McLaughlin erases win drought with dominant drive at Laguna Seca

Race summary

McLaughlin led the field to green at 3:13 p.m. ET. Climbing up the Rahal Straight, Sting Ray Robb hit Dennis Hauger and spun him into the outside tire barrier. Which brought out a caution on the first lap. For this, IndyCar handed Robb a 10-second stop and hold penalty.

Back to green on Lap 5, the field settled into a green flag rhythm. McLaughlin, on a new set of Firestone reds (soft tire) pulled out to a 1.5 second lead over Palou, on used reds, by Lap 10. Scott Dixon kicked off a cycle of green flag stops on Lap 10. McLaughlin pitted from the lead on Lap 20. Rosenqvist pitted from the lead on Lap 21. Rossi pitted from the lead on Lap 25 and McLaughlin cycled back to the front.

Dixon again kicked off another cycle of green flag stops on Lap 27. McLaughlin pitted from the lead on Lap 44. Rosenqvist pitted from the lead on Lap 45. Armstrong pitted from the lead on Lap 47 and McLaughlin cycled back to the lead.

With 27 laps to go, Kyle Kirkwood in second ate into the two-second gap to race leader, McLaughlin. With 26 to go, however, lap traffic cost him two seconds and he pitted with McLaughlin that lap. He cycled out under two seconds behind McLaughlin.

With 22 to go, McLaughlin led Kirkwood by 1.7 seconds. With 21 to go, the gap grew to 1.8 seconds. With 20 to go, it shrank to 1.5 seconds. With 19 to go, it fell to 1.4 seconds. With 18 to go, it grew to 1.6 seconds. With 17 to go, it fell to 1.3 seconds. With 16 to go, it ballooned to 1.4 seconds. With 15 to go, it grew to 1.5 seconds. With 14 to go, it swelled up to 1.7 seconds. The gap hung around that range with each passing lap, as McLaughlin drove his car to victory.

Scott McLaughlin erases win drought with dominant drive at Laguna Seca

What else happened

Josef Newgarden locked up in Turn 2 and made contact with Will Power on his outside, on Lap 23.

Going for a pass on Santino Ferrucci, Power locked up and ran wide in Turn 2 on Lap 53.

With 27 laps to go, Nolan Siegel ran wide in Turn 7 and into the dirt, but kept his car out of the tire barrier and returned to the track.

Scott McLaughlin erases win drought with dominant drive at Laguna Seca

Nuts and bolts

The race lasted one hour, 59 minutes and 29 seconds, at an average speed of 106.756 mph. There were six lead changes among four different drivers and one caution for three laps.

Palou finished the season with an 86-point lead over Kirkwood.

Despite a last-place finish, Hauger took home Rookie of the Year honors for the 2026 season.

Dixon, Power and Christian Rasmussen, who all won a race in 2025, failed to win a race in 2026. For Dixon, that snapped a streak of 21 consecutive seasons with at least one race win. For Power, 2026 is his second winless season in the last four years.

That’s all for the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season. It returns to action March 7, 2027, on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

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.

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