After Friday’s cancellation of the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing Series, the series headed west to North Dakota to visit Dacotah Speedway for their third stop of the week. Aaron Reutzel scored his seventh career victory in the 2026 season.
“I think I just caught lap cars at a bad time,” Reutzel told Flo Racing. “I knew they were slowing me up. I had guys coming back on the track and getting up over the cushion. You know, they just kept making mistakes in front of me, over and over. I kind of figured, I was really getting slowed up, and I knew the middle of (Turns) 3 and 4 was going to come in. Clean laps is what took. When Brent (Marks) got by me, I finally got some clean lap back and was able to run the top hard like I had been.
“I think his (Brent Marks) middle went away on him in (Turn) 2. I just needed lap cars to quit making mistakes in front of me. That’s what was killing me. Our car was great tonight. I think the four or last five races, I’ve been beating myself with the car getting too tight. Not just doing simple stuff, you know, just trying to get too trick. Tonight, I went back to the basics of what has been good. Yeah, we were really good tonight. It would’ve been nice to see a little bit more of a bottom, just to kind of move around. I’m okay with a cushion like that. It’s fun, but, man, just another great team effort and overall night. Unloading quick time and getting into the dash, just another great night.”
NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson has won the past three consecutive races this past week on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday night. While dominant in the series throughout the week, Larson is not competing in tonight’s race due to his Cup Series adventures in Michigan, which almost guarantees a new race winner.
24 Sprint Cars were checked in prior to heat races, and the start time of engine heat was pushed back to 7 p.m./local due to high temperatures.
🚨 Engine Heat has been pushed back to 7pm CT as the track prep crew battles high temperatures. pic.twitter.com/4Qw3T0DyAQ
— High Limit Racing (@HighLimitRacing) June 6, 2026
A tight season-long championship points battle continues into tonight with series veterans Reutzel and Rico Abreu battling back and forth. Following Thursday’s event, Reutzel retook over the points lead from Abreu by one point. Giovanni Scelzi sits third, 35 points back in the Spire Motorsports entry.
Series regular, Hank Davis, announced on his Facebook page today that he wouldn’t be competing in tonight’s due to a family matter, as his wife went into labor and gave birth to a new child. With Davis out, another series regular, Ayrton Gennetten would be filling in instead.
There were three heat races with all cars transferring due to the low car count. In the first heat race, the race went green briefly before the caution flew immediately due to the pace truck not getting off the track in time. Danny Sams III got a great start on Abreu at the drop of the green. Sams III held on to win the first heat race, followed by Abreu, Reutzel, Justin Peck, Gennetten, Gage Pulkrabek, Greg Nikitenko, and Ace Bodenhamer rounded the eight place finishers.
For the second heat, Brent Marks won the heat race. Tanner Thorson was second, Sye Lynch third, Brenham Crouch fourth, Kerry Madsen fifth, Mark Dobmeier sixth, Colton Young seventh, and Tyler Hewitt eighth.
In the third and final heat race, Tanner Holmes got the victory. Tyler Courtney was second, Daison Pursley third, Chase Randall fourth, Scelzi fifth, Jade Hastings sixth, Weston Olson seventh, and Todd Mickelson eighth.
For the dash feature, it was Sams III, Reutzel, Marks, Lynch, Holmes, and Pursley who qualified for the potential pole position. Reutzel won the race to claim the pole. Afterward, it was Lynch, Pursley, Marks, Holmes, and Sams III.
The feature consisted of 30 laps with Reutzel and Lynch on the front row. After the green flag flew, it was Reutzel who held the lead. Lynch, Marks, Pursley, and Thorson were in the top five. The first caution of the night fell at 24 laps to go, which could’ve been for debris. For the restart, it was Reutzel, Lynch, Marks, Pursley, and Thorson again rounding out the top five. The race resumed with 24 laps to go with Reutzel jumping out in front of the leaders. Marks, however, moved up to the second position, passing Lynch. At 15 laps to go, Thorson went to fourth after passing Pursley.
In the meantime, Marks closed in on the race leader, Reutzel. Marks threw a slider and passed Reutzel with 11 laps to go, and took the lead from Reutzel. At eight laps to go, Reutzel began closing the lead gap back down to Marks. Reutzel had a short slider and took the lead with six laps to go. From there, it looked as though Reutzel and his No. 87 Ridge and Sons team were going to take the victory over Marks.
However, a late-race caution flew with two laps to go for the No. 24D of Sams III, who came to a stop on the backstretch as the leaders were coming to the checkered flag. Prior to the last restart, Scelzi gained nine positions after starting 15th and was placed sixth in the running order. With two laps to go, it was Reutzel, Marks, Thorson, Abreu, and Tyler Courtney the top five.
Marks tried throwing a slider for the race lead, but ultimately came up short. Reutzel would prevail and ultimately come home with the victory by 0.991 seconds over Marks. Thorson, Abreu, and Courtney rounded out your top five. Afterward, it was Holmes, Scelzi, Pursley, Randall, and Lynch the Top 10.
After holding off Marks, Reutzel remained focused and still had the top spot.
“I told myself to calm the hell down and quit being stupid,” he said to Flo Racing. “I bout crashed over there twice, just trying to get back them. You know, the one time, I had a run, I really just leaned on it and really just let it hang out. I thought, I was coming into the grandstands for a second. I finally got it under control, and finally, I just said just ‘calm down.’ I feel like, we had a good enough car to get them back. I just calmed down and make sure not to make mistakes. If you could get off of (Turn) 2 and not get bobbled up, you gain so much straightaway speed. Just trying to keep myself calm. You know, racing for points as well. I can’t get them back, settle for second because we had a really shitty stretch here. So, I need to start getting some points back on these guys.”
— High Limit Racing (@HighLimitRacing) June 7, 2026
Following the race, Reutzel now leads Abreu by 13 points in the season long championship points standings and by 53 points over Scelzi.
Official Race Results Following Dacotah Speedway
Aaron Reutzel
Brent Marks
Tanner Thorson
Rico Abreu
Tyler Courtney
Tanner Holmes
Giovanni Scelzi
Daison Pursley
Chase Randall
Sye Lynch
Brenham Crouch
Kerry Madsen
Justin Peck
Mark Dobmeier
Ayrton Gennetten
Weston Olson
Greg Nikitenko
Danny Sams III
Colton Young
Jade Hastings
Gage Pulkrabek
Todd Mickelson
Tyler Hewitt
Ace Bodenhamer
Up Next – The next race for the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing Series is scheduled for Tuesday night, June 9 at Eagle Raceway, live on Flo Racing.
Levi Kitchen’s Consistency Ends 13-Race Winless Drought in 250SMX Class
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. (June 6, 2026) – The oldest race in American motocross was the site for Round 19 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship, as the Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, traveled to the shadow of the California capital for the 57th running of the iconic Coker Pump Hangtown Motocross Classic. A challenging racetrack, combined with near-perfect weather conditions was a recipe for another compelling afternoon of racing that saw a return to dominant form for Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence, the reigning Pro Motocross and SMX World Champion who swept the 450SMX Class motos and has seemingly fast-tracked his comeback from a major offseason ankle injury. In the 250SMX Class, the unpredictability of the wide-open division was once again on display as Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen grabbed his first win since the 2024 season.
450SMX Class
Timed Qualifying
Premier class rookie Haiden Deegan [#38] paced the first session aboard his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine, but it was Jett Lawrence [#1] who made a statement when he laid down the fastest overall lap in the second session and became the lone rider to put in a sub 1:50 lap time. Lawrence’s 1:49.886 edged out Deegan’s 1:50.389 by a half second.
Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]
The first premier class moto of the day kicked off with Lawrence out front for his first holeshot of the year ahead of Deegan and Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence [#96], the championship leader. Behind them, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado [#26] slotted into fourth.
The top three settled in through the opening 10 minutes of the moto, with Jett Lawrence managing about a four-second advantage over Deegan and Hunter Lawrence.
Jett continued to build on his lead and pushed it to the cusp of double digits, which left the fight for second to be decided between Deegan and Hunter Lawrence. The elder Lawrence kept the rookie within reach and as the moto dipped into its final five minutes Lawrence went on the attack. He made a quick pass around Deegan and proceeded to sprint away.
Out front, Jett Lawrence completed an impressive wire-to-wire performance to take his first moto win by 7.7 seconds over his brother. Deegan earned his first career moto podium in third, followed by Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis [#14] in fourth and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire [#24] in fifth.
Prado, who ran fourth almost the entire moto, appeared to have a chance at challenging Deegan for third, but lost power on his KTM just prior to the final lap and was forced to settle for 36th place.
Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]
The final moto of the afternoon was halted early when a red flag stopped the race for a downed rider, which necessitated a restart. When racing resumed with a second gate drop it was the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine of Cooper Webb [#2] out front ahead of the Lawrences with the holeshot. Jett Lawrence was able to make quick work to seize control of the lead as Webb engaged in a brief battle with Hunter Lawrence before the Honda rider solidified his hold of second.
The Lawrences were soon able to establish a gap over the rest of the field as Webb lost third to Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton [#4].
Deeper in the top 10, Deegan battled his way forward from an 11th-place start and methodically started to pick off riders to move into the top five within the first 10 minutes of the moto.
Soon enough it appeared as though the battle for the win was going to come down to the Australian siblings, who moved out to a double-digit margin over Sexton. The Lawrences traded bursts of momentum throughout different parts of the racetrack, with the separation between them hovering around a second. Meanwhile, Deegan stormed past Sexton for third.
As the race approached the halfway point Hunter Lawrence started to apply pressure on Jett and appeared to be gearing up for an attack for the lead. However, Jett countered with a sudden sprint and soon the lead went from less than a second to nearly four seconds in the span of a few laps. Jett added to his advantage as the moto continued.
Jett Lawrence wrapped up a sweep of the motos by a margin of 6.8 seconds over Hunter, with Deegan well back in third.
Overall
Despite his ongoing recovery that has left him competing at less than 100 percent, Jett Lawrence returned to the level that’s become custom for the Australian. His dominant 1-1 effort, the 19th of his career, brought him a milestone 25th premier class win in his 29th start.
Hunter Lawrence backed up his own 1-1 performance last weekend with an impressive 2-2 effort to give Honda its first 1-2 finish of the season.
Deegan’s first premier class podium was a quiet one, as he secured 3-3 finishes mostly riding by himself. Nevertheless, the highly touted rookie landed on the box in just his second start.
Hunter Lawrence maintains his hold of the points lead, which now sits at six points over Jett. Deegan moved into third, 19 points out of the lead.
Results & Standings
450SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points)
Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 323
Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Kawasaki – 298
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., KTM – 275
Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM – 242
Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati – 235
Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna – 214
Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda – 197
Quotes
1st Place – Jett Lawrence | #1 Team Honda HRC Progressive (1-1) “I knew if I picked a fast pace early that Hunter would be right there with me and would make it a lot harder. I chose [instead] to get a better flow for about 15 minutes and then decided to push for a quick sprint to try and mess up his rhythm, and it worked. It’s good to be back up here with a 1-1.”
2nd Place – Hunter Lawrence | #96 Team Honda HRC Progressive (2-2) “It’s harder racing against Jett [Lawrence]. He’s my toughest competitor. It got to a point where I was going to take the time to reset and make a push, but he decided to do a sprint and gapped me. Still a solid result. It was a tough track today, so I’m happy.”
3rd Place – Haiden Deegan | #38 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (3-3) “That was good today. I just want to get better and better each weekend. That’s the goal, just keep progressing with each moto and just try to be there. We’ll go back, put in the work, and try again next weekend.”
450SMX Class Highlights
250SMX Class
Timed Qualifying
It was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco [#34] who made the first statement in the opening session, but he was surpassed by Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker [#10], the championship leader, in the second session. Hammaker’s 1:52.621 edged out DiFrancesco’s 1:52.871 by a couple tenths in the combined results.
Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]
The first moto of the afternoon got underway with Hammaker leading the field to the holeshot ahead of the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing duo of Cole Davies [#37] and Landen Gordon [#180]. As the leaders navigated the opening lap, Davies went down and remounted in 10th. That moved Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer [#13] into second and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Nick Romano [#141] into third.
Hammaker settled into the lead and built a multi-second advantage after the first five minutes. Beaumer also settled into second as the battle for third unfolded between Romano and Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda [#30], the reigning SMX World Champion. After a lengthy fight, Shimoda wrestled the position away from Romano.
As the moto surpassed the halfway point the top three strengthened their respective holds on the podium spots, but no one on the track was running faster than Kitchen [#47], who started outside the top 10 and fought all the way up to fourth place.
Inside the final 10 minutes the fight for second heated up between Beaumer and Shimoda, while Kitchen closed in from fourth. The Japanese rider showed patience and pulled the trigger on a pass for second. Mere moments later Kitchen made the pass for third and then carried on, getting by Shimoda for second. At this point, Hammaker sat 11 seconds clear of the field.
While Kitchen was able to gain ground on Hammaker, the deficit was too much to overcome as the points leader won his second consecutive moto by a margin of 7.2 seconds over his teammate. Shimoda finished in a distant third, with Beaumer fourth and Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas [#29] fifth.
Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]
Drama unfolded to begin the second moto as a massive crash unfolded in the first turn with Hammaker at the center of it after contact created a chain reaction that collected a large group of riders. Hammaker eventually remounted and began the race deep in the top 30.
The moto holeshot ultimately went to 5.11 Triumph Factory Racing rookie Deacon Denno [#199] just ahead of Davies and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Caden Dudney [#82]. A torrid opening phase of the moto saw Davies grab hold of the lead ahead of Romano in second, with Dudney settling into third.
After starting eighth Kitchen mounted a charge to the front. He showed tremendous pace early, which allowed him to make quick passes up to fourth, well within striking distance of the top three. He soon made the move around Denno for third and then got by Romano for second. With a little more than 20 minutes left in the moto, he faced a double-digit deficit to Davies.
As the leaders settled in through the middle of the moto, the attention shifted to Hammaker and his recovery from the first-turn crash. He did well to claw his way up the running order and had made his way into the top 15 by the halfway point of the race.
Back up front, Davies’ lead over Kitchen stabilized but the battle for third heated up between Beaumer and Romano, with the KTM rider able to make the pass. Behind them, Hammaker continued his forward push and broke into the top 10, which carried major implications in the overall standings.
Davies went unchallenged throughout the entirety of the race and cruised to the second moto win of his career by a margin of 9.3 seconds over Kitchen, followed by Beaumer in third. Hammaker capped off a valiant come-from-behind effort in ninth.
Overall
Another afternoon of fluctuating results throughout the field easily landed Kitchen atop the overall podium for the fourth win of his career following a consistent 2-2 afternoon. It’s his first win since the 2024 Budds Creek National, ending a 13-race winless drought.
Beaumer broke through for his first career podium finish with a runner-up performance after a 4-3 effort. He’s already the fourth different rider to capture a maiden podium finish through the first two races.
Hammaker’s resilience placed him in a tie with Beaumer, but he ultimately settled for third (1-9) to secure back-to-back podiums to open the season.
Hammaker’s gritty performance also helped him maintain his hold of the points lead, which decreased to seven points over Kitchen. Beaumer moved into third, 14 points out of the lead.
Results & Standings
250SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)
Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (2-2 // 44)
Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (4-3 // 38)
1st Place – Levi Kitchen | #47 Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki (2-2) “Luck was on my side today. I stayed out of the carnage [in Moto 2] and just tried to get around it all. There was a massive gap to the lead [once I got to second] so I didn’t want to risk pushing too hard. It’s been a long time since I won so it feels good. I just want to keep the momentum going.”
2nd Place – Julien Beaumer | #13 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (4-3) “I didn’t think I’d be up here this quick [coming back from injury]. There were a lot of long nights, but this result shows it was all worth it. I can’t thank my team enough for sticking behind me and supporting me the whole way and giving me an incredible bike to ride.”
3rd Place – Seth Hammaker | #10 Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki (1-9) “Those first couple laps [after the crash] were hectic coming through the pack. I tried to just be patient and knew that if I could get into the top 10 that I’d have a chance at the podium. It definitely could have been worse, but we survived. All in all, it feels good to still be up here on the box.”
250SMX Class Highlights
The 2026 Pro Motocross Championship will continue next Saturday, June 13, with Round 20 of the SMX World Championship regular season from Colorado’s Thunder Valley Motocross Park. The mile-high challenge of the Toyota Thunder Valley National Presented by American Petroleum Institute will serve as the summer network television premiere on NBC, with live coverage beginning at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET. Additionally, the race will be shown live in its entirety on Peacock, beginning with Race Day Live at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET, followed by coverage of the motos at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET.
For information about the Monster Energy SMX World Championship, please visit www.SuperMotocross.com and be sure to follow all of the new SMX social media channels for exclusive content and additional information on the latest news: Instagram: @supermotocross Facebook: @supermotocross X: @supermotocross YouTube: @supermotocross TikTok: @supermotocross
About the Monster Energy SMX World Championship: The Monster Energy SMX World Championship™ is the premier off-road motorcycle racing series in the world that combines the technical precision of stadium racing with the all-out speed and endurance of outdoor racing. Created in 2022, the Monster Energy SMX World Championship Series combines the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the AMA Pro Motocross Championship into a 28-round regular season that culminates with the season-ending SMX World Championship Playoffs. Visit SuperMotocross.com for more information.
About Pro Motocross Championship: The Pro Motocross Championship features the world’s fastest outdoor motocross racers, competing aboard homologated bikes from one of seven competing manufacturers on a collection of the roughest, toughest tracks on the planet. Racing takes place each Saturday afternoon, with competition divided into two classes: one for 250cc machines, and one for 450cc machines. MX Sports Pro Racing, the industry leader in off-road powersports event production, manages the Pro Motocross Championship. For more information, visit ProMotocross.com.
About Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship: Monster Energy AMA Supercross is the most competitive and highest-profile off-road motorcycle racing championship on the planet. Founded in America and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) since 1974. Over 17 weeks, Supercross attracts some of the largest and most impressive crowds inside the most recognizable and prestigious stadiums in North America to race in front of nearly one million live fans and broadcast to millions more worldwide. For more information, visit SupercrossLIVE.com.
About MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.: MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., manages and produces the world’s premier motocross racing series – the Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. MX Sports Pro Racing is an industry leader in off-road powersport event production and management, its mission is to showcase the sport of professional motocross competition at events throughout the United States. Through its various racing properties, partnerships and affiliates, MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., organizes events for thousands of action sports athletes each year and attracts millions of motorsports spectators. Visit MXSportsProRacing.com for more information.
About Feld Motor Sports, Inc.: Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting specialized arena and stadium-based motorsports entertainment. Properties include Monster Jam®, Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and the Monster Energy SMX World Championship. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a subsidiary of Feld Entertainment, Inc. Visit monsterjam.com, SupercrossLIVE.com, and feldentertainment.com for more information.
TOYOTA RACING – Denny Hamlin NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 6, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
Hamlin has won the pole for the second time this season (Martinsville). He also started first last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway on the metric. It is his 50th career pole, and second at Michigan (2018).
Hamlin had a flat tire in practice, and his team will make repairs to his Camry overnight, so he will start from the back for the start of tomorrow’s race.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Can you talk about what it means to you to earn your 50th career pole?
“Yeah, it feels good. It was certainly a little unexpected, considering the adversity we had during practice and knowing that my car wasn’t going to be quite optimized to where we expected it to be. Over the last few weeks with the rain outs, I thought that it was kind of taking away opportunities for us to get to the 50. I knew that the next one was that milestone. Glad we were able to get it done and certainly, get that number one pit stall and just kind of see where things go. We’re going to have to come from the back tomorrow and that’s going to be a challenge in itself. Certainly, this racetrack with the long green flag runs that you get. We’re going to have to have good restarts and we’re going to have to have the race play out just right.”
Did you ever think you would be in position to tie Ryan Newman with a number of poles?
“No, I mean, took me probably more starts to do it? (laughter) A little bit longer career there, so that certainly is an advantage, I think, a longer career. I’m not really sure, but, no, not really. I mean, he was the king of qualifying for such a long time. So, I didn’t know that he’s kind of next up on the list and certainly would be awesome to just keep it going. At least lets me know I can get some one lap speed out of the car anyway.”
How did the flat tire effect the underbody?
“Yeah, I was just trying to see how much we drug off. I’m trying to eyeball it. They got much better instruments to be able to tell, but I could visually see that mine had drug in spots that – everyone kind of drags, when you go in practice, you drag a little bit, but then I saw that mine was significant compared to cars that hadn’t had a flat, so I knew that that was not good. I basically shrug my shoulders to say, there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s screwed.”
Do you feel like you can work your way through the field?
“I mean, yes and no. I mean, if the cautions can fall at the right times, yes, as long as I get decent restarts, yes, but again, we’re going to have to get lucky in a few spots, I think. The race is long and you can certainly do it. It’s not unachievable, but also sometimes when you’re in the back, it gives you an opportunity to do, if there’s an early caution to do a different strategy to get up there later on. If anything, I was just trying to get a decent pit stall for tomorrow and I was very surprised when it was good enough, especially it was much lifting as I felt like I had during that qualifying session. It ain’t going to be easy. I know, if you look at last week, that all seemed easy, but things really fell our way, and they’re going to have to again this weekend.”
Can you take us back to your first career win at Pocono?
“Most of my memories come from rewatching the highlights. There are moments I do remember coming through the field. I remember the shock of when I went into the tunnel turn and spun out, blew that left rear. Back then, I’m kind of ignorant to know, well, what does that do to the car? I just kept driving it to its same capability. Truthfully back then when you had that kind of damage, it was actually a decent thing, for performance. It allowed me to really just be fast and I just remember, the biggest thing I remember is coming back through the pack so quickly that everyone would just pull over when I got near them, thinking about how different the racing is today, like it certainly would have been impossible today. It was such a great day and certainly felt like it was a big confidence boost and then we went back there, back then, we went back to that track like five, six weeks later or something like that and were able to dominate. It just gave me a ton of confidence every time I go into Pocono just because of that moment.”
Do you have to be patient or more aggressive tomorrow with your situation?
“Depends on the situation, and it also depends on how the race is playing out. So I think I go into it being patient because I don’t know what future cautions might fall that might help us, and then I didn’t need to be aggressive and put myself in bad spots to start. So, I’ll definitely start on the patient side, and then depending on how the race falls, where I’m at, at a certain time, then I might ramp up the aggression from there on, but I think patience is the right way to start this thing.”
With the point situation you are in, does that give you more time to be patient or does it not matter with your task is?
“I think it matters because it certainly is going to make it hard for us to get any first stage points. The guys that we were that are first and third are inside the top 10. I think that we’ll probably lose some there, but if you can somehow figure out a way to win the race, you get that jump back. So, I’m playing to win the race. I certainly don’t think that we’re going to play this thing to try to go get stage points or we feel good enough that if we get our car optimized, get the back of the car fixed back where it was. We’ll be good enough to win the race on merit and, if we lose out on stage points, then we got unlucky and we caused a tire to go flat. So that’s on us.”
Were you surprised that you got the pole with the damage?
“Truthfully was very surprised. I had a little mini lift and turn three and four coming to the green. That affects everything from start-finish line all the way to turn two and three. I tried to run up the racetrack, tried to get a little more momentum, but I felt right from the beginning that our car did not have quite the grip that it had in practice, but the conditions were as good for me that it possibly was for anyone else. I had the coolest racetrack. I was surprised to see the time on the dash when I crossed the line. I thought I was shooting for – I thought that was probably like a P 8 to P10 executed lap on my part. The car had a decent enough speed chunk in it.”
What has made you so good in qualifying over the last few years?
“Looking at so much information, figuring out, when Chase (Briscoe) got the pole last year, I think we were second or third, just looking at the little things that he did a little bit better than I did in qualifying. So just always looking at that stuff to try to gain hundredth here and there, and that’s usually the difference.”
Are restarts something that is eating at you? Do you feel like that is the weakness on your team right now?
“The obvious answer is yes. That’s where I feel, generally, where there’s the most to be gained, where I think that we’re the most vulnerable. If I can get that in a better spot by the time we get to the Chase, then I’m certainly going to feel better about things because the racetracks, the way they play out in the last 10, I mean, these things can come out to shootouts, and you can’t spit up five spots on, on a late race restart and give up those points. So especially when the 45 (Tyler Reddick) and Ryan (Blaney), those guys, that’s what their strengths are. So, I can’t afford to have that be such a weakness.”
Do you feel like you have to really knock out some solid finishes the next two weeks with back-to-back road courses coming up?
“Yeah, I mean, this is the tracks that we need to win races and make hay at. We’re going to go into San Diego and Sonoma, and it’s like, give me 15th, I won’t run the race. Just award that now, I won’t go. I think that’s just the reality. I’m just far too old to spend a lot of time working on that to get better at this point in my career. It’s better if I just focus my resources on winning at the tracks that I am strong at and just understand that those four to five races we are just going to be average, but if we can make it up, by winning tracks like this, on a regular occasion, it’s still a good path to a championship.”
I’ve heard they’ve added more corner workers. Is that a good thing?
“Which is good because, I mean, this track is massive in size, right? It’s got so many different corners and twists, and certainly, you’re going to think that this thing’s going to have walls on both sides because things can get hidden pretty easily. Corners can get disguised and you end up missing a car sitting there. It’s good that they’re putting more resources to that because we certainly need it on the road courses.”
What does it mean to join the 50 win, 50 pole club?
“That’s awesome. I mean, I don’t know, those are legends and then there’s me (laughter).”
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.
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MADISON, Ill. (Saturday, June 6, 2026) – Lochie Hughes needed this.
Series veteran Hughes earned his third career pole and first this season for the INDY NXT by Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, turning a two-lap average of 162.578 mph in the No. 26 Andretti Global entry. It was his first pole on an oval track.
Australian Hughes entered the season as the top returnee to the INDYCAR development series after finishing third as a rookie with Andretti Global, with two victories and two poles. But he has struggled in his sophomore season, with a second-place finish at the Indianapolis Grand Prix his sole podium finish. He is fifth in the standings entering this event, 90 points behind leader Enzo Fittipaldi.
“I think I just left the tiniest bit of margin out there, so I was a little bit nervous because I knew probably could have gone a bit quicker. But it was a really good two laps. It’s so easy to overdo it, as well.
“I’m happy. It’s been a rough start to the year. My mind has been a bit like a pretzel, so I’m relieved to have a pole position. Hopefully we can back it up with a win. That’s what we need. But this is nice. It’s some momentum going the right way.”
Live coverage of the 75-lap race on the asymmetrical, 1.25-mile oval – the first oval event of the season for the series – starts at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.
Rookie Alessandro de Tullio continued his strong qualifying performance this season by taking the outside spot on the front row at 162.363 in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing machine. De Tullio has five poles and two second-place qualifying performances in eight starts this season.
Andretti Global drivers swept the second row to give the team three of the top four qualifying spots. Max Taylor qualified third with his run of 162.212 in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen entry, while Josh Pierson was fourth at 161.676 in the No. 29 Starchive Andretti car.
Rookie Nikita Johnson qualified fifth at 161.652 in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR car, while fellow rookie Tymek Kucharczyk completed the third row at 161.494 in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports machine.
The race could feature plenty of drama and action due to the series leader and arguably its fastest driver on ovals starting from the back.
Series leader Enzo Fittipaldi forfeited his guaranteed qualifying attempt due to a mechanical problem while rolling out for qualifying that prevented the No. 67 HMD Motorsports entry from going through pre-qualifying technical inspection. He will start 23rd in the 24-car field after leading pre-qualifying practice earlier today.
Myles Rowe, winner of two oval races last season, will start 24th after he lost his qualifying run in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy car for failure to follow the direction of INDYCAR. Rowe continued on a third flying lap after taking the checkered for his two-lap run of 162.560, which would have placed him second on the starting grid Sunday.
“We’ve been having radio issues for a good portion of the season,” Rowe said. “I just didn’t hear the call for the checkered. I’m obviously not trying to do anything to put anybody in danger or anything like that.”
LEXINGTON, Ohio (June 6, 2026) – The last time 2025 series champion Jeremy Fletcher (No. 22 McCumbee McAleer Racing) took to the track with Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, his race ended only a few corners after the green flag. Saturday, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Fletcher bounced back in a big way, winning an exhilarating Round Five race. He was joined on the podium by the two series champions preceding him: Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) and Gresham Wagner (No. 5 JTR Motorsports Engineering).
It’s been tough times for Fletcher both on and off track lately. His last race ended in the wall on the Streets of St. Pete and since then he’s dealt with family medical issues and a blown engine in Friday afternoon practice. Winning Saturday’s race at Mid-Ohio was just what he needed.
“Shortly after St. Pete, my grandma ended up having to get her leg amputated, so this is the first race she’s missed in 15 years,” Fletcher said. “Our dog of about 10 years died a couple days ago too, so we needed this to boost the spirits. Luckily the McCumbee McAleer guys have been like a family. My car chief Dalton Dow, always yelling at me on the radio, telling me what I need to do. My grandpa, keeping himself together mentally and being able to show up here. We had so many problems in practice. I think we did about five laps yesterday and this morning, go out there and qualify second.”
Fletcher lined up second on the 38-car grid, alongside his teammate Justin Adakonis (No. 23 McCumbee McAleer Racing), who earned the pole earlier in the day on a wet track. Having a teammate to work with is always a good thing in Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup, but unfortunately for the MMR pair, they had another team pairing behind them with Thomas and Wagner.
The entire Mazda MX-5 Cup field was nose-to-tail in the opening laps. Then, Ethan Jacobs (No. 99 JDH Racing) was on the scene to break up the teammate party up front. With the squabbling among those top five, Fletcher got shuffled back all the way to eighth at one point.
As Fletcher worked his way back to the leaders, Adakonis was falling, losing positions and the MMR teammates were together once again, just in time for the race’s only full-course yellow, for a car stuck in the gravel at Turn 2.
On the restart, the JTR and MMR teammates were locked in battle again, and just like the start of the race, Jacobs was eager to break up the teammates again.
Wagner was leading with teammate Thomas as a tail-gunner. Behind them it was the same, with Fletcher leading Adakonis, who was trying to fend off Jacobs and Nathan Nicholson (No. 56 Advanced Autosports).
Fletcher took the lead with six laps to go. Thomas and Wagner took turns trying to get around him, but neither were successful and Fletcher became the first repeat winner of the season over Thomas by just 0.119-second.
“Luckily, just a little rough housing, and we got it done,” said Fletcher. “The three of us have won the last five championships, so definitely those guys know what they’re doing. I feel like we can all race respectful to each other and always put on a good show.”
Thomas and Wagner are both two-time champions with massive amounts of experience. This is the first season as teammates and they have plenty of respect for each other, which makes racing together a lot of fun.
“It’s always better when you’re racing with somebody that you know that you can predict what they’re going to do and know they won’t do something crazy,” Thomas said.
“Being from Indiana, this is like a home track for me,” Thomas added. “I don’t know if I have any more experience over anybody else, but I definitely feel comfortable here. I’ve seen about everything that can happen. So, from my notebook, that just helps with experience.”
Wagner led the most laps and completed the podium.
“During the race, you can definitely look in your mirror, see your teammate, and then kind of race things a little bit different, and control things a bit more,” Wagner said of racing with his teammate. “It’s still tricky when it comes to end, because everybody kind of has their own idea of what’s going to happen, and as soon as one variable kind of gets thrown into it, you know, you can’t wait to wait around for anybody, so I wish that that finish would have gone slightly differently. I wish we could have maybe jumped Jeremy [Fletcher], but I just lost my momentum out of the Keyhole, and Jared [Thomas] had to go with the run he had going, so that’s how to do it up today.”
As hard as he tried, Jacobs couldn’t break up the teammate parade up front and ended up finishing just shy of the podium. He was the highest finishing rookie.
After starting from pole, Adakonis ended the day in fifth.
Ethan Lampe (No. 31 Advanced Autosports) won the Penske Shocking Performance Award for advancing 14 positions during the 45-minute race.
Ellie Gossett (No. 77 BSI Racing) was awarded the highest finishing female award, and Christian Hodneland (No. 32 BSI Racing) took home the Takumi Award for drivers over the age of 40.
Sunday’s Round Six race is slated for 10:10am ET with live streaming on the IMSA and RACER YouTube Channels.
About: The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The series has been operated by Andersen Promotions since 2017 and is currently sanctioned by IMSA. Mazda-powered grassroots champions can earn Mazda scholarships for this pro-level series. The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup awards more than $1 million in prizes and scholarships.
Denny Hamlin spoiled Carson Hocevar’s homecoming at the very last second by snatching the Busch Light Pole Award for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, June 7.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through an on-track qualifying session that consisted of a single-truck, single-lap qualifying format. During the session, each of the competitors vying for starting spots cycled around Michigan International Speedway once to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the single fastest lap was awarded the pole position.
In Saturday’s qualifying session, Hamlin, who was the fifth-fastest competitor in Saturday’s practice session and rallied from having a flat left-rear tire that damaged the bottom side of his entry, which stalled him while he was trying to nurse his entry back to pit road, in practice, was the 37th and final competitor to post a qualifying lap. During his session, he posted a lap at 195.117 mph in 36.901 seconds. Hamlin’s lap was enough for the three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, to knock Hocevar off the top of the qualifying charts and achieve the pole
With the pole, Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry for a 26th consecutive year, notched his 50th career pole in the NASCAR Cup Series division and became the 10th competitor overall to achieve the feat of reaching at least 50 poles in NASCAR’s premier series. Hamlin’s 2026 Michigan pole was also his second at the Irish Hills and his second of this season.
“[The No. 11 team] did a great job accounting for the damage on the bottom side,” Hamlin said. “They rebalanced [the car]. It was a handful. It was all I wanted, certainly, but hats off to this whole National Debt Toyota team. That was surprising. I remember being at Richmond way back in [2006] or so, [2007]. Just trying to get a pole at my home track. I get it. I feel like that sorry for [Hocevar].”
Hamlin would have shared the front row with Carson Hocevar, but the former will drop towards the tail end of the field for Sunday’s main event as his No. 11 team will repair the pole-winning entry. Nevertheless, Hamlin, who rallied from serving a drive-through penalty at the start of last weekend’s event at Nashville Superspeedway to win and who also won last year’s Michigan event, will attempt to double down with a second consecutive victory in recent weeks.
As Hamlin drops towards the tail end of the field, Hocevar, a Portage, Michigan native, will lead the field to the event’s start as he starts on the front row for a second time in a Cup event in 2026. Hocevar, who was the 10th-fastest competitor in practice, posted his single lap at 195.022 mph in 36.919 seconds. Still, he was left dejected after being beaten for the pole by Hamlin at the last second.
“I mean, I know it’s just qualifying, but damn, I didn’t know I wanted [the pole],” Hocevar said. “I know I wanted it this much here, but it just means a lot for so many reasons.”
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe qualified in the top five, respectively. Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Erik Jones completed the top-10 starting lineup, respectively.
Notably, Josh Berry will also start towards the tail end of the field after he spun and flat-spotted his tires through Turns 3 and 4 while he attempted to post a qualifying lap.
With 37 competitors vying for 37 starting spots, all made the main event.
Michigan – Qualifying Position, Best Speed, Best Time:
Denny Hamlin, 195.117 mph, 36.901 seconds
Carson Hocevar, 195.022 mph, 36.919 seconds
Tyler Reddick, 194.969 mph, 36.929 seconds
Ty Gibbs, 194.842 mph, 36.953 seconds
Chase Briscoe, 194.826 mph, 36.956 seconds
Chase Elliott, 194.816 mph, 36.958 seconds
Kyle Larson, 194.768 mph, 36.967 seconds
Christopher Bell, 194.579 mph, 37.003 seconds
William Byron, 194.395 mph, 37.038 seconds
Erik Jones, 194.122 mph, 37.090 seconds
Daniel Suarez, 193.960 mph, 37.121 seconds
Riley Herbst, 193.929 mph, 37.127 seconds
Bubba Wallace, 193.898 mph, 37.133 seconds
Chris Buescher, 193.621 mph, 37.186 seconds
Cole Custer, 193.522 mph, 37.205 seconds
Zane Smith, 193.481 mph, 37.213 seconds
John Hunter Nemechek, 193.340 mph, 37.240 seconds
Joey Logano, 193.252 mph, 37.257 seconds
Ryan Blaney, 193.247 mph, 37.258 seconds
Michael McDowell, 193.149 mph, 37.277 seconds
Austin Dillon, 193.149 mph, 37.277 seconds
Noah Gragson, 192.818 mph, 37.341 seconds
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 192.812 mph, 37.342 seconds
Ty Dillon, 192.472 mph, 37.408 seconds
AJ Allmendinger, 192.220 mph, 37.457 seconds
Brad Keselowski, 192.123 mph, 37.476 seconds
Ryan Preece, 191.739 mph, 37.551 seconds
Austin Hill, 191.729 mph, 37.553 seconds
Alex Bowman, 191.688 mph, 37.561 seconds
Shane van Gisbergen, 191.683 mph, 37.562 seconds
Austin Cindric, 191.149 mph, 37.667 seconds
Ross Chastain, 191.032 mph, 37.690 seconds
Cody Ware, 190.905 mph, 37.715 seconds
Connor Zilisch, 190.880 mph, 37.720 seconds
Todd Gilliland, 190.830 mph, 37.730 seconds
JJ Yeley, 186.674 mph, 38.570 seconds
Josh Berry, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
The 2026 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, June 7 at 3 p.m. ET on Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
MADISON, Ill. (Saturday, June 6, 2026) – Alex Palou certainly has a flair for the dramatic.
Palou punished the rest of the field Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway, earning the NTT P1 Award for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline by more than 1 mph as the last of 25 drivers on track. His two-lap average speed on the 1.25-mile oval was 174.353 mph in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
The superlatives just keep flowing for four-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou, who earned his 17th career pole. This was his fifth pole in nine races this season and his fourth consecutive NTT P1 Award in the last month as the Spaniard became the first driver to win four straight poles since all-time INDYCAR SERIES pole king Will Power in 2011.
“The team I have around me is incredible,” Palou said. “My car was on rails today; it was incredible. It’s the place that I’ve struggled the most so far (in my career), so hopefully (this speed) will continue tomorrow.”
Palou, who leads the standings by 62 points over Kyle Kirkwood entering this event, was second in morning practice.
“I knew this morning that our car was super quick,” Palou said. “But I did not really expect to get the pole here today, honestly. It’s just incredible. Super proud and can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Live coverage of the 260-lap race starts at 9 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio Network powered by OnlyBulls). Palou’s best career finish here is fourth in 2024, as the asymmetrical oval is the only circuit on the 2026 schedule where Palou has raced in previous seasons without a top-three finish.
David Malukas continued his strong debut season with Team Penske by qualifying second at one of his favorite tracks with a two-lap average of 173.244 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
2025 WWTR winner Kirkwood put himself in strong position to defend his victory, qualifying third at 173.206 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global. 2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Felix Rosenqvist will join Kirkwood on Row 2 after his run of 172.953 in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda.
Scott McLaughlin qualified fifth at 172.869 in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet featuring a throwback livery paying tribute to Helio Castroneves’ 2009 Indy 500 victory for the fabled team. Marcus Armstrong rounds out the third row after qualifying sixth at 172.483 in the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda.
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who leads all drivers with five victories at this track, will start eighth after his run of 172.415 in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet.
Corey Heim executed a race-winning pass on Carson Hocevar for the lead with 15 laps remaining and fended off a late challenge from teammate Kaden Honeycutt to win the DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, June 6.
The reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion from Marietta, Georgia, led the final 15 of 125-scheduled laps in an event where he rolled off the starting grid from 23rd place and quickly motored his way to the front amid a stacked competition. After finishing towards the front between the event’s first two stage periods and remaining within the mix at the front amid the draft, late-race pit strategies and a total of seven restarts, Heim utilized a push from teammate Honeycutt to go from third to first through the first two turns with 15 laps remaining.
Despite maintaining the lead for the event’s remainder, Heim then had Honeycutt reeling in and intimidating the latter through every turn and straightaway. Amid Honeycutt’s repeated challenges, including two at the start of the final lap and another approaching the finish line, Heim managed to fend off Honeycutt’s challenges to notch an unprecedented third Truck victory of the 2026 season and his first in the Irish Hills.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Ty Majeski notched his second Truck pole position of the 2026 season and the 13th of his career after he posted a pole-winning lap at 183.407 mph in 39.257 seconds. Majeski shared the front row with Christopher Bell, the latter of whom clocked in his fastest lap at 183.057 mph in 39.332 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Ty Majeski briefly launched ahead from the outside lane through the frontstretch before Christopher Bell motored ahead from the inside lane through the first two turns. As the field fanned out and navigated through the backstretch, Daniel Hemric went up the track and scrubbed the outside wall. While Hemric made an unscheduled pit stop to have his entry repaired, Bell led the first lap over Majeski and a long line of competitors racing in single-file formation towards the outside lane.
Over the next four laps, Majeski battled and outdueled Bell to lead at the start/finish line. On the sixth lap, the event’s first caution flew when Frankie Muniz, who tried to execute a bold three-wide move beneath Spencer Davis and Kris Wright entering Turn 3, made contact with Davis and both went up the track and collected Wright. The contact sent both Muniz and Wright spinning through Turns 3 and 4, with Davis hitting the left side of Wright’s spinning entry, while the rest of the field racing in the mid-pack region scattered to avoid the carnage. At the moment of caution, Carson Hocevar assumed the lead from Bell.
During the event’s first caution period, some, including Tyler Ankrum, Daniel Dye, Caleb Costner, Davis, Muniz, Spencer Boyd, Kris Wright, Ben Rhodes and Corey LaJoie, pitted their respective entries while the rest, led by Hocevar, remained on the track. Another competitor who pitted was Tanner Gray, who started at the rear of the field due to a flat tire during practice that prevented him from qualifying. Gray had also lost a lap early in the event due to on-track contact that cut his left-front tire and forced him to pit from Turns 3 and 4, but he received the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap following the first caution period.
The next restart on Lap 11 featured Hocevar receiving a push from Bell from the outside lane that enabled Hocevar to motor ahead of Majeski and lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field fanned out for a full lap, Hocevar led the next lap over Bell, Chandler Smith, Christian Eckes and Kaden Honeycutt while Majeski dropped to 10th place due to receiving no drafting help from the inside lane. Majeski then scrubbed the outside wall entering Turns 3 and 4 after he tried to slide in front of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., but he continued to race in 13th place without drawing a caution. Amid the on-track action, Hocevar retained a narrow lead over a hard-charging Bell by the Lap 15 mark.
Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Hocevar continued to lead by 0.087 seconds over Bell while third-place Chandler Smith trailed by six-tenths of a second in third place. After stalking and reeling in Hocevar since the latest restart, Bell made a move beneath Hocevar through the first two turns and reassumed the lead on Lap 25.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Bell fended off Hocevar by half a second over the previous five laps (since Lap 25) to claim his first Truck stage victory of the 2026 season. Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Layne Riggs, Corey Heim, Eckes, Giovanni Ruggiero, Jake Garcia and Ross Chastain were scored in the top 10, respectively, while 30 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.
Under the event’s first stage break period, the entire lead lap field led by Bell peeled off the track and pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Morgen Baird exited pit road first, but he returned for another service. As a result, Bell, who exited pit road second, cycled back on the lead as he was followed by Heim. Hocevar, Tanner Gray and Honeycutt, respectively.
The second stage period started on Lap 36 as Hocevar and Bell occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar was pushed by TRICON Garage’s Honeycutt and Ruggiero to motor ahead of Bell entering the first two turns. As the field fanned out, Bell led the next lap before Hocevar managed to lead the following two laps.
At the Lap 40 mark, a heated three-truck battle for the lead escalated as Bell continued to lead by a mere margin over Heim while Hocevar reeled in from third place. As Honeycutt started to join the battle from fourth place, Bell retained a steady lead over both Heim and Hocevar by Lap 45 while the next pack of competitors led by Honeycutt and including Chandler Smith, Eckes and Riggs remained within distance as they trailed as close a two seconds from behind. Then as Bell proceeded to lead by Lap 50, Riggs made an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 48 to have a flat left-front wheel addressed. Riggs’ event went from bad to worse when he stalled his entry while trying to exit pit road and dropped out of the lead lap category.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Bell fended off Heim to claim his second consecutive Truck victory of this weekend at Michigan. Behind, Hocevar, Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Eckes, Chastain, Ruggiero, Grant Enfinger and Majeski were scored in the top 10, respectively, while 25 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap. During the event’s second stage break period, the lead lap field led by Hocevar returned to pit road for service, and Hocevar maintained the lead by exiting pit road first.
With 59 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Hocevar and Enfinger occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar received a push from Honeycutt from the outside lane to motor ahead with the lead entering the first two turns. As the field jostled for spots, Hocevar led the next lap before the caution returned due to Cleetus McFarland spinning when he entered the second turn and the backstretch.
As the event restarted with 51 laps remaining, Hocevar and Enfinger dueled for the lead through the first two turns before Hocevar muscled ahead through the backstretch as he received a push from Honeycutt to motor ahead of Enfinger. Seconds later, the caution flew again due to Stewart Friesen spinning in the backstretch.
During the next restart with 45 laps remaining, Hocevar was unable to move in front of Bell in time during the restart’s launch as Bell capitalized and made his move from the inside lane to motor ahead and reassume the lead. As the field scrambled, fanned out and jostled for late spots, Bell led the next lap before Hocevar reassumed the top spot during the following lap. By then, Enfinger made an unscheduled pit stop to have a flat tire that cost him several spots during the restart addressed. Amid Enfinger’s issues, the racing at the front intensified as Hocevar maintained a steady lead over Bell and Heim with 40 laps remaining before the latter two overtook Hocevar during the next lap.
Then with 38 laps remaining, the caution flew when pole-sitter Ty Majeski, who was racing within the top-15 mark, spun by himself after making the slightest of contact with Tanner Gray and backed his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 entry hard against the outside wall. During this caution period, nearly the entire field led by Bell pitted while Daniel Dye remained on the track. Following the pit stops and with various mixed strategies ensuing, Garcia, who only pitted for fuel, exited pit road first ahead of Hocevar, the latter of whom pitted for only two fresh tires, while Chandler Smith, Riggs, Garcia, Chastain, Davis, McFarland, Gray and Heim followed suit, respectively.
As the event restarted with 33 laps remaining, the field fanned out through the frontstretch before Hocevar, who briefly pushed Daniel Dye ahead from the outside lane, made a bold three-wide move from the outside lane to motor ahead through the first two turns. As various bumps and on-track contacts ensued through the backstretch, Hocevar fended off Chandler Smith and the field to lead the next lap before the caution returned for a hard two-truck wreck that involved Cole Butcher and Spencer Boyd through the first two turns. The carnage started when Butcher blew a right-front tire, went dead straight into the side of Boyd and sent both hard against the outside wall, which left both competitors with demolished trucks.
The next restart with 26 laps remaining featured Hocevar and Honeycutt dueling for the lead in front of Riggs, Chandler Smith and the field through the frontstretch and the first two turns before Smith shoved Hocevar ahead of the field exiting the backstretch. Hocevar led the next lap ahead of Smith, Honeycutt, Heim and Garcia while Riggs trailed in sixth place. As Eckes and LaJoie started to reel in the top-six competitors from seventh and eighth, Hocevar remained in front of Smith, Honeycutt, Heim, Riggs and Garcia with less than 25 laps remaining.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Hocevar continued to lead by 0.097 seconds over a hard-charging Smith while Heim, Honeycutt and Riggs all trailed by as far back as six-tenths of a second. Behind, Eckes, LaJoie, Garcia, Bell, Stenhouse, Mosack, Ruggiero, Ankrum, Queen, Kligerman and Queen all trailed within the top-16 mark, respectively. As the laps continued to dwindle, the top-five competitors were four seconds ahead of sixth-place Bell while Hocevar retained a narrow lead over Smith, Heim, Honeycutt and Riggs, respectively, as the event was approaching its final 15-lap mark.
With 15 laps remaining, Heim executed a run and move beneath Hocevar that started by veering to the left after being pushed by teammate Honeycutt exiting the frontstretch and moving to the bottom lane to overtake Hocevar and assume the lead through the first two turns. Behind, Hocevar, who reported a small piece of debris to his front grille that was beginning to make his engine warm, retained the runner-up spot as he tried to reel Heim back in while Honeycutt joined the battle. As LaJoie made an unscheduled pit stop to have a flat tire addressed from the top-six mark, Heim maintained a steady lead over Hocevar and Honeycutt with 10 laps remaining while Chandler Smith and Riggs were losing ground.
Down to the final five laps, Heim led by a tenth of a second over teammate Honeycutt and by three-tenths of a second over Hocevar while Smith and Riggs trailed by a second, though the latter two started to reel in the trio of leaders. As Hocevar started to lose ground with Smith and Riggs, Honeycutt started to reel in and intimidate Heim for the lead, but the latter maintained the top spot as the laps dwindled.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim remained in the lead by 0.086 seconds over Honeycutt as Honeycutt tried to make a move beneath and to the outside of Heim through the frontstretch, but was blocked by Heim as Heim maintained a steady lead for nearly a full circuit. Then entering the frontstretch, Honeycutt reeled in on Heim for a final challenge, but Heim stalled Honeycutt’s momentum as they both went to the inside lane and Heim managed to claim the checkered flag first by 0.065 seconds over Honeycutt.
With the victory, Heim notched his 26th career win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series division, his third of the 2026 season and first since he won at Rockingham Speedway in early April. Heim also made Michigan the 22nd track in which he has been victorious at as he also delivered both the fourth Truck victory of the 2026 season for Toyota and TRICON Garage, and the second for TRICON’s No. 1 Toyota team.
Heim’s Truck Michigan victory comes exactly a week after he was revealed to be driving on a full-time basis for 23XI Racing for the 2027 Cup Series season.
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I appreciate the help from [Honeycutt] and [Christopher Bell] all day to get us away from the pack,” Heim said on FS1. “I thought we had the three or four-best trucks running upfront. They did a nice job getting us out front. We discussed that pre-race and then, we’re gonna race it out at the end and that’s what we did. [Honeycutt] tried to get to my right rear there [on the final lap], which would’ve probably won him the race and I had to protect it. Props to Kaden. [It was a] Tense couple of laps there at the end, but that was pretty awesome. [Michigan]’s been a place that I feel like I’ve run runner-up a lot. I felt like we’ve had opportunities to win, kind of like a Charlotte track for me, and finally got it done. Fun race. It’s definitely a little bit of a pack race, so track position was pretty important at the end to find your teammates and get upfront. That was a lot of fun. I had a blast.”
Meanwhile, Honeycutt was left dejected on pit road after being outdueled by Corey Heim for a second time this season. The duo previously battled for the victory at Rockingham, where Heim had also managed to beat Honeycutt for the victory amid a last-lap battle. Amid the disappointment, Honeycutt maintained his composure as he also looked ahead to extending his on-track momentum towards making a championship battle for this season’s conclusion.
“We got stuff to clean up on our end, for sure,” Honeycutt said. “I’m just gonna leave it at that. Other than that, it was a good race there at the end. I’m sure that was a good race for the fans. That was good. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get the win there. I feel like I’ve just lost too many of [races] on myself, on my part. I think that’s what gets me the most, for sure.”
Carson Hocevar, who led a race-high 65 laps and was in position of achieving a home track victory, ended up in third place after he lost momentum in the late stages with only two fresh tires. Teammates Layne Riggs and Chandler Smith settled in fourth and fifth, respectively, as their late on-track teamwork was not enough to launch them back to the front.
Christopher Bell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Connor Mosack, Jake Garcia and Tyler Ankrum completed the top 10 in the final running order, respectively.
There were 20 lead changes for six different leaders. The event featured seven cautions for 34 laps. In addition, 25 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 11th event of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, Layne Riggs leads the standings by 26 points over Kaden Honeycutt, 90 over Chandler Smith, 114 over Giovanni Ruggiero and 118 over Christian Eckes.
Truck Series Results:
Corey Heim, 15 laps led
Kaden Honeycutt, one lap led
Carson Hocevar, 65 laps led
Layne Riggs
Chandler Smith
Christopher Bell, 37 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Connor Mosack
Jake Garcia
Tyler Ankrum
Grant Enfinger
Giovanni Ruggiero
Daniel Hemric
Brenden Queen
Daniel Dye, three laps led
Parker Kligerman
Ross Chastain
Tanner Gray
Andres Perez De Lara
Mini Tyrrell
Ben Rhodes
Stewart Friesen
Frankie Muniz
Spencer Davis
Cleetus McFarland
Morgen Baird, one lap down
Caleb Costner, two laps down
Justin Haley, two laps down
Corey LaJoie, two laps down
Josh Reaume, three laps down
Kris Wright, four laps down
Christian Eckes, six laps down
Cole Butcher – OUT, Accident
Spencer Boyd – OUT, Accident
Ty Majeski – OUT, Accident, four laps led
Dawson Sutton – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is the series’ inaugural event at Qualcomm Circuit (San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado) in San Diego, California. The event is scheduled to occur on June 19 and air at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM.
Extends record with 31st straight Truck race with at least one lap led
BROOKLYN, Mich (June 6, 2026) – Corey Heim drove to the lead with a great third to first move with 15 laps to go and held off teammate Kaden Honeycutt to win his first race at Michigan International Speedway. It is Heim’s third in five races this season and 26th in his career, which is fifth all-time. The win also extended his all-time record to his 31st straight race with at least one lap led.
Toyota Development Driver Kaden Honeycutt continued his strong performance this season with a runner-up finish – his series leading eighth top-five finish of the year. He continues to maintain second in the points standings.
Christopher Bell (sixth) swept the first two stages driving the second entry for Halmar-Friesen Racing (HFR). He is the first HFR driver to sweep the 2019 at Kansas Speedway (Stewart Friesen).
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) Michigan International Speedway Race 12 of 23 – 250 Miles, 125 Laps
“Really, I felt like we had a really good Tundra, but I think the traffic was a little worse than I anticipated honestly, but we were able to get enough holes. I thought our truck was strong enough on the long run to get back through there. Just really thankful for TRICON Garage and this 1 team for this Celsius Tundra. Came in here last year thinking we had a shot to win the race and came back with a chip on our shoulder after that restart wreck. Really cool to come back and get this win – first time winner at Michigan. Just feels great – just so thankful for Toyota, Celsius, TRICON, 23XI for letting me come do this. Just a lot of great people involved.”
Can you tell us about working together with your Toyota teammates and the racing there at the end?
“Christopher (Bell) and I kind of had a little bit discussion pre-race that we thought we were good enough to link up and sort of pull away from the field, and we were able to do that in the first two stages. I don’t know what happened to him, if he had a bad pit stop or what, but I kind of lost him there in stage three. Thankfully the 11 (Kaden Honeycutt) picked us up and worked with us. I thought we were going to have to race him from the get-go, but we kind of relayed that we could work together like we and the 62 (Christopher Bell) did to get away, and from there we did and then we got to race it out. He almost got to my right rear which would have been the end for me, so I had to block the best I could, and it worked out for me.”
What frustrated you the most there at the end of the race?
“I don’t know. I just want to thank TRICON, Safelite, this whole 11 team. Scott Zipadelli (crew chief) did a great job getting adjustments on our Tundra. We had a really great restart to get us up there in contention after all the strategy came in. We have stuff to clean up on our end for sure. Just going to leave it at that. Other than that, it was a good race in the end with us five there at the front. I’m sure it was a good race for the fans. That was good. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get the win there. Just lost to many of them on my part. I think that’s what gets me the most. Thanks for the whole crew. The pit crew did a great job all day making adjustments and being fast as they always are.”
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.
Ford Racing Notes and Quotes NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 — Michigan International Speedway
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Ford Finishing Results:
4th – Layne Riggs
5th – Chandler Smith
9th – Jake Garcia
21st – Ben Rhodes
23rd – Frankie Muniz
26th – Morgen Baird
30th – Josh Reaume
33rd – Cole Butcher
35th – Ty Majeski
LAYNE RIGGS, No. 34 BKB Bare Knuckles Boxing Ford F-150 – “I felt like I was more in trouble than I was winning the race. I don’t think I led a lap, but we started up near the front with a fourth-place qualifying effort. That was really strong for this 34 team. The flat left-front tire, there was no indication of it. I was just going down the backstretch and all of a sudden it was down and I felt like I did a really good job of getting down and not getting hit and not hitting the wall. The truck, I don’t think it has a scratch on it today, so just a really good job by everybody coming back from adversity. My crew chief, Dylan, did a really nice job of getting that track position back. We still weren’t on the same pit strategy. We only had two tires and we were just really, really tight there at the end of the race. We didn’t run up front enough of the race to know what we needed to be in contention with those guys at the end and just staying on top of the track changes. We’ve still got the point lead. I’m really happy about that. Like I said, with this being such a wildcard race I came in here just saying a top five finish with some good stage points would be a solid effort by us and we were able to accomplish that even with everything thrown our way.”
CHANDLER SMITH, No. 38 Everglades Isle Ford F-150 – “We just fought a tight condition all day with our No. 38 Ford F-150 and just couldn’t really ever get on the other side of it. Nevertheless, we obviously had a solid top five truck all day. That’s where we ran most of the day, so I feel like we finished about where we needed to be.”
TY MAJESKI, No. 88 Ideal Doors/Menards Ford F-150 – “It just looked like the 15 maybe thought he was clear and kind of just came up. I tried to give him some room and he just kind of ran me out of room there and then once you get into the racetrack without rubber on it, you go around. It’s disappointing for our Menards Ford F-150. We had a truck with a lot of speed today. We struggled a little bit in traffic, but I wish we could have saw that one through and maybe gained a few more spots, but, overall, we just need to be a little bit better in traffic. We’ll go to San Diego and we should be pretty strong.” THE DAY STARTED WELL WITH A POLE, BUT NOT THE WAY YOU WANTED TO FINISH. “Yeah. We just weren’t very good today and when you run back there guys are aggressive and stuff like that happens. When we had clean air, we were OK, but as I saw in practice traffic was gonna be an issue for us today and it remained true in the race, unfortunately.”
