PressBox, Author at NXTbets Inc

September 27, 2026

Honeycutt Sweeps Stages and Beats Eckes at Kansas

Kaden Honeycutt won the Race to Stop Suicide 200 at Kansas Speedway and took control of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase standings with a weather-delayed victory. Honeycutt led 111 of 134 laps, swept the first two stages and beat Christian Eckes by 1.358 seconds for his third win of the season. The result gave him a 37-point lead over Layne Riggs with five races remaining.

The race was red-flagged for 4 hours and 47 minutes because of rain after 69 laps, then resumed under the lights. Honeycutt held on through the late restart, with Brent Crews finishing third, Daniel Hemric fourth and Ben Rhodes fifth. Grant Enfinger had led when the stoppage came, but Honeycutt’s Stage 2 win and strong restart kept him in front when the race went official.

Riggs entered Kansas as the top seed and was in position to challenge for the win before a slow pit stop and late contact with the outside wall ruined his day. He had climbed back into second late in the race before hitting the wall and cutting a tire, which dropped him to 19th. Riggs said he took full blame for the mistake, and Front Row Motorsports competition director Drew Blickensderfer said the team still wants him racing for wins rather than settling for second place.
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September 27, 2026

Hoffman Repeats at I-55 to Complete Weekend Sweep

Nick Hoffman completed a weekend sweep in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series King of the Arch at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park in Pevely, Missouri, backing up his Friday opener win with Saturday night’s 55-lap feature. The Friday victory was Hoffman’s first Late Model win at I-55, his 18th career World of Outlaws Late Model Series win, and it moved him into a tie with Jonathan Davenport for 15th on the all-time wins list. It also ended an 18-race drought and marked his seventh series victory of the season.

Hoffman started third Friday, passed Tim McCreadie for second and then Dallon Murty for the lead, and led the rest of the way. Bobby Pierce climbed from 17th after starting in the Last Chance Showdown to finish second, with McCreadie third, Dennis Erb Jr. fourth and Jason Feger fifth. A late caution did not help Pierce close the gap.

On Saturday, Hoffman started fourth, passed Jason Feger for second and then Murty for the lead on Lap 18. A late caution set up a three-lap sprint to the finish, and Hoffman held off Feger for the $20,000 win. Feger finished second, Drake Troutman was third, Murty fourth and Pierce fifth after recovering from a spin. The Saturday victory was Hoffman’s eighth of the season, and the series next headed to Boothill Speedway for the Bayou Classic on Oct. 2-3.
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September 27, 2026

Blaney Projected 25th After Canceled Kansas Qualifying

Ryan Blaney said he is “starting to slowly hate” NASCAR’s qualifying metric after a tough stretch that included a DNF at Bristol and a 35th-place finish at Gateway, a run that left him projected to start 25th for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.

Cup qualifying at Kansas was canceled, so NASCAR set the starting lineup by its metric, which is 70% based on the car owner’s finishing position in the previous race and 30% on team championship points. Joey Logano is set to start on the pole after winning Bristol, with Kyle Larson scheduled to start second and Christopher Bell third.

Blaney enters the race sixth in the standings and 52 points behind Larson, who leads the championship chase and also benefits from the front-row starting spot.
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September 27, 2026

Hailie Deegan wins ARCA West at Madera in overtime

Hailie Deegan ended a seven-year winless drought in NASCAR-sanctioned racing Saturday night, winning the ARCA Menards West Series Madera 150 at Madera Speedway for her first series victory since 2019. Deegan passed defending series champion Trevor Huddleston on the final lap in overtime to earn her fourth career ARCA Menards West win and take the checkered flag in the race at the 53rd annual Mission Foods Harvest Classic.

Huddleston had won the pole and led most of the race before a late caution set up a green-white-checkered finish. Deegan edged him at the line, with Huddleston finishing second. Kenna Mitchell was third, Robbie Kennealy fourth and Mason Massey fifth.

Deegan said the result meant a great deal after a difficult stretch in her career. She became emotional while thanking the people and sponsors who supported her, and said she knew she had to make the most of a late-race chance. Deegan credited Bill McAnally Racing with giving her a car capable of contending all weekend. She also apologized to teammate Mason Massey after contact with the rear of his car, saying the contact was unintentional because her brake pedal was soft. Deegan had returned full-time to ARCA West in 2026 after stints in the Craftsman Truck Series, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Indy NXT.
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September 27, 2026

Russell fends off Verstappen in chaotic Baku race

George Russell won a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku for Mercedes, converting pole position into a pole-to-flag victory and holding off Max Verstappen by 0.196 seconds. It was Russell’s third win of the 2026 season, his first since Austria in June, and the first grand slam of his Formula 1 career, with pole, fastest lap, the win and every lap led.

The race was turned upside down by safety cars and crashes. Verstappen had started eighth after a power-unit problem in qualifying and charged through the field after the first caution, triggered by Alex Albon’s crash. Another restart incident involving Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris brought out a second safety car, and a late yellow flag after Valtteri Bottas hit the wall set up a final-lap sprint to the line. Russell briefly lost turbo boost under the yellow, but still kept Verstappen behind him.

Isack Hadjar finished third for Red Bull after returning from a wrist injury, giving the team its first double podium since 2024. Charles Leclerc was fourth and Kimi Antonelli recovered from a Q1 qualifying crash and a 16th-place start to finish fifth, trimming his championship lead over Russell to 66 points. Oscar Piastri fell out of contention after a Turn 1 lock-up and finished outside the points, while Lando Norris retired in the race’s opening-lap chaos.
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September 27, 2026

Cummins Rallies Past Grant for First 4-Crown Win

Kyle Cummins won the 4-Crown Nationals Presented by NKTELCO USAC sprint car feature Saturday night at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, earning $15,000 for his first career 4-Crown victory. Cummins started third, took the lead on lap 7 and led the final 24 laps, but Justin Grant briefly moved ahead with five laps remaining before a caution erased the pass and restored Cummins to the lead. Cummins held on on the restart and won by 0.778 seconds over Grant, with Jake Swanson third and Mitchel Moles fourth. The win was Cummins’ 11th of the 2026 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season and his 41st career USAC National Sprint Car victory, tying him with Bryan Clauson for 10th on the all-time list.

The 30-lap feature was slowed by multiple crashes and red flags. The 4-Crown weekend also included Thursday night’s Eldora feature, where Briggs Danner led all 30 laps to beat Brady Bacon by 0.656 seconds. Danner said he lost his brakes midway through that race and had trouble in lapped traffic. It was Danner’s second career USAC win at Eldora, his fifth of the 2026 season and his 12th career series victory.

Grant set fast qualifying with a 14.979-second lap, while Cale Coons and Gunnar Setser set track records in their heat and semi-feature wins. Robert Ballou and Max Adams both flipped in separate incidents and walked away.
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September 27, 2026

Boxell Ends 43-Year Drought for No. 54 at Eldora

Jakeb Boxell scored a breakthrough Saturday at Eldora Speedway, winning his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature in the 4-Crown Nationals. Boxell led all 25 caution-free laps in Rossburg, Ohio, and won the seven-minute, 30.696-second race by 0.826 seconds over Jacob Denney to earn $15,000. Justin Grant finished third, Logan Seavey fourth and Daison Pursley fifth. Boxell became the first driver to earn his first USAC national midget win during the 4-Crown Nationals since Danny Stratton in 2005, and the No. 54 car won a USAC national midget race for the first time in 43 years.

The 4-Crown weekend opened Thursday with Kevin Thomas Jr. winning his first feature at Eldora Speedway in USAC national midget series competition. Thomas started third in the 25-lap race, took the lead from Hayden Reinbold on lap 22 and held on through a green-white-checkered restart to win by 0.885 seconds. Thomas’s victory was his third series win of 2026 and the ninth USAC national midget win of his career. Justin Grant finished second, Reinbold third, Daison Pursley fourth and Boxell fifth. Jacob Denney was the fastest qualifier at 16.060 seconds, and Logan Seavey recovered from early engine trouble to advance from 20th to 10th.
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September 27, 2026

Rico Abreu charges from fourth to win 4-Crown finale

Rico Abreu rallied from fourth on Lap 9 to take the lead on Lap 13 and beat Giovanni Scelzi by 1.937 seconds in the 4-Crown Nationals finale at Eldora Speedway. The win was Abreu’s sixth career 4-Crown Nationals title, his 15th career Eldora win, his eighth High Limit victory of the season, his third straight 4-Crown finale win with High Limit Racing, and his 33rd career trip to Whiskey Myers Victory Lane.

Ryan Timms led the first seven laps before Aaron Reutzel took over from Laps 8 through 12, setting up Abreu’s move to the front. Scelzi finished second after briefly mounting a late challenge, followed by Timms in third, Reutzel in fourth and Tanner Holmes in fifth.

Abreu’s win extended his High Limit championship lead to 111 points over Reutzel with five nights left. The series was scheduled to move to Kokomo Speedway the next day. The 4-Crown weekend began Friday with Timms winning the High Limit main event at Eldora, while Scelzi, Holmes, Brady Bacon, Reutzel and Abreu rounded out the top six.
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September 27, 2026

Day passes Snyder Jr. late to capture Battle at the Beach

Corey Day won the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series’ Battle at the Beach on Sept. 26 at Ventura Raceway in Ventura, California, capturing the series’ first-ever race at the track. Day drove the Jason Meyers Racing No. 14 and passed Steven Snyder Jr. on lap 22 after a restart in the 40-lap feature, then held off Sheldon Haudenschild and Bill Balog to secure the victory.

The race featured an early duel between Snyder Jr. and Emerson Axsom, and Dominic Gorden’s rollover on lap 11 brought out a red flag. Snyder Jr., who started on the front row and led early, later hit the wall on lap 37 and finished 13th. Haudenschild finished second, Balog third, Axsom fourth and Michael Kofoid fifth.

Day also set quick time in qualifying and established a new track record. The win was his second World of Outlaws victory of 2026, the fifth of his career, and it extended his winning streak at Ventura to three races, including two straight Turkey Night Grand Prix wins in USAC National Midgets. The result completed a three-race California swing for Day after second-place finishes earlier in the week at Kings Speedway and Bakersfield Speedway.
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