Justin Grant rallies to win ISW finale at Tri-State
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 2, 2026
Grant's record win
Justin Grant capped the USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week finale with a comeback victory at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana, and the win carried a major milestone. He became the first driver to reach 70 career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature wins, a mark that adds to an already deep resume in national sprint car racing.
The victory also extended Grant’s hold on Tri-State. It was his fourth USAC National Sprint Car win at the track, and it gave him a third win in the Indiana Sprint Week series. That kind of return at one venue says plenty about how well he reads the track and how often he puts himself in position to close.
Grant’s run fit the shape of a late-race charge. He did not need the front row to make the difference. He used the long grind of the feature to work through traffic, find the right pace and set up the move that decided the race. The finish gave him another big result in a series where small margins mattered from the start of the week to the final laps at Tri-State.
Final-lap charge
Grant started seventh and still walked away with the win in the 30-lap feature. He tracked down Harley Burns, passed him for the lead on lap 18 and then controlled the rest of the race. Once Grant got to the front, he did not let the advantage slip. He led the final 13 laps and stayed clear to the checkered flag.
The margin at the end was tight enough to show how hard he had to work, but it was also decisive. Grant beat Brady Bacon by 1.361 seconds. Bacon finished second after chasing the front late. Kyle Cummins took third, Mitchel Moles finished fourth and Kevin Thomas Jr. rounded out the top five.
Burns was a major part of the race before he faded to sixth. He led the first 17 laps and set the early pace, which gave the feature a clear battle between the front-runners once Grant arrived. That shift changed the rhythm of the event, with Grant taking over and the rest of the lead group trying to match him.
The podium gave the finale a strong mix of veterans and contenders. Grant got the win. Bacon chased him to second. Cummins held third. Moles and Thomas followed close behind. The order at the front reflected a race that rewarded timing, patience and one clean move at the right moment.
Cummins' championship
Kyle Cummins left the finale with the biggest prize of the series title race. He won his first career Indiana Sprint Week championship by seven points over Grant and earned a $25,000 prize. The points battle stayed close enough that the finale mattered right to the end, and Cummins did enough across the week to finish on top when the final numbers were tallied.
That title gave Cummins a major breakthrough in the series. Grant’s win in the finale cut into the margin, but it was not enough to flip the championship. Cummins still held the edge by a small enough gap to show how competitive the week had been. The championship result matched the tone of the finale, where the top drivers stayed clustered and every position carried weight.
The night also carried a rougher note away from the front of the field. A heat-race collision with Grant flipped Robert Ballou and ended Ballou’s program. That incident carried over into victory lane, where Grant’s celebration was met with boos. The reaction underscored how much the earlier contact had shaped the mood around the event.
Even with that backdrop, the official results from the finale were clear. Grant won the race. Cummins won the championship. The night closed with a new record for Grant, a first career title for Cummins and a final round that left its mark on both the standings and the atmosphere around Tri-State Speedway.
