The 2026 USAC National Sprint Championship season is shaping up to be a thrilling spectacle with a deep roster of full-time drivers confirmed for the campaign. Among this group are several former series champions including Kyle Cummins (2025), Logan Seavey (2024), Justin Grant (2022 and 2023), and Robert Ballou (2015). The lineup also features numerous proven race winners such as Kevin Thomas Jr., Chase Stockon, Mitchel Moles, Jake Swanson, and Briggs Danner, alongside promising newcomers like Hayden Reinbold and rookie contenders Cale Coons and Chelby Hinton. This competitive field promises intense racing and fierce battles for the championship at venues across the country.
Start of the Season Set at Volusia Speedway Park and Florida Tracks
As the 2026 schedule unfolds, at least three additional drivers are preparing for full-time efforts but have not finalized their plans. These hopefuls—2019 series champion C.J. Leary, 2025 Rookie of the Year Gunnar Setser, and USAC CRA Sprint Car points runner-up Ricky Lewis—will all compete in the upcoming Florida events. The tour kicks off with six races in February beginning at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville on February 9-10, before heading to Ocala Speedway for four consecutive dates from February 11 through 14. This 55-race tour will provide ample opportunities for drivers to showcase their skills and vie for the coveted USAC National Sprint Championship title.
Kyle Cummins and Petty Performance Racing Aim to Defend Title
Kyle Cummins enters the 2026 season as the reigning USAC National Sprint Car champion, having dominated the 2025 campaign with a record-setting performance. Hailing from Princeton, Indiana, Cummins secured his first championship by maintaining the points lead throughout the season and establishing new milestones including 38 top-five finishes and 44 top-ten results. He earned 10 feature wins and secured 13 runner-up positions, culminating in a remarkable 23 finishes in the top two — all series records. This impressive run also included winning the Winter Dirt Games and clinching the title with races still remaining. Now in his third year with Petty Performance Racing, Cummins is determined to repeat his championship success and remains highly motivated to defend his crown.
Jake Swanson Builds Momentum with Team Ownership and Race Wins
Jake Swanson, based in Anaheim, California, enters 2026 with renewed determination after a breakthrough season in 2025 as a car owner. Swanson provided Daming Swanson Motorsports with its first USAC victory at the Route 66 Motor Speedway in Texas last October, an emotional milestone following the passing of team owner Joe Daming in 2024. Swanson, an accomplished driver with seven USAC National Sprint Car wins and the 2017 West Coast Sprint Car title, aims to build on this successful foundation. Ranked eighth in the 2025 final standings, he returns to the No. 5T car with aspirations to climb higher in the points and capture more wins throughout the season.
Kevin Thomas Jr. Poised for Title Run with Rock Steady Racing
Kevin Thomas Jr., well-known in the sprint car racing scene, heads into 2026 with strong momentum and ambitions for the championship. In 2025, KTJ achieved four wins, finishing fourth in the overall USAC National Sprint Car standings. His victories came on prestigious tracks including Knoxville Raceway, Williams Grove Speedway, Tri-State Speedway, and Kokomo Speedway, where he clinched his fourth Friday night Sprint Car Smackdown win in five years. Thomas also made history by securing his third USAC Indiana Sprint Week championship. Following a solid performance at the 2026 Chili Bowl, where he vaulted from 18th to 2nd, Thomas and team owner Hank Byram of Rock Steady Racing embark on their third season together with their sights set firmly on the title.
Justin Grant and TOPP Motorsports Look to Reclaim Championship Glory
Justin Grant and TOPP Motorsports have formed one of the most successful partnerships in USAC history. Since joining forces in 2018, they have amassed a record 57 USAC National Sprint Car wins. Despite Grant missing four races in 2025 due to injury, he still secured an impressive 11 wins, including the 63rd victory of his career at Wheatland, Missouri, which pushed him atop the all-time USAC win list. Grant, a two-time national champion from 2022 and 2023, also earned his first Eastern Storm title and a fifth Sprint Car Smackdown championship the previous year. Entering 2026 fully healed, Grant is ready to contend fiercely and aims to add another championship to his distinguished resume.
Briggs Danner Advances Toward National Prominence with Hogue Racing Enterprises
Briggs Danner has steadily risen from east coast racing circles to become a notable competitor on the USAC National Sprint Car landscape. In 2025, he captured four feature wins across venues including Kokomo Speedway, Tri-City Speedway, and Eldora Speedway. His most memorable achievement came during Kokomo’s Indiana Sprint Week, where he earned a dramatic last-lap victory. Representing New Jersey-based Hogue Racing Enterprises, Danner climbed to sixth in the series points last season. Named USAC’s Most Improved National Driver in 2024, he has steadily improved and looks poised to challenge for the national title, carrying forward a legacy not seen from a Pennsylvania driver since Tommy Hinnershitz in 1959.
Robert Ballou Returns After Injury, Seeking Another Championship Bid
Robert Ballou, famously known as “The Mad Man,” faced a setback in 2025 when a crash at Bloomington resulted in serious vertebrae injuries, sidelining him for the final 18 races. After months of recovery, the Rocklin, California racer is back behind the wheel of his No. 12 sprint car, a combination that has yielded 34 wins and made him the most victorious independent driver/owner in series history. Prior to his injury, Ballou notched a win during Indiana Sprint Week and led all drivers with 15 heat race victories. As the 2015 USAC National Sprint Car champion, he returns focused on reclaiming victory lane and mounting a strong championship challenge once again.
Logan Seavey Maintains High Standards with Abacus Racing
Logan Seavey enjoyed another successful season in 2025, securing nine USAC National Sprint Car wins, notably claiming substantial purses including $20,000 at Tri-State Speedway’s Haubstadt Hustler, $30,000 at the Fall Nationals in Lawrenceburg, and $43,000 at Central Arizona Raceway’s Western World Championships. As the 2024 series champion and one of the most decorated racers in USAC’s history, Seavey ranks 16th all-time in USAC National Sprint Car victories. Closing 2025 strongly with three wins in the last five events, Seavey and Abacus Racing, having already achieved 23 wins in just two years together, are entering their third season ready to fight for another championship.
Mitchel Moles Shows Consistent Growth Toward Title Contention
Mitchel Moles has steadily improved each of his four years on the USAC National Sprint Car circuit, culminating in a career-best second place finish in 2025. That season, Moles recorded 22 top-fives and 41 top-tens, and won the closest race of the year by a mere 21 hundredths of a second, narrowly defeating champion Kyle Cummins at Paragon Speedway’s Fall Brawl. He also tied the USAC single-season record for most fast qualifying times with 15, shared only with Kevin Thomas Jr. His background as a professional bass fisherman and raisin farmer complements his outdoorsman persona, and in 2026, Moles targets the ultimate prize: the USAC National Sprint Car championship.
Hayden Reinbold Emerges as a Powerful USAC Contender
Hayden Reinbold delivered a breakthrough season in 2025, earning USAC’s National Most Improved Driver award and standing out as the first Arizonan recipient of the honor in 25 years. Driving the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports No. 19 car, Reinbold tallied five top-five finishes, including a runner-up result at Lincoln Park Speedway and podium placements at Tri-State and Butler Motor Speedway. Despite a narrow four-point deficit to fellow rookie Gunnar Setser, Reinbold demonstrated competitiveness throughout the tightest rookie battle in recent history. Heading into 2026, he fully embraces his proven status as a race-winning threat on any dirt track.
Chase Stockon Returns to Victory Lane with Moose Racing
Chase Stockon delivered one of the most exciting moments of the 2025 USAC season by winning at the Terre Haute Action Track during Indiana Sprint Week. That victory marked the first USAC national feature win for longtime car owners Tom and Laurie Sertich and represented Stockon’s return to the winner’s circle after a five-year gap. Remarkably, he achieved this milestone during his 500th USAC career start while recovering from fractures in his right hand sustained just a week earlier. The Fort Branch, Indiana native’s first full season with Moose Racing laid a successful foundation, and both driver and team are building momentum as they head into 2026.
Cale Coons Joins Rookie Ranks with Dooling Autosports and Curb-Agajanian
Cale Coons steps into a full-time USAC National Sprint Car role in 2026, competing for the Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Year title. The 17-year-old from Greencastle, Indiana, impressed in 2025 by finishing inside the top ten in six of eight starts with a best finish of fourth at Kokomo Speedway. Additionally, he earned recognition as co-Rookie of the Year in the Non-Wing Sprint Car Hall of Fame poll, driven by five feature wins at the local level, including three triumphs at Lincoln Park. Coons benefits from having his father, Jerry Coons Jr., a USAC Triple Crown champion, as his crew chief. With this legacy and talent, Coons looks ready to make a significant impact on the USAC stage.
Logan Calderwood Launches Full-Time USAC National Campaign
Logan Calderwood carries on a family legacy deeply rooted in USAC racing, where his grandfather Dave Calderwood excelled across sprint car, midget, and Silver Crown divisions while mentoring prominent drivers like Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman. After years competing part-time in USAC national events and more extensively in the CRA Sprint Car series, the 22-year-old from Goodyear, Arizona, races full time in 2026 piloting the No. 6 for Rex Calderwood Racing. This marks the first full national campaign for this new generation of the Calderwood family, signaling their continued commitment to the sport.
Chelby Hinton Embarks on Historic USAC National Sprint Car Journey
Chelby Hinton, a 20-year-old native of Louisiana, approaches the 2026 season with determination as he pursues Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Year honors. Hinton is notable for being the first driver from the Pelican State to appear in USAC National Sprint Car point standings in the series’ 70-year history. After relocating to Indiana in early 2025, Hinton made eight starts with Phillips Motorsports, securing a heat race victory at Kokomo and demonstrating rapid progression. He later joined 2B Racing, where he won a heat and finished third in a Midwest Thunder feature. With new opportunities and big aspirations, Hinton aims to make a lasting mark on the 2026 USAC National Sprint scene.
