The racing industry’s attention turns to Florida this weekend with events taking place at multiple venues.
Anderson’s Greg VanAlst will compete with his own team in the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday and will look to repeat his 2023 ARCA Menard’s Series victory at Daytona.
Advertisement
William Byron will look to accomplish something that has never been done before in the Daytona 500, being a three-time winner.
Byron won the Daytona 500 in 2024 and 2025, joining back-to-back winners Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin and Denny Hamlin.
Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is scheduled for Wednesday with the two qualifying races to prepare the field on Thursday.
The USAC National Sprint Car season begins with six races through Saturday.
The 60th annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing continues at New Smyrna Speedway with the American Speed Association season opener scheduled for Tuesday.
Advertisement
I watched on Flo Racing the Super Late Model race on Friday and the NASCAR Whelan Modified Tour opener on Saturday.
The half-mile oval still seems to produce good racing and will continue for the rest of the week.
THE yourBigPlans.com The 500 Sprint Car Tour has announced that three drivers will compete for the Rookie of the Year title.
Chris Schmelze and Chris Ochs plan to run the full schedule and make the trip to the Midwest from Washington state.
Both drivers have plenty of experience in sprint car racing and Schmelze is looking forward to crossing the 78th running of the Unified Group Services Little 500 off his bucket list in May.
Advertisement
Olivia Shelbo is also a candidate for Rookie of the Year and will be joined by local driver Colin Grissom in the rookie battle.
His father, Kevin, competed in five 500 Sprint Car Tour events in 2025 to prepare the team for a race for the rookie title.
Past rookie honor winners include Jackson Macenko, Tim Creech and Brady Allum.
The tour will begin the 2026 season on April 18 for the 26th running of the Glen Niebel Classic as a tune-up for the Little 500 on May 23.
The Kenyon Midget Series will kick off its 2026 season the same evening with up to 20 cars expected.
