Auto Racing News - 26 February 2026

Above photo: The modified of Cody Clark on display at last year’s Fonda Speedway car show.

This weekend finds the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in St. Petersburg, Florida, where Saturday afternoon they will run on a street course. The feature will consist of 80 laps on the Grand Prix at St. Petersburg in the Only Bulls Green Flag 150. The Halmar-Friesen Racing truck team will have Wesley Slimp piloting the number 62 Toyota Tundra, and Stewart Friesen will be in his number 52.

Modified driver Cody Clark of Salisbury Center would like to hear from you if you have a business or are a fan interested in taking part in a sponsorship deal of the number four modified owned by longtime racer Laudy Hoyenga. Racing was not the only activity that took place this month in Florida, as modified drivers Andrew Buff and Amy Holland were married while in the Sunshine State.

Results from last week: On Thursday night, former Fonda Speedway Crate 602 Sportsman division champion Cody Bleau of Rensselaer won the Slingshot A-main as part of the Indoor Auto Racing Championship-East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J. Cody did lead all 25 laps; however, he did have to battle with a challenging track and lapped traffic. Andrew Millard of Johnstown started ninth, advanced a few positions, and lost a few positions, finishing in ninth. In the Junior Sprint division feature, 2025 Glen Ridge Motorsports Park and Utica-Rome Speedway Junior Slingshot division champion, 10-year-old Preston Trautschold of Roscoe, was racing side-by-side for position when contact was made with another racer and he landed upside down. Preston was able to return to the feature and finished 12th.

Friday, racers were at the East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J. Zack Bealer earned the win. In the 25-lap feature, local modified driver David Schilling finished 12th. On Saturday night, Bealer made it a weekend sweep as he won again in the 40-lap A-main. David Schilling finished 21st, and modified driver Anthony Perrego was credited with finishing 22nd after an incident where he was upside down.

For Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race, the Fr8 Racing 208 in Hampton, Georgia, at the Echo Park/Atlanta Motor Speedway, John Hunter Nemechek qualified the number 62 in 12th and Stewart Friesen qualified 16th. Stage one ended with Stewart Friesen of Sprakers in sixth and John Hunter Nemechek in 15th. The end of stage two found Stewart on top of the leaderboard and Nemechek 12th.

To begin the start of stage three, Stewart and Kyle Busch lined up on the front row, with great side-by-side racing between the two of them until Stewart dropped back due to an electrical problem, salvaging a 20th-place finish. John Hunter Nemechek would finish eighth. In a post-race interview, Stewart said that he noticed the alternator/battery was not holding a full charge towards the end of stage two and shut off as many accessories as he could to help. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

After two races, Stewart surprisingly sits fifth in the point standings. Even with a poor finish this week, Stewart actually gained in the point standings as there were a number of drivers that received no points (due to not being a regular truck series competitor) and Stewart did accumulate bonus points for winning stage two.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series was at the Hendry County Speedway in Clewiston, Florida. On Friday night, Bobby Pierce won the 40-lap feature and Tim McCreadie of Watertown finished sixth. On Saturday night, Nick Hoffman scored the 60-lap feature victory and McCreadie finished 17th.

Basically, the off-season of racing is over, as every weekend in March offers fans the opportunity to attend a car show, and this year offers fans a good selection throughout New York.