For the first time since 2005, championship weekend for Legend Car dirt racers lands in Indiana. Along the shores of the Ohio River, the INEX’s 30th Legend Car Dirt Championship Nationals takes on the banked dirt corners of Lawrenceburg Speedway.
Eighty-nine drivers from 16 American States, one Canadian, and one Australian will fill the pits of The Burg. Drivers from Ohio represent 16 total entries, leading all American states, and all active Legend Car dirt markets will be represented, including Florida, in which six drivers will be traveling from as they became INEX-sanctioned starting ahead of this season.
There are several tight points battles heading into Lawrenceburg. The Young Lions championship battle is the largest spread, and will be settled between Wisconsin’s Talyn Neuman (1894) and North Dakota’s Payton Hruby (1870). The 24 points is a large gap, but there are enough drivers in the Young Lions division (15) to keep the championship within reach of Hruby, who must have a victory as the primary objective.
Glenn Mitchell, the 2022 and 2023 Masters National Champion, will park his hauler with a perfect 1900 points and a nine-point lead over Jeremy Ott. Both have had stellar seasons, and if two races had played out differently for Ott, the championship could’ve have been a heads-up match.
The most unpredictable feature and championship at any national event will always be the Semi-Pro division, who have four drivers who are within 27 points of each other. While that is a spread down to the fourth driver, with 30 drivers entered, there will be no mulligans in the feature race for a poor finish. Wisconsin’s Hayden Schmuhl has a perfect 1900 points and a six-point advantage over Pennsylvania’s Logan Jones. Trailing Schmuhl by 18 points is New Mexico’s Cale Riggs and back 27, is the 2025 Young Lions National Champion from North Dakota, Colton Miller.
The tightest championship will be the Pros with two drivers at the top with 1900 points each. Racing combined 96 features this season are Preston Martin and Ty Olson, both from North Dakota. Martin seeks his third national championship (2023 and 2025), while Olson is a two-time national champion himself, earning the 2023 Young Lions and 2025 Semi-Pro titles. In the hunt, right in their rearview mirror is Ohio’s Steven Partin, who seeks his first national championship and has only six points to overcome.
Rewinding the clock one year at Nodak Speedway (Minot, ND), Preston Martin overcame an early spin to charge from the rear, capture his first Pro Dirt Nationals Feature victory, and secure his second INEX Pro Dirt National Championship. In Masters, Sean Johnson rallied from the back after an opening-lap incident, taking the lead from Donavin Wiest on Lap 26 to claim victory. Wiest finished second, securing the provisional Masters Dirt National Championship.
The Semi-Pro Feature ran caution-free, with Noah Madler earning the victory following post-race technical inspection. Ty Olson’s runner-up finish secured the provisional national title. Ohio’s Colton Brock dominated the Young Lions Feature, while Regan Reinke’s last-lap pass for fourth secured the provisional Young Lions championship. North Dakota drivers celebrated three feature victories, with Martin, Johnson, and Madler delivering memorable hometown triumphs on championship night. As an added bonus for the North Dakota locals, all four national titles were claimed by North Dakota drivers.
Unable to make it to Lawrenceburg Speedway? All the action can be stream on USLegendCars.TV. Friday’s coverage begins with ProFabrication Qualifying at approximately 5:30pm ET/2:30pm PT, followed by Heat Races to help set the lineups for Saturday’s Championship Features. After the Heat Races, the B-Mains for Friday’s Bassett Friday Features, a special exhibition race, and the Friday A-Mains will conclude the day’s festivities.
Championship Saturday coverage will go green at approximately 6pm ET/3pm PT with necessary B-Mains before the Legend Car Dirt Championship Nationals features to settle the national titles. All timing and scoring, lineups and results can be followed on MyRacePass.
While Legend Car Dirt Championship Nationals is the championship deciding race, the 2026 INEX Racing Series points season’s points are not official until October 28th.
See a complete list of previous Legend Car Dirt national champions, winners of the previous 29 editions of the Legend Car Dirt Championship Nationals, along with 2025 results by viewing the 2025 INEX Racing Series Yearbook.
-ONES TO WATCH-
Legend Car Pro Division
Preston Maritn (ND) - 1900 Points, 35 Starts, 25 Wins, 33 Podiums
Ty Olson (ND) - 1900 Points, 61 Starts, 24 Wins, 47 Podiums
Steven Partin (OH) - 1894 Points, 41 Starts, 33 Wins, 39 Podiums
Austin Winkel (WI) - 1843 Points, 24 Starts, 7 Wins, 19 Podiums
Ryan Braseth (MN) - 1831 Points, 34 Starts, 12 Wins, 28 Podiums
Legend Car Semi-Pro Division
Hayden Schmuhl (WI) - 1900 Points, 25 Starts, 20 Wins, 25 Podiums
Logan Jones (PA) - 1894 Points, 25 Starts, 17 Wins, 21 Podiums
Cale Riggs (NM) - 1882 Points, 23 Starts, 20 Wins, 23 Podiums
Colton Miller (ND) - 1873 Points, 47 Starts, 10 Wins, 30 Podiums
Ryan Swisshelm (OH) - 1855 Points, 38 Starts, 9 Wins, 23 Podiums
Legend Car Masters Division
Glenn Mitchell (AUS/MN) - 1900 Points, 36 Starts, 32 Points, 36 Podiums
Jeremy Ott (PA) - 1891 Points, 21 Starts, 17 Wins, 18 Podiums
Scott Richardson (MN) - 1834 Points, 31 Starts, 18 Wins, 30 Podiums
Casey Martin (ND) - 1834 Points, 23 Starts, 6 WIns, 20 Podiums
Keith Carey (WI) - 1831 Points, 27 Starts, 8 Wins, 25 Podiums
Legend Car Young Lions Division
Talyn Neuman (WI) - 1894 Points, 32 Starts, 29 Wins, 32 Podiums
Payton Hruby (ND) - 1870 Points, 30 Starts, 18 Wins, 29 Podiums
Easton Olson (ND) - 1810 Points, 48 Starts, 24 Wins, 45 Podiums
Owen Wagaman (PA) - 1777 Points, 28 Starts, 22 Wins, 27 Podiums
Blake Nalley (MD) - 1729 Points, 25 Starts, 6 Wins, 25 Podiums