Across the United States, Legend Cars and Bandoleros are roaring to life as we leave winter in the rearview mirror. That also means it is time for the annual INEX Spring Nationals. Back in Nashville for the sixth-straight year, over 160 cars have entered the six-day event across two tracks, including 13 drivers from Canada and one Young Lions participant from Brazil. The week will kick off north of Nashville with three days at Veterans Motorplex at the Rim, April 13th-15th, before heading to the heart of Music City, Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, for the April 16th-18th half of the week, where six division champions will be given first-place guitars!
2026 INEX SPRING NATIONALS ENTRY LIST
INEX Spring Nationals follows a successful INEX Winter Nationals, where Joel Smith (Pro), Preston Wrisley (Semi-Pro), Doug Stevens (Masters), Case James (Young Lions), Carson Sherman (Outlaws), and Maverick Bradshaw (Bandits) captured their respective division championships. Only James, Sherman, and Bradshaw will be in Nashville to chase another series title in 2026. Sherman swept all five races at Auburndale Speedway in February in the Outlaws, while Bradshaw captured three of the five feature victories. The Young Lions Division was hotly contested, but James managed to earn two victories to seal his championship.
All six Spring Nationals champions from 2025 will be in Nashville next week, but only four will be running the entire series. Ben Morabito has moved up from Legend Car Young Lions to Pro, and will face a heavy field of contenders if he is to repeat. Michael Crafton, who has won three-straight Spring Nationals titles (2023-24 in Semi-Pro, 2025 Pro), will only be running the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway portion of the event. But Kevin Rollins, who has won four of the last five Masters Division Spring Nationals titles, returns for both stints at Veterans Motorplex and the Fairgrounds.
The 2025 Semi-Pro Division Champion, Cole Denton, has elevated to Pro and like Morabito, has a stacked field of racers to beat if he is to earn his third Spring Nationals guitar (2022 Bandolero Bandits). Harley Johnson didn’t win a feature during last season’s week in Nashville, but ended with the most points. He is once again back in the Outlaws Division. And finally, Brexton Busch won the Bandits Spring Nationals Championship in 2025, but will only be running the Veterans Motorplex portion of the event in his Young Lions Legend Car.
One of the highlights from the entry list is the large field of Legend Car drivers racing in the Pro Division next week. Fresh faces like Morabito, Denton, Chase Burgeson, Dylan Bongiovanni, Neal Dulin, Spencer Bradshaw, and Zachary Honaker are met with seasoned veterans such as Crafton, Jensen Jorgensen, Nick Woodall, Oliver Cordell, and Sam Cornman. But a few Pro DIvision drivers are making their return to Legend Cars: the 2022 Spring National Young Lions Champion T.J. DeCaire, Nashville local Boston Oliver, 2024 INEX Young Lions Asphalt National Champion Keelan Harvick, and Ben Maier, who won the 2025 zMAX CARS Tour East PLM Championship.
Getting some extra reps in before the Canadian racing season opens are 13 total Canadian drivers, including four Ontario Bandolero racers, as our members in Ontario look to build the Bandolero market. And the State of Tennessee will present one-quarter of the participating drivers, as 44 total Legend Cars and Bandoleros will be piloted by Tennesseans.
2026 INEX SPRING NATIONALS EVENT SCHEDULE
Monday at Veterans Motorplex will be a practice day, while Tuesday will be a double feature lineup, and Wednesday a single feature to cap off the first half. At Nashville Fairgrounds, Thursday will be a practice day with a single round of races on Friday. Then on Saturday, all divisions will finish the series with double features.
The MPI Up on the Wheel and AFCO Fastest Lap of the Week awards return. The MPI Up on the Wheel award will encompass both halves of the series, while AFCO Fastest Lap of the Week will be awarded after the Veterans Motorplex portion and Nashville Fairgrounds portions. The week’s fastest qualifier awards will be presented by CP Race Wear for all eight divisions.
Streaming coverage of all feature racing can be viewed on USLegendCars.TV. Coverage from Veterans Motorplex at the Rim will begin on Tuesday and Wednesday at 2pm ET/11am PT. Friday’s coverage from Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway will begin at 6pm ET/3pm PT and on Saturday, the green flag for the final features will wave at 3pm ET/12pm PT.
You can follow all lineups and full race results on MyRacePass.com or the MyRacePass App.