School is out. The roars of NASCAR’s stock cars have faded from the walls of Charlotte Motor Speedway. And the smell of a delicious Big Double Burger tray is growing stronger. That means it is time for the Cook Out Summer Shootout! The first green flag flies on Monday, June 8th and again on Tuesday, June 9th for the first of eight weeks of racing for over Legend Car and Bandolero drivers from the across North America at America's Home for Racing! With over 210 entries pre-registered to race, there will be no shortage of action through to championship night on July 28th.
Asphalt national event racing in Florida and Tennessee has contained great feature racing and battles for victory in the first half of 2026. Across the six INEX Racing Series national divisions, no one repeated their Winter Nationals in February championship to Spring Nationals in April. The competition will be stout for any driver looking to earn their second championship of the season, let alone their first.
In the two non-championship divisions, Legend Car Chargers and Beginner Bandoleros, there are 30 and 25 pre-entries, respectively. They will simply be going out to gain experience in their race cars and working on their driving craft. But in 2025, these were some of the more entertaining races of the whole summer, and this trend has extended into the first half of 2026.
Those familiar with INEX Racing Series know well that the VP Racing Fuels Semi-Pro Division always has the biggest car count of any division. There are 43 pre-entries for this division, and while not all will show up every week, there is little doubt that a B-Main or two will be required to fill out every night's A-Main Feature. So far in 2026, Preston Wrisley and Galen Clark have been the event champions, but consistency and collecting good finishes have proven to be far important to strong championship runs.
Booth 34 Qualifying is always important each week of Summer Shootout, but in Semi-Pros it will be even more so to avoid any chaos associated with transferring into the A Feature.
Thirty drivers have tossed their hat into the ring in the Young Lions Division, the most of any event so far in 2026, Case James (Winter Nationals) and Colt Johnson (Spring Nationals) have split the national events this season but will have a hungry field chasing them wanting to put their name in the Summer Shootout history books. The Masters Division has another stout field of 21 competitors, including several familiar faces like Brandin Wrisley, Robby Faggart, Lee Jordan, Adam Welch, and more going for championship belt!
Carson Sherman has been the driver in the Bandolero Outlaws Division to beat in 2026, winning 10 of the 11 national event features so far. He’ll have 18 other drivers looking to top him at Charlotte including familiar faces to Charlotte like Jackson Jones, Lucas McFall, and Jacob Hassey. The Bandits have 21 pre-entries, including the Winter and Spring Nationals champions Maverick Bradshaw and Lucas Harrison, respectively, hungry to add a second title to this season's accolades.
And the best Legend Car drivers in all the land are the Dilling Pro Division racers. One of the most competitive field of Pro Division drivers in recent memory has been assembled for the 2026 Cook Out Summer Shootout. A total of 25 drivers have pre-registered for the division, but on any given night, the winner could be any of them.
COOK OUT SUMMER SHOOTOUT EVENT SCHEDULE and DETAILS
In 2025, Jake Bollman (Pro), Sam Butler, (Semi-Pro), Robby Faggart (Masters), Ben Morabito (Young Lions), Landon Thrasher (Outlaws), and Brexton Busch (Bandits) were the six champions. Jake Bollman has graduated to a full-time ARCA Menards Series and Late Models and will not be going for a third straight Pro title this summer. Sam Butler has moved up to the Pro Division, along with Ben Morabito. Robby Faggart returns to defend his title claims, while both Landon Thrasher and Brexton Busch have moved into a Legend Car full-time in the Young Lions Division.
The action begins on Monday, June 8th, with grandstand gates opening at 5pm at American’s Home for Racing. Booth 34 Qualifying beings at 5pm, directly followed by feature racing! The thrill of grassroots racing continues on Tuesday night with Round 2!
Streaming coverage of the full-time Cook Out Summer Shootout can be viewed on FloRacing, with coverage beginning at 5pm with Booth 34 Qualifying. Official results can be followed on MyRacePass.
2026 COOK OUT SUMMER SHOOTOUT SCHEDULE
Round 1: June 8th
Round 2: June 9th
Round 3: June 16th
Round 4: June 23rd
Round 5: June 29th
Round 6: June 30th
Round 7: July 7th
Round 8: July 14th
Round 9: July 21st
Round 10: July 28th
GARAGE NOTES
Joel Smith (Fourth year in the Legend Car Pro Division) – “[The Cook Out Summer Shootout] has taught me you need a lot of mental and physical strength. There is some times where this place can be immensely draining. But it’s taught me to be stronger and just overall be a better driver, while being more consistent week in and week out.”
Landon Thrasher (2025 Bandolero Outlaws Champion, now in Legend Car Young Lions. Ran both Bandoleros and Legend Cars last season) – “[Our expectations are] at least Top 6 every race. The car is feeling amazing. We were in P5 on stickers, so we weren’t too bad, but all I’m hoping for is a Top 5 in the championship. Hopefully we will get the championship, get a couple wins, but try to get a Top 5 every race. It’s way better since I can relax while racing and I’m not going fully back-to-back all the time.”
Carson Sherman (2026 Winter National Outlaws Champion; 10 of 11 national event asphalt victories) – “Last year Landon (Thrasher) helped me a lot with my race craft and everything [racing against him]. This year we’re going to go for the 2026 Summer Shootout Championship and try and win as many races as possible.”
Sam Butler (2019 Young Lions, 2025 Semi-Pro Summer Shootout Champion; Pro Division in 2026) – “I hope [the fans] expect some good shootout racing. I believe some of these kids moved up from Semi-Pro to Pro like I did and some of the ones that were in Pro [already] I’ve known and raced against before. I would say I’m a little greedy and come back and get a third belt, because we got one in 2019. I’m super thankful for the opportunity and I’m ready to get after it in Pro.”
Jack Smith (First year in a Legend Car at Summer Shootout, Young Lions) – “I think that it will be different because we’ll be in Legends and it will be more of a competition. Everyone will just be closer together and there will be more of a learning curve than it was last year since I was so used to the Bandolero. It’s a completely different car."