OCALA, Fla. — Pierce Aiken turned Friday the 13th into a lucky night, capturing the Stealth Racing IMCA Mod Lite feature during night seven of the 2026 Florida Winter Nationals at Ocala Speedway.
The 20-lap main event on the three-eighths-mile oval saw the rising contender outduel a stacked field to secure his first Winter Nationals triumph of the season and his third overall victory of 2026 after sweeping a pair of January events at Hendry County Motorsports Park.
The Lake Worth, Florida, racer also became the first in-state driver to reach victory lane during the 2026 Florida Winter Nationals series.
Early on, it appeared Corey Babbitt might be the driver to beat after winning the night before. Ronnie Choate — the inaugural Florida Winter Nationals champion and 2023 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s winner — grabbed the initial advantage down the backstretch, but Babbitt powered underneath him exiting turn four to assume command. The Texan quickly built momentum, surviving cautions on laps two, three, and eight while maintaining a comfortable margin once the race settled into green-flag rhythm.
Aiken’s march to the front came in stages. After settling into second behind Babbitt following a lap-12 restart, he found himself in a three-way fight when Delaware’s Ryan McKinney ripped the cushion to take over the top spot on lap 14. Studying McKinney’s line, Aiken adjusted immediately — rolling the high side before cutting low off turn two on lap 15 to execute the winning pass.
A late caution set up a green-white-checkered finish, but Aiken was flawless when it mattered most. He nailed the restart and drove away over the final two laps to seal the victory.
Babbitt crossed the stripe second, while Ohio’s Carson Hubbard was credited with third. Texas racer Scott Jordan finished fourth, and 2024 Delaware State champion Brandon Dennis completed the top five. McKinney had originally been scored third but was disqualified in post-race technical inspection due to a spring infraction.
