NASHVILLE — An action-packed Saturday night at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway featured three exciting feature races, two championship battles, and pole qualifying for Sunday’s 41st running of the All American 400.
Josh Richardson, Chuck Barnes Jr. and T.J. DeCaire each celebrated victories, while Dawson Sutton turned the fastest lap in Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA STARS National Tour qualifying to set the stage for Sunday’s prestigious Super Late Model showdown.
The evening began at 5 p.m. with 31 Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA STARS National Tour competitors taking to the historic Nashville oval for qualifying. Sutton, driving the No. 26, turned a blistering lap of 18.161 seconds to earn the pole position for Sunday’s 41st All American 400.
Matthew Craig was just 0.040 seconds behind Sutton with a lap of 18.201 seconds, while Derek Thorn qualified third at 18.222. Treyten Lapcevich and Cole Butcher completed the top five, followed by Carson Brown, Stephen Nasse, Kasey Kleyn, Brandon Lopez, and Derek Kraus.
The final event of Saturday night’s program was the highly anticipated Pro Late Model All American 100, featuring a stout field of competitors and another championship battle.
DeCaire established himself as the driver to beat early in the day, topping both practice and qualifying. Following qualifying, DeCaire drew the number two pill, placing him on the outside of the front row for the 100-lap feature.
When the green flag waved, DeCaire immediately raced into the lead with Rodney Dowless Jr. in pursuit.
DeCaire was nearly untouchable throughout much of the event, maintaining control through extended green-flag runs and multiple restarts. His biggest challenge came late in the race when Trey Craig grabbed the lead on a lap-83 restart.
Just two laps later, another caution provided DeCaire with an opportunity to reclaim the top spot.
On the ensuing restart, Craig initially held the advantage entering turn one, but DeCaire made a daring move to the outside, powering past Craig off turn two to regain the lead.
From that point forward, DeCaire pulled away to score an impressive victory, completing a day in which he was fastest in practice, fastest in qualifying, and the winner of the 100-lap feature.
Craig finished second, 2.110 seconds behind the winner, while Gage Gilby rounded out the podium. Hunter Wright and Turner Brown completed the top five.
The Pro Late Model championship battle also provided plenty of excitement. Brett Robinson of New Albany, Indiana, entered the night holding the points lead over Jackson Boone.
Boone was making a serious push for the title before becoming involved in an accident that began in front of him, bringing his championship hopes to an end.
Robinson persevered to finish tenth in the feature, securing the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Pro Late Model championship.
Corey Deuser, Josh Stade, Ben Mack, and Anthony Bello finished sixth through ninth, respectively.
The Vore’s Compact Touring Series powered by Mercer County Electric delivered one of the night’s most entertaining races, as Josh Richardson held off a remarkable charge from Karter Stark to win the Pest Doctor 40.
The 40-lap feature went from green to checkered without a single caution, but the absence of yellow flags did little to diminish the action. A nearly race-long battle involving Richardson, Bo Hoelscher, Ron Sagers, Tom Gossar, and eventually Stark kept fans entertained as the leaders sliced through lapped traffic.
Hoelscher, the newly crowned 2026 series champion, led the opening seven laps before Richardson moved into the top spot on lap eight. From there, Richardson faced pressure from several challengers while navigating traffic around the Nashville oval.
The biggest story, however, was the incredible drive by young Karter Stark, who was forced to switch to his father Kyle’s car after mechanical issues with his original entry.
Stark crossed the line in 17th at the completion of the opening lap but wasted little time charging forward. He reached the top five by lap 18, advanced to fourth on lap 29, moved into third on lap 30, and claimed second just one lap later.
Despite facing a substantial deficit, Stark continued closing on Richardson during the final laps. Richardson maintained enough of an advantage to take the checkered flag, winning by 1.207 seconds in a race completed in just 15 minutes and 37.853 seconds.
Stark finished second, followed by Sagers, Gossar, and Hoelscher.
The Turnkey Autoworks HRA Street Stocks provided plenty of drama in their All American 40, with both the race victory and season championship hanging in the balance.
Teenager Ayden Oliver of Bowling Green, Kentucky, entered the evening atop the championship standings, looking to secure the title. However, early contact with another competitor resulted in damage that ended his race and dramatically changed the championship picture.
At the front, Jamie Sites appeared to be the driver to beat. Sites took the lead on lap seven and controlled much of the event before a caution on lap 32 set up a pivotal restart.
On the ensuing green flag, Sites and Chuck Barnes Jr. made contact while battling for the lead. Sites shot up the banking, allowing Barnes to take command of the race.
Barnes held the top spot the rest of the way to claim the All American 40 victory, but the championship celebration belonged to another driver.
Sam McCord finished second, just 0.588 seconds behind Barnes, and collected enough points to secure the Nashville Street Stock championship.
Josh Sage finished third, followed by Chad Chaffin and Sites, who recovered to complete the top five.
