CONCORD, N.C. — On the heels of a best-career performance in the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park, Ryder Laplante has committed to a second season following the American Sprint Car Series schedule.
The 19-year-old from Calera, Okla., opened the 2026 season by qualifying for all three main events during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. A mechanical issue forced a DNS on Thursday before posting a 17th-place finish on Friday and a 16th-to-eighth charge in the finale on Monday.
The performance marked a vast improvement from his Volusia debut the year before, where Laplante qualified for only one of the three Features run over the weekend.
“We thought it was awesome,” Laplante said. “Compared to last year where we only made one A-Main. This year, we made all three. Especially the performance we put in on Monday, going up against those big teams like that. At one point, I was up to fifth before a caution.
“For our little team to go out there and race side-by-side with the best in the world was pretty awesome.”
In 2025, Laplante built a solid base of 360 Sprint Car laps on which he’s looking to build in 2026. He said his rookie season taught him a lot and filled a few pages of his notebook at several new tracks, but this year will be all about staying competitive regularly as he aims to improve his position at season’s end.
“Just get some consistency,” Laplante said. “Last year, we were really up-and-down. Hopefully have better luck too; that was our main issue. I’d really love to get a top three in points. I know that’s gonna be really hard, but it’s doable. That’s my main goal.”
