LAS VEGAS — “The Hurricane” Jeff Montgomery led the way in BR Motorsports Thursday practice action at the fourth annual OnlyBulls Open Wheel Showdown.
Montgomery topped the Fuel Winged Sprint Cars practice at the .375-mile Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, charging to a 12.449-second lap at 108.442 mph average.
Six divisions participated in the practice action.
Watch the Open Wheel Showdown on SPEED SPORT 2.
The Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying Night awaits on Friday which includes the $10,000-to-win Elliott’s Trailers & Carts Non-Winged feature. The other five championship features roll on Saturday.
“I’m kind of shocked. We really struggled today and threw a swing at it. We went back out and it was so much better. I have to thank my guys here. It’s been a really long year traveling the country,” Montgomery, the Langford, British Columbia driver, said. “Race day is a whole different deal. We’re proud we’re up there. But once we get racing it’ll be a whole different deal.”
Montgomery contended with Kody Swanson for the $50,000 Winged Sprint Car payday in 2025. A broken bolt in the left rear birdcage unhinged his efforts, in one of the most memorable battles in event history.
Idaho’s Mike Murgoitio led the morning Fuel Winged Sprint Car practice session. Floridian Chase Cabre drove to fifth in both sessions despite utilizing a last-minute borrowed engine to participate. Qualifying, heat races, and the pole shuffle are on tap for Friday for the Winged Sprint Cars.
Other top performances on Thursday included Kody Swanson and Jackson Macenko, the Cincinnati, Ohio native, leading the return of Non-Winged Sprint Cars to Vegas. They split the first sessions at the track in more than 20 years.
New Yorkers have won twice in the Supermodifieds with another crop of them aiming for victory in the 2026 Larry Trigueiro Memorial presented by Firstline Systems. Oswego’s Dan Connors Jr. led the first practice session for the Supers before Colorado’s Kyle Ray dominated the second session.
Utah’s Eric Rhead and former Colorado National Speedway champion Nathan Gasser split the practices for the Klotz Synthetics Open Wheel Modifieds. They race for $10,000 to win in a 75-lap feature on Saturday, following Friday heats and pole shuffle action.
The Sunrise Heavy Haul-backed INEX divisions also practiced on Thursday. A strong 32-car Legends field was split by Brenden Ruzbarsky and Connor Podloski. Las Vegas Bandolero regular Austin French and Kyro Phipps were the fastest in the Bandolero portion of the show.
