ANDERSON, Ind. — The third release of the 2026 National Pavement Sprint Car Rankings was announced Sunday.
Kody Swanson has emerged as the new top ranked driver with an advantage of only a half point.
Swanson has unseated Willison temporarily for the top spot on the heels of five top two finishes in his last six starts.
Three of those runner-up finishes occurred with the Race for the Million series. His lone non-runner-up result was a victory in the 500 Sprint Car Tour sanctioned Joe James / Pat O’Connor Memorial at Salem, Indiana August 15.
Canadian Aaron Willison continues his march towards a career best season. He already has 13 feature victories in 2026. This is the most in North America and a personal best.
Since the last rankings he has won such prestigious events as the Pink Lady Classic, “Poison Lil” Classic, and the Neil Montgomery Memorial among others. He also sealed the Race for the Million championship.
Bobby Santos III continues to hold the third spot due to consistency. He has won as recently as this weekend with the 500 Sprint Car Tour at Anderson Speedway in the Tony Elliott Classic. He also sealed the MSR 410 Pavement Winged Warriors championship despite an abbreviated season for the Midwest based winged 410 series, his first with the series.
Seventeen-year-old Florida sensation Colton Bettis sits in fourth place in the newly released rankings. Despite rarely traveling outside of the Southeast this season, he is putting together a strong season. He scored a podium finish in the second Berlin Raceway RFTM feature event on July 25. He is tied for second with the second most wins in North America with seven thus far in the season.
Jake Trainor and Jo Jo Helberg have moved into the top 15 of this year’s rankings for the first time due to both winning RFTM events at Berlin on July 25.
Two Canadians find themselves ranked in the most recent rankings. Willison joins fellow British Columbia resident Jeff Montgomery as the only two Canadians in the top fifteen.
Only 10 total pavement sprint car races remain on the 2026 racing calendar. It would appear Swanson may have the edge as he has five more events on his calendar. But Willison would have to be the favorite to win the Open Wheel Showdown wing portion of the event based on his success this season.
If Willison wants to increase his odds of cementing himself as the 2026 top ranked driver, he must consider entering the non-winged portion of Open Wheel Showdown and convincing his Florida car owner Ken Statham to participate in the final two BG Products Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series events.
These extra events could give him the push he needs to keep Swanson at bay and retake the top spot.
The final edition of the 2026 National Pavement Sprint Car Rankings will be released shortly after the final (November 14) event of the season.
NATIONAL PAVEMENT SPRNT CAR RANKINGS
Kody Swanson – 60
Aaron Willison – 59.5
Bobby Santos III – 37
Colton Bettis – 24.5
Evan Margeson – 19
CJ Leary – 17
Dakoda Armstrong – 15
Jackson Macenko
Davey Hamilton Jr. – 13
Tyler Roahrig – 12
Jeff Montgomery – 11
Mike Murgoitio – 8.5
Jo Jo Heberg – 8
Jake Trainor
Casey Tillman – 7.5
