Kansas-Texas Two-Step for USAC Sprints Oct 16-17 at Dodge City & Amarillo

(Chuck Reed Photo) Richie Murray - USAC Media October 14, 2026 Speedway, Indiana (October 14, 2026)………Back on the road again! The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship hits the highway for Kansas/Texas Two-Step this weekend, October 16-17. First up is a return to Kansas’ Dodge City Raceway on Friday night, October 16, paying $6,000-to-win. To cap the weekend off, the series travels down south to the Texas panhandle for USAC’s second ever visit to Amarillo, Texas’ Route 66 Motor Speedway for $10,000-to-win Bomb City 40. As we head down the home stretch, here are the storylines to keep tuned to this weekend!   ALL GAS, NO BRAKE FOR JAKE Jake Swanson enters the weekend as the most recent USAC National Sprint Car winner, scoring last Friday’s Greg Staab Memorial at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway. Last year, he was a feature winner on the tour, capturing his first USAC victory as a car owner at Amarillo with the Daming Swanson No. 5T. He also owns the one-lap USAC National Sprint Car track record at both venues on this weekend’s slate with a 14.963 second lap at Dodge City followed by a 13.648 the following night at Amarillo.   CUMMINS INCHING TOWARD CLINCHING Kyle Cummins kicked off the great plains tour a year ago with a win as he raced to victory at Dodge City, leading early before losing the top spot, then regaining it back in traffic en route to the win. While Cummins can’t quite clinch his second consecutive USAC National Sprint Car championship this weekend, he’s in a great spot to get a few steps closer with five total races remaining and a 208-point lead. Cummins owns a series-leading 11 wins in 2026 and is just three shy of tying the all-time single season USAC National Sprint Car win record of 14 set by Tom Bigelow (1977) and Logan Seavey (2024). With five races remaining, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to tie or beat the record.   KTJ’S REDEMPTION TOUR Kevin Thomas Jr. led both feature events at Dodge City and Amarillo one year ago. He led five laps at Dodge City before getting twisted up with a lapped car just before the midway point before finishing third. The next night, he led 15 of the 30 laps and finished as the runner-up in what was the fourth closest finish of the 2025 USAC National Sprint Car season at 0.213 second. KTJ has won twice with the series in 2026 at Kokomo and Tri-State and now looks for a little bit of redemption this weekend.   LEARY GOES FORTH TO EXTEND STREAK C.J. Leary finished a solid fourth at both Dodge City and Amarillo during last year’s contests. And wouldn’t you know it, he enters this weekend’s races fresh off another fourth place result in his most recent USAC National Sprint Car start at Lawrenceburg last Friday. Leary has won at least one USAC National Sprint Car feature in each of the past 10 seasons dating back to 2016. However, the 24-time series winner has yet to occupy victory lane with the series this year. Last year, Jake Swanson broke through for his first USAC win of 2025 at Amarillo. Now, Leary aims to find a similar trajectory toward the checkered this weekend.   GREAT PLAINS ODDS & ENDS Meanwhile, several other USAC National Sprint Car winners on the 2026 tour are looking to strike gold once more this year, including Kyle Cummins   (11 wins), Mitchel Moles (7), Justin Grant (6), Briggs Danner (5), Logan Seavey (3), Jake Swanson (3), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), Cale Coons (1), and Chase Stockon (1). C.J. Leary and Hayden Reinbold are vying for their first scores of ’26. Speaking of Coons, he’s officially locked USAC National Sprint Car Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Year honors for the 2026 season as he makes his debut at both Dodge City and Amarillo this weekend. While the race for the championship is nearly spoken for, several other points battles within the top 10 are up for grabs. Justin Grant and Mitchel Moles are separated by just 65 markers. Jake Swanson and Briggs Danner are separated by 92 points for fourth. Meanwhile, just 70 points separate the 7th through 10th battle featuring Leary, Stockon, Robert Ballou, and on back to Seavey.   HIGH PLAINS THUNDER BONUS The High Plains Thunder Bonus, a $2,000 prize awarded to the driver who earns the best overall points finish across the back-to-back nights of USAC National Sprint Car racing at Kansas’ Dodge City Raceway Park on Friday and at Route 66 Motor Speedway on Saturday. The High Plains Thunder Bonus is designed to reward consistency across two demanding tracks on consecutive nights. Dodge City’s wide, sweeping surface and Amarillo’s fast Texas clay provide two very different challenges, pushing drivers to adapt quickly and prove themselves under pressure. If a tie occurs, the fastest qualifying lap at Amarillo will determine the winner. With a pair of podium finishes last year, Kevin Thomas Jr. is the reigning High Plains Thunder Bonus titlist.   RACE DETAILS On Friday, October 16, at Kansas’ Dodge City Raceway Park, the program will feature the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship. Pits open at 1pm Central with the grandstands opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 5:30pm, and hot laps at 6pm, followed by racing. General admission tickets are $20 for ages 13 & up. General admission tickets are free for ages 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $40. On Saturday, October 17, at Amarillo, Texas’ Route 66 Motor Speedway, the docket consists of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the Hollis Garage Doors/Whelchel Racing Street Stocks. Pits open on race day at 3pm Central time with the front gates opening at 5pm, the drivers meeting at 5:15pm, and hot laps at 6pm. Advance tickets are now on sale for the event at www.route66motorspeedway.net. General admission tickets are $35 apiece for ages 13 and up, $15 for ages 6-12 and free for ages 5 and under. Pit passes are $45 each for all ages. Both events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac2026.   =================   USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-3119, 2-Justin Grant-2911, 3-Mitchel Moles-2846, 4-Jake Swanson-2592, 5-Briggs Danner-2500, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2429, 7-C.J. Leary-2329, 8-Chase Stockon-2317, 9-Robert Ballou-2291, 10-Logan Seavey-2259.   USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT DODGE RACEWAY PARK: 2-Tracy Hines 1-Kyle Cummins   USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT DODGE RACEWAY PARK 2011: Tracy Hines (8/12) & Tracy Hines (8/13) 2025: Kyle Cummins (10/17)   TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT DODGE RACEWAY PARK 1 Lap - 10/17/2025 - Jake Swanson - 14.963 8 Laps - 8/12/2011 - Hunter Schuerenberg - 2:02.63 30 Laps - 8/12/2011 - Tracy Hines - 8:18.18   USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS IN KANSAS: 2-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou & Tracy Hines 1- Don Branson, Kyle Cummins, Tony Elliott, Kenny Irwin Jr., Bubby Jones, Arnie Knepper, Jud Larson, Jim Mahoney, Thomas Meseraull, Smokey Snellbaker, Robbie Stanley, Dave Steele, Brian Tyler, Greg Weld, Carl Williams, Doug Wolfgang & J.J. Yeley   =================   USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT ROUTE 66 MOTOR SPEEDWAY 1-Jake Swanson   USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT ROUTE 66 MOTOR SPEEDWAY 1 Lap 10/18/2025 - Jake Swanson - 13.648 8 Laps - 10/18/2025 - Stevie Sussex - 1:56.22   USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS IN TEXAS: 1-Brady Bacon, Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Rick Hood, Parnelli Jones & Jake Swanson   ‍