Hickory Motor Speedway crowns champions in 4 of 5 divisions
Connor Hall finished first during a Limited Late Model race at Hickory Motor Speedway on Sept. 19.
Hickory Motor Speedway hosted its final points race of the 2026 season on Saturday, Sept. 19, crowning champions in four of the five major divisions.
The Limited Late Model division was the top class this season, with drivers earning points toward the track championship as well as the NASCAR National Championship. Connor Hall, who is competing for the national championship, traveled from Virginia for the Sept. 19 event and proceeded to win the pole with a lap of 14.888 seconds before also taking the checkered flag in the race itself after he started sixth following an invert of the top six qualifiers.
Finishing second behind Hall was Vincent Arthur, while Michael Bumgarner came in third, DJ Canipe finished fourth, and Don Carlton rounded out the top five.
Seventeen-year-old Paityn Feyen became the first female to win a points championship at Hickory Motor Speedway when she captured the Limited Late Model title for the 2026 season on Sept. 19.
History was made in the Limited Late Model points championship. While other women have taken checkered flags at Hickory Motor Speedway since it opened in June 1952, 17-year-old Paityn Feyen — who also earned NASCAR Southeast Division I Rookie of the Year honors — became the first female to win a points championship in any division at the track.
The 45-lap Late Model feature saw Hudson’s Thomas Beane start from the pole after a lap of 14.827 seconds. Beane paced the field and led every lap to win the feature, with Bumgarner finishing second, Skyler “Rambo” Chaney taking third, Billy Snodgrass coming in fourth, and Slade Parsons finishing fifth.
Bumgarner clinched his third consecutive Late Model track championship. Next year, he plans to race the CARS Tour full-time for Rick Ware Racing.
Steve Smart (left) stands with his wife, Kim, following his wire-to-wire victory and second straight track championship in the Renegade division at Hickory Motor Speedway on Sept. 19.
In the Renegade race, Steve Smart won the pole and led all 25 laps en route to his second straight track championship. Meanwhile, Cody DeMarmels was the runner-up and Jordan Cook rounded out the podium to finish second in the points standings for the second year in a row.
“I want to thank the fans, my wife, and my amazing crew,” said Smart, who plans to travel around the Carolinas next season racing at different tracks and in different disciplines of racing. “They are the reason I get to drive winning race cars.”
Robert Strmiska started from the pole in the 30-lap Street Stock race, while Jacob Hayes started on the outside of the front row. At the drop of the green flag, Hayes was the first to hit his gas pedal as he grabbed the lead going into the first corner and stayed in front the entire way.
DeMarmels and Marshall Sutton worked through the field and finished second and third, respectively, with DeMarmels winning the Street Stock track championship for the second time in three years after also capturing the 2025 ASA STARS National Tour championship.
The 30-lap Mini Stock feature was filled with caution flags. Chuck Wall managed to survive the melee to take home the checkered flag. Shane Canipe was second, with Wall also being crowned the track champion.
The Super Trucks were scheduled to wrap up their season, but heavy rains forced the race to be postponed. The feature will now be held alongside the 125-lap, $3,000-to-win Limited Late Model race on Oct. 10 at Hickory Motor Speedway.
