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Cox hangs on for Challenge Cup Round 3 Late Model win at Lucas Oil Speedway

2026-07-20 23:05

WHEATLAND, MO. (July 18, 2026) - Tucker Cox parked it in victory lane in the Hermitage Lumber Late Model division on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Speedway in Round 3 of the Pitts Homes and Realty Challenge Cup.

It wasn't easy, even though Cox officially led all 20 laps. The Jefferson City driver earned his first feature win of the season, holding off multiple slider attempts from Robbe Ewing over the final four laps.

"It was a really good race and the car was really good tonight," said Cox, who earned $1,000 for the victory.

Cox started on the pole and set the early pace, leading Ewing and Matt Becker, with eighth-starting Cole Henson moving into fourth by lap four. Following a lap-six caution, Kaeden Cornell advanced into second after starting seventh.

As the laps clicked by, Cox kept extending his lead and was 2.5 seconds in front of of Ewing by lap 14 with Cornell third and Henson fourth. But Cox saw his big lead wiped out with a lap-16 caution.

Ewing rode the high groove to pull alongside Cox twice in the final laps, but Cox hung on to win by .151 seconds or one car length.

"On that last restart I could hear him out there. On the front straightaway I could hear him, wide open going into one," Cox said of Ewing, who twice momentarily took the lead, only for Cox to cross back over before the start-finish line,

Cornell was third with Bryon Allison fourth and Becker fifth.

A total of 113 cars checked into the pits for the five classes, which will have 10 points races between April 10th and Aug. 29 with a number of other events to be run as non-points events. All 10 Challenge Cup events for each series will have elevated nightly purses. Year-end points payouts also will be boosted.

Other feature winners on a night with several close finishes included Jon Sheets (Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods), Cole Campbell (Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds), Mike Striegel (Hickamo Super Stocks) and Jaylen Wettengel (O'Reilly USRA Stock Cars).

Modifieds win to Campbell is close finish: Cole Campbell of Mexico, Mo., held off Wyatt Gaggero by a few feet to earn the Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modified feature win.

Chase Sigg led by just under one second in the early after starting on row one with Jason Pursley second and Campbell third. Two laps later, Campbell was back into second with Dean Wille up to third.

Caution on lap nine bunched the field one circuit shy of the halfway mark, taking away Sigg's 1.3-second lead. Campbell used a big run on the restart to take the lead on lap 10 and he quickly opened a 1.5-second command - until caution flew again on lap 13.

This time it was Sigg's turn to recapture the lead, sliding past Campbell out of turn four. The top two kept dueling with Shane Hartline and Wyatt Gaggero right behind as the laps dwindled.

Campbell and Gaggero both slid high going for the win on the turn and Campbell held on by a few feet - officially .057 seconds - for his first Lucas Oil Speedway win of the season.

"We honestly weren't very good at all," Campbell said of his fence-scraping triumph. "I just put it on the fence and drove the heck out out it. I can't thank my guys enough."

Sigg settled for third with Hartline fourth and Nic Bidinger fifth.

Sheets takes B-Mod victory: Division points leader Jon Sheets of Nevada drove to his third feature win of the season in the Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods, leading all 20 laps and overcoming a late caution.

Sheets opened a 3.1-second lead over Jackson by lap 10, opening a big gap as Jackson, J.T. Carroll and Tim Karrick battled it our for second.

On his way to seemingly a sure victory became more precarious for Sheets when a lap-16 caution wiped out a lead of 3.2 seconds with Jackson running in second. Jackson fell out of contention with a mechanical issue after the restart and Sheets drove away.

Sheets beat Karrick by 2.2 seconds with Cayden Stacye third, Carroll fourth and Waylon Dimmitt fifth.

"We've been struggling the last couple of weeks and we worked hard on it," Sheets said. "Looking at our times after the heat races, we were about a half-second off. We worked hard and ... we had a hot rod. I think everybody knows I like a track like that. It's pretty technical up there."

Striegel earns Super Stocks triumph: Mike Striegel posted a victory on his hometown crack, taking over on lap 12 and going on to beat Terry Schultz in decisive fashion in the Hickamo Super Stocks feature.

Schultz led the first four laps and, just as Fennewald was taking over the lead, caution, flew for a multi-car incident on the other end of the speedway. That saved Schultz's lead as order reverted to the last completed lap.

Mike Striegel joined the battle up front as Schultz continued to lead nearly halfway in the 20-lapper. Striegel pulled alongside Schultz several laps in a row but was unable to make the pass - until lap 12.

Striegel made an inside pass out of turn four for the first lead change of the race. He gradually pulled away from there and went on to beat Schultz by 2.8 seconds with Fennewald another second behind in third.

"This place owes me that one," Striegel said. "I've been robbed a couple of times and I got to them lapped cars and I'm like 'Lord, please, no again.'

"I dedicate this race to my good friend Scott Campbell," Striegel added, in tribute to the long-time southwest Missouri Modified racer who died earlier this month.

J.T. Carroll was fourth with Donnie Miller fifth.

Wettengel hands on for Stock Cars win: Jaylen Wettengel of Topeka, Kan., held off William Garner in a race that came down to the final turn, claiming the O'Reilly USRA Stock Cars feature.

Wettengel blazed to the early lead from his front-row starting position as William Garner and Rodney Schweizer gave chase. Two caution flags later, Wettengel held a .694-second over Garner, who was beginning to cut a gap that once was more than a second.

Wettengel capped the drive with a clean restart and he held on to beat Garner by just .105 seconds as the runner-up made a dive to in the inside coming out of turn four.

"It was fun. The track was phenomenal," Wettengel said. "I needed the confidence boost, to get a win here for the first time since last year at the (USRA) Nationals. It was a good car and a good race."

Schweitzer was third with Bryan White fourth and Dawson Fennewald fifth.

LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (July 18, 2026)

Pitts Homes and Realty Challenge Cup Round 3

Hermitage Lumber Late Models

A Feature - 1. 1T-Tucker Cox[1]; 2. 32-Robbe Ewing[4]; 3. 50-Kaeden Cornell[7]; 4. 1A-Bryon Allison[5]; 5. 00-Matt Becker[3]; 6. 72-JC Morton[12]; 7. 10-Dayton Pursley[15]; 8. 20-Alan Westling[10]; 9. 99-John Rowland[9]; 10. 16-Bobby Penney[18]; 11. 7X-Todd McCoin[13]; 12. 33-Michael Bitner[11]; 13. 5C-Tommy Cordray[6]; 14. 97-Jeff Perry[16]; 15. 5JR-Noah Ames[14]; 16. (DNF) 31C-Cole Henson[8]; 17. (DNF) X-Marty Ramsey[17]; 18. (DNF) 22-Tim Petty[2]; 19. (DNS) 5-Rendell Ames

Heat 1 - 1. 00-Matt Becker[1]; 2. 5C-Tommy Cordray[2]; 3. 50-Kaeden Cornell[4]; 4. 31C-Cole Henson[3]; 5. 20-Alan Westling[5]; 6. 72-JC Morton[6]; 7. 7X-Todd McCoin[8]; 8. 10-Dayton Pursley[7]; 9. 97-Jeff Perry[9]; 10. X-Marty Ramsey[10]

Heat 2 - 1. 1T-Tucker Cox[5]; 2. 22-Tim Petty[6]; 3. 32-Robbe Ewing[7]; 4. 1A-Bryon Allison[9]; 5. 99-John Rowland[4]; 6. 33-Michael Bitner[2]; 7. 5JR-Noah Ames[8]; 8. (DNS) 5-Rendell Ames; 9. (DNS) 16-Bobby Penney

Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds

A Feature - 1. 22C-Cole Campbell[1]; 2. 15W-Wyatt Gaggero[7]; 3. 18JR-Chase Sigg[2]; 4. 25H-Shane Hartline[6]; 5. 3B-Nic Bidinger[9]; 6. 68-Dean Wille[8]; 7. 1B-Bobby Williams[11]; 8. 22H-Dustin Hodges[5]; 9. 98-Kenton Allen[14]; 10. 33-Colson Kirk[20]; 11. 21-Jacob Potter[15]; 12. 38C-Jason Pursley[4]; 13. 134-Robert Heydenreich[3]; 14. 96-Chad Lyle[13]; 15. 21S-Greg Scheffler[19]; 16. 3D-Dexton Daniels[12]; 17. 717-Gary Ray Spears Jr[22]; 18. 15R-Ryan Smith[17]; 19. 75-Lane Whitney[18]; 20. 24D-Donnie Fellers[23]; 21. (DNF) 44T-Casey Thomas[16]; 22. (DNF) 28-Andy Bryant[10]; 23. (DNF) 18-Mason Sigg[24]; 24. (DNF) 99T-Dalton Teel[21]

B Feature - 1. 15R-Ryan Smith[3]; 2. 75-Lane Whitney[2]; 3. 21S-Greg Scheffler[1]; 4. 33-Colson Kirk[5]; 5. 99T-Dalton Teel[4]; 6. 717-Gary Ray Spears Jr[7]; 7. 24D-Donnie Fellers[8]; 8. 18-Mason Sigg[9]; 9. (DNF) 715-Chase Doughty[6]; 10. (DNS) 19-Curt Drake; 11. (DNS) 11M-Carl McDade

Heat 1 - 1. 134-Robert Heydenreich[1]; 2. 22H-Dustin Hodges[3]; 3. 3B-Nic Bidinger[4]; 4. 68-Dean Wille[9]; 5. 1B-Bobby Williams[8]; 6. 21S-Greg Scheffler[2]; 7. 15R-Ryan Smith[7]; 8. 717-Gary Ray Spears Jr[5]; 9. (DNF) 11M-Carl McDade[6]

Heat 2 - 1. 22C-Cole Campbell[3]; 2. 18JR-Chase Sigg[5]; 3. 15W-Wyatt Gaggero[6]; 4. 3D-Dexton Daniels[1]; 5. 98-Kenton Allen[2]; 6. 44T-Casey Thomas[8]; 7. 99T-Dalton Teel[7]; 8. 715-Chase Doughty[9]; 9. (DNF) 19-Curt Drake[4]

Heat 3 - 1. 38C-Jason Pursley[1]; 2. 25H-Shane Hartline[3]; 3. 28-Andy Bryant[2]; 4. 96-Chad Lyle[4]; 5. 21-Jacob Potter[5]; 6. 75-Lane Whitney[6]; 7. 33-Colson Kirk[7]; 8. 24D-Donnie Fellers[8]; 9. 18-Mason Sigg[9]

Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods

A Feature - 1. 8JS-Jon Sheets[2]; 2. 1K-Tim Karrick[4]; 3. 15S-Cayden Stacye[12]; 4. 94C-JT Carroll[3]; 5. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[7]; 6. 7L-Trevor Drake[14]; 7. 18-JC Morton[19]; 8. 23N-Kenny Nutter[9]; 9. 37-Wesley Long[8]; 10. 214-Eric Spreer[22]; 11. 15-Ryan Edde[16]; 12. 45-Dan Culp[20]; 13. 18C-Carter Harrison[13]; 14. 8S-Clayton Smith[11]; 15. 42J-Donnie Jackson[21]; 16. 15MC-Stratton McGhee[17]; 17. 3DJR-Dylan Daniels[10]; 18. 70-Micah Becker[5]; 19. 91-Hoyt Miller[23]; 20. 65JR-Karter Jackson[18]; 21. 21-Carson Gronniger[24]; 22. 25-Clint Drake[15]; 23. (DNF) 65-Kris Jackson[1]; 24. (DNF) 82N-Keith Nutter[6]; 25. (DNS) 14J-Jacob Hodges

Heat 1 - 1. 8JS-Jon Sheets[2]; 2. 1K-Tim Karrick[1]; 3. 37-Wesley Long[4]; 4. 18C-Carter Harrison[5]; 5. 15S-Cayden Stacye[9]; 6. 15-Ryan Edde[7]; 7. 18-JC Morton[8]; 8. 214-Eric Spreer[6]; 9. 91-Hoyt Miller[3]

Heat 2 - 1. 94C-JT Carroll[1]; 2. 70-Micah Becker[2]; 3. 23N-Kenny Nutter[4]; 4. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[8]; 5. 7L-Trevor Drake[6]; 6. 15MC-Stratton McGhee[3]; 7. 45-Dan Culp[7]; 8. 42J-Donnie Jackson[5]

Heat 3 - 1. 65-Kris Jackson[6]; 2. 82N-Keith Nutter[2]; 3. 3DJR-Dylan Daniels[4]; 4. 8S-Clayton Smith[7]; 5. 25-Clint Drake[1]; 6. 65JR-Karter Jackson[5]; 7. (DNF) 21-Carson Gronniger[3]; 8. (DNF) 14J-Jacob Hodges[8]

Hickamo Super Stocks

A Feature - 1. 17-Mike Striegel[6]; 2. 41-Terry Schultz[2]; 3. 21-Johnny Fennewald[3]; 4. 94C-JT Carroll[1]; 5. 26M-Donnie Miller[8]; 6. 04-Blaine Ewing[7]; 7. 25-Galen Hassler[21]; 8. 26-Burl Woods[19]; 9. 164-Michael Muskrat[4]; 10. 10K-Kyle Davis[5]; 11. 4G-Gary Clark[11]; 12. 25M-Aaron Murry[10]; 13. 16-Logan Thompson[14]; 14. 59R-Jacob Rexing[9]; 15. 21M-Mitchell Waters[20]; 16. 24-Blayne McMillin[12]; 17. 42-Bryce McMillin[15]; 18. 2-Brian McDade[16]; 19. 10C-Jacob Combs[18]; 20. O7D-Mike Daugherty[17]; 21. 31-Scott Bass[23]; 22. (DNF) 24H-Stacy Hall[22]; 23. (DNF) 06-Morgan Campbell[13]; 24. (DNS) 94-Kenny Carroll

Heat 1 - 1. 17-Mike Striegel[1]; 2. 26M-Donnie Miller[3]; 3. 59R-Jacob Rexing[6]; 4. 4G-Gary Clark[2]; 5. 06-Morgan Campbell[7]; 6. 10C-Jacob Combs[4]; 7. 21M-Mitchell Waters[5]; 8. 25-Galen Hassler[8]

Heat 2 - 1. 41-Terry Schultz[4]; 2. 21-Johnny Fennewald[7]; 3. 164-Michael Muskrat[8]; 4. 24-Blayne McMillin[3]; 5. 16-Logan Thompson[6]; 6. O7D-Mike Daugherty[1]; 7. 26-Burl Woods[2]; 8. (DNF) 94-Kenny Carroll[5]

Heat 3 - 1. 94C-JT Carroll[6]; 2. 04-Blaine Ewing[4]; 3. 10K-Kyle Davis[8]; 4. 25M-Aaron Murry[1]; 5. 42-Bryce McMillin[3]; 6. 2-Brian McDade[7]; 7. (DNF) 24H-Stacy Hall[5]; 8. (DNF) 31-Scott Bass[2]

O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars

A Feature - 1. 91J-Jaylen Wettengel[1]; 2. 7-William Garner[3]; 3. 74-Rodney Schweizer[2]; 4. 41-Bryan White[7]; 5. 0F-Mason Beck[4]; 6. 22F-Dawson Fennewald[6]; 7. 12-Christopher Sawyer[14]; 8. 05G-Grayson McKiney[15]; 9. 55-James Ellis[11]; 10. 23L-Allen Luttjohann[9]; 11. 61R-Randi Goins[16]; 12. 50-Darrell Hurt[5]; 13. 14-Aaron Johns[17]; 14. 35Z-Zach Zeugin[13]; 15. (DNF) 76-Shannon Lowrey[12]; 16. (DNF) 20J-Jayden Bears[8]; 17. (DNF) 34-Blake Bolton[10]; 18. (DNF) 54-William Gillette[18]

Heat 1 - 1. 7-William Garner[2]; 2. 74-Rodney Schweizer[6]; 3. 41-Bryan White[3]; 4. 22F-Dawson Fennewald[9]; 5. 23L-Allen Luttjohann[4]; 6. 55-James Ellis[7]; 7. 12-Christopher Sawyer[1]; 8. 61R-Randi Goins[8]; 9. 14-Aaron Johns[5]

Heat 2 - 1. 91J-Jaylen Wettengel[3]; 2. 0F-Mason Beck[4]; 3. 50-Darrell Hurt[6]; 4. 20J-Jayden Bears[2]; 5. 34-Blake Bolton[5]; 6. 76-Shannon Lowrey[7]; 7. 35Z-Zach Zeugin[8]; 8. 05G-Grayson McKiney[1]; 9. 54-William Gillette[9]

Challenge Cup payouts for Late Models and USRA Modifieds: 1 - $1,000. 2 - $650. 3 - $550. 4 - $450. 5 - $400. 6 - $350. 7 - $300. 8 - $250. 9 - $225. 10 - $200. 11 - $350. 12 - $145. 13 - $135. 14 - $125. 15-22nd - $125.

Challenge Cup payout for B-Mods, Stock Cars and Super Stocks: 1 - $750. 2 - $450. 3 - $350. 4 - $300. 5 - $250. 6 - $200. 7 - $175. 8 - $160. 9 - $150. 10 - $140. 11 - $130. 12 - $120. 13 - $110. 14-22nd - $100.

2026 Points Payouts for Late Models and Modifieds: 1 - $2,000 (plus $1,000 in Lucas Oil Products). 2 - $1,200 (plus 750 in Lucas Oil Products). 3 - $900 (plus 500 in Lucas Oil Products). 4 - $800. 5 - $700. 6 - $600. 7 - $575. 8 - $550. 9 - $525. 10 - $500.

2026 Points Payouts for B-Mods, Stock Cars and Super Stocks: 1 - $1,500 (plus $1,000 in Lucas Oil Products). 2 - $1,000 (plus $750 in Lucas Oil Products). 3 - $750 (plus $500 in Lucas Oil Products). 4 - $700. 5 - $600. 6 - $550. 7 - $525. 8-10th - $500.

Road to Hockett up next: Lucas Oil Speedway takes next weekend off with the Rod End Supply Road to the Hockett Round 3 set for Saturday, Aug. 1. Featured will be POWRi 410 Outlaw Sprints, POWRi WAR Sprints and 305 IMCA RaceSaver Sprints. Road to the Hockett series points champs after the four races in the POWRi 410 Winged Springs and POWRi WAR will receive an automatic bid into this fall's 16th annual Jesse Hockett-Daniel McMillin Memorial, Sept. 17-19.

CAMPING: DAILY RATES (Limited Availability)

Dry Camping $20/Night (up to 6 people) ($5 additional a night per person)

Reserve Dry $30/Night (up to 6 people) ($5 additional a night per person)

Reserved Electric & Water- $50/Night (up to 6 people) ($5 additional a night per person)

For further event information, including more info on tickets and camping for any event at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or by email at Nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com.

CONTACT:

Casey Shuman

Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager

Office: (417) 282-5984

Email: CShuman@lucasoilspeedway.com

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Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate, this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience.

For ticket and camping information and everything about the Show-Me 100 event, visit www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for all the information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.

In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on X, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway, on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on Lucas Oil Speedway's TikTok.

Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and schedules can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.

About Lucas Oil Speedway

Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Mo., approximately an hour from Springfield and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.

Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the 12th season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring a host of regional events.

Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, United States Modified Touring Series and the High Limit Sprint Racing Series, POWRi Sprint Cars and POWRi WAR Sprints.

In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Racing Series features the Late Models, USRA Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Mods and Super Stocks.

2026 Official Lucas Oil Speedway Marketing Partners

Bill Roberts Chevrolet

"The Official Truck" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Iconic Apparel

"The Official Merchandise Provider of Lucas Oil Speedway"



Lucas Oil Products

"The Official Oil" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper

"The Official Soft Drink" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Rugged Radios

"The Official 2-Way Communications Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Summit Racing Equipment

"The Official Sponsor" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Sunoco Race Fuels

"The Official Fuel" of Lucas Oil Speedway

2026 Lucas Oil Speedway Supporters Include:

Ace Doran Hauling & Rigging, Alliance Sport Marketing, Arctic Food Equipment, Berry Tractor and Equipment Co., Big Adventure RV, Bill Roberts Chevrolet, Bolivar Auto Sales & Detailing, Bolivar Farmers Exchange-MFA, Boubin Tire/American Racer, Bridal Cave, Candlelight Creations-Dick's Wild Root Horseradish, Casey's, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, City Magnet, Clear Creek Golf Cars, Clearlight Inn, Eagle Machine, Eibach Springs, Encounter Ministry Inc., Fast Shafts, FSE Fire Systems, Fast Shafts by Axle Exchange, Foley Equipment-Cat Rental Store, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Heart of America Beverate, Henry's Towing Service, Heritage Tractor, Hermitage Lumber, HICKAMO Country Store, Hobbytime Motorsports, Iconic Apparel, In the Garden of Eden, Kluhsman Racing Components, Lucas Cattle Company, MD3, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welding, Missouri Eagle, MyRacePass, OakStar Bank, O'Bannon Bank, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Outerwears Performance Products, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper, Ozarks Community Health Center, PEM, Pitts Homes, Pitts Realty, Pitts Cattle, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, RCR Designs, Real Racing Wheels, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, Ryan E. Murphy Law Firm LLC, SBU Athletics, Safety Kleen, Scott Furniture, Sidetrack RV Park, SMSI, Southwest Electric Cooperative, Southwest Septic, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels, Super 8 Bolivar Mo., Super Splash, USA Bassin, US Army Corps of Engineers-Pomme de Terre, VAG - Veterans Golfers Assoc., Vietti Marketing Group, WacoBill.com, Wheatland Motel, White's Marine Center, Wieland, Woods Supermarkets.