Alex Yankowski Clinches the 2026 Super DirtCar Series at Charlotte (11th November BLOG)
The last BLOG ended on Monday the 2nd of November after attending the World Short Track World Finals in Charlotte . I’d returned to my daughter, Carla’s place in Willow Springs ( Raleigh) , where I’d been basing myself for my latest North Carolina trip.
I had a few more days of quality family time there before, heading back to Charlotte for the World of Outlaws World Finals .
Tuesday 3rd /Wednesday 4th
My time was spent attending the practice nights for my grand childrens sports.
Sophia has recently taken up girls football (or soccer as they call it in North America) while Benji continues with his chosen sport of Lacrosse .
I also had an afternoon visit to see Lola who is Carla’s horse , and Lee , which she recently sold to another lady.
They are both kept on the same ranch.
On Wednesday I took off for a little joy ride in the Mazda I was loaning from Alex (my son in law) and decided to check out the Southern National Motorsports Park at Kenly, a track that I visited a few years back.
There was no racing taking place on this occasion but I got talking to a guy working at the track . He told me that there season was not done yet , and they were racing right up until the week after thanksgiving .
The track is located a few miles from the big truck stop at Kenly , that you can’t miss seeing when driving on the I95 .
I remember it well from my trucking days, so I went in, and took a look round their gift shop .
Thursday the 5th of November.
This was the day I’d be heading back to Charlotte.
The official opening day for the World of Outlaw World Finals was on the Wednesday , but there was no actual racing taking place. It was just hot laps and time-trials, so I could see no point in paying an extra nights hotel .
I left Willow Springs around 9-00 in the morning , as there was somewhere I wanted to visit , that was just a few miles off my route.
Over the years while on my Charlotte visits, I’ve checked out many of the race shops and museums, but there was one that has eluded me (probably because of it’s location) .
A bit off the beaten track from Charlotte , at Level Cross near to Randleman NC you’ll find the Richard Petty Museum.
Although I have no interest in todays NASCAR Cup Series , there was a time when I enjoyed it (just a little) . Back when Richard Petty was ‘King’ and I used to follow his exploits, if only from a distance .
I met ‘King Richard” in Toronto at the Canadian Motor Sports Expo a few years back , and I’ve always admired his larger than life personality.
FLASHBACK to Toronto , February 2014
So, I arrived at the Petty museum just after it opened at 10-00 am , which was ideal for picture taking , as there were only a few other visitors around to impede my shots .
Once inside, the first thing I did was to take a selfie with the man, not the real one, a caricature sculpture .
I was told he wasn’t on the premises that day, he was in Atlanta Ga .
After this I quickly went through the exhibits getting my pictures taken before the masses arrived.
There was so much to see , with stuff dating back to Lee Petty , Richards father who started the dynasty in Level Cross.
The Museum is located right next to the family home, where it all started .
I wish I had more time to spend there , but I needed to get on my way to Charlotte .
All my pictures taken at the museum can be seen on the web site tab ‘The Latest Gallery:
So , I was soon back on the road again heading towards Charlotte .
Just like I did, the previous week, for the Short Track World Finals I’d booked two nights at the Rodeway Inn at Kannapolis . I was passing it’s exit on I85 , at about 12-30 , and was hoping I could get checked in early. The owner there knows me well by now, so I was lucky .
Once that was taken care of , within 15 minutes, I was at the track and signing in. .
As usual at the World of Outlaw World Finals , it was a four day show consisting of three divisions . The World of Outlaw Sprint Cars and Late Models , which are joined by DIRTCAR’s big block Modifieds , which are the cars that attract me, and many of the other long distance travelers from the North East .
Not every one has that same affection , and the SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES is usually in third place when it comes to pecking order.
In previous years each division has alternated in the nightly schedule of Features , and usually on the final night the Big Block SDS are either up first or second on the program.
That was not the case this year , they were programed as the last feature of the night for the Thursday and Saturday shows, which scuppered my plans of exiting early on the last night, for the drive back to Carla’s .
Well, this was Thursday and the Modified feature was the last of the three to run
After looking around the pits and setting my stuff up in the Media Tent , I moved on to the infield for the heat races. I chose to shoot on turn one and two.
The Sprints were up first and the Late Models followed
Then it was the turn of my main interest , the Big Block Modifieds
Two of my local guys , were out of luck in their heat race , when Dexter Stacey of Kahnawake , hit the wall , flipped over a few times before bouncing off the roof of Cornwall, Ontario’s Brian McDonald.
Once the heats were in the books , there were a bunch of Last Chance Qualifiers for each division.
The forecast had a threat of rain for the latter part of the evening so the show was kept rolling with the minimum of delays . There was only a short break before the features .
With the weather issues in mind, it was decided to postpone all three Victory Lane presentations until the following day in order to get the complete show in. This was announced after I’d chosen my shooting strategy for the night. I was already in the grandstand area to be handy for the Victory Lane pics, so decided to stay there for the duration.
For the rest of the night, I became a regular race fan, just watching as Jimmy Phelps took the Big Block win. Second was Mat Williamson, and third was Alex Yankowski.
The show was all over before 9-30, a result of ‘hurrying up’ for of the rain threat.
I took advantage of the early finish , and paid a visit to the nearby Twin Peaks for a Philly Cheese Steak before heading back to my room . The previous week while at the Short Track World Finals , I’d had one at Hooters, so thought I’d sample one somewhere different this time .
FRIDAY the 6th of November
Throughout the night I could hear the heavy rain and thunder. It was still raining when I woke up about 8-00 am.
I spent the morning in my hotel room editing and by the time I left at midday the rain had stopped and the sun was out.
I didn’t need to be at the track too early, so for lunch , I tried out another eatery that’s popular with race fans .
Iron Thunder which has a biker theme and is right next to a Harley Davidson dealer ship.
As I walked in the door , there was a notice for Friday Chefs Special , Pork Chop, green beans and mash potatoes in sauce .
That sounded good and better than my usual fried choice .
I went for it , and had no regrets , it was excellent.
Then it was back to business at the track , so went and chilled out in the Media tent until things started happenning .
The overnight rain had taken it’s toll and the track needed a considerable amount of prep, which delayed the action for a couple of hours.
We all knew it would be a late one, but my silver lining , was that the Modifieds weren’t the last ones to run . That was a nice bonus for me.
When racing got under way , I chose turn three and four to do my shooting
I joined my usual Charlotte shooting buddies, Mike Knappenberger and Michael Fry .
We had to do our annual selfie .
The late start to racing meant a late finish .
Once again I chose to put the camera down and watch the Modified feature from the grandstand.
The first feature to run was for the Late Models and it was won by Nick Hoffman
The Modifieds followed , and was won by SDS points contender , Alex Yankowski, who had Mat Williamson and Mike Maresca chase him across the line
There were no podium celebration pics for the first three. I guess this was a time saving measure, as it was now 11-00 pm . At this point, I decided to make my exit and head back to my room.
Saturday the 7th of November .
This was the final day of the World of Outlaw World Finals , and I needed to be checked out of my room by 11-00 am . I had most of my editing done by 10-30 am , so headed straight for the track .
It’s always good to be at the track early on the last day , to ensure a good parking spot . My plan was to get out quickly at the end , for the two and a half hour drive back to Willow Springs.
Once I’d arrived at the track , I settled down in the Media tent to finish off my editing . It was a warm and sunny day and I had plenty of time to kill before start time , so went for a pit wander.
I chatted with plenty of friends , including two famous Canadian fathers.
Firstly, Martin Roy, a former DIRTcar Modified , NASCAR and ARCA driver who is the father of top DIRT Modified racer, Felix.
They are from Napierville , Quebec.
Then I moved further up the pits to chat with Randy Williamson , head of BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS and father of Mat.
They are from St Cathrines , Ontario.
One of my favorite pre race pictures of the day was this one , when I caught Mike and Mandee Mahaney with their young son, enjoying some quality time before the action began
It was then time to head to the infield for the action .
As the anthem was being sung , a sky diver with a star spangled banner attached to him, dropped on to the center .
This was followed by a fly over aerobatic display .
After the opening opening ceremonies , things got started with the heat races and LCQ’s for all divisions
The Sprint Cars were up first .
Rico Arbreu and Donny Schatz
Carson Macedo
The Late Models were up next
Bobby Pierce
Tim McCreadie was on double duty at Charlotte , driving in both a Late Model and in the Modifieds that followed
I remained on turn three and four , where I was joined by another long time ‘tog’ buddy , Joe Kaminski Jr
When the LCQ’s were over there was a short break before the main events began .
For the Sprint Car and Late Model features , I moved to the grandstand area, to be handy for Victory Lane shots .
First up were the Sprints , where Carson Macedo was the winner.
Then in the Late Models , it was Johnathan Davenport who took the checkers
The SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES was up next.
A decision was made earlier to have their Victory Lane celebrations out on the middle , and not in pit lane near to the fans like the others.
So , I moved out from the grandstand area and returned to the center to shoot the race from turn one and two . .
It was Alex Payne who dominated this one , who was chased hard to the finish by Mike Maresca and Jimmy Phelps
The top three, Alex Payne, Mike Maresca and Jimmy Phelps
Fifth placed Alex Yankowski became the 2026 SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES champion. David Gravel was this years WoO Sprint Car Champion and Bobby Pierce the winner in the WoO Late Models
SUPER DIRT CAR Champion Alex Yankowski
PHOTO courtesy of DIRTCAR MEDIA
The show was over by about 10-30 , so once I’d got my Victory Lane pics of Alex Payne, I was heading to the exit , for the two and a half hour drive back to Raleigh .
By 1-15 am I was pulling into Carla’s driveway .
Sunday the 8th of November .
Well , this was another day and another sport.
Benji had a Lacrosse tournament in Apex , so all the family went along to cheer him on ,
When that was over we all returned to Willow Springs , where it was time for me to pack my cases .
Monday the 9th of November
Carla drove me to the Raliegh/Durham Airport in good time to catch my 9-50 am Breeze Airlines flight back to Ogdensburg NY .
Once boarded , I had some unexpected company when a group of my local racing friends got on . (They’d been to Charlotte too)
I had an aisle seat and sitting the opposite side was Akwesasne , Dirt Sportsman driver Josh Jock and Abby Mitchell . In the row in front of me I had Taiothoratie Laffin , a crew member on the REZ X TEAM. The seat next him was vacant as the fourth member of their party was yet to board .
Then the Flight Attendant walked up and announced “we are looking for Aleesha Smoke , is she on here” . Josh told the attendant that she was with them in the departure lounge, so he sent a text to her. He got a quick reply saying she was heading to the departure gate .
The attendant then asked us if Aleesha was a good sport and did we think she’d be in for a bit of fun . She suggested we clapped and cheered when she got on
A few moments later Aleesha emerged from the cabin door to a round of applause and shouts of hooray, as she waved to everyone and took her seat .
The attendant later thanked her for being a good sport . Breeze Airlines have some of the friendliest and happy staff I’ve ever come across.
This is only the second time I’ve used Breeze , and have nothing but praise . Other Airlines please note.
The short flight seemed even shorter with this happy bunch aboard .
We landed in Ogdensburg just after 11-30 and then after saying good bye , I was in my car heading for home.
After a stop for a Timmies , some groceries and case of Yeungling , I was pulling into my driveway in Cornwall just after 1-00pm