NASCAR Regional drivers to watch: Mia Lovell and Sam Corry show promise with Nitro Motorsports

As temperatures continue to rise throughout the United States, the on-track action at the NASCAR Regional level is heating up, as well. Several young drivers capitalized on opportunities to showcase their talent at NASCAR's premier tracks over the past several weeks. Others continued to build momentum toward a track, state or national title in the NASCAR Local Racing Series. Here are five NASCAR Regional drivers to keep an eye on throughout the rest of July and beyond.

Mia Lovell

After enduring some anticipated growing pains to start her rookie ARCA Menards Series West campaign, Mia Lovell put together a stellar month of June.

A professional skateboarder-turned-auto racer, Lovell scored an impressive third-place finish at Tri-City Raceway. Three weeks later, Lovell improved upon that showing by finishing a career-best second at Sonoma Raceway, which provides her a confidence boost going into the second half of 2026.

Sam Corry

The first trip Sam Corry made to Sonoma Raceway for the ARCA Menards Series West was a dominant one; he led all 47 laps from the pole.

Corry is continuing his transition into the ARCA Menards Series platform after winning several road-course races between Trans Am TA2 and the USF2000 Championship. Ovals remain a work in progress for Corry, but his efficiency on road courses guided Nitro Motorsports to their maiden West Series victory as a program.

Landon S. Huffman

The 2026 ARCA Menards Series season for Landon S. Huffman has been equal parts rewarding and frustrating.

Huffman led 130 laps with Pinnacle Racing Group at Elko Speedway in June, only to have a mechanical failure relegate him to 14th. Despite this, Huffman has also enjoyed plenty of solid performances, including a third in his first intermediate start at Chicagoland Speedway with CR7 Motorsports.

Dalton Ragsdale

With two months remaining to chase NASCAR Local Racing Series points, Arrowhead Speedway's Dalton Ragsdale finds himself firmly in the national title conversation.

Ragsdale has tallied five victories across 14 B-Mod features at Arrowhead this year, which has him comfortably ahead in the track point standings. There are eight races left for Ragsdale to earn national points, so he will need to maintain his early season efficiency to bring a national title back home to Oklahoma.

Joey Tanner

Of the nine NASCAR Local Racing Series events that have taken place at Willamette Speedway this year, Joey Tanner has won eight of them.

Possessing plenty of victories on both asphalt and dirt tracks, Tanner has found a comfort zone as part of Willamette's dirt late model division. Tanner's success in 2026 has enabled him to build a 168-point lead in the track standings; he also sits 13th in the NASCAR Local Racing Series Division I national standings.