Dale Earnhardt popularized (and Enzo Ferrari may have first said) the phrase, “second place is just the first loser.” Ricky Bobby’s twist was, “if you ain’t first, you’re last.”
Fortunately for those who finished behind Joey Tanner in the race for the 2026 NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts Division I national championship race, that adage doesn’t apply.
Connor Hall, Mike Lichtfeld and Jeff Strunk, in addition to Tanner, were big winners on the Local Racing platform this season.
NASCAR’s point fund awards $35,000 in top 10 payout to each of the four Division I regions — West, Midwest, Northeast and Southeast — with $15,000 going to the winner. That’s how much Hall, Lichtfeld, Strunk and Tanner won for securing first place in their respective Region’s final standings.
That’s a great consolation for a driver like Hall, the two-time Local Racing Series national champ who finished the season just two points behind Tanner in this year’s national championship battle. The same goes for Lichtfeld, who finished the season third in the national title race, 16 points off Tanner.
Strunk, of course, won his region via tiebreaker over Samuel Charland. That’s a cool $8,000 bump over the $7,000 awarded to second place in the Northeast region.
Below are more details on how each Division I regional champion secured his payday, plus a breakdown of all the regional champions in Divisions II-V.
2026 Division I regional champions
Division I Southeast regional champion: Connor Hall
Connor Hall did just about everything he could in his effort to secure a third Division I national championship, especially considering the fact that he balanced a plethora of responsibilities with Niece Motorsports as a part-time driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Hall made the most of the Late Model Stock Car races he did run, mostly at his home track of Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia. He scored 12 wins in 16 NASCAR points-paying features, plenty for him to secure the Southeast region championship over Bowman Gray Stadium’s Burt Myers and South Boston Speedway’s Trevor Ward.
As was the case when Hall won his pair of national titles, the success he found in 2026 for the most part came aboard his now-iconic, blue No. 77 affectionately known as “Smurf” with his band of local team members.
While Hall’s plans for 2027 are yet to be announced, whenever he shows up at a short track in that car with those guys, he will be among the favorites.
Division I Northeast regional champion: Jeff Strunk
The battle for the NASCAR Local Racing Series Division I Northeast regional title came down to the last weekend of eligibility, with Jeff Strunk prevailing over Samuel Charland in a tiebreaker.
Strunk won three times in NASCAR-eligible events during the 2026 season, but he was always a frontrunner in Grandview Speedway’s Modified division. Although Strunk finished third in the Grandview track championship to Logan Watt and Eddie Strada, his consistency enabled him to win the war for the Northeast region.
A native of Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania, Strunk’s career has seen him compete in a variety of cars in the dirt racing discipline that include Dirt Modifieds, Big Block Modifieds and even a Dirt Late Model in the World of Outlaws.
Grandview has long been a home for Strunk, who has 11 Modified titles at the complex dating back to 2000. With momentum on his side following this championship, Strunk will seek to defend the accomplishment in 2027 all while attempting to dethrone Watt for his 12th Grandview Modified title.
Division I Midwest regional champion: Mike Lichtfeld
Along with finishing third in the NASCAR Local Racing Series Division I national standings, Mike Lichtfeld also claimed a championship in the Midwest region.
Lichtfeld’s 2026 saw him split his time between LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway and Dells Raceway Park in Wisconsin. Between the two tracks, he amassed six NASCAR-eligible victories, all while taking home a track championship in Dells’ Late Model division by three points over Nick Nolden.
A long-time staple of short-track racing in the Midwest, Lichtfeld has competed across numerous tracks and sanctioning bodies during his career but is primarily known for his accolades at Dells. Lichtfeld earned his first Dells track title in 2007 with the track’s Pure Stock division and has now won the last five Late Model championships at the complex.
Lichtfeld has established a gold standard at Dells for other Midwest short track competitors to follow. He will look to add to his storied legacy next year with not only another Dells and Midwest regional crown, but potentially a Division I national championship, as well.
Division I West regional champion: Joey Tanner
The effort Joey Tanner put in to earn the NASCAR Local Racing Series Division I national championship also allowed him to secure the West regional title.
Tanner was close to unstoppable at Oregon’s Willamette Speedway during the 2026 season. He earned 11 victories on the year at the track and never finished outside the top two in 14 features, which helped him formally lock up the West region by 130 points over Jeffrey Peterson despite a close fight with Connor Hall for the national title.
Before he became a NASCAR Local Racing Series Division I national and regional champion, Tanner attempted to find a footing in asphalt pavement racing, which included two starts in the ARCA Menards Series West. Now a seasoned dirt-track competitor, Tanner put his acquired experience to good use with yet another impressive campaign at Willamette.
Tanner became the first dirt-track competitor to win a national championship since Gary Webb in 2000. If he can maintain the efficiency he displayed in 2026, Tanner could very well keep the national title in the dirt discipline for years to come.
2026 Division II-V regional champions
Southeast region
Division II champion: Jacob Derrick
Derrick, a native of Hampton, Virginia, scored 11 wins in 19 NASCAR features to secure the Division II Southeast region title over Bowman Gray Stadium’s Zack Ore.
Division III champion: Brad Lewis
Lewis had a great year at his home track of Bowman Gray Stadium with five wins across 13 features this summer in the Street Stock division. He cleared second-place Connor Keaton in the regional title race by 64 points.
Division IV champion: Chuck Wall
Another Bowman Gray Stadium competitor, Wall did most of his damage in the track’s Stadium Stock division. He scored three wins in 18 features and won a points tiebreaker over Kevin Canter for the regional championship.
Division V champion: Jimmy Cooper
Cooper was a force in the UCAR division at North Carolina’s Caraway Speedway in 2026. He scored 10 wins in 16 NASCAR points paying-features on his way to the Division V regional title.
Northeast region
Division II champion: Jacob Nadeau
Nadeau, from Yamaska, Québec, raced seemingly everywhere in 2026. But in his 14 NASCAR points-paying features, he won three times and collected 12 top-five finishes, easily enough to secure the regional title.
Division III champion: John Carpenter
From Jackson, New Jersey, Carpenter had a huge season in the Factory Stocks division at Wall Stadium. He scored five wins in 14 NASCAR points-paying features.
Division IV champion: Scott Cestodio
Cestodio did his work in the Sport Truck class at Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway. The native of nearby Swansea scored a pair of wins and a top-10 finish in all 13 of his NASCAR points-paying features.
Division V champion: Michael Yeaton
Another driver who won his region via tiebreaker, Yeaton won five NASCAR features in 14 starts at Monadnock Speedway and Claremont Motorsports Park.
Midwest region
Division II champion: Tyler Rycenga
From Holland, Michigan, Rycenga competed in the Limited Late Model division at Berlin Raceway, where he racked up an impressive seven wins in 21 features, finishing outside the top three just twice.
Division III champion: Tim DeVos
The Division III national champion came from the Midwest region. DeVos dominated the Sportsman class at Berlin Raceway, scoring 12 wins in 21 features on his way to multiple championships in 2026.
Division IV champion: William Avila
The Division IV national champion also came from the Midwest region in 2026. Avila’s emotional season at multiple tracks featured 15 wins in 24 NASCAR points-paying features.
Division V champion: Austin Gammill
Once again, a national champion in 2026 hails from the Midwest region. Racing at both Arrowhead Speedway and Salina Highbanks Speedway in Oklahoma, Gammill racked up 11 wins in 24 features.
West region
Division II champion: Dakota Godard
Godard had a great season in the Street Stocks division at Oregon’s Willamette Speedway. In NASCAR competition alone, he scored eight wins in 15 features and finished outside the top five just once.
Division III champion: Jordan Stevens
Stevens was a force at Oregon’s Coos Bay Speedway in 2026. He won eight of his 15 NASCAR Division III points-paying starts and never finished outside the top 10 in those features.
Division IV champion: Mackenzie Deitz
From Monroe, Washington, Deitz comes from a long line of Figure 8 racers. That helps explain how she scored three wins and a top-10 finish in all 16 of her NASCAR points-paying features this season at Washington’s Evergreen Speedway and Oregon’s Willamette Speedway.
Division V champion: Brent Cave
A regular in the Super Stock class at Colorado National Speedway, Cave ran top five in all 13 of his NASCAR Division V points-paying features this season. Four of those results were victories.