Winter Warm-Up

Picture perfect start to new season at Speedsportz Racing Park

The 12th season for the Texas Sprint Racing Series began over the March 13-15 weekend at the Speedsportz Racing Park with the running of the TSRS ‘Winter Warm-Up’. Perfect racing weather greeted the 190 entries over the 10 divisions for the Superkarts! USA and International Kart Federation reginal program to contest the opening round of the 2026 championship. The list of winners was a mix of returning victories and drivers picking up their career first at TSRS.

Former series champion Peyton Phillips was able to conquer the 29 drivers in the KA100 Senior presented by Kart CRG USA class. Juanjo Paramo was the driver that led the field in qualifying, setting a fast time of 54.640. Dallas Dunlap was fourth in the session and was able to go from fourth to first on the final lap of the opening heat race. Defending champion Jose Carlos Hernandez took over the for the rest of the day, earning the win in the final two heat races. Hernandez led the opening 11 laps until an issue between him and Dunlap dropped them down the order. Paramo took over before Phillips – who was eighth on the opening lap – assumed the top spot on lap 16. From there, Phillips led the rest of the distance, taking his first series win since 2024. Sawyer Roussel advanced up to second from starting outside the top-10 with Paramo completing the podium in third. Gage Bailey and Taylor Roddy completed the top five.

The momentum continues for Nathan Golseth going into the 2026 season in KA100 Junior presented by P1 Engines. The Round Six winner from last year opened up the new season with victory at Speedsportz in a near sweep of the weekend. Golseth edged out Alex Chandler by 31 thousandths in qualifying with a lap of 55.164. After winning the first two heat races, Golseth battled to win the third heat however was penalized for contact, dropping him down to 12th in the order to give Easton Cox the win. The win put Cox on the pole position for the main event with Golseth starting on the outside of the front row after the points were tabulated. The 19-lap main event was a wire-to-wire performance by Golseth, taking the victory by over six seconds. Mason Barry won the battle for second over Junior rookie Aston Wyatt. Defending series champion Tyrone Kemper Jr. was fourth with Jackson Baldus in fifth.

For the first time in series history, the Briggs 206 Senior presented by Kart Racing Solutions was the largest category of the event, featuring 31 drivers. Carter Kilgo was the driver that cleared the field by over two tenths in qualifying with a lap of 1:02.085. Just eight thousandths of a second separated Ragan Saville and Kilgo at the line to end the opening heat race. Kilgo came back to win the second heat with Saville taking the final heat win. Kilgo, Saville and Josey Chambers all led at a time during the first half of the race before Saville took control on lap 10. By lap 16, Kilgo went back to the point for the final time, holding on the rest of the distance for his first series victory. Chambers beat out Saville for second with Wisconsin driver Cale Zimmermann and Jaxon Young completing the top five.

Briggs 206 Junior presented by Orsolon Racing Texas saw defending class champion Sawyer Chambers kick off the year with victory. Chambers set fast time in qualifying to edge out the 20 driver field by only three tenths with last year’s Cadet champion Aston Wyatt in second. Chambers was pushed back to third in the opening heat with Tyrone Kemper Jr. taking the win. Nicolas Orbezo stepped up to take the win over the last two heat races. Orbezo, Chambers and Wyatt were the early leaders of the Final before Orbezo took control. The last three laps were a battle with Chambers coming away with the position and the victory in a photo finish. Chambers crossed the line first by 62 thousandths ahead of Orbezo with Alex Chandler right there in third, back by 92 thousandths. Kemper won the battle for fourth over Wyatt. Both Chambers and Orbezo recorded the same fast lap of the main event.

Multi-time series champion Miguel Mier jumped back onto the top of the podium in Hi5 Performance KA100 Master division. Mier set fast time in qualifying to clear the 14-driver field by over a tenth. After winning the opening two heat races, Mier fell to third in Heat #3 as Daniel Howie took the win with defending series champion Pierce Baldus in second. The top three battled throughout the 19 laps of the Final. Each took a turn at the point with the battle going through to the checkered flag. At the line, Mier scored the victory with Howie in second. Nicholas Boulle slid onto the podium, working past Baldus on the final lap for third with Shane Burkett in fifth.

Briggs 206 Cadet presented by Skeptic Motorsports welcomed a first time series winner. 2025 finale winner Drew Blehm set the pace in qualifying for the 16 driver field with a 1:01.829 lap. Marshall Steves came up from fourth in qualifying to take the opening heat race win before Brody Stoffle put his name into the contender list with a win in Heat #2. Steves returned to the front in the final heat race with Stoffle second. The two led the way throughout the 18-lap Final. Steves was able to go wire-to-wire, holding off Stoffle at the line by 14 thousandths of a second. Dutch Westbrook won the battle for third over Blehm with Mikey Todd in fifth.

After not competing in a TSRS all season in 2025, Dutch Westbrook made his Mini Swift presented by Alan Rudolph Racing Academy debut, marking the start with a victory. Westbrook was third in qualifying behind top qualifier Mace Lejsek and last year’s Micro Swift champion Brody Stoffle. Westbrook edged out the two in the opening heat race before taking the top spot in the final two heats. The main event was all Westbrook as he went wire-to-wire for the 19 laps, securing the victory by three tenths over Lejsek. Max Santana was able to secure the third step of the podium, beating out Liam Astalus and Polo Santos.

Dusty Strayer continued the momentum from last year’s finale victory in the Micro Swift presented by Arcane Motorsports with victory to begin the 2026 championship. Beau Wyatt began the event as the top qualifier with Strayer second in the order, off by 88 thousandths. Wyatt kept at the front in the opening heat race before Strayer took the top spot in the second heat. The final heat race went in the favor of Wyatt with Strayer in second. The two were able to break away from the field in the Final with Wyatt leading the first 12 laps. Strayer took the lead for three laps before Wyatt returned to the point. Wyatt held onto the lead to the checkered flag for the provisional victory. A five-second penalty for blocking was handed to Wyatt, moving Strayer to the top of the podium and Wyatt to second. Cohen Scott joined them on the podium in third with Hayden Sampson and Shepp Sullivan completing the top five.

The Briggs 206 Kid Karts presented by GR2 Motorsports was a two driver fight all weekend. Sullivan Baudoin was quickest in qualifying with Maverick Reddick in second. Reddick was able to win the opening two rounds of heat races before Baudoin took the win in the final heat. Reddick was able to jump out to the lead in the Final, driving away to an eight-second advantage for the victory. Baudoin was second with Anderson Maxwell on the podium in third. Beckett Boudreaux was fourth with Grayson Hollis in fifth.

The season opener marked the debut of the T4 Senior class presented by Tillotson Racing. Ragan Saville was the inaugural top qualifier with a lap of 59.456, clearing the nine driver field by over three tenths. Saville went on to win all three heat races to retain the pole position for the main event. After leading the first 14 laps, Saville lost his chain and the possible victory. This promoted John Melchiorri to the top spot, where he led to the checkered flag to become the inaugural class winner. Davis Henry was second with Joe Bechtold placing third on the podium. David Aya was fourth with fast lap of the race as Alexander Gaccione finished fifth.

The second stop on the 2026 season for the Texas Sprint Racing Series is the ‘Spring Round-Up’ event, scheduled for May 1-3 at the NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, Louisiana, just outside downtown New Orleans. Registration is set to open on March 31.