Championship fight heads to the Speedrome
By Ken de la Bastide
With just three races remaining in the 2026 season, four drivers are separated by just 61 points in the championship fight. Isaac Johnson is the current point leader and scored his first career win at the Indianapolis Speedrome in 2025 and has finished on the podium in both races at the demanding oval.
Ayrton Houk who led the standings for most of the season got back into contention with a strong performance at Berlin Raceway and trails Johnson by only 16 points. Houk also finished on the podium at the two Speedrome races this year and has wins at the track in 2021 and 2023.
Evan Hammond is third in the standings and trails Johnson by 58 points with defending champion Dameron Taylor sitting in fourth.
The wild card for the weekend is the Peterman Brothers sponsored team which has won both Speedrome races this year with Kyle Hamilton and Danny O'Gara. O'Gara has won the last three races he was entered for and is coming off a win at Berlin Raceway.
“I always look forward to going back to the Speedrome,” Johnson said. “Hopefully we can be one spot better than our last result there.”
Houk said the battle for the championship is going to be close. “I'm excited to be going back there,” he said. “We're all right there.” Houk said the Speedrome is a place where drivers can be aggressive and a lot of bumping and banging can take place. “It's all about track position,” he continued. “You want to do a good job in qualifying and the heat race and hope to get a good pill in the draw.”
Hammond said he is confident going to the Speedrome. “We've had a lot of track time on the short flat tracks, it's given me time to get our setups for those tracks dialed in.”
Taylor, no stranger to victory lane at the Speedrome, said his goal is to win the last three races. “I also think it would be awesome to win the last race of the year, my 40th, and the championship all in the same night,” he said. “Our ultimate goal is to finish top three or in front of Isaac (Johnson) for these last three events and see where the cards fall.”
Hunter Peri continues to lead the Redline Ace Rookie of the Year standings by a comfortable margin over Seth Tozer.