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Excitement Abound Heading Into 2026 Super Cup Stock Car Series Opening Event at Shenandoah Speedway

Statesville, North Carolina (April 15, 2026) – Perhaps the most amount of enthusiasm in quite a few years surrounds the Super Cup Stock Car Series as the 2026 gets moving this weekend.  Additionally, there may not be a better place to make it happen than Shenandoah Speedway, a facility that has hosted the east coast regional touring division mainly composed of ‘Gen 4’ racecars with roots back to the NASCAR, ARCA, and Pro Cup days earlier in the millennium more than any other track in the latest years.

Saturday’s twin 50-lap races will feature a mix of series veterans as well as some relative newcomers who are expected to contend right from the get-go.

2024 champion Brent Nelson from Petersburg, West Virginia has earned some of the most success at the 3/8-mile progressively-banked oval, achieving five victories and leading nearly 150 laps over the years.  A winless 2025 season has him fired up to return to his winning ways at a track in which he only missed the first three of 21 past appearances for the SCSCS in the valley of the northern Virginia mountains.

One driver who was victorious during one of those early visits in 2009 and is a two-time champion will be back.  Renick, West Virginia’s Harvey Harrison returned to the driver seat after two years away at the conclusion of 2025 at Tri-County Speedway with a fifth-place result.  With an average finish of fifth in eight Shenandoah starts, he will be one to watch as well as his son.  Brian Harrison also came back to racing at Tri-County with an outcome of fourth and is anxious to potentially finally break into victory lane after notching his first Pole Award during the 2023 season.  His most recent race at Shenandoah featured a finish of fourth at the end of that year.

The most recent SCSCS race winner at the venue will certainly be a threat once again.  Damian Payton charged to the honors at what originally was his home track in his sixth career start.  Growing up in Summit Point, West Virginia and now residing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Payton announced the intention to run the full schedule and with no finishes worse than third in limited starts throughout 2025 he could be one of the favorites to capture the championship if all goes well.

Over to a driver that has visited Shenandoah to spectate before but has never taken to the surface at speed, this one will immediately be a contender based on her latest performance.  Third-generation racer Chrissy Wallace swept the trophies in her first two SCSCS starts at Tri-County last November, becoming the first woman to win in the series since Megan Reitenour during its inaugural year.  Now the Concord, North Carolina driver has committed to run for the title in 2026 and this weekend will have 1999 NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief Todd Parrott ensuring they will adapt quickly their first time on track.

Another Shenandoah first timer likely planning to make the trip is Mitchell Stapleton.  The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native who has gained a following in North Carolina and worldwide with his historic and insider YouTube content documenting stock car racing history finished third and second in his debut weekend with the series at Tri-County.

Among the additional drivers expected are some more that are partial to Shenandoah based on their recent results.  Elkton, Maryland’s Rob Hindt matched his best career finish of fifth, set more than 10 years prior, twice at the speedway in 2025.  Dylan Godinez from Reading, Pennsylvania and now a mechanical design engineer with Front Row Motorsports in North Carolina made his series debut here in 2025 and finished seventh in that race.  As a teammate to the earlier mentioned Nelson, Yellow Spring, West Virginia’s Larry Frame drove a Mini Mod regularly at Shenandoah years back and twice out of three times his best career SCSCS result of fourth came there.

Based on past main events held at the facility, in which the last 13 series races held have combined for only three yellow flags, with the assortment of stories arriving from out of town as well as the increasing turnouts in the local divisions, it should make for a highly competitive and entertaining day of racing.

There will be an optional practice offered from Noon until 5:00 p.m. on Friday with cost being $50 per car.

Spectator gates will open on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., in time to watch final practice sessions in which SCSCS teams will have their qualifying and race tires on the rides.  Then cars will go over the scales immediately following the 2:15 p.m. drivers meeting and before qualifying toward the top of the next hour.  Racing festivities, such as a bike race for kids and spectator drags leading up to the main events, including the 50 lappers for the Super Cup Stock Car Series, are scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m.

Tickets are only $10 at the gate with kids 12 and under as well as veterans and first responders admitted for free.

More information can be found on the Super Cup Stock Car Series official web site supercupstockcarseries.com with interactive updates throughout race days and in between available on Facebook (search Super Cup Stock Car Series), Twitter (@SCSCSRacing), Instagram (SCSCS_Racing), and https://www.youtube.com/SCSCSRacing.

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