JRD Wraps Up One of Its Strongest Seasons to Date

Photos by Luke Durda/Bruce Laing

Race Recap | September 18 | Delaware Speedway 🏁

JRD Closes Out Season with Strong Championship Night Performance

JRD Motorsports entered Championship Night at Delaware Speedway on Friday, September 18, still with a mathematical shot at the 2026 Super Stock championship.

Despite the major setback suffered in the crash a few weeks earlier, the Bingo Country, Jackpot Time No. 28 came into the final night just 15 points out of the championship lead, while sitting only two points out of third and seven points out of second.

The team unloaded with a very fast race car, finishing 2nd fastest overall in practice despite running only a handful of laps. With the car working well right off the trailer, the team elected to save laps and focus on the races ahead.

Starting 6th in the heat race, Ryan Dyson quickly charged forward, moving into 3rd by lap two before contact to the left rear sent the No. 28 spinning. The incident forced the team to restart at the rear of the field, while the car that made contact retained its position.

Dyson immediately went to work, picking off several cars before a car was dumped ahead and that allowed the No. 28 to regain a few positions. On the ensuing restart, Ryan continued his charge toward the front and, with only a few laps remaining, took over the lead.

A caution came out immediately after the pass, sending the field back to the previous lap for scoring and putting the No. 28 back to 2nd for the restart. Dyson responded, retaking the lead on the restart and securing his third consecutive heat race victory.

The heat win brought the championship deficit down to 11 points. The No. 28 was also now just one point out of third and five points behind second heading into the feature.

Starting 6th in the 35-lap feature, Dyson quickly moved into 4th. The No. 28 had lost some forward drive compared to the heat race, however, making it difficult to get underneath the cars ahead and complete passes despite having the pace to run with them.

Around the halfway point, a stack-up in front of the No. 28 resulted in contact from behind, dropping Dyson one position. A few laps later, another incident ahead forced the No. 28 to the outside, costing another position as the field battled for position.

Just one lap later, contact from the car on the inside drove the No. 28's steering wheel hard to the right and sent the car toward the outside wall. Dyson kept the car out of the fence, but the impact left the car stalled and brought out the caution.

Under the caution, emotions boiled over following the repeated contact. Dyson confronted the driver involved, and after further contact between the two cars on the back straightaway, officials determined that the No. 28 would be parked for the remainder of the race.

That brought the 2026 season to an abrupt end for JRD Motorsports.

Despite the disappointing conclusion, the 2026 season ranks among the strongest in team history. The No. 28 recorded eight top-five finishes in 12 starts, including the team's first feature victory of the season, three consecutive heat race wins to close the year, and a sustained championship fight that kept JRD Motorsports in contention until the final night.

"Obviously, that's not how we wanted to end the season, especially after everything this team has accomplished this year," said Ryan Dyson. "We came into tonight still having a shot at the championship, and the guys gave me another really fast race car. To win three heat races in a row PLUS A FEATURE to finish the season says a lot about the work this team has put in.”

“I’m really proud of the way we raced all year. We never had to resort to racing the way some of the other competitors did, and we can walk away from this season knowing we competed hard and raced with respect.”

The 2026 season may have ended sooner than the team wanted, but JRD Motorsports leaves the season having once again established itself as a consistent front-running operation at Delaware Speedway.