February 18, 2026 – Pinellas Park, Florida – Pavement sprint car fans will be in for a treat this weekend February 20-21, 2026, as they will be entertained by two nights of racing action at Showtime Speedway as part of the 7th annual Dave Steele World Sprint Car Championship Weekend.
Friday will feature a 125-lap non-wing sprint car race followed by two twin 40-lap winged feature events the following evening. Fans will be able to witness 205 total laps of sprint car feature racing over the course of the two nights.
Friday nights 125-lap non-winged event will be the seventh consecutive year the speedway has hosted the long-distance sprint car race. It is annually the longest sprint car race in the state of Florida. For Florida teams looking to compete in the Little 500 in May, this event will serve as the only opportunity to get non-wing laps.
Former Dave Steele 125 winners already entered for Friday include Kody Swanson and Davey Hamilton Jr. Other expected entrants include 2020 Little 500 champion Bobby Santos III, Ray Bragg, Brian Gingras, Billy Boyd Jr., Colton Bettis, Cheyenne Potter, Tommy Nichols, John Inman, Joe Liguori, LJ Grimm, and Anthony Nocella. Two-time and defending Showtime Sprints champion Robert Yoho is also among those already entered.
A $5,000 payday awaits the winner of Fridays Dave Steele 125.
Teams will put the wings on the following night for the final night of weekend racing action. A racing program complete with two 40-lap feature events will be on tap. Nearly twenty cars were already entered by mid-week for Saturday’s event.
This weekend’s Showtime Speedway events are leg #2 and #3 of the Dave Steele World Sprint Car Championship Triple Crown. Davey Hamilton Jr. won the opening round of the mini-series at New Smyrna last Saturday night after holding Bobby Santos off with an exciting finish. A $2000 bonus will be up for grabs to the champion of this Triple Crown Series.
A handful of teams were at Showtime Speedway Wednesday night for a scheduled open practice taking advantage of track time including Kody Swanson, Colton Bettis, Bobby Santos, LJ Grimm, and others.
The race annually honors the life of lifelong Tampa, Florida resident Dave Steele who perished in a racing accident at Bradenton, Florida on March 25, 2027. Steele was considered by many to be the greatest pavement sprint car driver of the modern era.
Steele is a former Little 500, USAC Silver Crown, TBARA, and Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series champion. He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Little 500 Hall of Fame among others.
For information on this weekend’s event please like and follow Pavement Pounders on Facebook or visit www.showtimespeedway.us.