From USAC
Speedway, Indiana (June 16, 2026)………It only happens once a year!
The 19th annual edition of Yokohama Tire Eastern Storm Presented by Levan Machine & Truck Equipment brings the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship east for a whirlwind tour of Pennsylvania and New Jersey across six consecutive nights, June 16-21.
The storm rises to the forefront with six dates in six nights. Grandview Speedway opens up the series on Tuesday, June 16; followed by Bridgeport Motorsports Park on Wednesday, June 17; Big Diamond Speedway on Thursday, June 18; Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, June 19; Port Royal Speedway on Saturday, June 20; and Action Track USA on Sunday, June 21.
The six race Eastern Storm series will offer a $24,000 point fund with $12,000 going to the champion, $6,000 for second, $3,000 for third, $2,000 for fourth and $1,000 for fifth.
But before we get started, here’s a glance at some of the hot storylines heading in!
SIX PACK OF CHAMPS
Six past Eastern Storm champions are set to partake in this year’s edition of the event: Justin Grant (2025), Mitchel Moles (2024), Logan Seavey (2022), Robert Ballou (2015 & 2021), C.J. Leary (2019), and Brady Bacon (2014).
Between this premier group are seven Eastern Storm crowns, 24 career Eastern Storm feature wins, nine USAC National Sprint Car titles, and 10 of the 19 feature victories with the series in 2026.
GRANT’S EASTERN STORM DEFENSE
Justin Grant enters 2026 Eastern Storm as the defending champion. Only four drivers have captured back-to-back USAC Eastern Storm titles: Cole Whitt (2008 & 2009), Levi Jones (2010 & 2011), Bryan Clauson (2012 & 2013), and Chris Windom (2017 & 2018).
The Ione, California native is fresh off two USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victories last week during Indiana Midget Week. Plus, a victory during Eastern Storm this week would make him just the fifth driver to reach 100 career USAC national feature victories alongside A.J. Foyt (159), Rich Vogler (134), Mel Kenyon (111) and Dave Darland (106).
MOLES IS ROLLING
Mitchel Moles is having a breakout year on the USAC National Sprint Car circuit with four victories, including wins in each of his past two starts.
Moles scored the Eastern Storm championship in 2024, but interestingly, is still vying for his first career Eastern Storm feature win. Count on him to be among the favorites to get that mission accomplished in the coming week.
CUMMINS CLOSE
Kyle Cummins lost out on a tiebreaker to Justin Grant in his quest for an Eastern Storm championship one year ago.
The defending USAC National Sprint Car champion leads the overall standings once again entering Eastern Storm, where he’s won two career feature events in 2023 at Action Track USA and in 2025 at Big Diamond Speedway.
Cummins has already won four USAC National Sprint Car main events this year, with three of the four occurring on 1/2-miles. With the tracks on the Eastern Storm tour mostly consisting of tracks on the larger side, Cummins is looking to add them to his checklist along with his first career Eastern Storm title.
SEAVEY ON UPSWING
Speaking of close calls, Logan Seavey was recently on a tear during Indiana Midget Week where he finished a close runner-up in the final standings to Karter Sarff by a mere three points.
With the final event of the IMW tour being rained out and negating their chance at the crown, Seavey and the Abacus Racing team are now on the hunt to get the job done out east this week.
Seavey owns four career Eastern storm wins and captured the Eastern Storm championship in 2022 for the Baldwin-Fox Racing team, but now he’s vying to add another accolade to his own resume, plus a first for Abacus.
STORM CHASERS
There are a slew of drivers aiming for a first career Eastern Storm championship in 2026.
Chiefly, you can count on the aforementioned Kyle Cummins to be a prime contender, but you can also look to Briggs Danner, a Pennsylvania native who knows these tracks all too well. Not only did Danner win his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature at Grandview, but he also won his first career sprint car race of any kind at Bridgeport. In fact, he’s won a sprint car race at every single track on the Eastern Storm tour!
Kevin Thomas Jr. has won five career Eastern Storm features over the years, which ranks as the fourth most all-time. He’s won each of the past two years at Williams Grove, and three times overall, and also clicked off a win on the former iteration of the track at Bridgeport in 2018.
Chase Stockon has also been an Eastern Storm winner in his career, doing so back in 2014 at Grandview, and is a winner on the USAC National Sprint Car trail in 2026. Jake Swanson is always a contender as well, and like Stockon, he’s won in USAC National Sprint Car competition this year.
Add in leading USAC National Sprint Car Rookie Cale Coons who is making his first trip east in the Dooling/Curb-Agajanian No. 63, which won four Eastern Storm races with Bryan Clauson and Brady Bacon between 2016-2017, and took the title with Clauson in 2016.
EAST COAST CONTINGENT
The USAC East Coast Sprint Car brethren will be well represented throughout Eastern Storm with several series drivers running throughout the six nights of action. Highlighting this group are the top two in series points, Christian Bruno and Steven Drevicki.
Bruno has won each of the past three USAC East Coast events and will be making his Eastern Storm debut this week in Gene Franckowiak’s No. 3BC. Meanwhile, Drevicki is an annual competitor on the Eastern Storm tour, and the five-time USAC East Coast champion will once again install the 410 under the hood of his own No. 19s.
Several USAC East Coast competitors will compete throughout Eastern Storm in select events, including Bruno, Drevicki, Ed Aikin, Ronald Helmick, Olivia Thayer, and Matthew Swift who’ll all utilize 410 cubic inch power.
The USAC East Coast series utilizes a 360 c.i. engine rule, and several more of the series’ faithful will use it to compete for a nightly Eastern Storm 360 bonus: Joe Kata, Jason Cherry, Brett Rose, Shane Braxton, and Brenden Hires. On top of the standard event purse and rewards, the top-finishing 360-powered competitors will earn $250 for the highest-finishing 360; $150 for the second highest-finishing 360; and $100 for the third highest-finishing 360.
WEEK DETAILS
For more information on each event of USAC Eastern Storm 2026, visit www.usacracing.com, go to the menu, then go to the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship page. From there, click on “Event Info” next to the corresponding event on the schedule.
The entire week of events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac2026.
========================
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-1306, 2-Justin Grant-1218, 3-Mitchel Moles-1199, 4-Briggs Danner-1142, 5-Logan Seavey-1087, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1075, 7-Jake Swanson-1072, 8-Chase Stockon-1038, 9-C.J. Leary-1000, 10-Robert Ballou-939.
USAC EASTERN STORM CHAMPIONS
2007: Levi Jones, Olney, Illinois
2008: Cole Whitt, Alpine, California
2009: Cole Whitt, Alpine, California
2010: Levi Jones, Olney, Illinois
2011: Levi Jones, Olney, Illinois
2012: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Indiana
2013: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Indiana
2014: Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
2015: Robert Ballou, Rocklin, California
2016: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Indiana
2017: Chris Windom, Canton, Illinois
2018: Chris Windom, Canton, Illinois
2019:C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Indiana
2020: Not Held
2021: Robert Ballou, Rocklin, California
2022: Logan Seavey, Sutter, California
2023: Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Indiana
2024: Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, California
2025: Justin Grant, Ione, California
USAC EASTERN STORM FEATURE WINS (2007-2025)
8-Brady Bacon
7-Justin Grant
6-Bryan Clauson, Levi Jones & Chris Windom
5-Robert Ballou & Kevin Thomas Jr.
4-Logan Seavey
3-Cole Whitt
2-Emerson Axsom, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins & Thomas Meseraull
1-Chad Boat, Chad Boespflug, Daron Clayton, Shane Cottle, Briggs Danner, Dave Darland, Bobby East, Damion Gardner, Jesse Hockett, Jason McDougal, Hunter Schuerenberg, Jon Stanbrough, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Stockon & Jake Swanson