I-35 Speedway openers to Johnson, Keller, Clancy, Bartel, Dishong Mick, Haring

March 21, 2026 | by Dylan Vore

Gavin Bartel of Kasson, Minn., won the USRA Hobby Stock main event on March 21, 2026, at the I-35 Speedway.in Winston, Mo.

WINSTON, Mo. (March 21, 2026)—And we’re back! I-35 Speedway opening night presented by Molle Auto Group welcomed back 82 cars across 7 classes ready to get back in the swing of racing. The grandstands were packed on a hot March night ready to watch the dirt fly. As we worked through hot laps and heat racing pretty seamlessly, feature racing is where the action picked up.

First on track for feature racing action was the E-modifieds. Chris Dishong started on the pole and wasn’t going to be caught tonight, opening his 2026 racing season with a feature win. Blake Hayes had speed all evening before ultimately finishing in 2nd. Garrett Stonum finished in 3rd, Casey Burnett in 4th and Mark Anderson started 13th before finishing in 5th.

Next up for dirt racing action was the USRA Tuners. Defending track champion Brad Mick picked up right where he left off, picking up the Mollee Auto Group opening night feature win. JR Curtis had a fast car tonight and would finish in 2nd, Samuel Moore in 3rd, Dan Canady in 4th and Joshua Robb in 5th.

USRA Hobby Stocks rolled out next. Gavin Bartel made the trip from Kasson, Minnesota, nearly 250 miles away from I-35 Speedway. Bartel made the most of this road trip, snatching a feature win in the USRA Hobby Stocks. Brandan Long finished in 2nd, Derek Lampe in 3rd. Tyler Brown passed 5 cars to finish in 4th and Braelynn Long rounded out the top 5.

Up next for dirt racing action was the USRA B-Mods. Chad Clancy added another feature win to his record book, as he couldn’t be caught at I-35 Speedway tonight. Darrion McLaughlin was his closest competition in 2nd, Daniel Harris started 8th before finishing in 3rd, Adam Dunwoodie in 4th and Chris Burke in 5th.

Another driver who’s been in Mollee Auto Group victory lane a time or two, Doug Keller was able to add another win in one of the most exciting races of the night. Keller waited until the closing laps to make his move and pass for the lead and ultimately the win. Jason Estes led multiple laps throughout the night before finishing 2nd, Brad Derry in 3rd, Rodney Schweizer in 4th and Tyler Cadwallader in 5th.

Reigning USRA National Champion Houston Johnson didn’t lose a step in the off-season. Houston was blazing fast all night, collecting the Molle Auto Group opening night feature win. Brad Johnson kept pace with Houston for a majority of the race before finishing in 2nd. Mark Dotson recovered from some trouble in the heat race to finish 3rd in the feature, Jace Whitt 4th and Tyler Grooms in 5th.

Bentley Haring snagged the Beginner Tuner race win; Makayla Myers finished in 2nd.

Thank you to all the amazing race fans that came out for a surprisingly warm night at the racetrack this past Saturday night and keeping the energy going all night long. Thank you to all our track officials and safety crew members for keeping everyone safe and providing an exciting night of racing. And one more big thanks to all the drivers and their crew members for bringing fast cars across all classes and your best to the track every Saturday night.

DRIVERS, keep an eye out for a driver information survey, it would really help us announcers to have that information to talk about your racing season/career throughout this racing season. Thank you again to everyone that made Molle Auto Group opening night possible, and we will see you all back next Saturday night for another action-packed night of dirt track racing at I-35 Speedway.

OFFICIAL RESULTS