Darren Smith Wins Super DIRTcar Series Finale at Oswego After Late Fuel Drama

Smith steals the finish after a chaotic final stretch

Darren Smith won the Super DIRTcar Series finale at Oswego Speedway on October 10, 2026, in a 200-lap race that turned on late cautions, fresh tires and fuel shortages. Mat Williamson finished second, Alex Yankowski third and Jimmy Phelps fourth. The closing laps were especially volatile: Matt Sheppard surged from a late stop to the lead, then slowed with no fuel before Smith made his decisive move on the final lap.

Larry Wight started on the front row with Phelps and led early. The race’s first half brought several interruptions, including cautions for Matt Stangle’s flat tire on lap 4, Michael Parent against the inside wall on lap 15, and problems for Garrett Krummert and Andrew Buff. At lap 50, Phelps challenged Wight while they worked through traffic, but Wight held the lead on the outside.

Phelps later dropped out of the top five, while Alex Payne moved into second. Williamson passed Payne for the position around lap 90. Smoke from Marcus Dinkins brought the field to the pit lane under caution on lap 92, creating a reset in a race where track position and the changing surface would remain central.

Williamson takes control; Sheppard charges

After the restart, Williamson continued his advance, taking second from Payne on lap 105 and passing Wight for the lead one lap later. Tim McCreadie, returning to the Super DIRTcar Series, headed to the pits under green on lap 116. His eventual result was 31st, 25 laps down.

Payne mounted another challenge on lap 136, working underneath Williamson and making contact with him through turn three. Payne ran wide coming out of turn four, allowing Williamson to reclaim the lead. By lap 170, Williamson was ahead of Sheppard by 0.3 seconds.

A flat tire for Tanner Van Doren brought out a caution on lap 171. The more consequential tire problem came 20 laps later, when Sheppard slowed from second with a flat. After stopping for fresh tires, he restarted and used the outside lane to make rapid progress. He was up to 10th by lap 192 and fifth two laps later, gaining ground while much of the field stayed low on the track.

Van Doren spun on lap 196, prompting another caution and a round of pit stops. On the restart, Sheppard moved into second, then drove around Williamson on the outside to take the lead. His run ended when he slowed with no fuel. The race leader’s fuel shortage added another reversal, handing the advantage back to Williamson as Phelps moved into second.

Smith entered the final lap in the fight for the lead. Williamson cleared Smith through turn four, but ran wide; Smith cut underneath and the pair raced to the line. Smith took the win. The late sequence shows how little margin remained after repeated stops and restarts: Sheppard’s fresh tires brought him from the back of the top ten to the lead, but fuel decided his run before the finish.

Oswego main event results

The complete listed finishing order was:

1. Darren Smith (winner); 2. Mat Williamson; 3. Alex Yankowski; 4. Jimmy Phelps; 5. Michael Maresca; 6. Felix Roy; 7. Tim Sears Jr; 8. Stewart Friesen; 9. Erick Rudolph; 10. Jack Lehner.

11. Ryan Godown; 12. Gary Lindberg; 13. Peter Britten; 14. Alex Payne; 15. Michael Trautschold; 16. Larry Wight; 17. Tim Fuller; 18. Justin Haers; 19. Marc Johnson; 20. Brian Calabrese; 21. Mike Mahaney.

22. Tanner Van Doren, one lap down; 23. Justin Stone, one lap down; 24. Matt Sheppard, three laps down; 25. Billy Dunn, one lap down; 26. Anthony Perrego, five laps down; 27. Nicholas Root, 18 laps down; 28. Ryan Krachun, 19 laps down; 29. Matt Caprara, five laps down; 30. Ronnie Davis III, 11 laps down.

31. Tim McCreadie, 25 laps down; 32. Dalton Slack, one lap down; 33. Tyler Dippel, four laps down; 34. Paul Mancini, six laps down; 35. Marcus Dinkins, 14 laps down; 36. Garrett Krummert, 12 laps down; 37. Tyler Trump, 24 laps down; 38. Chris Curtis, 15 laps down; 39. Andrew Buff, seven laps down; 40. Michael Parent, 12 laps down; 41. Matt Stangle, six laps down.

Last Chance Showdowns

In the first 15-lap Last Chance Showdown, Erick Rudolph finished first, followed by Dalton Slack, Michael Parent, Jackson Gill and Rocky Warner. Dylan Zacharias was sixth, Elliot Gamache seventh, Stangle eighth, James Meehan ninth and Todd Root tenth. Tyler Trump, Jeremy Pitts, Billy Pauch Jr, Macey Adamik, Rich Scagliotta, Bob Mcgannon, Kyle Sheldon, Aaron Jacobs, Mike Engwer, Wally Wade and Dinkins followed. Karl Comfort and Jeff Taylor were listed as not starting.

Stewart Friesen won the second 15-lap showdown. Ronnie Davis III placed second, with Anthony Perrego third, Zachary Payne fourth and Chris Mackey fifth. Dave Rauscher, Ryan Krachun, Chip Constantino, Paul Mancini and Brian Swarthout completed the top ten. Glenn Styres, Russell Morseman IV, Rusty Smith, Chris Hulsizer and Cedric Gauvreau followed. CG Morey, Francois Bellemare, Dave Allen and Heath Metzger were listed as did not finish; Jordan McCreadie, Kolby Schroder, Gary Tomkins and Brandon Walters did not start.

The full order and lap deficits put the finish in context: Smith won amid a field-wide scramble, while even the fastest late charge could not guarantee a clean run to the flag. See Oswego Speedway and the Super DIRTcar Series for series and venue information.

Source link: Oswego race coverage from Racing News.