Clyde Hart Memorial at New Smyrna Launches 2026 Season for ASA STARS National Tour

📸Bruce Nuttleman

New Smyrna Beach, FL - The Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA STARS National Tour kicks off the 2026 season Tuesday night with the Sig Sauer Academy Clyde Hart Memorial 200. The 27th Anniversary edition of the Clyde Hart Memorial kicks off the fourth season of racing for the ASA STARS National Tour with the second-largest entry list for an ASA STARS National Tour opener at 41 entries, trailing only the 2024 Clyde Hart Memorial, which boasted 47 entries.

Monday night, the field was set for Tuesday night's 200 lap affair with single-car qualifying to lock in the top 22 cars, followed by a Last Chance Qualifier race that took the top seven cars to the main event. Positions 23-26 were set from the top three finishers of the LCQ, with ASA Owner's Points Provisionals filling spots 27 & 28, and the rest of the 32-car field being made up of additional starters added by the event promoter.

Pole Qualifying was intense for the Clyde Hart Memorial. The top 11 cars were separated by less than a tenth-of-a-second, with all 37 cars fitting within a just over three-tenths-of-a-second spread. Tristan McKee earned the Hamke Racecars Pole Award with a 17.734-second lap, averaging over 101 MPH around New Smyrna. McKee bested Dawson Sutton by just two-one-thousandths of a second. Carson Brown, George Phillips, and Kasey Kleyn completed the top five in qualifying. Jake Finch was the final car locked in from qualifying in the 22nd position, turning the exact same lap time as Cory Hall, with a 17.911, just 0.177 off the pole time.

Monday night's 20-lap Last Chance Qualifier was mostly straightforward. Kole Raz led wire-to-wire with minimal pressure from Max Reaves and Kaden Honeycutt, who did pressure Raz, but never truly challenged for the top spot. Further back, Conner Jones and Hunter Wright exchanged the fourth spot several times before Jones settled in for the spot ahead of Wright. Nicholas Naugle and Anthony Bello took the final two transfer spots into the show, sending Derek Griffith, Brandon Lopes, Isaac Kitzmiller, and RJ Braun home for Tuesday's show.

The Clyde Hart Memorial was first co-sanctioned by the ASA STARS National Tour in 2024, after long serving as the season opener for the ASA Southern Super Series. Four different drivers led the 25th Anniversary Clyde Hart Memorial, with Bubba Pollard taking the lead for the first and final time on lap 183, en route to his second win with the ASA STARS National Tour. The event was a struggle, with nine caution flags and 12 cars listed as DNF.

In 2025, Gavan Boschele earned what has stood as his only ASA STARS National Tour win, leading the final 25 laps. While only nine cars were listed in the DNF category last season, the race spanned over two-hours, with 16 caution flags, a statistic that was surely addressed in the Drivers' and Crew Chiefs' Meetings over the last two days.

As a rookie, Tristan McKee will lead the field to green for tonight's Clyde Hart Memorial alongside All American 400 Champion, Dawson Sutton. Tuesday night's race is also McKee's first career start with the ASA STARS National Tour.

The 27th Clyde Hart Memorial 200 with the Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA STARS National Tour is set for 7:00 PM from New Smyrna Speedway, and headlines Tuesday's action that also includes Tour Modifieds for 60 laps, and Pro Late Models for 60 laps. Fans who can't make the trip to New Smyrna Speedway can catch every lap live on TrackTv.com and FloRacing.

For more information on the ASA STARS National Tour or the Clyde Hart Memorial, visit STARSNationalTour.com.