Round 7 of 21 arrives at (Dirt) with championship pressure climbing and storylines branching in every direction. The concrete coliseum’s dirt guise has produced two very different winners in prior seasons—Jordan Lafon in Season 1 and FĂ©lix F. Roy in Season 2—underscoring how quickly the surface can flip the script. With the schedule now beyond a quarter distance, this visit to Bristol is poised to be a separator.

Momentum from Round 6 at Cedar Lake rolls straight into this week. Tyler Ducharme converted pace into precision to secure his second career ICL victory and first since 2021, while Kinser Lightner stalked relentlessly and drew alongside for the lead with two to go before settling for second. Johnnie Tucker’s composed P3 and Brayden E. Carter’s P4 added valuable stability; Aidan Strawberry, the season’s pace-setter, banked a measured P5 to protect his overall edge.

Form lines from Bristol’s archives are hard to ignore. In Season 2 at this track, Carter finished runner-up, with Aidan Strawberry claiming P5 and Joseph Grandy on the entry list as well—useful reference points for what their ceilings can be here. The Season 1 result sheet was headlined by Lafon over Sean Swartzlander3, but that edition also featured a deep, balanced front half—an indicator that qualifying and early track position can be decisive when the cushion is thin and the lap times are tightly bunched.

The points picture tightens behind the leader. Strawberry still controls the table on the strength of two wins and five-for-five top tens, but Lightner’s Cedar Lake charge has pulled him to second overall, with JT Ferry and Seth Gregory close and Carter now stacking consecutive top-fives. With the series’ 12–11–10
 race-points scale plus a single point for the fastest qualifier, Bristol’s bonus has real teeth—especially for contenders like Lightner, Ferry, Gregory, and Carter who are hunting ways to chip at Strawberry’s cushion.

Drivers to watch: Ducharme arrives in top form after Cedar Lake and has already shown he can close. Lightner’s recent pace plus a strong Bristol profile from last season’s contenders suggests he’ll be a factor again. Carter owns that prior Bristol P2 and is trending upward; a timely qualifying bonus—or just one more rung up the finishing order—would meaningfully tighten the gap. Ferry’s consistent race-craft has kept him in the top tier every round, while Gregory’s run of podium-level results this month gives him an outside lane to disrupt the order again.

WHAT’S NEXT
Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt) hosts Round 7 of 21. With more than half the schedule still ahead, a strong night here can reset the title chase before the tour heads deeper into the fall stretch.

Previous Bristol Results — Season 1 (May 4, 2022 · Dirt)

  1. Jordan Lafon, 2) Sean Swartzlander3, 3) Anton Hernandez, 4) Koulten Herbert, 5) Ryan Carlisi, 6) Mitchell Huddleston, 7) Landon Francis, 8) Brandon Carvey, 9) Zachary Riddick2, 10) Rick Russell, 11) Ryan Avila, 12) Sean Michael6, 13) Nicholas McGeathy

Previous Bristol Results — Season 2 (May 6, 2024 · Dirt)

  1. FĂ©lix F. Roy, 2) Brayden E Carter, 3) Colton Zimmer, 4) David Miller40, 5) Aidan Strawberry, 6) Buddy Isles, 7) Daniel Bajer, 8) Bud Ward, 9) Ritchie Trammell, 10) Zachary Evans4, 11) Trevor Doyle, 12) Brayden Donaldson, 13) Bradley W Carter, 14) Robbie Giffin, 15) Brandon Holtmeier, 16) Joseph Grandy, 17) Jeff Long3, 18) Cole Whitehead, 19) Chris Graham6, 20) Tyler Davis18, 21) Brandon Shipley, 22) Justin Veal

Current Top 10 In Points (after Round 6)

  1. Aidan Strawberry – 55, 2) Kinser Lightner – 38, 3) JT Ferry – 36, 4) Seth Gregory – 33, 5) Brayden E Carter – 29, 6) Dylan Blackburn – 19, 7) Johnnie Tucker – 14, 8) Tyler Ducharme – 13, 9) Brenden McGlothlin – 12, 10) Joseph Grandy and Tyler Mckim (tie) – 11

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