The ARCA Dirt USA International Championship opened up at (Dirt) with a 25-lap main event that immediately set the tone for how tight this six-race title fight could be. With the series paying 12 points to the winner and one less point per finishing spot behind them — plus a crucial 1-point bonus for the qualifying fast time — every lap and every position mattered from the very first round.

Everett Larson came in swinging, setting the qualifying fast time to bank that bonus point and rolling off from the pole. Larson backed it up with outright pace in the race as well, leading 23 laps and clocking the fastest lap of the night with a 25.009. For long stretches it looked like the #1 car was driving straight toward what would have been his first career win, but the final lap had other plans. Larson ultimately finished third — a result that ties his best career finish, and it came in just his 8th career start.

The closing moments were chaos in the best way. Larson led into Turn 3 on the final lap, but Levi Fisher got to him, bumped him up the track to slip underneath and briefly grab the advantage. As Fisher and Larson gathered themselves, Jon Foskey arrived to make it three-wide with everything on the line. Foskey and Fisher drag raced to the stripe, and Foskey prevailed by just 0.039 seconds. It was a statement win in Foskey’s first career start — and an eye-opener for everyone else, because he only led two laps, but they were the ones that mattered most.

Behind the front-three fireworks, the drive of the race belonged to Riley Halverson II. Starting 21st, Halverson took a hard hit on Lap 1 into the inside front stretch wall and still produced an incredible rip through the field to finish fourth. That’s a 17-position gain on the night, and it instantly plants Halverson in the middle of the early championship conversation. Mitchell Maynard also made his first career start and delivered right away with a strong fifth-place run. Anthony Morano followed in sixth, while Mychelle Cherry put together a major climb of their own — up from 19th on the grid to finish seventh.

Not everyone’s night went forward. Logan Anderson7 suffered the biggest slide in the running order, going from third at the start to 17th at the finish — a 14-spot drop that shows how quickly a points night can unravel in this format. Braxton Deweese and Jaylon Mills also gave away multiple spots from their starting positions, and with only six races total, those lost points add up fast. The good news for anyone who stumbled early is that there are still five races left, and this points structure rewards quick rebound weeks — especially if you can snag that 1-point qualifying bonus to tighten the math.

After the opener, Foskey leaves USA International Speedway as the early points leader with 12. But the margin is razor thin: Fisher and Larson sit right behind on 11, and Larson’s qualifying fast-time bonus is already shaping the standings — he’s tied for second despite finishing third. That single point could end up being a tiebreaker type of difference as the season develops. With five races still to run, there’s a maximum of 65 points still available if someone can stack wins and qualifying bonuses, so nothing is settled — but the top of the table is already forming a clear battle line with Foskey, Fisher, and Larson separated by the smallest possible margins.

RACE 1 RESULTS (USA International Speedway – Dirt)

  1. Jon Foskey

  2. Levi Fisher

  3. Everett Larson

  4. Riley Halverson II

  5. Mitchell Maynard

  6. Anthony Morano

  7. Mychelle Cherry

  8. Aidan Strawberry

  9. Jackson Lauderbaugh

  10. Gary Edwards III

  11. Jake Sylvia

  12. Drew D Dawson

  13. Derek Sellers

  14. Doug Welch

  15. Chandler Barker

  16. Braxton Deweese

  17. Logan Anderson7

  18. Jaylon Mills

  19. Austin Smith10

  20. Daniel Broome

  21. Dennis Smith7

  22. Devin Martins

POINTS STANDINGS (TOP 10)

  1. Jon Foskey – 12

  2. Levi Fisher – 11

  3. Everett Larson – 11

  4. Riley Halverson II – 9

  5. Mitchell Maynard – 8

  6. Anthony Morano – 7

  7. Mychelle Cherry – 6

  8. Aidan Strawberry – 5

  9. Jackson Lauderbaugh – 4

  10. Gary Edwards III – 3

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