Lowe Puts an Exclamation Point on Season 26 with Southern National Victory

Lucama, NC — If Season 26 was a symphony, James Lowe chose to end it with a cymbal crash. Already crowned champion a week prior, Lowe stormed from deep in the field to capture his eighth win of the season in the Bootleg Racing League SteelCraft Structures Super Late Model Series finale at Southern National Motorsports Park, sealing one of the most dominant campaigns in series history with authority.

The 4/10-mile bullring wasted no time living up to its reputation. Ruben Altice and Lewis Flowers brought the 17-car field to green, but the tight corners and unforgiving banking quickly turned the opening laps into a survival test. An early caution flew when Ken Allen was spun around after contact involving John Wilson, the ever-notable “Canadian Goose,” setting the tone for a race where patience would be as valuable as outright speed.

That patience was immediately tested again on the restart. Altice and Flowers tangled in a heavy battle for the lead, their contact sending Flowers spinning hard into the infield and ending his night in a plume of frustration and dust. In the aftermath, Jeffery Hardin emerged at the front, inheriting the lead and positioning himself as the early favorite to challenge for the win. But looming in the background, like a slow-building storm, was Lowe.

Starting 13th due to the invert, Lowe spent the opening portion of the race quietly observing the chaos ahead. While others burned their tires trying to conquer the tricky surface, Lowe played the long game. As the cautions faded and a rhythm finally took hold, he began his charge. Using the high side with surgical precision, he carved through the field one car at a time, his momentum building with each lap.

By the midpoint, the hunt had turned into a takeover. Closing rapidly on the leaders, Lowe made his decisive move by slipping underneath Todd Liston, completing the pass with the kind of efficiency that had defined his entire season. Once out front, he never looked back. Clean air became his canvas, and he painted the final laps with total control, stretching his advantage while the rest of the field battled in his wake.

Behind him, the race within the race added a layer of tension that refused to let the night settle. The fight for second in the championship between Chris Worrell and Todd Liston was razor-thin entering the finale, and every position mattered. Liston appeared poised to steal the spot after putting Worrell a lap down during the long run, but a timely late caution brought opportunity back into play. Worrell managed to hold on just enough to secure second in the final standings by a mere two points, winning the tiebreaker on the strength of more top-five finishes—a margin so thin it could fit between a tire and the inside wall at Hickory.

Further back, Chris Davis delivered one of the most unexpected drives of the night. Struggling early and openly admitting his car felt off, Davis turned to a bold, almost chaotic adjustment strategy—cranking his brake bias forward in search of stability. The gamble paid off. As others faded, Davis surged, slipping past both Hardin and Kurt Smith in the closing laps to steal third in a move that felt equal parts desperation and brilliance.

When the checkered flag finally waved, it was Lowe standing tall once again, followed by Liston in second and Davis completing the podium. Hardin and Smith rounded out the top five, capping off a race that mirrored the season itself—unpredictable behind, untouchable at the front.

Eight wins in eleven races. A championship clinched early. And a finale that left no doubt. As the lights dim on Season 26, the rest of the field is left chasing a benchmark that felt almost mythic at times. But racing never sleeps for long. With the next season set to begin at North Wilkesboro Speedway, the question now shifts from who won… to who, if anyone, can stop James Lowe’s encore.