2026 Kwik Trip Muscle Car Series Champions, A Season of Racing A Season of Champions.
Updated: 2 days ago
The 2026 Kwik Trip Muscle Car Series is officially in the books, and what a season it was!
From the opening rounds of the 17th Annual Street Car Showdown to the 38th Annual GSTA Muscle Car Shootout, racers battled through qualifying sessions, eliminations, changing weather, tough equipment failures and championship pressure to earn their place at the top of the 2026 standings.
Several championships came down to the final race—and in one case, the final round. Others were locked up before the final event, but that didn't make getting to the top any easier.
Let's recognize the racers who put together championship seasons in 2026.
2026 Kwik Trip Muscle Car Series Champions
Outlaw Pro Mod — Lucas Mlinar
Lucas Mlinar, driving Ray Friesen's '69 Camaro, put together a perfect season in Outlaw Pro Mod, winning all three races on the 2026 schedule.
Mlinar came into the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout with an 11-point lead and finished the season 29 points ahead of the field to claim the 2026 Outlaw Pro Mod Championship.
He also capped off the season with one of the most dramatic final rounds of the weekend, recovering from a late reaction and a pedal job to defeat Bubba Romanyshyn by just .023 seconds.
Lakeside Cabinets & Woodworking Outlaw — Paul Gibbs
Paul Gibbs and his '70 Chevelle put together a championship season in the Lakeside Cabinets & Woodworking Outlaw class.
Gibbs won the Street Car Showdown, finished runner-up at Show & Go, and then won the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout to finish the season with two event victories and a runner-up finish.
Gibbs entered the final weekend in control of the championship and had the title secured simply by qualifying and attending the finale. He ultimately finished the season 41 points ahead to claim the 2026 Lakeside Cabinets & Woodworking Outlaw Championship.
Zach Novak Construction 660 OS — Troy Bednarz
Troy Bednarz drove his '17 Camaro, Lastcall, to the 2026 Zach Novak Construction 660 OS Championship.
Bednarz won both Show & Go and the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout, finishing the season 13 points ahead of the field.
He saved one of his best performances for the finale, running a weekend-best 4.111 at 202.42 MPH in the final round to take the GSTA event win.
Norm's Tire Sales 660 LS — Dallas Nestvold
Dallas Nestvold earned the 2026 Norm's Tire Sales 660 LS Championship in his '08 Corvette.
Nestvold won both the Street Car Showdown and Show & Go, then added a semifinal finish at the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout to put the championship out of reach.
That combination of wins and consistency carried Nestvold to the top of the 660 LS standings.
Redline Performance & Fabrication King Street — Jason Geiger
Jason Geiger and his '68 Camaro finished the season as the 2026 Redline Performance & Fabrication King Street Champion.
Geiger won both the Street Car Showdown and the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout, including the final-round victory at the season finale.
The King Street championship took a dramatic turn during the GSTA weekend when points leader Steve Carson broke during the Saturday night cruise and was unable to earn his cruise points or compete in eliminations, ultimately dropping him to fourth in the final standings.
Everything Automotive Real Street Unlimited — Jesse Nelson
The Everything Automotive Real Street Unlimited championship came down to the final round of the final race.
Pete Trombley and Jesse Nelson were separated by just three points heading into the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout, and the difference was down to one point after qualifying.
Both racers battled their way through the field and met in the final—Nelson in his '70 Chevelle and Trombley in his '76 C10.
Nelson ran a 7.959 to take the final-round win and finished the season four points ahead of Trombley to claim the 2026 Everything Automotive Real Street Unlimited Championship.
A championship decided on the final pass of the final race. That's about as dramatic as it gets.
Real Street Natural — Bob Wallin
Bob Wallin put together a perfect championship run in Real Street Natural, winning all three events during the 2026 season.
Driving his '72 Nova, Wallin finished the season as the 2026 Real Street Natural Champion, capping off the year with the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout event victory.
SE-1 — Kerry Hemenway
Kerry Hemenway claimed the 2026 SE-1 Championship after a championship battle that went right down to the tiebreaker.
Hemenway won the Street Car Showdown, missed the Show & Go event, and then went out in the first round at the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout.
He finished the season tied with Justin Olson at 57 points, but Hemenway earned the championship tiebreaker based on his event win at Street Car Showdown, while Olson did not have a win.
SE-2 — Drake Schiffner
Drake Schiffner earned the 2026 SE-2 Championship in his '70 Torino Cobra.
After missing the Street Car Showdown, Schiffner bounced back to win Show & Go and then finished runner-up at the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout.
Schiffner secured the championship with his semifinal-round win at the finale, finishing three points ahead of Taylor Tesar in the final standings.
SE-3 — Bob Peterson
Bob Peterson claimed the 2026 SE-3 Championship in his '03 GMC.
Peterson won the Street Car Showdown, finished runner-up at Show & Go, and put together enough points to finish the season 14 points ahead and claim the championship.
Truck Eliminator — Dan Hyttsten
Acme Tools Truck Eliminator — Dan Hyttsten
Dan Hyttsten saved his biggest run of the season for the biggest race.
Hyttsten came into the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout sitting fifth in the championship standings and left as the 2026 Acme Tools Truck Eliminator Champion.
Driving his '24 Silverado, Hyttsten won the final race of the season and moved all the way to the top of the standings.
Manual Transmission — Jeremy Reitmeier
Three straight!
Jeremy Reitmeier once again finished the season on top in Manual Transmission, earning his third consecutive championship.
Reitmeier won both the Street Car Showdown and Show & Go, and had the championship locked up before the GSTA Muscle Car Shootout even began.
He still earned four championship points at the final event and finished the season five points ahead to complete his three-peat.
ICE — Eric Dethlefs
Eric Dethlefs and his '71 Nova finished the season as the 2026 ICE Champion.
The ICE championship combines a racer's round points earned in their individual Index class with the additional points earned during the Ice Cube runoff, with the combined total determining the season champion.
Top Jacket Earners
The Kwik Trip Muscle Car Series also recognizes racers who are top points finishers in the “Fast 7” classes and make the commitment to compete at all three series events with a Top Points jacket.
Here are the racers who earned the Championship, Top 5, or Top 10 jacket in each class:
Outlaw Pro Mod
Lucas Mlinar
Jon Kreviazuk
Dave Feders
Lakeside Cabinets & Woodworking Outlaw
Paul Gibbs
Cole Scofield
Mark Freeman
Patrick Edens
Shannon O'Leary
Zach Novak Construction 660 OS
Troy Bednarz
Cole Carpenter
Logan Loesch
Chase Keske
Jamie Stover
Norm's Tire Sales 660 LS
Dallas Nestvold
Graham Boyd
Redline Performance & Fabrication King Street
Jason Geiger
Mike Sterling
Matt Johnson
Steve Carson
Brian Mahnke
Bruce Kraemer
Randy Miller
Chris Dyke
Tyler Johnson
Eric Kraemer — tiebreaker
Real Street Natural
Bob Wallin
David Beck
Josh Beyer
5. Grant Dudinsky
Everything Automotive Real Street Unlimited
Jesse Nelson
Pete Trombley
Kory Askelson
5. Eric Brandt
Congratulations, Champions!
Congratulations to all of our 2026 Kwik Trip Muscle Car Series Champions, our Top Jacket earners and every racer who competed throughout the season.
Championships don't happen in one weekend. They're built over an entire season—race by race, round by round, and sometimes by just a few thousandths of a second.
A huge thank you goes out to all of the racers, crews, families, friends and fans who make the Kwik Trip Muscle Car Series such an important part of the BIR racing community.
And thank you to the sponsors who continue to support these racers and classes:
Lakeside Cabinets & WoodworkingZach Novak ConstructionNorm's Tire SalesRedline Performance & FabricationEverything AutomotiveAcme Toolsand all of our 2026 Kwik Trip Muscle Car Series partners.
We'll celebrate all of our champions and jacket earners at the 2026 Champions Awards Banquet this winter, then we'll do it all again in 2027.
The first stop on the 2027 Kwik Trip Muscle Car Series schedule will be the Street Car Showdown on Memorial Day weekend.
Congratulations to our 2026 champions!
We'll see you back at the track in 2027.
Brainerd International Raceway (BIR), located in Brainerd, Minnesota, is one of the Midwest’s premier multi-discipline motorsports facilities. Home to the NHRA Nationals, BIR hosts drag racing, road racing, drifting, autocross, performance driving experiences, and grassroots motorsports events throughout the season.
The facility features a championship drag strip, multiple road course configurations, dedicated drift infrastructure, and destination camping that has made BIR a motorsports tradition for generations of racers and fans.
For schedules, tickets, racer information, and event details:https://www.birmn.com
