Matthew Brabham entered as the defending champion, though he only ran select races due to his commitment to Indy Lights. Gavin Harlien won his first championship.
The season opener at Long Beach saw the SST debuts of Ryan Arciero and Cleetus McFarland while Davey Hamilton Jr. made his return as a full-time driver after a three-year absence.[1][9] The Gordon family swept the weekend as Max Gordon scored his first career win after holding off his father Robby, who won the second race after McFarland spun and hit the wall as he approached the finish.[10][11]
The second round at Mid-Ohio saw the series debuts of Ben Maier and Cory Winner. Robby Gordon skipped the weekend due to overseas obligations with Speed UTV whereas Hamilton exited the series due to an injury he sustained in Long Beach.[8][12]Gavin Harlien controversially won the first race after United States Auto Club officials accidentally extended the distance from 11 to 13 laps; although Robert Stout beat Harlien to the finish on the 13th lap, USAC restored the results after 11 laps and granted Harlien the victory.[13] Harlien and Stout continued to be the top drivers in the second race, but a last-lap pass by Max Gordon enabled him to take the win.[14]
At Nashville, Brabham won the Saturday race after holding off Harlien. While Indy Lights was also at the weekend, Brabham was able to run SST after rain forced the day's Lights activities to be canceled.[15] Harlien returned the favor in the second race, though he was involved in a wreck with Stout and McFarland that caused the latter to flip.[16]
The Bristol round was organized in support of McFarland's Bristol 1000, a race involving McFarland and multiple YouTubers. As a result, five of the 13 drivers racing SST were media personalities with no prior series experience: Derek Bieri of Vice Grip Garage, Matt Carriker of YouTube channel DemolitionRanch, Hyperdrive star Fielding Shredder, and the Diesel Brothers Dave Kiley and Dave Sparks.[4] The series newcomers were scrutinized for their aggressive driving styles that impacted the full-time drivers competing for points, and Harlien's father confronted Sparks after the second race. Harlien and Stout won the round's two races.[17][18]
^Harlien finished Mid-Ohio Race 1 in second due to a scoring error that extended the race from 11 to 13 laps. The official results use the running order after the original 11 laps, when Harlien was first.
^Stout finished Mid-Ohio Race 2 in first due to a scoring error that extended the race from 11 to 13 laps. The official results use the running order after the original 11 laps, when Stout was second.
_(cropped).jpg)
Fielding Shredder
Shaun Richardson
Matthew Brabham
Long Beach, California
Lexington, Ohio
Nashville, Tennessee