The fifth edition of the Cup Karts North America Winter Nationals played as the first major event of the season for the Briggs & Stratton racers to bring in 2026. The special January 1-3 event welcomed 177 entries over the nine categories at the 103rd Street Sports Complex in Jacksonville, Florida. The special Thursday to Saturday weekend saw competitors get five rounds of practice on Thursday. Friday hosted day and night racing, with qualifying and three rounds of heat races contested. The grids were then set for the main events on Saturday.

Senior Medium podium (Photo: CKNA South)

For a third straight year, Colin Warren secured victory in the Senior Medium division. The Florida driver was fourth after qualifying as 2023 class winner Owen Lloyd set fast time of 41.511 in the timed session. Derek Wargo and Austin Speck were within 69 thousandths at the end of the session. The 34-driver category was split up for the heat races. Dylan Amundsen and Austin Hill won the heat races for the odd qualifiers, with Hill taking the final two motos. Christopher McKeithan won the first two heats for the even qualifiers before Warren picked up the final heat win. McKeithan and Hill earned the front row for the main event while Amundsen and Warren made up row two. McKeithan led the opening eight laps before Lloyd made his bid for the lead. Hill also stepped in for the position but it ended up becoming Amundsen’s spot by lap 13. From there, Amundsen was able to lead the rest of the 18-lap main event to earn the provisional win. In tech, Amundsen was removed from the results, giving Warren the victory. Henry Wheeler was classified second, coming up from 11th. Lloyd, Adriano Yannuzzi and McKeithan completed the top five.

Senior Light podium (Photo: CKNA South)

The Senior Light division also welcomed 34 drivers on the weekend which saw a fifth different driver win at the Winter Nationals. 2023 winner Colin Warren secured fast time in qualifying with a 41.046 lap, edging out 2025 winner Christopher McKeithan by 88 thousandths of a second. Warren split the heat wins in the odd group with Henry Wheeler and former Junior race winner Isaac Malcuit. McKeithan was able to sweep the three heats for the even group, securing the pole position for the Final with Warren moving over to the outside pole position. Wheeler and Owen Lloyd made up row two. McKeithan and Warren swapped the lead before Lloyd joined the mix by the halfway point. It was McKeithan and Warren continued to exchange the top spot up until the final lap. It was McKeithan leading on the final lap over Warren with Derek Wargo sitting third after starting fifth. Lloyd was fourth and was able to slip inside Wargo as McKeithan and Warren went side-by-side. He eventually made it three wide, and contact was made between all three, including Lloyd going into the outside wall. This allowed Wargo to slip by on the inside and make the run to the checkered flag for the victory. Warren held on for second with Wheeler up to third over McKeithan and Sam Tutwiler placing fifth.

Senior Heavy podium (Photo: CKNA South)

A third straight victory was earned by Owen Lloyd in the Senior Heavy category at the Winter Nationals. Lloyd swept the action on the weekend, beginning with a 42.086 lap to clear the 12 driver field in qualifying. Lloyd led the way in all three heat races before leading 17 of the 18 laps in the Final. Brady Atwood took over the lead coming to the white flag, only to have Lloyd retake the top position, reaching the checkered flag first by 56 thousandths of a second. Ronnie Klys was third over Adriano Yannuzzi and Cody Svoboda.

Junior podium (Photo: CKNA South)

Junior was the third category matched at 34 entries. It was Wyatt Fink that led the way in qualifying, clearing the field by over two tenths with a lap of 41.981. Teghan Schneider won the opening two heat races for the odd group until Hudson Jack Urlin secured the last moto win. Carter Barkis qualified fourth overall and came away with the win in all three heat races for the even group. This put Barkis on the pole position for the main event with Schneider on the outside of the front row. Urlin and Jett Price made up row two. Urlin jumped out to the lead to begin the 18-lap main event. After slipping back to fourth early, Barkis fought back to reclaim the top spot on lap 15. From there, Barkis led the rest of the way to earn the victory, becoming the fifth different winner in the category. Sawyer Chambers fought up to the second spot from 15th, only 85 thousandths short at the line. Carson Benjamin started fifth and finished third ahead of Schneider and Urlin.

Masters podium (Photo: CKNA South)

Ron Klys was able to pull off a second straight double win weekend at the Winter Nationals by taking the top spot on the podium in Masters and Legends. The Legends category featured 17 drivers and led by Tim Hannen in qualifying with a lap of 42.056. Second in the session was Paul Naquin, who went on to win the opening two heats until Klys scored the win in the third moto. It was Naquin that led the way in the Final, only to be run down by Klys late in the race. On the final circuit, Klys was able to work past for the lead and beat out Naquin at the line by two tenths of a second. Eli Yanko was third with Jeff Chalmers and James Perkins completing the podium.

Multiple drivers were in contention for the victory in Masters. Ryan Curtin came away from qualifying with fast time of 42.491, with the top four including Klys, Jamie Bradford and Brad Davis all separated by 72 thousandths. Davis, Klys and then Davis were the winners of the heat races. After leading the opening lap of the Final, Davis slipped back to sixth with Klys at the point. Klys led the rest of the main event, securing his second victory on the day and second straight in the category at the Winter Nationals. Bradford ran second ahead of Curtin with Davis up to fourth over Michael Clark.

Sportsman podium (Photo: CKNA South)

The Sportsman division also welcomed its fifth different winner at the Winter Nationals. Anderson Hemphill began the event by clearing the 14 driver field by only 64 thousandths in qualifying with a 42.104 lap time. Three different drivers won the three heat races, including Beau Stowers, Hemphill, Yousef Adi. Hemphill and Adi swapped the lead in the early portion of the 14-lap Final. As the race progress, Hemphill was able to get away and drive to the victory. Adi crossed the line in second, only 79 thousandths back, but was penalized and classified ninth. Jackson Brewster was moved to second with Stowers in third. Camdon Clay and Mikey Todd completed the top five.

Cadet podium (Photo: CKNA South)

The only other sweep of the weekend came in the Cadet category, featuring 13 drivers. Grant Heckman began his sweep with fast time in qualifying with a 42.117 lap time. Heckman went on to win all three heat races, and then went wire-to-wire in the 12 lap main event, becoming the fourth different winner in the four years of the category at the Winter Nationals. Reuben Greer drove to second ahead of Maddox Nieves. Tom Gagnon was fourth with Matteo Romeo placing fifth.

Kid Kart podium (Photo: CKNA South)

Aubrey Babcock added her name to the list of winners in the Kid Kart division at the CKNA Winter Nationals. Maverick Reddick set the pace in qualifying before William Heckman secured the opening heat win. Babcock took the win in the final two heats before leading every lap of the main event to secure the victory. Heckman was second with Sullivan Baudoin in third. Beckett Boudreaux was fourth with Reddick ending up in the fifth spot.

The next major event for Cup Karts North America is the Spring Nationals, scheduled for March 7-9 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

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