Hard work and determination paid off for six drivers on Saturday at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, leaving others pondering what could have been. The 2025 INEX Spring Nationals hosted five feature racing rounds across six-day in Nashville at Veterans Motorplex at the Rim in addition to the Fairgrounds. Tennessee natives Michael Crafton and Kevin Rollins captured titles in their divisions, and were joined as Spring Nats champions with Cole Denton, Ben Morabito, Harley Johnson, and Brexton Busch. Some battles were so close at the start, that only a few points separated them ahead of the green flag.
No driver was more consistent in the 2025 edition of INEX’s Spring Nationals than Pro Division and native Tennessean driver, Michael Crafton. Through the first four rounds, he finished second in every single one. Crafton started on pole, as he did in both features on Friday at the Fairgrounds, but this time, he didn’t relinquish. Early pressure from Zach Miller and later championship opponent, Jacob Staten.
Two quick cautions in the opening six laps helped determine Crafton’s championship fate. The first of which Staten lined up behind Crafton. He moved ahead of Miller to take over second but the second caution forced him to line up on the outside when Crafton picked the inside. He was unable to get back down to the bottom lane until he had fallen back to fifth. Crafton stretched his control to a comfortable lead and Staten ultimately finished fourth. The 2025 Pro Division Spring Nationals Championship for Crafton is his third in a row, with the 2024 and 2023 titles coming in the Semi-Pro Division.
Fellow native of Tennessee, Kevin Rollins, suffered issues during qualifying for the Masters Division Saturday. He started 13th and avoided a first corner wreck. Tim Skinner’s Legend Car snapped lap and nose dived into the inside wall. Rollins and others avoided the wreck and smoked their tires. Shawn Parker once again led the field back to green but it was Casey Atwood who led lap one. Atwood was in full control of the race for the first 10 laps of the race, until Wayne Grubb lost control and spun. Grubb avoided the wall but it erased Atwood’s lead.
During the restart, calamity struck in Turn 1 when Rollins bumped into Darrell Stewart, and Matt Hillhouse bumped into Rollins, sending them both spinning. Rollins was able to continue. Atwood maintained control when the race got back underway, with Stewart doing his best to keep Rollins behind him. On Lap 18, Stewart slipped in Turn 2, allowing Rollins by. Three laps later, Rollins had caught Atwood and nudged him just a tick too hard, sending Atwood around. They both went to the rear, gifting the lead to Stewart, who survived three more restarts before crosses the finishing line first. Rollins came home fourth, enough to earn the 2025 Spring Nationals Masters Division championship guitar, his fourth in the last five years.
Entering the final race Saturday, TJ Moon and Spencer Bradshaw were tied up for the championship lead. But lurking behind them was Ben Morabito, only two points back. Saturday was Morabito’s day, spending the entirety of the feature race out front, while Moon and Bradshaw not only battled each other, but others around them. Bumpers were bumped and tires were knocked but neither put themselves in a position to chase down Morabito. The victory secured Morabito his first INEX Spring Nationals Championship. Moon finished second in the race and championship, while Bradshaw finished third in the race and championship.
The Semi-Pro field found it hard to get along at the start and as a result had to start single file. Chase Burgeson was never able to put a large distance between him and second place, but was in command the entire race. JR Allen, Bradley Swift, Cole Denton, and Neal Dulin all played chaser against Burgeson, but none found the right groove to use against him. The caution plagued race ended with Dulin making one final lunge at Burgeson, with their bumpers touching, but it was as if Burgeson’s Legend Car didn’t flinch.
Five top five finishes made Denton the most consistent Semi-Pro driver in Nashville this week, collecting a fifth, a second, and three third-place finishes. Despite not finding victory lane, Denton’s week worth of performances collected enough points to be the Semi-Pro Division champion in 2025. Denton previously won Spring Nationals in 2022 in the Bandolero Bandits Division.
Only five points separated the top three in the Outlaws Division, with the mere advantage of two points going to Harley Johnson over his brother Lincoln, as Rylan Speight sat five points back. Harley Johnson started second, seven positions ahead of Lincoln, and eight ahead of Speight. Harley put up a fight against the hometown driver, Landon Thrasher, even appearing to be making a successful pass until a caution spoiled the move. With Thrasher ahead most of the race, all Harley had to do was keep it straight and ahead of Lincoln and Speight. In the end, neither got close enough to him even to make Harley take a double look in the rearview mirror. Lincoln finished fifth and Rylan eighth. Thrasher captured his fourth Spring Nationals win of the week, but Harley was the one hoisting the Outlaws Championship guitar.
Brexton Busch had built an over six second lead after 14 laps of green flag racing after the Lap 4 restart and before the final caution on Lap 18. He entered the race with points to spare to second place in the championship, but drove hard to earn a fourth Spring Nats win. The exciting battle was the one directly, so to speak, behind him. James Behnke, Gerald White III, Taegan Knowland, Wesley Baumeister and Maverick Bradshaw were all under a blanket, racing side-by-side and at some moments three-wide.
When the dust settled, it was White who came out on top in the battle for second, as Knowland settled for third. The three-lap dash to the finish didn’t slow Busch down, securing win number four and the Bandits Division championship guitar. He previously won the Bandits Division championship at Winter Nationals in February.
The non-championship Chargers Division was slow to start, with Jagger Parker leading teammate Cole Gudmestad. On Lap 5, the intense racing led to a collision. Gudmestad looked to stuff it into Turn 1, but Parker pinched him low. Wheels touched and Parker spun, resulting in both going to the rear. That put control of the race into Cullen O’Connor’s hands. He led through a series of cautions and restart until Lap 18. Bryson Carlbert was faster in his Legend Car and dove into Turn 1. O’Connor gave him room and Carlbert passed him, settling for second place. It was Carlbert’s third Chargers win of the week.
All week in Nashville, it had been a battle between Jase Riedner and Jacob Hassey in the non-championship Beginner Bandolero Division. Three out of the four feature races, Riedner was the one taking home the checkered flag. But on Saturday night, it was Hassey’s turn. He finally secured the lead and didn’t let it go after making a well-timed pass during the race’s final restart with four laps to go, holding off a final charge from Riedner in the final set of corners.
Capturing the MPI Up on the Wheel Awards for the 2025 INEX Spring Nationals in their respective divisions were Oliver Cordell (Pro), Cameron White (Semi-Pro), Giles Martin (Masters), James Faulkner (Young Lions), Grayson Price (Outlaws), and Wesley Baumeister (Bandits).
All feature racing from Veterans Motorplex at the Rim and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is available for replay on USLegendCars.TV. The next major Legend Car and Bandolero series will be Thursday Thunder from Atlanta Motor Speedway, beginning on June 5 and the Cook Out Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway, June 9 and 10. INEX’s championship national events will be held in September and October, beginning with the Bandolero Nationals at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Sep. 12-13), followed by Road Course World Finals at Dominion Raceway (Sep. 26-28). In October, Nodak Speedway hosts the Legend Car Dirt Nationals (Oct. 9-11) and The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the site for Legend Car Asphalt Nationals (Oct. 23-25).
FINAL 2025 INEX SPRING NATIONALS POINT STANDINGS
RESULTS
PRO DIVISION
Round 5: (25 Laps): 1. 9-Michael Crafton[1]; 2. 7-Zach Miller[3]; 3. 4-Ryan Zima[5]; 4. 39-Jacob Staten[2]; 5. 24-Joel Smith[4]; 6. 17-Oliver Cordell[6]; 7. 89-Dylan Fetcho[7]; 8. 66-Robby Taylor[8]
SEMI-PRO DIVISION
Round 5 (25 Laps): 1. 22C-Chase Burgeson[1]; 2. 79-Neal Dulin[4]; 3. 46-Nicholas Denton[2]; 4. 85-Bradley Swift[5]; 5. 51-JR Allen[3]; 6. 81-Hunter Jordan[6]; 7. 9X-Kaden Bradshaw[7]; 8. 34-Trent Dillard[8]; 9. 60-Dylan Faulkner[10]; 10. 0-Jerrod Holle[17]; 11. 38-Galen Clark[13]; 12. 5X-Jesse Martinez[11]; 13. 19-Maddox Hooper[12]; 14. 40-Dillon Thomas[16]; 15. 21-Mitch Wright[14]; 16. 25-Nate Morris[21]; 17. 38W-Cameron White[22]; 18. 94-Jhett Johnson[9]; 19. 73-Zachary Honaker[23]; 20. 2-Jack Gerzabek[19]; 21. 30-Joey Przybylinski[24]; 22. (DNF) 26-JT Poole[15]; 23. (DNF) 48-Bradley Weber[18]; 24. (DNF) 27-Garrett Dies[20]
Round 5 B MAIN (12 Laps): 1. 25-Nate Morris[5]; 2. 38W-Cameron White[1]; 3. 73-Zachary Honaker[4]; 4. 30-Joey Przybylinski[7]; 5. 2D-Van Drugmand[3]; 6. 15-Alison Johnson[2]; 7. 59-Cory Adams[8]; 8. 53-Zachariah Brady[9]; 9. (DNS) 68-Aidan Potter; 10. (DNS) 24-Ayden Christensen; 11. (DNS) 9-Abi Johnson
MASTERS DIVISION
Round 5 (25 Laps): 1. 03-Darrell Stewart[3]; 2. 31-Giles Martin[14]; 3. 20-Shawn Parker[1]; 4. 93-Kevin Rollins[13]; 5. 14-Casey Atwood[2]; 6. 4-Wayne Grubb[4]; 7. 80-Art Hahn[6]; 8. 36-Paul Jones[11]; 9. 66-Ed Bray[8]; 10. 45-Mike Curran[12]; 11. 76-Phil Jones[10]; 12. (DNF) 51-Matt Hillhouse[5]; 13. (DNF) 56-Chris Jones[9]; 14. (DNF) 15-Tim Skinner Jr[7]; 15. (DNS) 24-Greg Gresham
Qualifying: 1. 20-Shawn Parker, 00:15.941[13]; 2. 14-Casey Atwood, 00:15.967[6]; 3. 03-Darrell Stewart, 00:16.003[5]; 4. 4-Wayne Grubb, 00:16.008[7]; 5. 51-Matt Hillhouse, 00:16.170[9]; 6. 80-Art Hahn, 00:16.177[4]; 7. 15-Tim Skinner Jr, 00:16.179[8]; 8. 66-Ed Bray, 00:16.307[15]; 9. 56-Chris Jones, 00:16.369[3]; 10. 76-Phil Jones, 00:16.569[10]; 11. 36-Paul Jones, 00:16.589[11]; 12. 45-Mike Curran, 00:16.714[1]; 13. 93-Kevin Rollins, 00:20.414[14]; 14. (DQ) 31-Giles Martin, 00:16.162[2]; 15. 24-Greg Gresham[12]
YOUNG LIONS DIVISION
Round 5 (25 Laps): 1. 17-Ben Morabito[1]; 2. 9-TJ Moon[2]; 3. 99-Spencer Bradshaw[3]; 4. 15J-Case James[4]; 5. 35X-Max Olmsted II[6]; 6. 62-Dylan Bongiovanni[10]; 7. 55R-Mardy Roberts III[7]; 8. 80-Bryson Nichols[12]; 9. 33-Ayden Oliver[14]; 10. 8-Jayden Johnson[11]; 11. 24-Colt Johnson[8]; 12. 55-Landon Thrasher[13]; 13. 07-Keeton Harris[17]; 14. 117-Nathan Williams[5]; 15. 35-Owen Zacharias[15]; 16. 11-Carter Stein[20]; 17. (DNF) 10-Alex Pate[16]; 18. (DNF) 12-Colton Hale[9]; 19. (DNF) 17P-Josiah Phillips[19]; 20. (DNF) 007-James Faulkner[18]
Qualifying: 1. 17-Ben Morabito, 00:15.612[19]; 2. 9-TJ Moon, 00:15.624[14]; 3. 99-Spencer Bradshaw, 00:15.764[22]; 4. 15J-Case James, 00:15.800[18]; 5. 117-Nathan Williams, 00:15.808[9]; 6. 35X-Max Olmsted II, 00:15.814[15]; 7. 55R-Mardy Roberts III, 00:15.818[6]; 8. 24-Colt Johnson, 00:15.833[21]; 9. 12-Colton Hale, 00:15.839[2]; 10. 62-Dylan Bongiovanni, 00:15.897[10]; 11. 8-Jayden Johnson, 00:15.917[17]; 12. 80-Bryson Nichols, 00:15.918[12]; 13. 55-Landon Thrasher, 00:15.931[3]; 14. 33-Ayden Oliver, 00:16.020[4]; 15. 35-Owen Zacharias, 00:16.037[13]; 16. 10-Alex Pate, 00:16.046[1]; 17. 07-Keeton Harris, 00:16.234[11]; 18. 007-James Faulkner, 00:16.255[8]; 19. 17P-Josiah Phillips, 00:16.380[7]; 20. 11-Carter Stein, 00:16.435[20]; 21. (DNS) T2-Camden Truett; 22. (DNS) 15-Rhylee Hutchins
CHARGERS DIVISION
Round 5 (20 Laps): 1. 11-Bryson Carlbert[5]; 2. 33-Cullen O'Connor[3]; 3. 6-Jagger Parker[1]; 4. 13-Ben Mack[7]; 5. 10-Nick Robertson[6]; 6. 12-Nash Poynter[9]; 7. 1-Logan Anderson[10]; 8. 87-Chloe Mazzagatti[8]; 9. 95-Hunter Taylor[11]; 10. 13L-Keatin Lyons[15]; 11. 99-Cole Gudmestad[2]; 12. (DNF) 37C-Christopher Pimpinella[13]; 13. (DNF) 80-Paityn Feyen[4]; 14. (DNF) 27-Cash Lecroy[12]; 15. (DNF) 8-Addison Martinez[14]; 16. (DNS) 75-Allee Johnson
Qualifying: 1. 6-Jagger Parker, 00:15.867[7]; 2. 99-Cole Gudmestad, 00:15.935[2]; 3. 33-Cullen O'Connor, 00:15.958[3]; 4. 80-Paityn Feyen, 00:16.033[16]; 5. 11-Bryson Carlbert, 00:16.047[14]; 6. 10-Nick Robertson, 00:16.071[10]; 7. 13-Ben Mack, 00:16.088[4]; 8. 87-Chloe Mazzagatti, 00:16.118[9]; 9. 12-Nash Poynter, 00:16.165[8]; 10. 1-Logan Anderson, 00:16.190[15]; 11. 95-Hunter Taylor, 00:16.366[6]; 12. 27-Cash Lecroy, 00:16.510[11]; 13. 37C-Christopher Pimpinella, 00:16.541[5]; 14. 8-Addison Martinez, 00:16.578[13]; 15. 13L-Keatin Lyons, 00:16.839[12]; 16. 75-Allee Johnson[1]
OUTLAWS DIVISION
Round 5 (20 Laps): 1. 55-Landon Thrasher[1]; 2. 7-Harley Johnson[2]; 3. 9S-Carson Sherman[4]; 4. 5-Corbin Cannon[5]; 5. 000-Lincoln Johnson[9]; 6. 9-Jack Smith[11]; 7. 45-Jordan Bauer[3]; 8. 45-Rylan Speight[6]; 9. 37-Carson Cauble[7]; 10. 22-Bentley Thompson[10]; 11. 51-Grayson Price[13]; 12. 24-Blake Michael[14]; 13. (DNF) 24S-Austin Seburn[15]; 14. (DNF) 21-Mason Roberts[8]; 15. (DNF) 99-Matthew Leslie Kubat[16]; 16. (DNF) 12-Mya Eatherly[12]; 17. (DNF) 32-Michael Barry[17]
Qualifying: 1. 55-Landon Thrasher, 00:16.977[4]; 2. 7-Harley Johnson, 00:17.021[5]; 3. 45-Jordan Bauer, 00:17.199[17]; 4. 9S-Carson Sherman, 00:17.208[9]; 5. 5-Corbin Cannon, 00:17.236[15]; 6. 45-Rylan Speight, 00:17.249[3]; 7. 37-Carson Cauble, 00:17.284[16]; 8. 21-Mason Roberts, 00:17.325[2]; 9. 000-Lincoln Johnson, 00:17.340[6]; 10. 22-Bentley Thompson, 00:17.391[8]; 11. 9-Jack Smith, 00:17.502[12]; 12. 12-Mya Eatherly, 00:17.545[14]; 13. 51-Grayson Price, 00:17.797[1]; 14. 24-Blake Michael, 00:18.021[10]; 15. 24S-Austin Seburn, 00:18.361[13]; 16. 99-Matthew Leslie Kubat, 00:25.032[7]; 17. 32-Michael Barry[11]
BANDITS DIVISION
Round 5 (20 Laps): 1. 18B-Brexton Busch[1]; 2. 38-Gerald White III[5]; 3. 17-Taegan Knowland[4]; 4. 1J-James Behnke[2]; 5. 4-Wesley Baumeister[3]; 6. 9-Maverick Bradshaw[6]; 7. 7-Casen Tate[10]; 8. 5-Christopher Flynn[8]; 9. 16-Maci Prowell[13]; 10. 26-Axel House[11]; 11. 5P-Tryson Pinion[9]; 12. 5S-Steven Scalzo[12]; 13. 1-Isaac Brown[7]
Qualifying: 1. 18B-Brexton Busch, 00:17.120[10]; 2. 1J-James Behnke, 00:17.208[5]; 3. 4-Wesley Baumeister, 00:17.217[13]; 4. 17-Taegan Knowland, 00:17.269[9]; 5. 38-Gerald White III, 00:17.293[7]; 6. 9-Maverick Bradshaw, 00:17.429[1]; 7. 1-Isaac Brown, 00:17.429[6]; 8. 5-Christopher Flynn, 00:17.539[8]; 9. 5P-Tryson Pinion, 00:17.606[4]; 10. 7-Casen Tate, 00:17.655[3]; 11. 26-Axel House, 00:17.730[2]; 12. 5S-Steven Scalzo, 00:17.843[11]; 13. 16-Maci Prowell, 00:17.860[12]
BEGINNER BANDOLERO DIVISION
Round 5 (15 Laps): 1. 48-Jacob Hassey[2]; 2. 63-Jase Riedner[1]; 3. 6-Wyatt Grizzard[4]; 4. 211-Elliott Klein[6]; 5. 10-Owen Price[7]; 6. (DNF) 18-Michael Mazzagatti[5]; 7. (DNF) 73-Jagger Williams[8]; 8. (DNF) 0-Jaxson Riley[3]; 9. (DNS) 16-Cooper Ashburn
Qualifying: 1. 63-Jase Riedner, 00:17.676[4]; 2. 48-Jacob Hassey, 00:17.695[6]; 3. 0-Jaxson Riley, 00:17.915[3]; 4. 6-Wyatt Grizzard, 00:18.009[2]; 5. 18-Michael Mazzagatti, 00:18.087[9]; 6. 211-Elliott Klein, 00:18.114[1]; 7. 10-Owen Price, 00:18.259[8]; 8. 73-Jagger Williams, 00:18.803[5]; 9. 16-Cooper Ashburn[7]