The 2026 Mustang Challenge season enters the homestretch, making its first of two final stops this weekend at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), with two class championships still up for grabs.
The 15-car field entering the weekend features eight entries in the Dark Horse (DH) category and seven in the Dark Horse Legends (DHL) class.
Cole Loftsgard heads to VIR atop the DH standings with 2,750 points in the No. 43 Round 3 Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R after scoring a pair of victories two months ago at Watkins Glen. Loftsgard’s primary championship challenger has been TechSport Racing’s Devin Anderson, who pilots the No. 22 Mustang Dark Horse R and trails Loftsgard by 120 points. Last time out, Anderson secured his seventh consecutive podium and remains firmly in contention for the DH title.
A pair of Wheelhouse Motorsports entries round out the top four in the standings, with Sandy Satullo sitting third in the No. 7 Dark Horse R and Will Lucas fourth in the No. 34 Dark Horse R. Tate Pritt sits fifth and is the last remaining driver with more than 2,000 points this season, piloting the No. 98 Mustang Dark Horse R for Automatic Racing.
In the DHL category, Tom Tait continues to lead the championship with 2,550 points in the No. 8 Wheelhouse Motorsports Dark Horse R. Like Loftsgard and Anderson, Tait’s primary championship challenger has been Chris Clarke, who trails Tait by 130 points in the No. 9 Paley Motorsport with AAG Racing Dark Horse R.
Other drivers looking to challenge Tait for the DHL championship include Paolo Salvatorre, who sits third while driving the No. 84 Dark Horse R for his self-owned Torre Racing program. Joseph Diedrichs sits fourth in the title fight aboard the No. 63 Wheelhouse Motorsports Dark Horse R, while Nicholas Smither holds fifth in the standings with his self-owned effort in the No. 58 Dark Horse R.
This weekend’s pair of Mustang Challenge races kicks off Saturday, August 22, with Race No. 1 at 9:25 a.m. ET, followed by the weekend finale, Race No. 2, on Sunday, August 23, at 9:45 a.m. ET. Both races will be broadcast live on Peacock, IMSA.tv and IMSA’s official YouTube channel.
