Ryan Strikes First: Tim Ryan Wins 2026 Opener at Volusia

Tim Ryan took out Sim Wrap Market Quicktime during Qualifying which saw less than a tenth of a second covering the Top 10, and this would be Tim’s 4th consecutive Quicktime at Volusia through ODSE and now ASRG history.

The Five Mono Creative Heat Races were action packed, and it kicked off with Heat 1, Tim Ryan and American Aiden Forster exchanging blows to take out the first heat race win of the year, which allowed Ethan Pholi to sneak by after starting 5th to take that victory. Matthew Gowans, Joel Berkley, Zach Rattray-White and Clayton Davies won the remaining four heat races.

Now, Alphabet Soup time, which started off with the Wimmera Dry Cleaners C-Main, in which Rusty O’Neill would take victory and transferring to the back of the B-Main along with Bradley Minshull, Aston Hurley and Brenton Hobson.

The McSlide Race B-Main, to determine the final four positions for the 35 Lap A-Main was wild, with a lot of hard luck stories and plenty of big moves. Blake Walsh took the win in the B-Main, making it to the big show along with Thomas Mitchell, John Schultz and Nik Ryan.

For the A-Main, it would be Clayton Davies and rookie Ethan Pholi sharing the front row for all the spoils. Davies would jump away to an early lead, but all eyes were on Tim Ryan, who started position 11, moved all the way to third in the early stages before the first and only caution of the race on Lap 18 after contact with Blake Walsh and Joel Berkley, ending Berkley’s race.

It didn't take long for Tim Ryan to make his move, taking the lead on Lap 20 and never faltering, taking a commanding Round 1 Victory in a statement drive. American Tanner Pettit moved forward 10 positions after starting 12th to finish 2nd, with Clayton Davies rounding out the podium at the end of a fantastic race.

We spoke to Feature Winner Tim Ryan post race to get his thoughts after a very satisfying win:

"It is incredibly satisfying to come away with a win against such a high-quality field, especially after fighting my way through the pack from outside the top ten. I actually came into the night with fairly low expectations because I've been testing a new wheelbase design, and since I wasn't fully comfortable with the new equipment yet, standing on the top step feels even more rewarding."

The start of the new era was a huge success, and drivers are now all focussed on Round 2 at Husets Speedway for the McSlide Race South Dakota Brawl on April 8th

- Ends Release