10/03/2026
Beckham Malone Claims the Crown at Carolina in Series Debut
Gastonia, NC — October 2, 2026 — Fourteen-year-old Beckham Malone of Rock Hill, South Carolina, made his Carolina Sprint Tour presented by GSR Chassis debut Friday night at Carolina Speedway for the “King of the Carolinas” event.
It went about as well as a debut possibly could.
By the end of the night, Malone stood in victory lane with the checkered flag and the crown after scoring his first career Carolina Sprint Tour victory.
Josh Shantz of Salisbury, North Carolina, finished second after leading five laps. Caleb Scarborough of Concord, North Carolina, crossed the line third. Tyler Orzechowski of Jacksonville, Florida, earned a career-best series finish in fourth, while George Loux of Maiden, North Carolina, rounded out the top five and officially secured the 2026 K-Town Pub & Pizza Mini Series championship.
Orzechowski and Coby Adams of Mooresville, North Carolina, led the field to green for the feature. Adams jumped out front at the start and paced the opening three laps before his car stalled in Turn 1 on Lap 4, bringing his night to an early end.
On the restart, Shantz inherited the lead with Malone close behind.
The battle for the top spot came to a head on Lap 9 when Malone made a move underneath Shantz entering Turns 3 and 4. The two drivers made contact while battling for the position, with Malone emerging as the new leader.
From there, there was no looking back.
Malone set the pace for the final 16 laps to capture his first career Carolina Sprint Tour victory in his first series start. The win was also the first Carolina Sprint Tour victory for Carber Racing.
Beckham Malone Racing entered the weekend fresh off a 10th-place finish in the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series standings before trading the fenders of a Late Model for the wings of a Sprint Car and immediately finding victory lane.
Earlier in the evening, Coby Adams set the pace in Radical Race Gear Hot Laps with a lap of 15.223 seconds. Josh Shantz and George Loux picked up the victories in heat race action.
Feature Results
1. 23 — Beckham Malone (3)
2. 18 — Josh Shantz (4)
3. 43 — Caleb Scarborough (5)
4. 38 — Tyler Orzechowski (1)
5. 48G — George Loux (6)
6. 17 — Tanner Berryhill (9)
7. 18T — Taelynne Roberts (7)
8. 11B — Brandon Hughes (11) — 1 lap down
9. 19W — Jackson Wellman (8) — 3 laps down
10. 94 — Matthew Wall (10) — 17 laps down
11. 97 — Evan Garvy (12) — 18 laps down
12. 61A — Coby Adams (2) — 22 laps down
The Carolina Sprint Tour would like to thank everyone who made the 2026 season possible. None of it could happen without the dedication of our drivers, crew members, officials, sponsors and, most importantly, the fans who continue to support the series.
Stay tuned this week for information regarding our annual Carolina Sprint Tour banquet, coming up next month!
Written by Evan McCrory — Dunewich Media
Photo by Steve Moore Photos
