Tristan McKee Claims Clyde Hart Memorial Pole at New Smyrna

The Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA STARS National Tour qualified for the Clyde Hart Memorial at New Smyrna Speedway on Monday evening, with Tristan McKee setting fast time during the qualifying session.

The 2025 CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion and ARCA Menards Series winner at Watkins Glen International is planning a full-season campaign with the ASA STARS National Tour in 2026, piloting the No. 5 for Wauters Motorsports. That effort begins with a pole position at New Smyrna Speedway, clocking in at 17.734 seconds.

"It was phenomenal," said McKee after his qualifying effort. "We worked on it a lot in practice. We ended up mocking at the end of practice and were not very good. There's kind of an inconsistency with the tires here, so we were hoping we got a good set in qualifying, and obviously, we did. We turned a really good lap.

"Thanks to all the Richie Wauters guys. They brought really fast cars. I'm super thankful for all of them, everyone at Spire, Jeff Dickerson, Gunk, Blaster. It takes a crew to make all this happen."

Dawson Sutton was second-fastest, just 0.002 seconds off McKee's pace at 17.736 seconds. Carson Brown, George Phillips and Kasey Kleyn rounded out the top five.

The top 22 qualifiers locked into Tuesday's field, with Jake Finch taking the final spot by 0.001 seconds over Ty Fredrickson. Drivers not offered provisional positions based on their ASA STARS National Tour Platinum Status or the 2025 series points standings competed in a 20-lap Last Chance Qualifier on Monday evening.

Kole Raz won the Last Chance Qualifier ahead of Max Reaves and Kaden Honeycutt. The top seven finishers transferred from the Last Chance Qualifier to round out the Clyde Hart Memorial field.

The Clyde Hart Memorial is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET at New Smyrna Speedway. The event serves as the kickoff for the ASA STARS National Tour's 2026 season.

-Photo credit: Grady Lundberg

Clyde Hart Memorial Qualifying Results

Last Chance Qualifier Unofficial Results