Ryan Amonett Claims Street Stock Triumph at Redbud 400

A new era for the Redbud 400 started with an exciting first chapter, as Ryan Amonett scored the victory in the Vore's Welding and Steel Street Stocks 200-lap feature.

Amonett boasted top-three pace for most of the contest. For the first 135 laps, the field chased Josh Poore, who attempted double-duty on Saturday night between the Street Stocks and the Vern's Concrete Late Models. However, Poore fell out of the race, turning over the top spot to Brett Hudson.

Hudson controlled the race from that point until a lap 181 caution. Hudson made contact with Rickie Tharp, II while attempting to lap the No. 33T, with Tharp spinning and Hudson sent to the rear of the field by race control for his involvement in the accident.

With that, Amonett took over the lead. He held off competitors such as Joe Muldoon and James Kirby, III on several late restarts, adding his name to the list of Redbud 400 winners on a wild and treacherous evening.

"It was wild," said Amonett in victory lane. "I don't know how much oil and rear end grease was on the track, but it was awful. The car wouldn't turn in a 40-acre field, but apparently it was better than the guys behind us. That last restart, I didn't need. I needed a green flag run, but we held on. I don't know how close he was to me. I was just driving my ass off there."

It was a challenging weekend for Amonett, starting in open practice on Friday. However, he and his team were able to overcome their issues, find speed in qualifying and set themselves up for a winning race.

The Redbud 400 enters a new format for 2026, featuring 200-lap features for Street Stocks and Late Models. While the race may be different, Amonett knows it was just as difficult to win this race.

"We didn't have the best car yesterday, had problems," Amonett explained. "We didn't find it until before qualifying today. We fixed it, finished P5 with our little motors, started us third row inside, and that's really important here. We just turned it around this weekend."

"Prestigious race. I know a lot of people are going to say it ain't Late Models, it don't matter, it ain't a Redbud. These cars are basically old ASA Late Models on eight-inch tires nowadays. It is what it is, and we got the hardware.

"There's eight to ten cars that could have won this race easily. To beat the hometown favorite guys like Poore and Kirby and to beat Brett Hudson, that's an accomplishment in itself. I'm just lucky I get to wheel this thing."

James Kirby, III had a last-gasp chance to battle for the win with the late cautions. However, after a long, hot night in the cockpit, he was just as happy to get to the finish of the race.

"It was so hot, I was just ready for it to be over, I didn't even care," said Kirby. "The car wasn't outstanding tonight. I was a fourth-place car tonight. With Josh and whatever happened to Brett happened there, got us a couple spots.

"We had to do some changing to the engine and stuff after the 150. It definitely hurt us for this race. Second place is still respectable, so we're happy with it."

Andrew Teepe climbed up to third in the closing laps, in spite of a car that, he believed, got worse as the race went along. He also had to overcome an incident of his own for the podium finish.

"The car definitely went away on me. I got lucky with some cautions. I just had to fight.

"I want to apologize to the 25 car [of Josh Way], man. I mean, he was three laps down, two laps down. I'm sorry I punted you, but I'm racing for position here. It is what it is. It's rough, but we did what we had to do."

Andrew Cook finished fourth, with Muldoon rounding out the top five.

-Photo credit: Koty Geyer

60th CB Fabrication Redbud 400
Street Stock Unofficial Results