A new playoff format awaits SMART Modified Tour competitors in 2026
By Julian Austin
A new championship playoff system is now in place for the 2026 SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic season. Series officials made the announcement Tuesday after discussions with race teams and fans in the off-season.
The “Highest Five” drivers in regular season points, in addition to a possible bonus driver, will compete in a three-race playoff format to close out the season. During those playoff races, drivers will be awarded points based on finishes and other normal bonus points, which will determine the champion and the remainder of the top five or six in the final season standings.
The SMART Tour playoff opener will be The Rumble in Rougemont on September 19th. If a driver who is sixth to tenth in points happens to win the event, they will be added to the playoff field making it a six playoff field competing for the championship.
Tri-County Speedway in Granite Falls, NC, will host the second playoff race on Saturday, October 3. The season finale will occur on Saturday, October 17, at North Wilkesboro Speedway, also in North Carolina.
I like getting input about the point system from the teams and the fans,” said Chris Williams, Series Director for SMART. “Most people want a system where drivers earn points and this gives it to them. I think the sponsors, as well as the fans, will have plenty of excitement with the three-race SMART Playoff. This style will allow the competitors to earn the championship over a series of three races.
“Also, having the possibility to add another driver, through points earned through the year and a victory in that first playoff race is another exciting aspect. It keeps all of our teams involved. I really liked where we landed, especially with the input we received from teams, sponsors and fans.”
The 2026 season kicks off Saturday, February 28th with the Zach Brewer Memorial at Florence Motor Speedway in Florence South Carolina. Tickets are on sale for that event and as a reminder, all races will be televised once again by Flo Racing.
**The SMART Modified Tour provided content for this press release. **
Luke Baldwin returns to the SMART Modified Tour to chase the three-peat in 2026
By Julian Austin
January 21st, 2026
Press Release from SS Racing
In the last two seasons, Luke Baldwin and Sadler-Stanley Racing have been at the top of the SMART Modified Tour mountain. Some wondered if the quest for the all illusive three peat would go down in 2026. After all, Luke has ran the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and seen modest success. He’s won on the CARS Tour Pro Late Models in limited starts and he made his Craftsman Truck Series Debut last season. Just last week it was announced he would run a twelve race schedule for Team Reaume in the Truck Series.
Sadler-Stanley Racing announced Wednesday that Luke Baldwin will return to the Pace-O-Matic No. 7VA for another season of SMART Modified Tour racing in 2026.
Baldwin will be looking to become only the second driver in the history of the Tour to win three straight championships joining the great Junior Miller who won four in a row from 1997-2000.
Baldwin won four of 13 series events in 2025 to go along with top-10 finishes in all but two races. Baldwin also won twice during the 2024 season, including capturing the $20,000 to win ‘King of the Modifieds’ at South Boston Speedway in its inaugural season as his first career win.
What Luke has accomplished both on and off the track the last two years has been impressive and fun to watch,” Sadler-Stanley Racing co-owner Hermie Sadler, said. “Luke has a great future ahead of him and it will be exciting to watch him race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, along with on the SMART Modified Tour. We are truly excited to have him back in the Pace-O-Matic Modified in 2026 trying to chase some history.”
“Going back to Sadler-Stanley Racing for a chance to win a third consecutive SMART Modified Tour championship - it’s incredible,” Luke Baldwin said. “Hermie and Bill took a chance on me, and it has paid off in many ways. I expect no different in 2026.”
“We are just thrilled that Luke will lead Sadler-Stanley Racing for the 2026 SMART Modified Tour season, and run for this third consecutive championship,” co-owner Bill Stanley said. “He brings excitement and a winning attitude to the track every week, and we can’t wait to get the season started with him behind the wheel of the Pace-O-Matic 7VA.”
The team will continue with a PSR Chassis, partnered with Pace-O-Matic.
Officials with the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic have announced a 14 race schedule for the 2026 which will feature events in three states, a return to a Virginia short track and a debut race at a North Carolina Bull Ring.
"We have a schedule full of big races at some very competitive racetracks,” said Chris Williams, Series Director for SMART. “We’ve had the schedule tentatively completed for a couple of weeks, but we wanted to work with the tracks to ensure we gave them everything they needed to have an outstanding show.”
Shortly after Florida Speedweeks concludes in February, the 2026 SMART Modified season will commence. On Saturday, February 28, the Zack Brewer Memorial will kick off the season at Florence Motor Speedway, near the coast of South Carolina. The very next week, the SMART Mods return for a second-straight year at Anderson Speedway in the Palmetto State on Saturday, March 7.
After a week break, the prestigious King of the Modifieds event returns to South Boston Speedway in Virginia on Saturday, March 21. Tickets are on sale for the third annual event through the track website.
The Tour will remain in the Commonwealth of Virginia for race number four on the season at the state-of-the-art Dominion Raceway in Spotsylvania, between Richmond and D.C, on Saturday, April 4.
Two more races in the Tar Heels State occupy the calendar in April. Hickory Motor Speedway has its traditional event on Saturday, April 11, and Wake County Speedway, in Raleigh, hosts the series on Friday, April 24, for an inaugural event with the SMART Modified Tour.
Jake Crum (99) leads Danny Bohn (25) and Luke Baldwin (7) during last year's September race at Franklin County Raceway.
Two holiday weekend events are next up on the schedule. During Memorial Day weekend, SMART will return for its annual trip to the lightning-fast Franklin County Raceway in Callaway, Virginia, on Friday, May 29. During Independence Day weekend, the SMART Mods make their first of two stops at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, North Carolina, on Saturday, July 4.
Making a return to the schedule in 2026 will be Pulaski Motorsports Park (formerly Motor Mile Speedway) in Fairlawn, Virginia, on Friday, August 7.
The month of September will see the series in action at three distinctively different racetracks on three-consecutive weeks. On Labor Day weekend, the SMART Beach Trip stops at Carteret County Speedway in Swansboro, North Carolina on Saturday, September 5. The following week, on Saturday, September 12, SMART will make its final stop of the season at Caraway Speedway. To wrap up the fast-paced month, the modifieds will race on the highbanks of Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina, on Saturday, September 19.
Fall kicks off with the penultimate race of the season, on October 3, at Tri-County Speedway in Granite Falls, North Carolina. After a week off, the Foothills of North Carolina will host the SMART season finale, on Saturday, October 17, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina. Coastal Plains Speedway will not return to the schedule in 2026 nor will the tour run at Lonesome Pine Raceway though the tour has attempted to run the few years at that facility with different circumstances preventing that from happening.
2026 SMART MODIFIED TOUR SCHEDULE
DATE TRACK LOCATION
February 28 Florence Motor Speedway Timmonsville, SC
March 7 Anderson Motor Speedway Anderson, SC
March 21 South Boston Speedway South Boston, VA
April 4 Dominion Raceway Spotsylvania, VA
April 11 Hickory Motor Speedway Newton, NC
April 24 Wake County Speedway Raleigh, NC
May 29 Franklin County Raceway Callaway, VA
July 4 Caraway Speedway Sophia, NC
August 7 Pulaski Motorsports Park Fairlawn, VA
September 5 Carteret County Speedway Swansboro, NC
September 12 Caraway Speedway Sophia, NC
September 19 Orange County Speedway Rougemont, NC
October 3 Tri-County Speedway Granite Falls, NC
October 17 North Wilkesboro Speedway North Wilkesboro, NC
All SMART races are streamed live on FloRacing, the official streaming broadcast partner of the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic.
This week, drivers and teams will celebrate the 2025 season with the annual SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic banquet on Friday, December 12, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Luke Baldwin captured his second-straight SMART Modified Tour championship.