Matt Covington wants to end the wait for his first American Sprint Car Series title next month.
The Glenpool, OK veteran has felt the highs and lows of points racing, but he has five more races ahead to finish the year at the top of the standings.
Heading into a two-track weekend at Moberly Motorsports Park (Sept. 12) and Eagle Raceway (Sept. 13), Covington will use his experience to get a fast start against title adversaries Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Seth Bergman and try to earn a chance at his third win of the season.
“Sam is probably going to unload his car at Moberly really fast,” Covington said. “He seems to roll good on those style of tracks, and we’re going to have to match him there and not let him gain any more points on us.
“I think Eagle gives us a better opportunity because of the car count, and it’s a tighter racetrack. Last year, we didn’t come out of the gates swinging. We provisionaled into the Feature, and we wound up being Hard Charger. We’re confident that we can drive the track pretty well, we’re going to adjust a couple things throughout the night.”
Covington’s goal throughout 2026 has been to win five races to have a shot at the championship. While he’s scored only two wins at Central Arizona Speedway and Batesville Speedway, he’s made up for it with consistent top-five and podium finishes.
Through 23 races, he’s earned the most Heat Race wins (nine), is tied with Hafertepe in Honest Abe Roofing Dash starts (15), and sits second in Quick Time Awards (four) and Series podiums (11). Covington has finished outside the top five once in all full points-paying races since April.
“Our team, for whatever reason, we’ve always been good at being consistent,” Covington said. “It’s nothing new. We go on these top five runs, and we’ve done it over and over again in years past. I wanted to put emphasis on the five-win goal because we’ve done the consistency thing and haven’t won the championship.
“It takes more than just being consistent. We’ve got to be able to squeak out those wins, and we’ve missed some good opportunities. Minnesota was a missed opportunity where we missed the car setup that night, made the wrong decisions, and we paid for it with a slow car. We got to be able to win. I think in order to win the championship, you got to win more than two (races).”
Throughout the last three seasons of the ASCS National Tour, Covington has had the help of Steven Lane turning the wrenches on the No. 95 Reece Construction Triple X Chassis. The communication and trust between the two have made for a fruitful 2026 season.
“Steven is great to have with us,” Covington said. “He don’t get riled up about much of anything. He’s pretty good at keeping his head down and getting the work done. Without him, we wouldn’t be in the spot we’re in right now. He’s been a great asset; he keeps his focus, and the points don’t get him started up. He’s been doing this for the last three years, so everything is like clockwork to him. I’m sure he wants the championship as bad as I do, but it ain’t affecting his mindset or process because he’s a hard-working guy.”
The run toward the championship has had plenty of tense moments among the top three this season. Though it has the recipe to be a distraction, Covington has compartmentalized the night-to-night happenings to look at everything from a big-picture outlook.
“Looking back at it now, with how close we are in points, literally every position matters,” Covington said. “I don’t know if being close or far back could affect the way I drive the car. I have a certain mentality when we show up to race, and that stays consistent with whatever else is going on.
“Maybe that’s part of why our team is consistent. We’re not getting riled up over this or that; we just have our heads down and going to work. We just can’t afford another bad night. It’s that close that anything can change, so we’re all heads down, hopefully keep the speed we found in Montana, and maybe turn some of these podium runs into wins so we can have a chance to edge these guys out in the end.”
Covington will unload his Sprint Car for the ASCS National Tour visit to Moberly on Saturday, Sept. 12, and Eagle for the Stewart Alley Memorial on Sunday, Sept. 13.
Looking for info about Moberly? CLICK HERE
Looking for info about Eagle? CLICK HERE
Where can you watch every lap of the American Sprint Car Series? Live on DIRTVision.
