What happens in Vegas comes home with you … in the form of memories of an awesome good time. That was especially true at the Tire Rack SCCA® Time Attack Challenge season opener – which also played host as the debut of the West Series Championship – at Las Vegas Motor Speedway over the Feb. 21-22, 2026, weekend.
The 63-car event delivered as promised, with two days of flying laps to set best times. And when we say “flying laps,” we mean flying – to the tune of nine new track records during the event.
That’s not to mention the weekend’s superlative awards that celebrated those bringing something extra to the table.
At Speed
Those track records tell a lot of the story on the Vegas outside road course. These weren’t some “no one has ever run in this class before” kind of records.
Brian Peters led the way overall and in Max 1 with his Chevrolet Corvette, turning a best of 1:47.457 on Sunday. Paired with a 1:48.369 on Saturday, Peters set the pace in class and overall.
Though he had the class win locked up, Danny Weller was just 0.613sec behind in second place overall. The Max 2 winner also set a class record in his Chevrolet Corvette with a Sunday lap of 1:48.087. Weller was actually the day one leader before Peters threw down a flyer on Sunday.
That’s not to take anything away from the success of Chris Barti (Ford Mustang, Max 3), Mark Shrivastava (Lotus Elise, Max 5), Kevin Schultz (Toyota Supra, Sport 2), Jonathan Houghton (Honda Civic, Sport 3), Fady Abbasi (BMW M4, Tuner 1), Jonathan Lugod (Subaru BRZ, Tuner 3), or Taylour Wargo (Honda Fit, Tuner 5), all of whom turned class records on the way to victory.
Special shoutout to John Hunter, SCCA’s Manager of National Time Trials and event expert. According to official results (which confirmed internet rumors), Hunter turned laps in the event with absolute “no class” at all. We’re kidding, John – you and the staff put on a great event! (Truth is, Hunter’s “no class” entry was in Tuner 4, where he also set a new track record!)
Super Superlatives
If you’ve been to a Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack Challenge event, you know that winning is fun, but the real challenge is pushing you and yourself to the limit in whatever form that takes. It’s this philosophy that has led the Time Attack Challenge to offer superlative awards, rewarding on- and off-track success.
From Vegas, the recipients were:
- Fastest AWD: Brian Peters (1:47.457)
- Fastest RWD: Danny Weller (1:48.087)
- Fastest FWD: Jonathan Houghton (1:59.606)
- Fastest Time of Day: Brian Peters (1:47.457)
- Time Trials Champion, encouraging participation and promoting the event: Jason Estrada
- Spirit of Time Trials, embracing the spirit of the event: Caleb Schmucker
- Crossover, a participant who often competes in other SCCA disciplines: Kevin Schultz
- Most Improved: James Fitzpatrick (2:16 to a 1:54)
Coming Next
If you missed Vegas, you should feel bad – but it should also motivate you to sign up for the next available Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack Challenge event. Great news for that – the upcoming round is at Eagles Canyon Raceway in north Texas, the same location as this year’s Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack National Championship.
If you want to attend the May 2-3 event at Eagles Canyon, head on over to the event page to reserve your spot and get all the information you need to make your weekend a success.
Photo by Blake Ellis
