GRIDLIFE TrackBattle Crowns Seven Class Champions in 2026
Mike Janssen Wins Second Straight Falken Club SC Championship
Mike Janssen won his second consecutive Falken Club SC championship in 2026, putting together another perfect season in his #156 Honda Civic. Janssen scored 151 points across six events, with his best four counting towards his title, with a perfect 104-point score. Lennon Radcliffe was his closest challenger for much of the year, with the two drivers tied at the top of the standings heading into GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival. Sam Deuling and David Best also remained regular contenders, keeping pressure on season-long. Radcliffe was the only Falken Club SC driver to defeat Janssen all season long, eclipsing him at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, tying Janssen for the points lead.
The championship fight continued at GingerMan Raceway, where Janssen traded the class lead and track record with Radcliffe throughout the weekend. Janssen ultimately came out ahead in Podium Sprint by just over a tenth of a second, with Deuling collecting another podium finish. By the time the series reached Watkins Glen International, Janssen had again found his way to the top of the timing sheets. His 2:24.064 established a new class record, and his Sprint victory extended his advantage over Radcliffe.
At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Janssen finished the year with another record-setting performance. His 1:48.453 reset the Club SC class record before he won Podium Sprint by four tenths of a second, earning his fifth victory of the season. Deuling finished second, followed by Best and Taylour Wargo. Best’s podium result at Laguna Seca vaulted him to third in the seasons after Sam Deuling, but both were more than 20 points behind Janssen, whose dominant performance earned him a second straight title.
Peter Granberg Takes Falken Club TR Title on a Tiebreaker
Peter Granberg won the 2026 Falken Club TR championship after a season-long battle with Jerami Bailey. Granberg’s #511 Subaru BRZ, powered by a Honda K24 engine, faced off against Bailey’s #13 FA24-swapped Scion FR-S at nearly every round. Stan Fayngold won the season opening round in South Carolina, but Bailey responded and won at Road Atlanta before Granberg took his first victory at Midwest Festival in June, in a wild recovery after a mechanical issue in Podium Sprint.
The fight continued at Watkins Glen International, where Granberg and Bailey were joined by Evan McLaren in his Acura Integra. McLaren, the two-time reigning champion, looked fierce, but struggled with mechanical issues during the Podium Sprint - so Granberg capitalized and won over Bailey. Heading into Lime Rock Park, the title was still up for grabs, and the two Toyota-platform cars remained the ones to watch. There, Granberg managed third, while Bailey scored second, both behind Evan McLaren who reset the track record in the front-wheel drive division. Critically, Granberg’s podium guaranteed his championship before he ever made the trip out to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but both he and Bailey were ticketed for the trip out west.
ABS issues for Granberg and an incident at Turn 6 gave Bailey an opportunity to close the gap during the final weekend, and he set a new rear-wheel-drive class record of 1:37.031 in Sunday morning’s final qualifying heat. Granberg answered back in Podium Sprint, posting a 1:38.426 to Bailey’s 1:39.561. The championship was already decided, but Granberg still finished the season by beating his closest rival on track. It is Granberg’s first class championship.
Joshua Halka Wins Street Championship at Watkins Glen
Joshua Halka won the 2026 Street championship after a four-event winning streak put the title out of reach for anywone else by round 4 at Watkins Glen International. Driving the #777, Halka was one of the most consistent front-runners in a class that regularly mixed front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive, and all-wheel-drive machinery. Willem Drees and his KDM Tuners Hyundai Elantra N continued to close the gap, setting front-wheel-drive records at both Carolina Motorsports Park and Road Atlanta, but Halka remained the driver to beat through the opening rounds.
At GingerMan Raceway, Halka defeated returning competitor Brad Moore in his Porsche Cayman to take another Street victory. Drees repeatedly improved the front-wheel-drive benchmarks, while Halka kept collecting the points needed to maintain his lead. By the time the series reached Watkins Glen, the four-event streak had done its job. Halka reset the track record to 2:03.354 and won the Podium Sprint, securing the championship with multiple rounds remaining.
The Street field still had plenty to settle at Laguna Seca. Drees and Luke Lederman led the weekend in a Hyundai Elantra N and Porsche 718 Cayman, respectively, with Lederman taking Podium Sprint by just three tenths of a second. Both drivers reset drivetrain class records, while Michael Callaway made a remarkable recovery after blowing an engine early in the weekend. With help from his team and the Laguna Seca crew, Callaway swapped in an unboosted, unmodified replacement engine and still qualified for the Sprint, where he finished third. Halka had already secured the title, finishing ahead of Drees and Callaway in the final championship standings. After coming up short last year to Andy Holst, the championship for Halka is a welcome addition to his GRIDLIFE career in a dominant four-round sweep.
Luke McGrew Clinches Street GT Championship at Watkins Glen
Luke McGrew dominated Street GT throughout the 2026 season, winning the championship before the series reached its final two rounds. His #717 Corvette Z06 was the car to beat from the opening event at Carolina Motorsports Park, where McGrew set a new class record of 1:36.886 and won over Luie Zendejas and Ryan Mathews in an all-Corvette podium. He continued that form at Road Atlanta and GingerMan Raceway, collecting maximum points at each event and leaving his rivals with little room to catch up.
At GingerMan Raceway, McGrew lowered the Street GT record to 1:33.244 and secured his third consecutive sweep of maximum points. The result put him within reach of an early championship, with another win and record at Watkins Glen enough to clinch the title. McGrew delivered on that opportunity at Summer Apex, setting a new class benchmark of 1:58.058 before winning the Podium Sprint with a 1:59.002. The perfect 104-point weekend secured his championship, making McGrew one of the first drivers to lock up a TrackBattle title in 2026.
Street GT was the only TrackBattle class that saw no records fall at Laguna Seca, but the final Podium Sprint still delivered a close finish. Alex Tanaka’s #918 Toyota GR Supra took the win with a 1:36.074, just ahead of Alex Bernstein’s Corvette at 1:36.301. Felix Huang finished third in his Corvette Z06, only 0.053 seconds behind Bernstein. McGrew was not present for the finale, but his season was already complete. His early championship win capped a run of three consecutive maximum-point weekends and a second year of dominance in Street GT.
Dewey DeWitt Takes Third GRIDLIFE Championship in Street Mod
Dewey DeWitt continued a record run at the front of Street Mod in 2026, winning the championship in his #13 Subaru Impreza, known as Boogeyman. DeWitt entered the season as the reigning champion and immediately set the pace at Carolina Motorsports Park, where he posted a 1:32.310, more than two seconds faster than the previous class record. He followed that up with another victory at Road Atlanta, extending his winning streak and establishing himself as the driver to beat. By the time the series reached GingerMan Raceway, DeWitt had won seven straight events dating back to the previous season.
At Midwest Festival, DeWitt came within fractions of his long-sought sub-1:30 lap, posting a 1:30.226 at GingerMan Raceway. He won the Street Mod class and reset the track record, then carried that pace into Sunday’s Podium Sprint. Graham Gaylord and Dai Yoshihara joined him on an all-Subaru overall podium, extending DeWitt’s streak to eight consecutive event victories and track records. Watkins Glen presented a different challenge when a broken input shaft in his sequential transmission kept him out of the opening heat. The team sourced an OEM six-speed manual gearbox and installed it in time for the weekend’s remaining sessions.
DeWitt returned to the track and set a new Street Mod record of 1:58.357 in Podium Sprint at Watkins Glen, securing his third GRIDLIFE championship. He was originally scheduled to compete at Laguna Seca but ultimately did not make the finale. Isaac Torres took the opportunity to lead the Street Mod field at Laguna, setting a new class record of 1:29.361 before winning Podium Sprint with a 1:30.529. DeWitt had already done the work, however, with another championship added to a record that includes one the longest winning streak in GRIDLIFE TrackBattle history - ten straight events - an unheard of run that led directly two a second consecutive, and third total, Street Mod title.
Adam Slowinski Wins Track Mod With Perfect Points Score
Adam Slowinski won the 2026 Track Mod championship after a season of record-setting pace in his BMW M4 Competition xDrive. New to track driving competition, Slowinski opened the year at Carolina Motorsports Park by resetting the all-wheel-drive Track Mod record to 1:34.772, then continued to set the pace at Road Atlanta. His results quickly established him as the championship favorite, although Chris Boersma, Brad Perkins, and other class regulars continued to push the front of the field. Track Mod had a competitive mix of all-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive, and front-wheel-drive cars, but Slowinski consistently found himself among the fastest.
The biggest setback came at GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival, where a chaotic Podium Sprint cost Slowinski valuable points. He looked poised to add another victory before sliding into the Turn 3 sand trap on his second attempt. Tom O’Gorman’s Corvette ZR1 also went off course later in the session, invalidating his quickest lap, while Chris Smith stayed clean to take the Sprint win. The result gave Slowinski a score he would need to drop from his championship total, but he remained in control of the standings heading toward Watkins Glen and Lime Rock Park.
Slowinski bounced back at Watkins Glen, earning his third victory of the season and setting a new all-wheel-drive record of 1:54.261. By Lime Rock Park, he had secured the championship with a perfect 104-point score across his four counted events. He was absent from Laguna Seca, where Bailey Woods dominated in his B48-powered BMW M3 Coupe, setting a new class record of 1:26.031 and winning the Podium Sprint by nearly seven seconds. Woods took his second consecutive Track Mod win at Laguna, but Slowinski had already clinched the season title with his result at Lime Rock, with a perfect score of 104 points. Despite his dominance, Slowinski felt like there was more time on the table, and remains a fierce competitor and the biggest Track Mod threat for 2027.
Mike Dusold Wins Unlimited Championship After Laguna Seca Showdown
The Unlimited championship wasn’t finalized until the final heat at Laguna Seca, when Mike Dusold Dusold locked down a Podium Sprint appearance and locking out rival Jeremy Lowder. Dusold opened the year with a victory at Road Atlanta in his 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, then won again at Watkins Glen. His absences from the other events left him needing a strong finale, while Ernestas Puzelis and Andrius Bertulis stayed in contention through consistent results in their Corvettes.
At Watkins Glen, Dusold and Allen Patten traded the lead in one of the season’s most anticipated Unlimited battles. Patten’s Louis Gigliotti-built C7 Corvette suffered several cut tires, and the discovery of rod-bearing material in the oil prompted an overnight engine change. Dusold’s Camaro reached 192 miles per hour on the backstretch and posted a 1:43.839, putting him just over four tenths ahead of Patten. At Lime Rock Park, Dusold’s weekend ended early when a transmission failure sidelined the Camaro after a 51.368 lap. Sasha Anis set a new overall track record of 50.333 in his hybrid Nissan 350Z, while the championship standings tightened further ahead of Laguna Seca.
Dusold arrived at Laguna Seca with the title still to be decided and set the early benchmark at 1:24.460. Tanner Foust made an impression in his BBi Autosport-prepared Porsche 993, posting a 1:26.699, while Lief Storer’s 900-horsepower Nissan GT-R remained in the mix. After suffering a high-speed tire failure during the weekend, Dusold rebounded to win Podium Sprint by two seconds over Storer, with Foust narrowly behind in third. The victory secured Dusold the 2026 Unlimited championship, capping a season that began with a win at Road Atlanta and ended with the title decided on the final weekend.
