The weekend at Eagles Canyon Raceway began with a mix of drama and dominant performances in Camaro-Mustang Challenge.
Michael Mosty and Sam Crumpacker set the pace early in race one, but electrical gremlins sidelined both front-runners midway through the session. Mosty described a strange cutout that forced him onto the access road.
“It felt like I just had a weird electrical cutout for probably like 1 to 2 seconds and then the car came right back,” Mosty said. “I just pulled off, not wanting to risk any issues.”
With the heavy hitters out, Jay Jordan capitalized on the opportunity, piloting the Team Jordan Ford Mustang to a first-place finish with a best lap of 2:11.359. He was followed by Jonathan Valdez and Bryan Leinart. Steven Gernon, who had struggled earlier in the day after a fire in an out-of-class car disrupted qualifying schedules, managed to climb from the back of the pack to finish fourth, and was later promoted to third in post-race standings.
“I managed to end up in fourth place starting in the back,” Gernon said. “Just got lucky that the two fast guys broke. It was a very strange turn of results for the start of the day.”
Saturday, Race Two
Race Two utilized an inverted grid, a driver-favorite format in the NASA Texas Region. “The guys that are generally in the back get to experience being up front and the guys that usually win have to work harder to come from the back,” Todd Spickard noted.
The race was shortened to just three laps due to a scary incident involving David Francis, whose fourth-generation Camaro caught fire. “His whole left rear wheel well and wheel were just one big rolling fire and fireballs were shooting off of it,” Spickard said. Francis acted quickly, pulling over near a flag station where corner workers extinguished the blaze.
Michael Mosty managed to knife through the field to take the win, finishing a mere 0.376 seconds ahead of Crumpacker. “Right when we started, Sam and I were kind of making our way through,” Mosty said. “Probably if it had been a longer race than just the three laps, he would have probably gotten me.”
Sunday, Race Three
Sunday morning brought clearer skies but cooler tires. The inverted start again played a major role, with Jerry Jordan, who was sharing the car with son Jay, leading the field early. “I led Michael for three laps,” Jordan joked, noting the friendly rivalry between the two that spans nearly 17 years.
VIDEO
Ride along on the front bumper with Sam Crumpacker in race three at Eagles Canyon Raceway.
Mosty eventually found his way to the front for his second win of the weekend, holding off a charging Crumpacker by less than .200 seconds. The battle for the podium was intensified by varying tire strategies. Gernon, who finished third, noted that Mosty was running on older rubber to save his best sets for the final points race.
“The only reason I think we were close is because the tires,” Gernon said. “He chose old tires, we chose new tires, and that kept us together.”
Sunday, Race Four
The finale was a contingency race, with the grid set by points from the previous three sprints. Mosty, starting from the pole, showed why he is a perennial threat, gapping the field early and maintaining a 3-second lead to sweep the Sunday sessions.
Behind him, the battle for second between Crumpacker and Gernon was the highlight of the afternoon. The two were separated by less than a second for nearly 11 laps. Meanwhile, other drivers struggled as their tires reached the end of their competitive life. Jay Jordan, back in the Team Jordan car, found himself sliding as the heat cycles took their toll.
“Jay started P2 and had no chance with 12- or 13-heat-cycle tires,” Jerry Jordan said. “You turn the wheel and it doesn’t do anything. It was just like in the rain.”
Despite the mechanical hurdles, including Nikolas Stokes suffering a catastrophic brake caliper failure that blew out a wheel, the CMC field finished the weekend with zero contact between competitors, a testament to the high level of trust in the paddock.
Conclusion
Michael Mosty emerged as the weekend’s big winner, securing three out of four victories, while Jay Jordan proved that the Team Jordan Mustang is a force to be reckoned with by taking the Saturday opener. As the NASA Texas Region looks toward the next event, the rivalry between the Mustangs of Mosty and Crumpacker and the Camaros of Gernon and Leinart remains as tight as ever. With tire management becoming the X factor for the 2026 season, the championship remains wide open for those who can find the balance of grit and finesse.
