Hunger Driving Macenko into 2026 Season

Anderson, Indiana (February 16, 2026): For Jackson Macenko and the No. 24 Brad Hayes Racing team, last season wasn’t about a lack of speed. It was about refining the moments that matter most.

As the 2026 yourBIGplans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour season approaches, Macenko’s mindset is clear: learn from frustration, build on proven speed, and stay locked in when it counts.

“The biggest thing I look back on is trying to keep myself mentally focused and calm in frustrating moments,” Macenko said. “I’m so hyper-competitive that sometimes that can let me boil over a little bit.”

Two races immediately stand out in his reflection.

Macenko in the pack of the pack at Owosso after spinning early in the race - Rick Kimball Photo

At the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway, pit stop issues — including trouble removing the right front tire and a push truck delay created mounting frustration. While he never lost sight of the race, Macenko admits he wasn’t as mentally sharp as he needed to be during that stretch. Despite the setbacks, he still recorded an impressive fifth-place finish in one of pavement sprint car racing’s most grueling events.

At Owosso Speedway, early struggles in practice led him to overdrive in qualifying, resulting in a mid-pack starting position that made the night more difficult than it needed to be.

“I tried to overcompensate,” he said. “It just wasn’t what we needed at that time.”

The lesson heading into 2026 is simple but powerful: remain calm, remain focused, and adopt a “next lap, next corner” mentality instead of dwelling on what just happened.

Despite those hard-learned moments, Macenko didn’t feel the need to overhaul his offseason approach. Physically and fundamentally, he believes the foundation is already in place  and the results back that up.

Last season, Macenko recorded four top-five finishes and seven top-10 results across the nine-race schedule. His best finish came at Anderson Speedway during the Glen Niebel Classic in the spring, where he led 41 laps and finished second, proving he has the speed to contend for victories against the Tour’s elite.

“We put ourselves in position,” he said. “There were a few things to clean up, but we had opportunities to win at Salem and at the Little 500. We did everything in our power last year, now it’s about capitalizing.”

Still, what excites Macenko most about 2026 isn’t what went wrong, but what went right.

He points to the overall schedule and the team’s ability to show speed at every stop last season. At Salem Speedway, they were in contention for the win. At Winchester Speedway, he ran among the leaders before a flat tire derailed the effort. Even at Owosso, after qualifying 12th and spinning mid-race, he charged back through the field in a tightly packed race.

Jackson Macneko (Left) on the front stretch after finishing second at Anderson Speedway. Also pictured Dakoda Armstrong (Center) and Colton Bettis (Right) - Jack Kessler Photo

“Knowing we can compete anywhere right now, that’s what excites me,” he said. “We’re going to have chances to win.”

Macenko’s path to this point has been different from many of his competitors. A first-generation racer, he didn’t grow up in a racing family. He began in karting before truly cutting his teeth in the Kenyon Midget Series, where he developed the racecraft and discipline that now defines his pavement sprint car approach.

The 2026 season will mark his fourth consecutive full-time campaign on the Tour and with each year, confidence has grown.

While others may feel pressure defending championships or crown jewel victories, Macenko sees his position differently.

“There’s always pressure,” he said. “But we’re not defending anything. We’re trying to take it.”

For fans who may be watching him for the first time in 2026, Macenko describes his driving style as “calculated, but 100 percent.”

He thinks laps ahead. In endurance races like the Little 500, he thinks pit cycles ahead. That patience doesn’t mean hesitation, it means strategy.

“I don’t leave anything out on the track,” he said. “When I pull into the pits, I’m gassed because I gave it everything.”

Competing on the yourBIGplans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour demands that level of precision. With a field stacked with elite talent night after night, the margin between third and eighth can be razor thin.

“You’ve got to be almost inch-perfect every lap,” Macenko said. “If you make a mistake, those guys are right there to jump on you.”

So what defines his mindset heading into 2026?

“Hunger.”

And if everything clicks?

“That first win,” he said. “It almost feels like once we break through, it could snowball. I think fans can expect to see us on the podium consistently and hopefully on the top step lifting trophies.”

With speed proven, lessons learned, and hunger fueling the push forward, Jackson Macenko enters 2026 not chasing validation, but ready to seize opportunity.