Henderson Claws Back to the Top at Dirt City While Hemmer Finally Breaks Through

Round nine of Champ Off-Road's 2026 season delivered a statement PRO4 win for Jimmy Henderson and a long-awaited first victory for teenager Avery Hemmer at Dirt City Motorplex.

Henderson finds his groove again at a tricky track

Champ Off-Road's short course circuit rolled into Dirt City Motorplex in Lena, Wisconsin, for round nine of the 2026 season, and the technical layout lived up to its reputation for punishing the smallest mistakes. Jimmy Henderson opened the year with three straight PRO4 wins, then went cold for three rounds and watched CJ Greaves take over the points lead. At Dirt City, that slide stopped.

Adrian Cenni set the early pace, but Henderson worked his way past on lap nine and never let Greaves close the gap again, taking his fourth PRO4 win of the season. Greaves still salvaged second, stretching his own podium streak to five straight races since he returned to competition, while Johnny Greaves rounded out the box with his fifth podium of the year. The result tightens what had turned into a runaway points battle back into something worth watching down the stretch.

Winner cashes in on his home crowd

PRO2 brought its own storyline as defending series champion Keegan Kincaid returned to a stacked field, but it was Cory Winner who made the most of a hometown weekend. Winner turned pole position into a clean, mistake-free run for his first win of 2026, holding off points leader Ryan Beat the entire way.

Beat wasn't able to catch Winner, but he didn't need to. A steady second place run extended his points lead and pushed his podium streak to four races running. Kyle Greaves spent most of the race in third, then had to fend off a late charge from Johnny Holtger, holding on by less than half a second at the line for his own fourth straight podium finish.

Hemmer breaks through in a wide-open PRO SPEC class

If anyone doubted how tight PRO SPEC has been this year, round nine put that to rest. Avery Hemmer, still a teenager, grabbed the lead early and never gave it up despite constant pressure, picking up her first win of the season and becoming the sixth different driver to win a PRO SPEC race in nine rounds. The result also moves her to third in the standings, just 17 points behind Chris Van Den Elzen.

Dylan Parsons started tenth and used a mid-race restart to charge into second, while Draxton Szymik continued his quietly consistent year with a third place run, his fifth podium of the season. Between the parity in this class and the tight PRO4 and PRO2 battles up front, the 2026 season is shaping up to be one of the closer points chases the series has run in years.

Points leads shift in the support classes too

The headline classes weren't the only place round nine shook things up. Tony Keepers finally broke through for his first career PRO Buggy win after holding off Billy Buth by less than a second, but it was Cole Bernloehr's third place finish that mattered most for the standings, moving him into the PRO Buggy points lead by seven markers over Keepers heading into round ten.

William Holtger picked up his third YOUTH SXS win of the season and moved into the points lead in that division, while first-time winners popped up across the SXS classes, including Kolton Krajicek in PRO SXS and Colin Greenfield in PRO AM Turbo SXS. With the season past the halfway mark, these kinds of shakeups in the smaller classes tend to matter just as much as what happens at the front of PRO4 by the time everyone rolls into the finale.

• PRO4: Jimmy Henderson (win), CJ Greaves (2nd), Johnny Greaves (3rd)
• PRO2: Cory Winner (win), Ryan Beat (2nd), Kyle Greaves (3rd)
• PRO SPEC: Avery Hemmer (win), Dylan Parsons (2nd), Draxton Szymik (3rd)
• PRO Buggy: Tony Keepers (win), Billy Buth (2nd), Cole Bernloehr (3rd, new points leader)

Storylines to watch after Dirt City

Round nine reshuffled more than one championship picture. Here's what to keep an eye on as the Champ Off-Road season heads toward its final rounds.

1. Henderson vs. Greaves in PRO4: Henderson's win cuts into a lead CJ Greaves built during Henderson's mid-season slump, setting up a real fight down the stretch.
2. Beat's quiet consistency in PRO2: Ryan Beat didn't win at Dirt City but stretched his points lead anyway on the strength of a fourth straight podium.
3. PRO SPEC parity: Six different winners in nine rounds means this class could come down to whoever survives the final events cleanest.
4. New PRO Buggy leader: Cole Bernloehr's podium finish, not a win, was enough to flip the points lead his way over first-time winner Tony Keepers.
5. Youth and SXS first-timers: Kolton Krajicek and Colin Greenfield both scored their first career series wins, a sign of the depth building in the support classes.
6. Season stretch run: With round nine in the books, the margin for error in nearly every division just got smaller heading toward the finale.

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