by Zach Evans, Racing America
Dawson Sutton’s red-hot finish to the 2025 year in Super Late Model competition continued on Sunday, as the Lebanon, Tennessee native scored a hometown win in the All American 400 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
Sutton piloted the No. 26 Rackley W.A.R. Super Late Model to a victory in the marquee season finale for the Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA STARS National Tour. The local favorite and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor passed Cole Butcher on lap 209 of the 300-lap race and took the checkered flag ahead of Carson Brown and Derek Thorn.
After growing up near the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and winning the track’s Pro Late Model championship one year ago, claiming the All American 400 victory and its signature guitar trophy is a bucket-list moment for Sutton.
“It’s so close to home,” said Sutton in victory lane. “It means so much. I feel like we were so close last year. My guys brought me a great race car. I’m really just speechless. I’m super thankful for all my guys. This is amazing.
“I feel like I did a pretty good job all day saving. The 28 was pretty good on the long run there early. Overall, I feel like I did everything on my part and just got there at the end. I was just hoping not for a caution, and luckily, we didn’t get one.”
It was a picture-perfect weekend for Sutton. Carrying the orange and black colors of the Tennessee Volunteers, Sutton started on the pole and raced in the top three most of the event. After losing the lead early to Butcher, Sutton patiently waited for his opportunity to move back to the lead in the final third of the race and capitalized.
Sutton finished the ASA STARS National Tour season with two wins and two runner-up finishes in the last four races. He won the Glass City 200 at Toledo Speedway in September, as well as the Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series finale at Five Flags Speedway.
With that momentum, Sutton now sets his sights on the Snowball Derby at Five Flags in December.
“I feel like we did a really good job all weekend,” said Sutton. “My guys just brought me a great race car. I’ve always wanted to win this one. Hopefully, we can come back for the Derby in a few weeks and have just as good luck.
The win was also a momentous one for Rackley W.A.R. team owner Willie Allen. Another Tennessee native, Allen made 11 stars in his own racing career in the All American 400. He finished second in the race in 2014 and started on the pole in 2015, but never won the prestigious event at his home track.
Now, he can add the All American to his trophy case.
“It’s so big,” said Allen. “We’ve tried for so long. We’ve got the pole, led the most laps, had something break. It’s huge. We’ve been trying since, I don’t even know, the mid-2000s or something. It means so much.
“We came so close. To do it with Dawson and the Rackley W.A.R. guys, everyone did such a good job man. So much work goes into this, as you know, to stay on top of the tires and the car.
“He’s so fun to work with. He’s done a great job. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum rolling. This car has three of the last four, so going to Pensacola with this thing should be good.”
Butcher fell back in the final running order after running into problems during the final stage of the race, finishing 14th. Still, he officially culminated a championship season in the ASA STARS National Tour. Buoyed by four wins and eight top-five finishes in 12 races, Butcher handily claimed the ASA STARS championship.
“We just got a lot of wins this year,” said Butcher. “I can’t thank everyone on this team enough.
“A great year. We still have a couple of races left to go. Trying to forget about today, but I can’t thank everybody enough. It definitely was a great season for us.”
Butcher will go into the history books as the first Canadian champion for the ASA STARS National Tour. While Sunday may not have finished as he hoped, the championship is another impressive accomplishment in Butcher’s prolific Late Model career.
“For sure, it’s a great honor. A couple of people back home back in the day used to race ASA. For me to be a part of it and be a champion, it means a lot. We’ll enjoy this one. I wish it was a little bit warmer, but I guess we’ll have to deal with it.”
Carson Brown finished second, followed by Derek Thorn. Dylan Fetcho and Stephen Nasse rounded out the top five.
All American 400 Unofficial Results
| Fin | No | Driver | Laps | Diff |
| 1 | 26 | Dawson Sutton | 300 | — |
| 2 | 81 | Carson Brown | 300 | 1.179 |
| 3 | 96T | Derek Thorn | 300 | 6.859 |
| 4 | 89 | Dylan Fetcho | 300 | 8.055 |
| 5 | 51 | Stephen Nasse | 300 | 8.742 |
| 6 | 91M | Ty Majeski | 300 | 9.187 |
| 7 | 14N | Austin Nason | 300 | 9.860 |
| 8 | 24 | Gavan Boschele | 300 | 12.743 |
| 9 | 15 | Gabe Sommers | 300 | 14.029 |
| 10 | 36 | Ty Fredrickson | 300 | 14.889 |
| 11 | 14P | Chase Pinsonneault | 300 | 15.467 |
| 12 | 30R | Casey Roderick | 300 | 15.842 |
| 13 | 54 | Matthew Craig | 300 | 15.924 |
| 14 | 28 | Cole Butcher | 300 | 16.705 |
| 15 | 22 | George Phillips | 300 | 16.866 |
| 16 | 33F | Albert Francis | 300 | 17.290 |
| 17 | 5K | Jonathan Knee | 300 | 17.648 |
| 18 | 71 | Johnny Frazier | 300 | 20.104 |
| 19 | 96D | Spencer Davis | 275 | 25 Laps |
| 20 | 9 | Derek Kraus | 261 | 39 Laps |
| 21 | 5S | Penn Sauter | 218 | 82 Laps |
| 22 | 30S | Kyle Steckly | 217 | 83 Laps |
| 23 | 69 | Michael Hinde | 197 | 103 Laps |
| 24 | 44 | Conner Jones | 149 | 151 Laps |
| 25 | 91B | Dylan Bates | 125 | 175 Laps |
| 26 | 53 | Boris Jurvkovic | 111 | 189 Laps |
| 27 | 1 | Kasey Kleyn | 85 | 215 Laps |
| 28 | 121 | Joseph Meyer | 83 | 217 Laps |
| 29 | 23 | Levon Van Der Geest | 44 | 256 Laps |
