Earlier this year, Larry Larson put the small-tire world on notice, defeating Lyle Barnett in the final round of the $75,000 King of the South invitational, headlining the Ronnie Buff Memorial weekend at Shadyside Dragway in Shelby, North Carolina.
During the opening day of PRI in Indianapolis, KotS promoter Corey Stamper and Shadyside Dragway co-owner Seth Buff officially extended invitations to both Larson and Barnett for the 2026 edition of the event, taking place May 21-24.
Both drivers accepted, filling the first two spots in the 64-car, invite-only field of cars competing on 28×10.5 non-w slicks for another $75k.
Larson has only gained momentum since his KotS victory back in May, most recently winning the $40,000 True 10.5 N/T class at the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks at Bradenton Motorsports Park. It’s been a dream season for the chassis-builder out of Oak Grove, Missouri, who originally made it into Kots earlier this year as an alternate.
“I wasn’t even invited last year,” said Larson. “They had some people drop out and Corey gave me an invite. I just went down there to see if I could learn something.”
Barnett, meanwhile, will be looking for a little bit of payback behind the wheel of the Tommy Youmans-owned “Salvage Title” Mustang. After losing to Larson by a miniscule .004 margin of victory in 2025, Barnett is hoping to go one round further in 2026 at what he deems his hometown track.
“Shadyside is home to me,” Barnett said. “I live 35 minutes from the track. I’ve won a bunch of Corey’s Carolina Cash Days in Beer Money, and when King of the South became a reality, I told him no matter what, I wanted in.
“I’ll be honest, when I rolled into the final against Larry, I thought I had him covered,” Barnett continued. “And I did until about 330 ft., and then I watched that Harts Charger just walk away from me. Larry’s a good friend, and if we can manage to stay away from each other in the early rounds at Shadyside, I’d love to see him late in the race and see if we can duplicate that final round – just swap who gets to hold the trophy.”
In addition to the hugely popular Small-Tire invitational, Stamper is adding something new for 2026 – the $10,000 Knight of the South class, featuring a 16-car invitational on even smaller 26×8.5 slicks.
KotS looks to once again be one of the biggest events of the year in 2026, building off their 2025 edition that sold out Shadyside and forced the fire marshal to close the gates on Saturday due to a record crowd. Track owners Seth and Zach Buff continue to build on their family’s legacy, giving racers a local “outlaw” feel that can’t be found at larger facilities.
“It means so much to us to have this caliber of drivers at our small track,” said Seth Buff. “It’s so surreal for us. During that weekend, I woke up and said, ‘This is unreal.’ It’s an amazing show they put on, and we appreciate them.”
Invitations will continue going out in the coming weeks. Fans can stay up to date on whether their favorite drivers will make the cut by following Spoold Media on social media outlets.
This story was originally published on December 13, 2025. 
