Just Short of Championship at South Boston as Monahan Motorsports Caps Strong CARS Tour Season

Brody Monahan came into the CARS Tour season finale at South Boston Speedway with a real shot, but very little room for error.

Sitting third in points and 18 points out of the championship lead, the path was clear enough. He needed a strong run, needed to gain positions, and needed the point leader to leave the door open. Brody handled his part well. The door just never opened wide enough.

A Strong Start Set the Tone at South Boston

The weekend began with speed. Brody qualified second, putting himself on the front row for the final race of the season. The only frustration was who lined up next to him.

The championship leader took the pole, which meant Brody started the race already needing to chase and lost a point. With the title fight on the line, track position mattered from the drop of the green flag.

Early on, Brody lost a little ground. Just eight laps into the race, he had slipped to fourth. From there, the race settled into a long stretch of patience. He held fourth and stayed in position to capitalize if the front of the field changed.

That chance came shortly after halfway, when Brody moved back into third. Once he reclaimed the spot, he kept it the rest of the way and brought the car home on the podium.

It was a clean, solid, competitive run. It just was not enough.

The Championship Picture Did Not Fall Brody’s Way

Brody finished third at South Boston, but the championship leader won the race. That result ended any chance of a last-race points swing.

The sting came with one final twist. Brody still moved up in the standings, climbing from third to second overall by the end of the night.

That is a strong result by any reasonable measure. Finishing runner-up in a series as competitive as the CARS Tour is something most teams would gladly take. Still, finishing second after entering the finale with title hopes can feel tougher than finishing farther back. It means the team was close enough to see the championship, but not close enough to take it.

Monahan Motorsports Made a Statement in Year One

The bigger picture is hard to ignore. This was Monahan Motorsports’ first season in the CARS Tour, and the team did more than simply find its footing.

Across 11 races, Brody and the team posted:

• 9 top-10 finishes

• 5 top-five finishes

• 2 wins

• A second-place finish in the final standings

  
  

Those numbers show consistency, speed, and growth. They also show a team that learned quickly.

The season did not fully take shape right away. The real momentum came in the second half, when Brody and Monahan Motorsports began stacking strong finishes and turning themselves into a legitimate championship threat. By the time the finale arrived, they were no longer just a first-year team having a solid season. They were part of the title conversation.

A Season Worth Building On

South Boston will probably be remembered as a near miss. Brody qualified well, raced near the front, finished on the podium, and still watched the championship slip away.

That is racing at its highest level. Sometimes a good night is not good enough.

For Monahan Motorsports, though, the season will still carry more pride than disappointment. Two wins and a runner-up points finish in a first CARS Tour campaign gave us a clear foundation. The next step is simple to say and hard to do: turn that late-season momentum into a full-season championship push in 2027 with whomever is at the wheel for Monahan Motorsports.