Tyler Arrington earned his second championship in the Dirt Rich TV American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products. However, a lot has changed between 2025 and the last time he won the title in 2019.
“That year [2019], we didn’t run that good,” Arrington, of Honaker, Virginia said. “We were always a fifth- to eighth-place car. We were just consistent. This year, I focused more on winning races instead of winning the points championship. I knew if we won races, we’d win the points.”
Indeed, Arrington entered just about every race as one of the favorites to win. In 19 races, Arrington finished just three times outside the top five. While he won three features, he was far closer to victory on a regular basis than his results show.
What made the difference? Arrington credited his time running limited and super late models the past few years. It taught him the value of using his foot, but it might not be the foot you think it is.
“A lot of people are going to tell you [that limited and super late model racing teaches you] throttle control — and it did,” Arrington said. “But you got to have throttle and brake control.”
Yes, that left pedal, even in a crate-powered car, according to Arrington.
“In a crate car, a lot of people think that we don’t really use our brakes because we’re wide open a lot of the time,” Arrington said. “I found success this year in using the brake more than ever.
“Instead of rolling out of the throttle and unloading the tires, you stay in the throttle, keep the rear tires loaded, and get yourself slowed down with the brake. Trail braking, there’s a really an art to it. I’ve tried it over the years. The only place I’ve ever been able to do it was at Wythe Raceway until this year. Running the big motor stuff and getting back into the crate, everything slows down. You can think more of how the car should feel, and you can manipulate that with the brake pedal.”
With better mastery of trail braking, Tyler Arrington had a career year — and he added one more American All-Star Series champion trophy to his mantel.
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Corrected that Tyler Arrington is the second two-time champion of the American All-Star Series (2026-01-16).
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
