Derek Wargo is building early-season momentum with McCrone Motorsports. A victory at the CKNA Winter Nationals and a podium finish at the SKUSA Winter Series have put the young driver and his team squarely in the conversation among the top KA100 and 206 competitors in the country.
The results carry added significance given the context: Wargo joined McCrone Motorsports for 2026 with a comprehensive national program spanning SKUSA, ROTAX Max Challenge, USPKS, the Stars Championship Series, and the Tillotson T4 Racing Series. Just weeks after that announcement, he was selected to represent the United States at the 2026 FIA Karting Academy Trophy — one of the highest honors in international karting, with each nation selecting only one driver per age category.
With two podium finishes already this season, Wargo is turning that potential into results on the track.
CKNA Winter Nationals — 206 Light
At the Cup Karts North America Winter Nationals on January 2–3 at the 0.68-mile circuit in Lakeville, Wargo competed in the 206 Light class against a field of 34 drivers.
He qualified fifth, just 0.223 seconds off pole-sitter Colin Warren’s 41.046, and immediately showed upward momentum through the heat races. In Heat 1, Wargo moved from fifth on the grid to third, posting a 41.210 — the second-fastest lap of the session behind only Henry Wheeler’s 41.196. Heat 2 was even stronger: he climbed to second while posting a 41.417 — the fastest lap of the entire session, quicker than every other driver in his split including race leader Colin Warren. A sixth-place finish in Heat 3 among a tightly-bunched top group did little to slow his trajectory heading into the main event.
| Session | Pos | Field | Best Lap | Gap to P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | P5 | 34 | 41.269 | +0.223 |
| Heat 1 (Odd) | P3 | 17 | 41.210 | +0.408 |
| Heat 2 (Odd) | P2 | 17 | 41.417* | +0.121 |
| Heat 3 (Odd) | P6 | 17 | 41.347 | +1.224 |
| Final | P1 | 34 | 41.733 | — |
*Fastest lap of the session
In the 18-lap Final, Wargo delivered the race of the weekend. Fighting in a lead group that was never separated by more than a second, he held his nerve through 12 and a half minutes of bumper-to-bumper racing and crossed the line first — winning by just 0.069 seconds over Colin Warren, with Henry Wheeler just 0.340 back in third. The top five were covered by less than nine-tenths of a second. Behind them, two drivers were disqualified at the scales (Jaiden Beckman and Dylan Amundsen), while Levi Getz, Nicholas Capilongo, and Ronnie Klys all received avoidable contact penalties. Wargo came through without a single infraction — a clean, disciplined drive from flag to flag.
| Pos | Driver | Total Time | Gap | Best Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derek Wargo | 12:41.975 | — | 41.733 |
| 2 | Colin Warren | 12:42.044 | +0.069 | 41.703 |
| 3 | Henry Wheeler | 12:42.315 | +0.340 | 41.876 |
| 4 | Christopher McKeithan | 12:42.644 | +0.669 | 41.722 |
| 5 | Sam Tutwiler | 12:42.837 | +0.862 | 41.757 |
| 6 | Carter Kilgo | 12:42.926 | +0.951 | 41.906 |
| 7 | Isaac Malcuit | 12:43.546 | +1.571 | 41.749 |
| 8 | Austin Hill | 12:43.663 | +1.688 | 41.810 |
| 9 | Ryan Stanton | 12:43.742 | +1.767 | 41.836 |
| 10 | Owen Lloyd | 12:44.789 | +2.814 | 41.709 |
SKUSA Winter Series Round 3 — KA100 Senior
Six weeks later, Wargo lined up for Round 3 of the SKUSA Winter Series on February 13–14, this time in the KA100 Senior class against a stacked field of 43 drivers — one of the most competitive grids in national karting.
Thursday’s practice sessions told the story of a driver and team methodically dialing in their setup against a world-class field. With only seven karts on track in the opening session, Wargo posted a 55.385 for P5. As more competitors filled the grid through Practice 2 (P8 of 18 with a 54.744), the pace tightened dramatically. By the time the full 42-kart field hit the track in Practice 3, the top 30 were separated by less than a second. Wargo ended Thursday with four sessions and dozens of laps under his belt, bringing his best down to a 54.719 in the final practice — P17 of 43 and just 0.392 seconds off session leader Alexander Vanchev.
Race day brought a curveball: rain. Warm-up and qualifying were run on a soaked track with lap times jumping from the 54-second range to over 1:06 — a completely different kart beneath him. Wargo adapted quickly. In the wet warm-up, he was P12 of 39 runners. When it mattered most in qualifying, he went even faster relative to the field — putting in a 1:06.742 for seventh on the grid out of 42 drivers, just 0.471 seconds off Landon Skinner’s pole time and ahead of several highly-regarded national competitors. It was his strongest session result of the entire weekend, and it came in conditions he hadn’t practiced in.
The Pre-Final saw conditions beginning to dry. Wargo held firm in eighth, posting a best lap of 55.547 and keeping himself within striking distance of the leaders. Meanwhile, the field around him was already starting to unravel — pole-sitter Skinner tumbled to 28th, Sebastian Garzon DNF’d, and Santiago Duran was disqualified.
The 20-lap Final told the biggest story. As the track dried fully, the racing was intense and the penalty sheet was long: engine changes and tire-scrubbing penalties for Garzon and Duran, cut-track penalties for four drivers including Collin Lloyd (who was later DQ’d for a carburetor infraction), racing incident penalties, push-back penalties — eight karts failed to finish altogether. Wargo drove above the chaos. Clean, calculated, and fast, he crossed the line third on the podium. His best lap of 55.211 on Lap 6 was faster than race winner Alexander Vanchev’s best of 55.237 — proof that the raw speed was there to fight for even more.
| Session | Pos | Field | Best Lap | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | P5 | 7 | 55.385 | Dry |
| Practice 2 | P8 | 18 | 54.744 | Dry |
| Practice 3 | P27 | 42 | 55.096 | Dry |
| Practice 4 | P17 | 43 | 55.157 | Dry |
| Final Practice | P17 | 43 | 54.719 | Dry |
| Warm-Up | P12 | 39 | 1:06.635 | Wet |
| Qualifying | P7 | 42 | 1:06.742 | Wet |
| Pre-Final | P8 | 43 | 55.547 | Drying |
| Final | P3 | 43 | 55.211 | Dry |
| Pos | Driver | Total Time | Gap | Best Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Vanchev | 19:25.896 | — | 55.237 |
| 2 | Mateo Rubio Luengo | 19:33.802 | +7.906 | 55.354 |
| 3 | Derek Wargo | 19:49.489 | +23.593 | 55.211 |
| 4 | Caleb Gafrarar | 19:51.684 | +25.788 | 55.787 |
| 5 | Cash Perkins | 19:52.976 | +27.080 | 55.279 |
| 6 | John Burke | 19:52.988 | +27.092 | 55.398 |
| 7 | Max Weiland | 19:54.401 | +28.505 | 55.626 |
| 8 | Marcelo Tortato | 19:54.452 | +28.556 | 56.109 |
| 9 | Finnegan Bayliff | 19:55.086 | +29.190 | 55.652 |
| 10 | Chace Gassiot-Lee | 19:55.122 | +29.226 | 55.173 |
A win and a podium early in the season is a statement for any driver. For Wargo and McCrone Motorsports, the raw pace speaks volumes — posting a faster lap than the race winner in a 43-kart SKUSA Senior field and winning a photo finish against 34 of the best 206 drivers in the country. These results are part of a larger plan built around maximizing development through competition across multiple national series, supported by BN Race Engines and a dedicated summer training program at the Lorain Ohio KartPlex.
“I’m looking forward to the 2026 season with McCrone Motorsports and the opportunity to compete across multiple top-level series. The structure of this program, combined with dedicated summer training and strong engine support, puts us in a great position to be competitive all year.”
— Derek Wargo
“Derek brings a positive attitude to the track every day and is fully committed to growth and performance. With focused summer training at the Lorain Ohio KartPlex and the support of BN Race Engines, Derek has the tools and structure in place to continue his development and compete at a very high level in 2026.”
— Doug Foxworth, Team Manager, McCrone Motorsports
With his selection to the FIA Karting Academy Trophy still ahead — where he will represent the United States against the top young drivers in the world on identical equipment at iconic European circuits — the early-season results suggest Wargo is ready for the challenge.
McCrone Motorsports returns to action next at the T4 Americas Cup in Palmetto, Florida on March 13–15. Follow the team’s progress throughout the 2026 season at mccronemotorsports.net.