Dylan Anderson Wins 2026 Red River Rumble as Jump Start Chaos Hands Schubert Shock Podium

Dylan Anderson won the 2026 Red River Rumble Formula One final wire-to-wire on Sunday afternoon in Shreveport, Louisiana, leading every lap of the 17-minute race from pole to take his first IHRA F1 victory of the season. The win reshuffled the championship picture heading into Round 4 at Marble Falls, Texas, in two weeks’ time.

The final had barely started before it was redrawn. Jensen (#29) and Rinker (#52) both jumped the restart and were sent to the back of the dock. Jimmy Kerr (#71) also left the start pontoon early and joined them at the rear. On the restart, birthday boy Jeremiah Mayo, elevated to third on the revised grid, failed to fire. By the time the field cleared the first turn, Anderson and Spencer Love had the clean water, Grant Schubert was an improbable third, and the race was effectively decided at the front inside the opening minute.

The weekend had already produced more than its share of drama. Before the final even got underway, two-time defending series champion Dustin Terry climbed back out of his boat at the crane. Terry had stepped into Grant Schubert’s repaired original hull for the final, looking to salvage championship points after losing his own motor to a collision with Aiden Benton on Saturday. The boat gave him nothing. He returned to the dock, watched the race from the shore, and was classified 11th with zero laps.

Anderson in Command

Anderson, running the #17 Anderson Marine four-stroke APX out of Asheville, Tennessee, set pole with the fastest single lap across qualifying and led from the moment the flag dropped. Love gave chase throughout but could not close a gap that reached almost a full straightaway by the late stages. Anderson crossed the line 13.750 seconds clear, completing 33 laps in 17:20.174.

Commentators Tim Seebold and Tom Yarbrough described him as “a different level” and “on rails.” Anderson himself was more measured when interviewed after the race.

Anderson told pit lane reporter Bonnie Jill:

You might not get the greatest starts, you might not get the greatest finishes throughout the qualifying races, but you’ve always got a chance. Just got to keep your head in there and keep fighting, and if not for your crew keeping the boat ready to go, you’re just doing half of it. There’s another half going on in the pits all the time.

Anderson won Marble Falls last year. He heads to Round 4 having closed the gap at the top of the IHRA F1 championship standings.

Schubert’s Shock Podium

The story of the final was Grant Schubert. Starting seventh in qualifying after his primary hull was put out of action in the Heat 1 incident on Saturday, Schubert ran the Raybobs-sponsored four-stroke APX, a boat he had driven in only one qualifying heat before the final. The jump start penalties and Mayo’s failure to fire elevated him to third at the opening turn, a position he held for every one of the 33 laps.

Schubert, from Richmond, Texas, said he had set his expectations low.

I wasn’t expecting to come out of the first turn in third. I was like, man, I’m just gonna go out here, lay back, get some good points. I’m not in my regular boat. I’m just going to do that. And then I was like, man, I’m in third, I’ve got to start driving again.

He added, addressing his crew and a family friend who provided the boat:

One of our good buddies, Captain Mark – he wasn’t at the race because we broke the last one, but I want to let him know: thank you so much. It means a lot to us.

Chris Rinker, starting from the back after his jump start penalty, worked his way to fourth by the flag. Jared Jensen, similarly penalised, recovered to fifth. Both finished within a second and a half of Schubert, a gap that remained largely unchanged across the second half of the race as Rinker chose wider lines to defend and Jensen could not find a way past.

Love Extends Championship Lead

Spencer Love, who led the championship going into the weekend, took second and extended his overall lead despite being unable to match Anderson’s pace. Love’s fuel pump started before the flag dropped on the restart, leaving his two-stroke Hoffman hull running rich off the dock.

Love explained after the race:

A couple of guys started early, so we’d start our fuel pumps up before the flag drops and it started, and by doing that it created it starting up a little rich for me. So it didn’t quite fire perfect. Got to give it to Dylan and Anderson Marine, they did a great job. My crew helped me all weekend and put my boat on the water because we had nothing but problems with her. We started the season off with a first and a second. We’re happy, pretty sure we’re doing decent on the points and we’re in a good spot.

Love has finished 1st, 2nd, and 2nd across the first three rounds. Updated championship standings are pending confirmation from IHRA.

Mayo’s Birthday Disappointment

Jeremiah Mayo, racing on his birthday and elevated to third on the revised restart grid following the jump start penalties, failed to fire when the starter dropped the flag. His opening lap of 45.459 seconds left him ninth at the end of lap one. He spent the rest of the final fighting back through the field to finish sixth, unable to pass Schubert, Rinker, or Jensen. The Outlaw Racing driver from Richmond, Texas had won the Red River Rumble on a previous birthday visit and came within reach of repeating it before the start undid his afternoon.

The Rinker Family Day

The weekend belonged to the Rinker family as much as anyone. Chris Rinker (#52) had won Heat 3 on Saturday morning in his reserve Mercury two-stroke hull after his primary four-stroke suffered a steering column failure in Heat 1. In the final, starting from the back of the dock following his jump start penalty, he drove back to fourth place over 33 laps, a composed and measured recovery from an uncomfortable position.

Chris raced alongside his sons Mason and Tanner, the second and third generations of a racing family that stretches back to his father, Jerry “Scary Jerry” Rinker, who raced into his 80s. Mason’s day was the more dramatic of the two brothers. He sank his Tri-Hull in Heat 3, the team pulled the boat out and repaired it, and Mason went back out to finish second in the Tri-Hull final with the fastest lap of the race.

Formula One Final Result

Supporting Classes

In Formula Lights, Jake McKee (#01) of Redlands, California won the final wire-to-wire from Jose Mendana (#21), who pressured him hard through the second half. McKee’s winning margin at the flag was 1.488 seconds. In the Talent Cup, Jaxon Kresse (#36) took his first series win and was thrown into the water in the traditional celebration. Cole Wehring (#69) won the Tri-Hull final ahead of Mason Rinker, who had rebuilt his waterlogged boat to race.

What’s Next

Round 4 of the IHRA F1 Powerboat Series takes place at Marble Falls, Texas, June 5-7. Anderson won the race there last year.