Matt Stangle knew his first year with the Super DIRTcar Series was going to be an uphill climb.

But after earning MD3 Rookie of the Year honors, that uphill climb has built his confidence as he prepares for another season in 2026.

“I feel like (2025) was a struggle, but we definitely enjoyed it,” Stangle said. “We knew it was going to be hard before we even went. I don’t think it was as bad as we expected it to be. The traveling was harder than anything. It was difficult but it was fun at the same time.”

While he dealt with that learning curve throughout the 2025 season, the Neshanic Station, NJ driver had two successful mentors to lean on. Every race he parked next to 10-time Super DIRTcar Series champion Matt Sheppard, and six-time Series Feature winner Anthony Perrego.

His friendship with those two gave him an idea of what setup to run when he went to facilities he’d never been to, which represented most of the Series schedule.

“Being friends with them and parking next to them helped,” Stangle said. “Before even going there I could ask them what gear, and basic stuff you don’t have for the first time. Just having them to help me was nice.”

Between the help from Sheppard and Perrego, and learning throughout his rookie year, Stangle delivered three of his best performances of the season at the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

After finishing 12th and 11th on the first two nights, Stangle crossed the line sixth in the season finale—his best finish of the season. He was later bumped up to a fifth-place finish after Ryan Godown was disqualified for a fuel violation.

“I felt like the whole week we were good,” Stangle said. “I felt like we ran better than the results showed the first couple of nights. And then the last night, when we passed a decent amount of cars, even finishing sixth felt like a good run. That was the best I’ve felt all year, and hearing we got a top five was even better.

“It felt good to run good in the last race of the year.”

Those finishes at the end of the season give Stangle momentum entering the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Feb. 11-14. It also gives him added confidence, knowing what’s ahead of him.

“I just feel like having a notebook and going to these tracks that I’ve been to before, I know what to expect,” Stangle said. “Based off everything we learned last year, and me as a driver, it’ll be a lot more comfortable.

“Now it’ll just be getting better in general.”

Stangle and the Super DIRTcar Series open the 2026 season with a stop in Florida during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Feb. 11-14, at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL.

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Then, the Series opens its Championship Season on Saturday, March 28, at Georgetown Speedway for the Delaware Diamond.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every race live on DIRTVision – either at DIRTVision.com or by downloading the DIRTVision App.