Tyler Carpenter is focused on not only making the World 100 at Eldora Speedway for the first time in his career with Cody Sommer and his Race DRT team, but making a statement while doing so as well.

Carpenter had high expectations coming into the weekend telling StockCarReport.com that they were “high, very high.” He explained, “The biggest thing is get ourselves in the show. Make the big dance and go from there.”

He and the Race DRT Team turned heads on the track on Thursday when they qualified 6th. However, in the heat race things went awry. On the opening lap, Carpenter hugged the bottom into turn 1 underneath both Ashton Winger and Dale McDowell. Getting into turn 2, Jonathan Davenport dove underneath of him and the two got together exiting the turn.

After the contact, Carpenter moved up the traffic and got hit from behind by Justin Duty.

💥 Trouble at the start of Shootout #3 at @EldoraSpeedway and the night is over for Jonathan Davenport!#World100 🌍 | September 10-12 | Live on FloRacing 📺 pic.twitter.com/0029dDTk1b

— FloRacing (@FloRacing) September 11, 2026

Following the incident, Carpenter was obviously dejected. He shared, “Me and JD got together and plugged a lot of stuff in the left front suspension, lost the brakes, and just ended our night. Ended our whole weekend really. [Crap] happens.”

Despite the major setback, the team went to work and got the car back ready for Friday night. And, again, Carpenter and the Race DRT team showed speed. They put down another sixth fastest lap in his group. In the Shootout, he started fifth and fell back a spot to finish in sixth. That gave him an 18th starting position. During the feature he fell back to finish 26th.

With Brandon Sheppard spinning a six on the Wheel of Misfortune, Carpenter will start on the pole of Heat 3 for tonight’s World 100. And he’s focused and determined to make the show, put down a statement, and have fun doing it.

“We just try to have fun and try to make a statement for both of us,” he said. “This weekend there’s a lot of eyes on, not just [Cody Sommer], but me as well. A lot of hype going into this event. I’ve yet to make the World so that’s my goal. And realistically that’s his goal.”

“At the end of the day, we knew we was going to struggle when it slickened up, but we’ve got minimum laps on this and it’s a chassis built on its and there’s not really much of a notebook. Obviously, we’re both learning.”

Regarding the struggles in the slick, Carpenter clarified it had nothing to do with Gibbons’ powerplant,” The engine is awesome. That is not the excuse why we’re struggling in the slick. It’s obviously a setup issue. Whether it’s me driving the track right. At the end of the day, there’s multiple excuses, but the motor’s not one of them. Gibbons actually put out a hell of a piece here. I feel like we got the best motor in the pit area. That’s just my opinion. That’s why I say we just need some rain.”

Carpenter then pointed to his own struggles in the slick, “Even in my own stuff, the high-speed slick has always kicked my butt here. If it’s got a little bit of brown or it’s heavy, obviously, it favors me just because your car ain’t got to be as great.”

“We’ll get it. Obviously, it may not happen over night, but we’ll figure it out,” he declared.

NEXT: Mike Marlar Explains Why He Will Not Compete In The World 100 On Saturday Night