Brady Ross, the father and car owner of Eli Ross, issued a statement regarding the wreck involving his son and Gordy Gundaker during the final lap of the Show-Me 100 B-Main 1.
On the final lap of the race, Gundaker was in the third position and the final transfer spot for the main event and was in a spirited battle with Ross and Brenden Smith. Heading into turn 1 Ross threw caution to the wind and just kamikazied it into the side of Gundaker’s car. The contact sent Gundaker’s car up the track while it wounded Ross’ car ending his night. While Gundaker was trying to get the car back underneath him, Brenden Smith was able to sneak past him and get the final transfer spot.
💥 Contact for the final #ShowMe100 transfer spot in @lucasdirt B-Main #1 at @lucasspeedway!#LucasDirt pic.twitter.com/grsMBkblyu
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) May 25, 2026
After the race ended, Gundaker stopped by Ross’ stopped car and shared some choice words and likely some sign language with him. He then parked his car at his hauler and quickly exited the car and seemingly began a hunt for Ross. However, he was waylaid by Lucas Oil officials and was seemingly able to calm down. Additionally, while it appeared Gundaker might have to go to the non-qualifier race, it was announced that he would receive a provisional for having the most points without making the show.
Ross issued his statement on the wreck on Facebook, “This Memorial weekend was definitely one to remember. Eli decided to step up and race with the best of the best at the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Show-Me 100 in Wheatland, Missouri. Qualifying went okay, and the heat races were solid, but Eli was ultimately forced into a B-Feature, where he made a tremendously poor judgment call while attempting to pass Gordy Gundecker. Unfortunately, it did not end well.”
From there, he apologized to Gordy and the Gundaker family, “First and foremost, as Eli’s father and car owner, I want to personally apologize to Gordy and the entire Gundaker family for the incident. What happened is completely uncharacteristic of Eli. Over the years, so many people have complimented him on being a clean driver and someone they would race beside anytime. I know Eli is upset about what happened, and so am I.”
He then praised Gundaker for how he handled the situation and the conversation he had with Eli, “We are extremely thankful that Gordy was still able to make the show, even though Eli’s damaged car ended his own night. I know there has been a lot of attention surrounding the incident, but I also want to publicly praise Gordy for the way he handled the situation afterward. He had every right to be angry. In moments like that, when adrenaline is high and emotions are running hot, situations can escalate quickly. But instead, Gordy, along with Lucas Oil officials, calmly came to our pit and asked to speak with Eli.”
“One of the first things Gordy told Eli was that there would be no retaliation. He understood why Eli was going for it on the last lap of the biggest race of his young career,” he continued. “But he also wanted Eli to understand something important: if you want to race at this level, you cannot build a reputation like that. I truly appreciated the older-brother approach Gordy took with Eli. That conversation meant a lot to all of us.”
“As everyone knows, 17-year-old children often think they have it all figured out. I’ve raised three of them. Sometimes lessons coming from Mom and Dad do not carry the same weight. But I know Eli listened closely to every word Gordy said, and I deeply appreciate Gordy taking the time to talk to him the way he did,” Ross added. “Our team has tremendous respect for Gordy and the Gundaker family, and we are deeply sorry for what happened. We hope to move forward from this, and Eli has assured me it will never happen again.”
“Eli wants to race late models for a living, and he understands that earning the respect of both veterans and peers is part of that journey. We sincerely hope this moment does not define him as a driver, but instead becomes a lesson that helps him grow both on and off the racetrack,” he concluded.
Gundaker also addressed the last lap Hail Mary slider in a Show-Me 100 recap post on Facebook. He shared, “As most of the racing community knows I got ran over in that B Main on the last lap by a Hail Mary slider. Although I’m still not overly thrilled with it, Eli and I got to have a good conversation and I think for him it was a good lesson learned.”
“Everyone of us has done something stupid that we regret and in that moment it was good to hear him take accountability but also understand where my frustrations were,” Gundaker added. “We were the highest in points not in the race so we still were able to make it in to the Show Me 100 and roll off 26th! Battled all race long and got up to 13th at one point, lost a few spots late and ultimately ended up 16th.”
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