KCP Racing has tapped Cory Eliason to pilot the No. 18 Sprint Car for the remainder of the 2025 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season, with the team and Emerson Axsom ending their partnership as they plan for 2026.
Eliason, of Visalia, CA, will be the third driver in the KCP Racing car this year after Gio Scelzi parted ways with the team in July, opening the door for Axsom to help fill in.
“First and foremost, we want to thank Emerson Axsom for his services the last two months,” said Matt Barbara, KCP Racing co-owner. “He came into our program at one of the most grueling times of the year and performed very well after stepping away from a very successful KPM team. With plans starting to come together for next year, we both felt it was the right time to go our separate ways, and we think it gives him a great shot to get started on 2026.”
Axsom earned one top five and six top 10 finishes in 17 Feature starts with the KCP team.
Eliason will make his first start with the team this weekend at Williams Grove Speedway during the J&S Classics National Open, Oct. 3-4. The 34-year-old has made over 200 starts with the World of Outlaws and has collected two Series wins – Stockton Dirt Track and Calistoga Speedway in 2018.
“After the Dennis Roth Classic my season was over, so to have Matt Barbara call and offer me the chance to race for another month, I jumped at it,” Eliason said. “I am working on finalizing my plans for next year, and I know the KCP team has some changes coming, so really just looking forward to having some fun and hopefully giving this team a win over the last chunk of the season.”
Tickets for the J&S Classics National Open are on sale now and you can get them in advance by clicking here.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch Eliason make his debut with KCP Racing live on DIRTVision.