Citing a tire rule violation, the MARS Championship Series today stripped Ashton Winger of Oct. 4’s series victory at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway and suspended the Hampton, Ga., driver for the first five series events of 2026.

Winger’s tire samples failed to meet manufacturer benchmarks in routine lab tests checking for chemically altering substances, the series said. Penalties include the loss of $12,050 in race earnings and contingencies along with $325 in testing fees. Winger also loses all points from the event and will be on series probation through the 2026 season.

The Fairbury event marks Winger’s second apparent 2025 victory reversed by an official ruling. Winger also took the checkered flag first in Aug. 8’s Comp Cams Super Dirt Series event at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss., but the series later updated results with his disqualification, apparently for a tire violation (Comp Cams officials never announced the reason and didn’t reply to multiple requests for details on the penalty.)

In a lengthy statement on his team’s Facebook page, Winger said he was “dumbfounded” by both test results and insisted his team always follows the rules, getting tires from a single source with a single crew member preparing them to race.

“I hope that in all of this, this never happens to anybody else,” Winger wrote, “because I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, because it truly is a helpless feeling to know that you have not done anything and have people come in and say you’re out and there is nothing you can do.”