Cox’ s championship destiny was in his own hands going into the semifinals, as Agostino, the points leader, went out in the second round and Morgano, No. 2 going into the weekend, lost in the first round. Cox left on Tim Partin and finished first with a 3.910 at 187.86 to Partin’ s 3.917 at 194.21. That locked up the championship, but the job wasn’ t finished. The WSOPM win was still on the line, and young gun Joel Wensley Jr. was waiting in the final round.
“ After I found out we won the championship, I celebrated at the top end – just for a second,” Cox says.“ A bunch of the team came down there and celebrated, Kaycee [ Marchetti, Cox’ s girlfriend ] came down and celebrated. After that, my deal was to just focus and refocus. That’ s what a lot of people struggle with. Focus on right now, on the task at hand. But now I know I’ ve still got another round to go win and a chance to do it. I did my normal routine after every pass – I went into the motor home, relaxed my mind, and was ready to go for the finals.”
Cox left the line first every time he lined up against someone in eliminations, and that continued in the final round against Wensley. He capped off the weekend with a 3.928 at 190.78 to finish ahead of Wensley and his 3.973 at 192.85, earning the $ 25,000 WSOPM prize. Cox also earned a $ 5,000 championship bonus and a massive custom baseball bat from Victus Sports.
“ When‘ Training Day’ shows up... we’ ve got a chance to win.”
“ I think the biggest thing about the Winter Series is they bring the best out in you,” says Cox, who thanked partners like LAT Racing Oils, VP Racing Fuel, Mac Fab Beadlocks, Diamond Pistons, and Menscer Motorsports.“ I look at it as, the first race we came here and went rounds. Second race, I don’ t know what happened or what I was thinking. I went. 400 on the tree and was the joke of the weekend. But the focus was to come here and win, knowing that we had a chance to win a championship. When‘ Training Day’ shows up, and this team that Phil Shuler and myself put together, we’ ve got a chance to win. That was the most important part DI.”
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May / June 2026 DragIllustrated. com | Drag Illustrated | 103