“Let Them Eat Crow” Decade Old Race Car Brings Confidence To Wagner On the Way to Best Season Ever!

By Ray Cunningham

Kansas City: It’s hard to put a finger sometimes on what leads to winning versus losing, good luck versus bad luck, etc. But when the situation feels right, and when you feel supreme confidence in your abilities, and in racing, that includes your car, then a transformation occurs.

Lone Jack, Missouri’s, Jack Wagner felt that in 2026, and it led to his best season ever driving a non winged sprint car. While specifically racing the Jesse Hockett/Wagner Boys Racing 77 affectionately known as “The Crow” winning the championship, with seven victories in Wholesale Batteries USAC MRA competition, (ten times overall), with four second place finishes in the MRA, (six overall), and only one finish in twenty one starts in non winged sprints that didn’t find Wagner with at least a top five result in 2026.

Before this year, in the previous five seasons of racing for Wagner, (2021-2025) “Gentleman Jack” was a top driver on the non winged scene as well. He would win the Weld Memorial in 2021, the Powri WAR championship in 2023, and would take the Challenge Series runner-up position in 2025 (MWRA vs WAR). But didn’t win as many races in those five seasons (eight) as he did this season (ten).

So what’s the difference? it’s a combination of things according to Wagner, including a great race team, and very good luck. But the other common dominator is his trusty ride the before mentioned “The Crow”.

The Crow is a 2016 “Big Max” Maxim. A car that was looked down on by its original race team after it was ordered in 2016, and later another race team from the “Show Me State”. In both cases, the car was looked at with disdain, and after it had repairs done by Maxim twice with its original owners. And then received an entire new front clip with its second team, it ended up with Jack in the Winter of 2020.

Since then according to Wagner, “I have had it, and have damaged it, and people have told me to get rid of it! Throw it away, it’s gonna get you hurt, that thing isn’t worth fixing!”

But, Wagner has felt differently, “Every time I fix it, the car comes back faster!” Including after Maxim added another front clip over the winter of 2024. Which in the age of the throwaway car is very rare. But very much part of what Wagner feels make the Crow special.

Wagner explains further, racer Casey Shuman told me years ago, “in racing, it’s whatever makes you feel like Superman. The Crow makes me feel like Superman!

So to those who have doubted me keeping and racing this car, I say, “Let Them Eat Crow!”

After the season Jack Wagner had in 2026, I would say several helpings of crow were served in 2026. While Jack hopes there’s more of that to come in 2027 when he jumps into his favorite car again for another season. Photos by John Lee High Fly'N Photos www.highfly-nphotos.com