CARS Tour Ready for Third Trip to North Wilkesboro Speedway

The zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model divisions make their third straight appearance at the revitalized North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 14-15 in conjunction with the annual NASCAR All-Star Race. With new pavement for this year, the racing action promises to be just as fast and furious. Former winners Carson Kvapil and Brenden Queen headline the Late Model Stock Car field, along with Stephen Nasse, Peyton Sellers, current LMSC points leader Connor Hall, Brent Crews and others. Current Pro Late Model points leader Kaden Honeycutt tops the list in the PLM ranks, along with Caden Kvapil, Nasse and two-time 2024 winner Kyle Campbell. Defending race champion Augie Grill will also return to defend his title.

Event Notes:

Track: North Wilkesboro Speedway
Location: North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Length: .625 miles
Laps: 125 LMSC, 100 Pro LM
CARS LMSC Tour races: 2
CARS Pro LM races: 1

LMSC North Wilkesboro Speedway winners: Carson Kvapil, Brenden Queen.

PLM North Wilkesboro Speedway winners: Augie Grill.

Late Model Stock Entry List: #0 Landon Pembleton,#00 Chase Burrow, #00R Layne Riggs,#03 Brenden Queen, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #08 Deac McCaskill, #1 Andrew Grady, #2 Brandon Pierce, #4 Dylon Wilson, #4B Josh Berry, #5 Dexter Canipe Jr., #6 Bobby McCarty, #7 Dylan Ward, #8 Carson Kvapil, #9 Brandon Jones, #11 Buddy Isles Jr., #14 Mason Diaz, #15 Ryan Millington, #16 Chad McCumbee, #17 Kaden Honeycutt, #21 Tyler Tomassi, #22 Connor Hall, #22R Giovanni Ruggiero, #23 Kade Brown, #24 Cody Dempster, #26 Peyton Sellers, #28 Connor Zilisch, #29 Brent Crews, #37 Landon Huffman, #44 Conner Jones, #45 Bryce Applegate, #51 Stephen Nasse, #55 Gavan Boschele, #62 William Sawalich, #67 Cameron Bolin, #71 Katie Hettinger, #74 Chase Purdy, #77 Treyten Lapcevich, #77W Trevor Ward, #81 Mini Tyrrell, #87 Tate Fogleman, #87G Tyler Gregory, #88 Sammy Smith, #91 Justin S. Carroll, #95 Jacob Heafner

Pro Late Model Entry List:#03 Kyle Campbell, #00 Jimmy Renfrew Jr., #6 Tristan McKee, #6L Brandon Lopez, #7 Justin Crider, #7NY Luke Baldwin, #9 Ashton Higgins, #15 Jonathan Shafer, #17 Hudson Bulger, #20 Corey Heim, #24 Jake Bollman,#24J Austin Jones, #26 Dawson Sutton, #29 Spencer Davis, #35 Caden Kvapil, #43 Nick Loden, #43G Augie Grill, #43H Joshua Horniman, #44 Conner Jones, #45 Seth Christensen, #47 Dustin Bryson, #51 Kaden Honeycutt, #51N Stephen Nasse, #54 Matt Craig, #54G Clayton Green, #55 George Phillips, #65 Tyler Tanner, #71 Katie Hettinger, #72 Cody Coughlin, #77 Logan Jones, #81 Carson Brown, #89 Dylan Fetcho, #96 TJ DeCaire, #97 Dylan Garner

Stars Come Out for North Wilkesboro

Since its inception in 2022, the zMAX CARS Tour races at North Wilkesboro have resonated with the community of drivers, crew chiefs, and team personnel in the area. This year’s event is no exception, as drivers including NASCAR Cup Series regular Josh Berry, NASCAR Xfinity Series stars Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones, and Truck series regulars like Corey Heim will be on hand for this year’s events. Berry, the all-time leader in LMSC history with 22 victories, also leads the career stats in poles (15), laps led (1,943) and average start (3.86). Heim, a seven-time race winner and current points leader in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Tricon Garage, has 16 CARS Tour starts in his career, logging a victory at Hickory Motor Speedway in 2020 as well as four more top-five finishes and has led 216 laps. He finished second in this race last year. Smith, driving the No. 88 for JR Motorsports, has 10 career starts and six top-five finishes on his resume.

More Money: Enhanced Winner’s Checks Debut May 25

The first of three races that will feature expanded payouts ($10,000 to the winner in the Late Model Stock Car class and $5,000 in the Pro Late Model ranks) will be May 25 at Tri-County Speedway in Granite Falls, N.C. The annual Throwback 276 at Hickory Motor Speedway on July 27 and another event at Tri-County on Oct. 12 make up the remainder of the events, which replace the annual $30,000-to-win Old North State Nationals on the schedule. The increase in both division’s car counts spurred the decision to increase the purse, giving more drivers chances to earn bigger paydays.

Nasse Attempts the Double at North Wilkesboro

Stephen Nasse is a name most Late Model racers know…and fear. The 29-year-old Florida driver has been a fixture at most of the big Late Model events around the country, including the annual Snowball Derby, the Winchester 400, and others. He’ll add his name to the list of luminaries at North Wilkesboro this weekend by competing in both the Pro Late Model and Late Model Stock Car Series events. Nasse’s three previous LMSC starts came at Orange County (one) and Tri-County (two), where he finished in the top 10 in all events – two being top-five results.

Sellers Joins The Show in LMSC

Like Nasse, Peyton Sellers is a driver who generates respect any time his transporter rolls through the gate. The Virginia native will make the trip to North Wilkesboro to compete against the finest the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car division has to offer. The two-time NASCAR Weekly Racing Series champion is also a past winner of the annual ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway. Both his starts in the series have come in the Old North State Nationals races (2020 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and 2022 at Caraway Speedway). He will make his NWS debut this week, chasing the $10,000 winner’s check.

Davis Seeks One Step Up the Order

Spencer Davis has made a big impression in the Pro Late Model ranks with the zMAX CARS Tour this season, and nowhere was that more evident than last week at Ace Speedway. The Georgia driver shadowed eventual winner Caden Kvapil for 100 laps, finishing second. That’s a good springboard for next week’s visit to North Wilkesboro. The runner-up result pushed his average finish in four races to 3.25. The 25-year-old Dawsonville, Ga. native has competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series, and the NASCAR Whelen Modified tours in his career and is a player in the Pro Late Model world.

The green flag for the Pro Late Model’s Reverend 100 will wave at 8:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, May 14. On Wednesday, May 15, the Late Model Stock Car division will be in action for the Window World 125 at 8:30 p.m. ET. FloRacing will provide qualifying and race coverage for both CARS Tour divisions.

For more information on the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com. Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on X (formerly known as Twitter) and scrolling through photos on Instagram cars_tour.

Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office at (704) 696-3570.

-CARS Tour Press Release
-Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America