Carson Kvapil, Mike Hopkins Take Victories in Historic Night at Hickory

The largest field ever assembled in the history of the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour for the Tuff Shed 250 at Hickory Motor Speedway gave fans everything they asked for and more.

A total of 29 cars took the green flag for the 100-lap PLM Tour race while the LMSC Tour had to narrow down a 41-car entry list to 32 through the introduction of a last chance qualifier. Intense racing dominated an evening that culminated into two of the best finishes the CARS Tour has seen in its nine-year history.

Familiar faces ultimately took home checkered flags in each event. Carson Kvapil strengthened his points lead in the LMSC Tour with his second win in three races, all while Mike Hopkins kept his perfect record in the 2023 PLM Tour season alive with a narrow victory.

Kvapil had the least stressful night of the two, as he maintained his own pace in the 150-lap LMSC Tour feature before lapped traffic enabled Connor Hall to reel him in during the closing stages.

A few months removed from his Throwback 276 at Hickory, Hall methodically worked Kvapil over before driving his car deep into Turn 4 on the last lap. The ensuing contact knocked Kvapil sideways, but it was not enough for Hall to claim his first LMSC Tour victory on the 2023 season.

In the PLM Tour, Isabella Robusto was on the verge of becoming the first woman to win in either CARS Tour division, having driven a mostly flawless race despite turning Connor Zilisch early while battling for the lead.

The final laps saw Hopkins gradually reel in Robusto before passing her with a few laps remaining. Robusto attempted to retake the lead on the bottom of the track coming to the white flag, but ended up losing control of the car, causing her to make heavy contact with the inside wall.

Hopkins was still left to deal with Zilisch and Brent Crews over the course of two green-white-checkered attempts. Crews was the one to pull alongside Hopkins coming to the checkered flag, only for the two to spin out on the frontstretch with Hopkins crossing the line first for his second consecutive victory.

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Following a thrilling Tuff Shed 250, both divisions of the CARS Tour will get some rest before heading to Altamahaw, N.C. for the series’ first visit to Ace Speedway on the 2023 season. The race will be streamed live on FloRacing.

For more information on the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the 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 Twitter and scrolling through photos on Instagram cars_tour.

Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in
Mooresville, NC, at 704.662.9212.

LMSC Results:

1. 8 Carson Kvapil
2. 77 Connor Hall
3. 10 Kaden Honeycutt
4. 16 Chad McCumbee
5. 08 Deac McCaskill
6. 95 Jacob Heafner
7. 03 Brenden Queen
8. 24 Mason Diaz -1
9. 57 Connor Zilisch -1
10. 43 William Sawalich -1
11. 15 Ryan Millington -1
12. 44 Conner Jones -1
13. 98 Cody Kelley -1
14. 2 Brandon Pierce -1
15. 9w Charlie Watson -1
16. 1 Andrew Grady -1
17. 8B Chase Burrow -1
18. 4 Dylon Wilson -1
19. 97A Colby Howard -1
20. 75 Landon Huffman -1
21. 55 Isabella Robusto -1
22. 32 Zack Miracle -1
23. 67 Cameron Bolin -2
24. 42 Carson Brown -5
25. 81 Mini Tyrrell – OUT
26. 04 Ronnie Bassett Jr. – OUT
27. 99 Layne Riggs – OUT
28. 09 Riley Gentry – OUT
29. 21 Lanie Buice – OUT
30. 6 Bobby McCarty – OUT
31. 23 Kade Brown – OUT
32. 9 Ashton Higgins – OUT

PLM Results:

1. 15H Mike Hopkins
2. 24 Brent Crews
3. 25 Connor Zilisch
4. 54 Matt Craig
5. 26 Dawson Sutton
6. 81 Katie Hettinger
7. 15B Luke Baldwin
8. 9 Ashton Higgins
9. 5B Gavan Boschele
10. 7 Tristan McKee
11. 96 Caden Kvapil
12. 27 Lee Tissot
13. 15 Brett Suggs
14. 43H Joshua Horniman
15. 49M Luke Morey -1
16. 8 Rusty Skewes -1
17. 24D Jadyn Daniels -1
18. 97 Dylan Garner -1
19. 28 Isabella Robusto – OUT
20. 13 Austin MacDonald – OUT
21. 43 Nick Loden – OUT
22. 44L Michael Lichtfeld – OUT
23. 44 Justin Whitaker – OUT
24. 48 Jeff Batten – OUT
25. 6 George Phillips – OUT
26. 03 Kyle Campbell – OUT
27. 2 Hudson Canipe – OUT
28. 77 Logan Jones – OUT
29. 5 Zac Fowler – OUT

-CARS Tour Press Release
-Photo: Will Bellamy/Racing America