Hettinger Racing Brings Three-Car Armada to North Wilkesboro

Hettinger Racing is bringing a three-car lineup to the zMAX CARS Tour’s biggest race – the Window World 100 Friday night at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.

The 100-lap Late Model Stock race around the historic, .625-mile oval will be broadcast live on FS1 for the first time in series history. Hettinger Racing, the team owned by second-generation racer Chris Hettinger, is taking full advantage of the platform, adding fulltime NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver and last year’s CARS Tour Pro Late Model champion Kaden Honeycutt to the roster, pairing the 2024 Snowball Derby winner with CARS Tour Late Model Stock regulars Donovan Strauss and Parker Eatmon.

“The CARS Tour keeps growing, both in terms of competitiveness and prestige, and this week’s race at North Wilkesboro is proof of that. The added spotlight of having FS1 broadcast the Window World 100 is a great opportunity for our race team, and we’re working hard to make the most of it,” Hettinger said.

The zMAX Cars Tour is the nation’s premier Late Model touring series, and Friday night’s FS1 broadcast will have premier talent in the booth. NASCAR Hall of Famer and CARS Tour co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., along with fellow CARS Tour co-owner and NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, will call the action alongside series play-by-play announcer Eric Brennan. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. EDT with the green flag waving at 8:15 p.m.

Honeycutt is very familiar with North Wilkesboro. He ran four CARS Tour races at the track last year – both Late Model Stock events and both Pro Late Model events. He finished top-10 in all of them, highlighted by a title-clinching victory in the Pro Late Model race last October.

“This is huge for the CARS Tour and huge for short-track racers in general,” said Honeycutt, who will pilot the No. 5 Cook Electrical Chevrolet. “Being on FS1 has pretty big significance, especially for young, up-and-coming drivers trying to put themselves on the map and move up to the next level. There’s a lot on the line for all of us this week.”

Practice for the Window World 100 begins Thursday with two, 40-minute sessions from 12:45 p.m. to 1:25 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. to 2:55 p.m. EDT, respectively. Qualifying takes place at 7 p.m.

The track time will be incredibly valuable to all drivers, but especially for Eatmon and Strauss. Eatmon has one CARS Tour start at North Wilkesboro, while Strauss will take to the venerable oval for the first time.

“I ran in the top-10 there last year before I got caught up in a wreck. I still learned a lot,” said Eatmon, who won last year’s Thanksgiving Classic 250 at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, North Carolina, and drives the No. 71 Vetted Ventures Chevrolet.

“People are like, ‘Oh, Wilkesboro is pretty big,’ but when you get out there side-by-side, it’s actually really tight because it’s kind of one lane. You have to be in that lane to make fast laps. That’s pretty difficult in (turns) one and two. In (turns) three and four, we saw it widen out a little toward the end of last year’s race, especially with the leaders trying to run different grooves.

“But the air at North Wilkesboro actually makes a big difference. People are not really used to it in Late Model stock cars, but I think with the speed we’re running at North Wilkesboro, if you get tucked up behind someone, it’s just going to make you tighter because of the dirty air.”

That nuance, among others, will be new to Strauss, but Strauss has proven to be a quick learner. He won the 2024 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series South Carolina Rookie-of-the-Year title and earned a breakout victory Aug. 17 at Florence (S.C.) Motor Speedway. It was one of 12 top-five finishes in his 14 races at Florence, a schedule that was augmented by select CARS Tour events.

“Just based on watching film and studying for this race, the high grip and the high speeds and just how fast it is will be a challenge,” said Strauss, driver of the No. 4 Sevaro/National Stroke Awareness Month Chevrolet. “You’re just going to have to really, really get after it every single lap.”

Despite not yet turning a lap around North Wilkesboro, Strauss’ insights are spot on, as verified by Honeycutt.

“The really challenging part of North Wilkesboro is getting used to the grip level right away,” Honeycutt said. “These Late Models are pretty fast. Brake-to-gas transition is almost within two seconds. So, getting used to that grip level, and knowing what you can do to press the issue, while moving around the racetrack in search of different lines, is pretty important. There are definitely some unique things about this racetrack, but that’s what separates it from all the other places we go to.”

-Hettinger Racing Press Release
-Photo credit: Will Bellamy