Kaden Honeycutt Beats the Heat for CARS Tour North Wilkesboro Sweep

Earlier this year, Kaden Honeycutt became the first driver to win both divisions on a zMAX CARS Tour race night with a sweep at Ace Speedway. He wasted little time in repeating the feat at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Friday.

On a hot and grueling night, Honeycutt won in both the Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model divisions to kick off a big weekend of racing at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

First, Honeycutt went to victory lane with the zMAX CARS Tour Pro Late Model Series for the third time in his career, holding off T.J. DeCaire to win the Spears Manufacturing 75.

Honeycutt won out in a tense battle with Luke Baldwin and Mason Walters for the top spot, taking the lead for the final time on lap 47. From there, Honeycutt stretched out an advantage, but saw that advantage slip away as he negotiated lapped traffic in front of a hard-charging DeCaire.

At the line, Honeycutt scored the win by 0.256 seconds over DeCaire.

"That lapped car definitely made it interesting at the end," said Honeycutt in victory lane. "This was a great car. We definitely weren't the best right there, but we took advantage of a restart. I was able to put Luke in dirty air and was able to fight for it."

While Honeycutt didn't believe he had the best car in the field, he did believe taking part in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice on Friday afternoon helped him prepare for the CARS Tour portion of Friday's schedule at North Wilkesboro.

"The track changed a whole lot from practice yesterday, and I was able to use the Truck to my advantage today. I figured out what line I wanted to run, and thankfully it worked out for us."

DeCaire battled his way to the second spot, closing the gap on Honeycutt in the closing laps. It was a physical battle just to get to second, but DeCaire chalked that up to the level of competition on the CARS Tour.

"It was really good. I didn't feel like I needed anything else besides more laps and a better restart on my part. The car was great. Everything went to plan, according to our gameplan for the race. The restarts were a little finnick. Everybody was rough, but at the end of the day, it's North Wilkesboro. Everybody's racing for the win, and that's what the CARS Tour is.

"There are a lot of great cars out there. We're all fighting for the same spot, so I can't be too upset about it. Like I said, the car was phenomenal all weekend. I don't think we changed a thing on it since we unloaded. It was that good."

Conner Jones finished third, followed by Baldwin and Walters.

After that effort and celebration, Honeycutt climbed into the No. 17 Tom Usry Racing Late Model Stock Car and battled for another 100 laps. The Skyline National Bank 100 came down to a similar finish, with Honeycutt navigating lapped traffic and fending off a late charge from Corey Heim for the win.

Despite 175 laps of racing on a hot evening that took its toll on Honeycutt, there was no stopping him on Friday night.

"I just refuse to lose," said Honeycutt after the Late Model Stock win. "I wasn't going to quit. I refuse to quit. I knew me and [Heim] were really strong. Practically, it was the same car. Man, what a race car. I can't thank my Tom Usry Racing group enough.

"It's a huge stage. This is unbelievable. Thank you to the fans for coming out on a Friday night. Just unbelievable. I can't believe what we just did this weekend. It just wouldn't happen without amazing owners, man. I would not be able to do this without them."

While Heim's own double-duty bid started with a sour note in the Pro Late Model, ending 20 laps shy of the finish, he contended for the win in the No. 12 Nelson Motorsports Late Model Stock Car.

"We didn't need much tonight, we were really good with our PenAir Camry. Obviously, really close there at the end. I think it was going to come down to kind of a lapped traffic game and track position. Kaden did a great job, so congrats to him. I definitely had a lot of fun today, so I'll take that."

Jake Bollman rounded out the Late Model Stock podium, followed by Connor Hall and Brenden Queen.

With the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series also at North Wilkesboro this weekend, several NASCAR National Series competitors competed in one or both races of the CARS Tour twinbill on Friday night. Most notably, NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott raced in both features, finishing 14th in both divisions.

Much like when he swept both CARS Tour divisions after winning in both the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Watkins Glen International, Honeycutt will have another chance to ride North Wilkesboro's famed elevator to victory lane on Saturday afternoon. The FaithFest 250 for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes the green flag at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 17, with coverage on FS1, the NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The next stop for the zMAX CARS Tour is one of its signature events, the Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway. That event is scheduled for August 8, with both divisions in action.

-Photo credit: CARS Tour

zMAX CARS Tour Unofficial Results at North Wilkesboro
Late Model Stock Cars - Skyline National Bank 100

Pro Late Models - Spears Manufacturing 75