UARA National Series
UARA Super Fest Spring Showdown at Cordele Postponed
Mar 24, 2025
The second race on the 2025 schedule for the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour will be at the smallest track the series visits: Wake County Speedway.
Built in 1962, Wake County has long been a hidden gem nestled within North Carolina’s state capital of Raleigh. As the city continues to grow, Wake County thrives alongside it with a vibrant weekly racing program that includes Late Model Stocks to go along with Legends, Mini Stocks, Bandoleros and other classes.
Saturday’s Accent Imaging 125 will be the fifth time Wake County has hosted an event for the CARS Tour’s Late Model Stock division. The facility’s tight, quarter-mile layout has produced close, intense racing across each CARS Tour event, all while rewarding competitors both young and experienced.
Connor Hall enters Wake County with momentum on his side after claiming the CARS LMSC Tour opener at New River All American Speedway. He will have to fend off a talented group of Wake County locals and series regulars to open 2025 with two consecutive victories.
Track Facts:
Track: Wake County Speedway
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Length: .250 mile
Laps: 125 (LMSC)
CARS LMSC Tour races: 4
CARS PLM Tour races: 1
Wake County LMSC winners: Sam Mayer (1), Deac McCaskill (1), Carson Kvapil (1), Landen Lewis (1)
Wake County PLM winners: Logan Jones (1)
LMSC Entry List (28 cars): #00 Chase Burrow, #03 Lanie Buice, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #05 Mason Bailey, #08 Deac McCaskill, #08H Carson Haislip, #1 Andrew Grady, #1J Clay Jones, #2 Brandon Pierce, #4 Kade Brown, #4E Parker Eatmon, #4S Donovan Strauss, #7 Tristan McKee, #11 Buddy Isles Jr., #15 Ryan Millington, #15H Holden Haddock, #16 Chad McCumbee, #22 Carson Loftin, #28 Landon S. Huffman, #29 Landen Lewis, #32 Dylon Wilson, #44 Conner Jones, #50 Daniel Vuncannon, #57 Landon Huffman, #71 Aaron Donnelly, #81 Mini Tyrrell, #88 Connor Hall, #88B Doug Barnes Jr.
LMSC Standings:
- Connor Hall
- Bobby McCarty -7
- Carson Loftin -9
- Ronnie Bassett Jr. -9
- Ryan Millington -11
- Caden Kvapil -12
- Kade Brown -13
- Doug Barnes Jr. -13
- Donovan Strauss -15
- Lanie Buice -16
Landen Lewis returns to site of first CARS LMSC Tour victory
The last time the CARS LMSC Tour visited Wake County Speedway back in August, Landen Lewis became a first-time winner.
Prior to that evening, Lewis only had two top 10 finishes across eight LMSC Tour appearances with Kevin Harvick Inc. Breaking through for a victory amidst a tough rookie campaign was a rewarding experience for Lewis, one he hopes to replicate at the end of Saturday’s Accent Imaging 125.
“We had a really good car that night,” Lewis said. “We came off a rough couple weeks before that, which definitely made it sweet. Going back to [Wake County] will be really cool to try and get the momentum going early on in the year.”
Lewis had the benefit of two previous Legend starts at Wake County before turning his first laps in a Late Model Stock at the facility. Although he does not prefer smaller tracks, Lewis credited that experience for enabling him to methodically climb from an eighth-place starting position to the front of the field.
The clean, competitive nature of last year’s event despite the tight confines of Wake County was a pleasant surprise to Lewis. He said the grip stemming from a repave Wake County received in 2023 created plenty of passing opportunities, which is why Lewis is eager to return to the bullring so he can defend his victory.
Besting many seasoned LMSC Tour veterans like Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen and Connor Hall at Wake County instilled confidence into Lewis about his ability to drive a Late Model Stock. Saturday presents an ideal chance for Lewis to showcase that talent once again and rebound from an 11th place run to open 2025 at New River All American Speedway.
“Every race matters,” Lewis said. “You can’t have one bad race and if you do, it sets you back throughout the year. Our goal going into [New River] was to finish and have a good run. It wasn’t the greatest run that we wanted and we know Wake County is going to be a tight racetrack. It’s all about finishing, but being consistent is the name of the game.”
Local competitor Carson Haislip seeks another strong Wake County run
Carson Haislip’s maiden CARS LMSC Tour race at his home track of Wake County Speedway last year, was nearly everything he could have hoped for.
After earning the outside pole, Haislip put together a quiet but clean outing against the LMSC Tour regulars to obtain a solid seventh-place finish. Haislip departed the track believing he could have performed better, which is why he has set high expectations for his second Wake County LMSC Tour start on Saturday.
“It was definitely pretty big being in front of my hometown fans,” Haislip said. “That was a track I learned how to race on, so to qualify up front in a really big series was a super cool. We had a good run, but it wasn’t what I wanted. This year we’re going in full force and I’m hoping to bring the checkered flag home.”
A good portion of Haislip’s formative years as a competitor were spent across Wake County’s local divisions. Among the accomplishments Haislip accumulated at the bullring included four Late Model Stock victories and two consecutive titles in a Legends car.
Haislip saw the CARS Tour as the next logical step forward in his career, knowing he could garner more recognition on a national platform while simultaneously improving his craft. A Late Model Stock title at Wake County remains Haislip’s primary goal for 2025, but he also intends to enter as many LMSC Tour events as possible.
The season-opener at New River All American Speedway proved to be a learning curve for Haislip in many aspects, but he was satisfied with how the weekend unfolded. Now back on his home turf for Saturday, Haislip wants nothing more than to show off his burgeoning Late Model Stock experience by celebrating a victory with the local fans.
“We’re going into [Wake County] with the mindset of winning this thing,” Haislip said. “We tested the other day and our car was really good. I think we made 15 laps and then loaded the thing up because it was so fast. We’re coming to [Wake County] with a crew dedicated to win and hopefully we can do it.”
Dylon Wilson prepared for first start with MKM Racing Development
The first appearance for Dylon Wilson in the 2025 CARS LMSC Tour campaign will not be in his familiar, bright orange No. 4 Late Model Stock.
Instead, Wilson is teaming up with MKM Racing Development for Saturday’s Accent Imaging 125 at Wake County Speedway. Wilson played a vital role in preparing MKM for the LMSC Tour opener at New River All American Speedway and hopes stepping into the driver’s seat keeps the program’s trajectory going in a positive direction.
“[Michael Klein] and my father [Eric] are friends and met through the pit crew stuff,” Wilson said. “Now dad is doing some crew chief work for him and I’m helping out a bit in the driving department. It’s a big team deal and it’s cool to see this all come full circle with [Michael] and my dad hanging out again.”
Wilson could not think of a more perfect track to debut with MKM than Wake County. Many weekends were spent at Wake County during Wilson’s youth, where he fell in love with the facility’s tight layout that offered more room to race compared to other bullrings like Bowman Gray Stadium.
The only time Wilson competed at Wake County following the repave came during his lone full LMSC Tour season back in 2023. A fresh surface eliminated the need for tire conservation that Wilson was long used to at Wake County, which only put more emphasis on keeping the front end of the car clean through 125 laps.
Avoiding trouble will be imperative for Wilson to finish strong on Saturday, which starts with securing solid track position through qualifying. The strength of the MKM equipment has Wilson optimistic about putting together a strong run at Wake County, but he also wants to enjoy the weekend and not put unnecessary stress on himself.
“I’d love to get myself a good starting spot, but our main goal is to just finish the race and be proud of it,” Wilson said. “I don’t want to say I want to finish top 10 or top five to be good. I did that to myself in 2023 and I just don’t think that’s how I want to do it anymore. I want to learn as much as I can and give this [MKM] program a good kickstart.”
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A full docket of racing is on hand for Saturday’s Accent Imaging 125 at Wake County Speedway. The Southern Ground Pounders open the evening’s festivities with a 25-lap feature at 6:30 p.m. ET, with the other local race being a 20-lap event for the Bomber / Any Car class.
The green flag for the 125-lap CARS LMSC Tour feature will wave at 7:30 p.m. ET, with FloRacing providing live coverage of all the on-track action.
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, located in Mooresville, NC, at 704-662-9212.
-zMAX CARS Tour Release
-Photo credit: Ted Malinowski
