CARS Tour titles to be decided at Wilkesboro

After 14 race weekends spanned across eight months, both the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model divisions will conclude their respective seasons on Saturday afternoon at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

The Crossroads Harley-Davidson 125 for Late Model Stocks and the CARS PLM Tour’s Northwest Automotive 100 wrap up thrilling years for each division. Four drivers in the CARS LMSC Tour have multiple wins to their name in 2025, all while the PLM Tour has seen nine different competitors visit Cook Out Victory Lane.

North Wilkesboro once again serves as the finale date for the LMSC and PLM Tour after previously doing so for the first time last year. One key difference for this year’s championship weekend is that both races take place with sunlight out, which will create new challenges for competitors to ascertain.

Although the PLM Tour title is effectively wrapped up, the top two in the LMSC Tour standings are separated by just 12 points going into the finale. North Wilkesboro presents one final opportunity for not only the championship contenders, but also the drivers seeking to end 2025 on a positive note.

Track Facts:

Track: North Wilkesboro Speedway
Location: North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Length: .625 mile
Laps: 125 (LMSC) / 100 (PLM)
CARS LMSC Tour races: 5
CARS PLM Tour races: 4
North Wilkesboro LMSC winners: Carson Kvapil (1), Brenden Queen (1), Treyten Lapcevich (1), Conner Jones (1), Landen Lewis (1)
North Wilkesboro PLM winners: Kaden Honeycutt (2), Augie Grill (1), Tristan McKee (1)

LMSC Entry List (26 cars): #00 Chase Burrow, #01 Thomas Beane, #03 Lanie Buice, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #1 Andrew Grady, #2 Brandon Pierce, #4 Kade Brown, #4S Donovan Strauss, #4W Dylon Wilson, #6 Brandon Lopez, #7 Tyler Reif, #8 Caden Kvapil, #8F Tate Fogleman, #12 Trevor Ward, #16 Chad McCumbee, #18 Alex Meggs, #22 Carson Loftin, #27 TBA, #28 Landon S. Huffman, #29 Landen Lewis, #44 Conner Jones, #57 Landon Huffman, #71 Parker Eatmon, #81 Mini Tyrrell, #88 Connor Hall, #88B Doug Barnes Jr.

PLM Entry List (22 cars): #4 Trey Burke, #6 Ben Maier, #6L Brandon Lopez, #7 Tristan McKee, #8 Terri Crider, #9 Ashton Higgins, #17 Taylor Mayhew, #17J Jake Johnson, #22 Dusty Garus, #24 Jade Avedisian, #25 Isaac Kitzmiller, #29 Kevin Harvick, #44 Conner Jones, #47 Tyler Reif, #51 Luke Baldwin, #61 Evan McKnight, #62 Keelan Harvick, #68 Aidan Potter, #82 Taylor Hull, #88 T.J. DeCaire, #97 Dylan Garner, #97K Jason Kitzmiller

LMSC Standings:

1. Landen Lewis
2. Connor Hall -12
3. Kade Brown -34
4. Landon Huffman -53
5. Mini Tyrrell -69
6. Conner Jones -83
7. Carson Loftin -99
8. Ronnie Bassett Jr. -103
9. Doug Barnes Jr. -106
10. Donovan Strauss -106

PLM Standings:

1. Ben Maier
2. Brandon Lopez -45
3. Dylan Garner -60
4. Keelan Harvick -79
5. Rodney Dowless -87
6. Isaac Kitzmiller -88
7. Tristan McKee -184
8. Tyler Reif -209
9. Jade Avedisian -215
10. J. DeCaire -232

Landen Lewis determined to close out LMSC Tour title

The last time Landen Lewis visited North Wilkesboro Speedway for the CARS LMSC Tour, he led every lap from the pole in front of a national television broadcast.

Lewis’ triumph that evening served as his second of four victories on the year, all of which contributed to his 12-point advantage heading into the Crossroads Harley-Davidson 125. Replicating the stellar performance from May is all Lewis leads to wrap the LMSC Tour title in his first full-time campaign.

“I feel pretty confident with the piece we’re going to bring,” Lewis said. “We were really good [at North Wilkesboro] earlier this year, so hopefully we’ll have that same type of speed in the car. We’ve done our homework on what we need to bring there to be good, so hopefully everything goes as planned.”

After breaking through for his first LMSC Tour win at Wake County Speedway last year, Lewis expected to at least obtain multiple victories in 2025. Aside from a disappointing summer stretch, Lewis and Kevin Harvick Inc. maintained a status quo as one of the most efficient combinations within the LMSC Tour.

The addition of NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers prior to Lewis’ first win of the year at Ace Speedway proved to be a massive benefit. While Lewis admitted not much changed with the setups, being able to lean on Childers provided him insight on how to not only put a complete weekend together, but an entire season.

Now on the cusp of an LMSC Tour title, Lewis’ goal is to ensure two meticulous weeks of preparation translate into a flawless day at North Wilkesboro. Being able to join names like Josh Berry, Brenden Queen, Bobby McCarty and others as an LMSC Tour champion would be a career highlight for Lewis and a reflection on his development as a driver.

“Josh [Berry] has been a huge help in my career, [particularly] with getting me through the year and how to process everything,” Lewis said. “[Brenden Queen] has been good this year on the ARCA side, which shows how talented the CARS Tour field is. To put my name into that list [of champions] would be really cool.”

Connor Hall hopes to deliver JR Motorsports another championship

In his two full-time CARS LMSC Tour seasons, Connor Hall has finished in the runner-up position on each occasion.

Hall finds himself in the same scenario once again ahead of the season-ending Crossroads Harley-Davidson 125, tailing Landen Lewis by just 12 points. Hall erased some of his deficit to Lewis in the penultimate race at Tri-County Motor Speedway but emphasized the importance of continuing that momentum on Saturday.

“We did 90 percent of our job at Tri-County [Motor Speedway],” Hall said. “We’re looking to continue building on that package we took to Tri-County. We’re excited to get to [North Wilkesboro Speedway], try some different setup items and see if we can’t make the car a little better. Maybe we can end the year with an elevator ride.”

The 2025 LMSC Tour season could not have started on a better note for Hall. He never finished worse than second across the first three races, scoring victories at Coastal Plains Motorsports Park and Cordele Motor Speedway.

Since then, Hall and JR Motorsports have battled to re-establish their early-season efficiency while battling Lewis for the title. Although Hall does have the same number of top fives as Lewis with seven, a handful of disappointing outings, including two 18^th place finishes, caused him to lose vital ground in the standings.

If Hall were to overtake Lewis in the championship fight at North Wilkesboro, he would give JR Motorsports their fourth LMSC Tour title. The path towards that goal is feasible but arduous for Hall, but he has full confidence in himself and JR Motorsports to put together a championship-worthy performance on Saturday evening.

“To end the season on a high note would be nice,” Hall said. “We’re looking for a win or a championship, hopefully both. We’ve had a pretty good year but have had some bad luck at times which has cost us a little more than we needed it to. If the championship takes care of itself, it does.”

Ben Maier looks to cap off PLM Tour championship season with his first win

For as consistent as Ben Maier’s rookie CARS PLM Tour campaign has been, there is still one item missing from his resume, a victory.

Saturday’s Northwest Automotive 100 at North Wilkesboro Speedway is Maier’s last chance to add a victory onto a stellar season that will conclude with a PLM Tour title. Maier’s first trip to North Wilkesboro in May ended with a ninth place run, a statistic he intends to improve upon before officially becoming a champion.

“Trying to wrap the championship up is one of our top priorities, but a win would also be amazing,” Maier said. “We haven’t been quite as good on high-grip tracks. We’ve had pretty good qualifying runs at most of the tracks, but the long-run pace is something we’ve got to figure out a little bit. If we can figure that out, we’ll be pretty good in the race.”

Across 11 PLM Tour events this year, Maier has tallied six top five finishes, tying him with Isaac Kitzmiller for the most of any PLM Tour driver. The closest Maier came to Cook Out Victory Lane was at Ace Speedway and South Boston Speedway, as he earned a runner-up finish in both events.

The mentorship of his car owners Dennis and Brandon Setzer, both accomplished competitors themselves, has been instrumental towards Maier finding a rhythm in Pro Late Models. Maier is always a careful student around the Setzers, listening to their recommendations while providing feedback on what his car needs.

Relying on the notes he and the Setzers built from North Wilkesboro earlier in the year will be crucial for Maier if he wants to end 2025 as the 10^th different PLM Tour winner. Maier understands how different North Wilkesboro is compared to other short tracks, but he is determined to take the track’s famed elevator ride with the Setzers on Saturday.

“It’d be amazing to get my first CARS Tour win,” Maier said. “That’s what we’ve been working towards all year. The championship just came along with it, which is amazing. [North Wilkesboro] is the biggest, fastest track we go to, so we’re going to have to be strategic about [everything], run fast laps and see where I’m at in the end.”

Harvick Cup rolls into North Wilkesboro

After six races in the Harvick Cup fueled by Hunt Brothers Pizza, Keelan Harvick holds a one-sided advantage over his father Kevin Harvick.

Keelan bested Kevin in the first five events of the Harvick Cup, earning three victories during that stretch. Kevin finally finished in front of Keelan during the most recent Harvick Cup event at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after the latter ended his race behind the wall in 13^th.

Both Harvicks enter the Northwest Automotive 100 with experience at North Wilkesboro Speedway to rely on. Kevin finished 11^th in his two North Wilkesboro CARS LMSC Tour events and was 18^th during the All-Star Race there in 2023, all while Keelan finished third in his first North Wilkesboro appearance earlier this year.

Despite Keelan’s success in a Pro Late Model, Kevin has managed to hang with his son across the Harvick Cup and even defeated him in a separate event at Kern in May. Kevin looks to notch another win over Keelan as they bring their season-long battle to one of the southeast’s most historic tracks.

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