Landen Lewis claims third CARS win; Dale Jr top-10

Landen Lewis scored the win in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour’s return to Anderson Motor Speedway, gaining valuable points on Connor Hall in the fight for the championship in the process.

Lewis started the race in fifth and spent much of it battling Jared Fryar for the lead. After running behind Fryar for 67 laps, with 13 laps to go, Lewis made the pass and never surrendered it. This is the third win on the year for the Kevin Harvick Inc. driver — tying him with Mini Tyrrell for the most wins on the season.

“It’s so special,” Lewis said. “We’ve worked hard the last two weeks to turn this thing around. We’ve been in contention every week, and things don’t go our way, driver makes mistakes, we just haven’t been on our groove that we need to be on, and tonight, we’ve made a 50 percent gain, and I’m super proud of that. We’ve worked hard this week, so I’m just super proud to come out here and get this win for not just me, [but] my guys as well.” 

During a race that saw comers and goers, Lewis said that he was pushing to get past Fryar the whole run.

“Once we got to second, it was game on,” Lewis said. “Once the caution came out, I thought we were in trouble, honestly, just because I knew third and fourth had been saving a little bit more. I just kind of went for it, and luckily, we were able to find that second groove. That worked out really well for me.

“Once I got to Jared, it kind of evened out. Jared raced really clean, and it was super cool to race with him. He’s super clean, and a CARS Tour champion, so [I was] just trying to learn from the best.”

The points standings are unofficial currently, but with Hall finishing in fifth, it is a good sign for Lewis’ championship hope. He entered 12 points behind Hall, so not only is the win good for him and the team’s morale, it is also good for his points situation.

“We’re just going to keep digging at it,” Lewis said. “We’re going to keep with the talk we had at the shop on Monday last week, and we’ll just keep staying by that. [We’re] doing what we need to do. We were 50% [better] tonight [and] we need to be 100% [better] the next time. We’ll keep working on it, and continue to get better.”

Even though Hall finished fifth, which other than a runner up at Dominion is his best finish since Cordele, Lewis winning makes his championship hunt even tougher. 

“I think we’re just missing one little piece,” Hall said. “I think once we figure it out when it comes to our low grip package, I think we’re going to be pretty solid. Winning fixes everything.”

During the final run, Landon Huffman was one of the fastest cars on track. He was able to get past Fryar within five laps to go, and started chasing down Lewis, but he just didn’t have enough time to get to him.

“[I needed] more laps,” Huffman said. “Pretty much the same result as Caraway. We fall a little snug early. I don’t know what it is about the higher braking tracks, but it seems like I’ve found a way to take care of the equipment a little better and be there closer to the end and still have tire left or brake left

“The car is really good at the end, so I’m proud of that. We’ve got to still work on putting a whole weekend together because qualifying is hurting us, but a great run for us and something to build on for sure.”

Even though the attention in the championship is on Lewis and Hall, Huffman is keeping his name in the conversation. While he is close in the points, his main focus is on one thing. Winning.

“I’d rather win,” Huffman said. “I’m trying to get these guys in victory lane. I’m not really worried about the points. [Hall and Lewis], they’ll handle themselves and if I go win races, then I’ll be there at the end. I think we’ve got them. 

“They’re going to have to work harder now because they know that we’re getting better and we’re fast at the end of these races. If we can figure out how to qualify, I think everybody’s going to be in for it. That’s part of it. We sacrificed some early to be good at the end and they’re better than us at the start of the race, so it’s just tough, man. Everybody’s so good in this series and that’s what makes it the best short track series in America.”

Even though Fryar wasn’t able to get another win this year, he was once again one of the fastest cars the whole race. While he is only racing part time in the CARS Tour this year, he is a threat every time he is on the entry list.

“ I was comfortable,” Fryar said in regards to battling Lewis for so long. “I was in a good spot; good rhythm. I could tell what he was doing back there, and he was doing a good job too. I felt like I did everything right to keep him back there. Tires just didn’t hang on as long as they needed to for me there. 

“That last caution, I fired off really good. Got out to a good lead and then he got to my bumper. I spun the tires there, and then after that it just wasn’t the same. I was just kind of hanging on. It was over after that for me. It’s frustrating, but still it’s good to come out and lead laps, run up front, be competitive. Sucks not winning, but to run top three, and run first [and] second all night is good.”

Dale Jr. gets a top 10

In his second CARS Tour start of the year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was able to overcome near disaster and score a top 10 finish, his first since Florence of last year.

His day nearly ended on lap 24 when a big crash broke out in Turn 1. Earnhardt went high to just skirt by without damage. Then on lap 52 he spun on the frontstretch after drifting up and making contact with Lanie Buice. Again, he avoided any significant damage.

Since a lot of other drivers pitted, Earnhardt was able to restart in the same position he was in when he spun out. Remarkably, he drove through the field, getting as high as ninth with 10 laps to go but got passed by Parker Eatmon, dropping back to 10th at the checkered flag.

However, the main thing is, he had fun.

“That was fun,” Earnhardt said after the race. “I wish the car had a little more speed. We worked on it and we had some good [speed] the last few days, but we made a mock qualifying run in the second practice and the car was tight and stayed tight the rest of the night.

“[I] had enough speed to pass a few guys. [There’s] a few tire marks down the right side, so I can’t complain too much. [We] had a great crowd. Great night for the CARS Tour. No real trouble or drama. Just a good night of racing for these folks. I hope they enjoyed it.

“I knew starting 22nd we were going to have to dodge some things. Every time I drive this car we end up having to put a bumper bar on it because I run over something or into somebody. I don’t know what shape it’s in but it looks okay actually.

“We dodged some things. I spun. Me and Lanie were racing. She’s a great racer. I got into her left rear and [it] jerked the steering wheel out of my hand. Our wheels just grabbed, or jumped her tire or something. Luckily they threw the yellow so I didn’t get lapped. A bunch of people pitted. We actually didn’t even lose a spot.

“The car actually ran pretty good the rest of the night. I got to the top side and made some time late in the race, but with about 25 [laps] to go, I burnt the rear tires off. Really loose in and really loose off. Couldn’t go forward after that.”

Earnhardt has more CARS Tour starts scheduled for this year. On October 4, he will be racing at Tri-County sporting the Sundrop colors on his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. He has mentioned he only has a few more years left as a driver, so Tri-County will be one of the final few times fans will be able to catch Dale Jr, behind the wheel of a race car.

zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour
Anderson Motor Speedway
August 16, 2025

1. #29 Landen Lewis
2. #57 Landon Huffman
3. #14 Jared Fryar
4. #00 Chase Burrow
5. #88 Connor Hall
6. #81 Mini Tyrrell
7. #7 Tristan McKee
8. #4 Kade Brown
9. #71 Parker Eatmon
10. #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
11. #4S Donovan Strauss
12. #03 Lanie Buice
13. #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr.
14. #88 Doug Barnes Jr.
15. #22 Carson Loftin
16. #X Thomas Beane
17. #2 Brandon Pierce
18. #44 Conner Jones
19. #88G Gary Greenwood Jr.
20. #71B Jake Bollman
21. #7H Ryan Howard
22. #40 Taylor Satterfield
23. #2C Ralph Carnes
24. #36 Niel Meredith
25. #09 Riley Gentry
26. #74 Jeremy Burns
27. #18 David Roberts
28. #2W Ryan Wilson