Dale Jr., CARS Tour competitors head South of the Border to Florence

For the second year in a row, both divisions of the zMAX CARS Tour will be spending the opening portion of Labor Day weekend at Florence Motor Speedway.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic kickstarted the CARS Tour’s relationship with Florence, as the facility hosted events for the series on Oct. 3, 2020 after the schedule was reorganized. Aside from 2022, Florence has been a part of the CARS Tour calendar every year since, with the track’s date now a Labor Day tradition for the series.

For Late Model Stock competitors, Friday’s Cook Out 225 at Florence has a lot more on the line than just a victory. Whoever takes home the win automatically earns the pole for Florence’s prestigious South Carolina 400 in November, an honor that went to Ryan Millington last year.

Success at Florence requires drivers to exercise copious patience on the facility’s abrasive surface. Efficient tire conservation during the opening laps will be crucial towards deciding which competitors are able to battle up front for the chance to earn a CARS Tour checkered flag on Labor Day weekend.

Track Facts:

Track: Florence Motor Speedway
Location: Timmonsville, South Carolina
Length: .400 mile
Laps: 125 (LMSC) / 100 (PLM)
CARS LMSC Tour races: 4
CARS PLM Tour races: 1
Florence LMSC winners: Nolan Pope (1), Kaden Honeycutt (1), Carson Kvapil (1), Ryan Millington (1)
Florence PLM winners: Spencer Davis (1)

Cook Out 225 schedule

LMSC Entry List (27 cars): #00 Chase Burrow, #03 Lanie Buice, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #2 Brandon Pierce, #2W Matt Waltz, #2W Ryan Wilson, #4 Kade Brown, #4S Donovan Strauss, #7 Tyler Reif, #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. #13 Cody Kelley, #16 Chad McCumbee, #16K Casey Kelley, #22 Carson Loftin, #27 Helio Meza, #28 Ryan Glenski, #29 Landen Lewis, #44 Conner Jones, #51 Matt Cox, #57 Landon Huffman, #63 Tyler Matthews, #71 Parker Eatmon, #81 Mini Tyrrell, #88 Connor Hall, #88 Doug Barnes Jr., #97 Isaac Kitzmiller, #98 Jacob Heafner

PLM Entry List (13 cars): #6 Ben Maier, #6L Brandon Lopez, #15 Case James, #22 Dusty Garus, #24 Jade Avedisian, #25 Isaac Kitzmiller, #31 Chase Burgeson, #44 Conner Jones, #47 Tyler Reif, #51 Cody Ware, #62 Keelan Harvick, #62 Rodney Dowless, #97 Dylan Garner

LMSC Standings:

1. Connor Hall
2. Landen Lewis -4
3. Kade Brown -17
4. Mini Tyrrell -28
5. Landon Huffman -33
6. Ronnie Bassett Jr. -49
7. Doug Barnes Jr. -54
8. Donovan Strauss -62
9. Conner Jones -72
10. Carson Loftin -92

PLM Standings:

1. Ben Maier
2. Brandon Lopez -32
3. Dylan Garner -39
4. Rodney Dowless -51
5. Keelan Harvick -53
6. Isaac Kitzmiller -82
7. Tristan McKee -99
8. Jade Avedisian -135
9. Luke Baldwin -147
10. Tyler Reif -155

Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to Florence in search of a win

During last year’s South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway, NASCAR Hall-of-Famer and CARS Tour co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought the iconic Budweiser No. 8 Chevrolet back to the track for the first time since 2007.

After starting at the rear of the field, Earnhardt Jr. methodically worked his way towards the front and successfully climbed his way into second position. Earnhardt Jr.’s bid for a South Carolina 400 victory ended just 31 laps from the checkered flag when the fuel pump broke on his car, relegating him to 28^th.

With the disappointment from last year’s South Carolina 400 still fresh in his mind, Earnhardt Jr. is heading back to Florence this weekend for the Cook Out 225. He will once again pilot his iconic No. 8, but instead of the red Budweiser colors, Bass Pro Shops will be on his white car.

Friday serves as Earnhardt Jr.’s third LMSC Tour start of 2025. His best run of the year so far came in the most recent race at Anderson Motor Speedway, where he recovered from a spin to place 10^th in the MLB All-Star Game scheme Earnhardt Jr. drove to victory in the 2001 Pepsi 400.

Landon Huffman inching closer to victory with Carroll Speedshop

The most recent CARS LMSC Tour race at Anderson Motor Speedway was the site of Landon Huffman’s best performance of the season, as he placed second behind race-winner Landen Lewis.

Huffman’s four top fives in 2025 are the most he has accumulated in any LMSC Tour campaign to date. Although Huffman’s consistency in Justin Carroll’s No. 57 has him fifth in the LMSC Tour standings, he believes the year could be going even better were it not for circumstances that cost the team solid finishes.

“Honestly, it’s more of a year of not getting the results we deserve, which would have us a lot closer in the championship,” Huffman said. “We’ve been learning, building the program and getting faster. Progress has been the story of our year. We’re making sure we have what we need to move forward and just trying to put full weekends together.”

After getting acclimated with Carroll’s equipment in three starts last year, Huffman encouraged the team to start using Reynolds Racing Chassis for 2025. A Reynolds’ chassis is what Huffman was driving when he scored his lone LMSC Tour victory in the Old North State Nationals at Tri-County Motor Speedway back in 2023.

With engines prepared by Charlie Long also at his disposal, Huffman went to work with the goal of parking Carroll’s car in Cook Out Victory Lane. Despite showcasing stellar race speed, Huffman admitted qualifying has been an issue all year, as poor track position makes it nearly impossible for him to get up to the lead before the checkered flag.

Finding speed in qualifying is something Huffman knows will be essential for Florence Motor Speedway, which he does not consider to be one of his strongest tracks. Despite this, Huffman finds himself excited to make the trip to Florence this weekend, which he credits to the strength of Carroll’s equipment.

“I feel like we’ve been really, really close,” Huffman said. “Caraway and Anderson were two race-winning cars in my opinion. If I’m able to get into victory lane with the Carroll team for the first time at Florence of all places, it will be one giant party, I can promise you that. We will win; it’s just a matter of time.”

Kade Brown eyes maiden CARS Tour checkered flag

Among the accomplishments Kade Brown has accumulated at Florence Motor Speedway during his career include a track championship and a South Carolina 400 victory.

Those accolades are why Brown believes Friday’s Cook Out 225 at Florence is a perfect opportunity for him to finally break through on the CARS LMSC Tour. Brown has always been comfortable around Florence and knows he can find solid track position by working the tire conservation strategy to his advantage.

“I feel really good,” Brown said. “[Florence] is definitely one of my best racetracks. It’s the track where I grew up racing on. I started at Myrtle Beach [Speedway] in a Charger car, then went to Florence, Hickory and Orange County. I didn’t touch a high-grip racetrack until last year, so being on those low-grip tracks is really my bread and butter.”

Brown has considered his first LMSC Tour season with R&S Race Cars to be a success so far. Although he remains winless, Brown sits third in the point standings with eight top 10 finishes, including a second-place showing at Orange County that matched his career-best performance.

It is going to take determination and diligence from Brown to overtake Connor Hall and Landen Lewis, but he has plenty of faith in R&S’ equipment to help him achieve that goal. With how consistent he has been this year, Brown feels a win is inevitable if everyone keeps building on the program’s strengths.

Anderson helped provide Brown a baseline on how to approach Florence on Friday night. Brown felt going too quick, too early at Anderson cost him a shot at a top five finish, so he intends to utilize what he knows about Florence’s abrasive surface and add an LMSC Tour win to his long list of achievements at the track.

“Based off experience [at Florence], I know what pace I need to run,” Brown said. “I’m just going to run a pace I think is suitable all night long. We were trying to match pace with everyone else [at Anderson] when I thought we were going too fast, so we’re going to run our pace and not let anyone dictate how fast we run.”

Dylan Garner looks to bring home first PLM Tour top five

Finishing sixth at Anderson Motor Speedway two weeks ago was a refreshing change of pace for Dylan Garner, who entered the weekend with four consecutive performances outside the top 10.

The Yorba Linda, California native has been working diligently to build consistency in his No. 97 G-Sport by GESI/DPFXFIT by GESI Chevrolet down in the southeast. Garner’s second full-time CARS PLM Tour campaign has been frustrating at times, but he said Anderson highlighted the noticeable progress being made.

“[There’s been] a lot of ups and downs,” Garner said. “We gained a lot on the car early on, but then we had our blow up at Ace and that kind of set us back. Financially, that was a big blow for the small operation we’ve got going on here. Anderson was a good rebound for us and we’re hoping to carry that momentum into Florence.”

After finishing ninth on three separate occasions in 2024, Garner opened the current PLM Tour season by securing a sixth place run at Coastal Plains Raceway. The career-best run gave Garner a jolt of confidence heading into the rest of the year, something he has sought to re-establish after an arduous summer

Every day has been a learning process for Garner, as he is constantly implementing new ideas into his program to try and find speed against the other PLM Tour regulars. Those efforts have not yet yielded any top fives, but Garner is keeping expectations high over the four remaining PLM Tour events, starting with Florence Motor Speedway.

The first trip Garner made to Florence last year was an enjoyable one, as the abrasive layout perfectly suited his driving style. Garner is bringing the same setup from Anderson to Florence this weekend, a strategy he hopes will allow him to not only score his first PLM Tour top five, but also his maiden victory in the series.

“It would be the biggest win of my career,” Garner said. “Coming from the West Coast, I’ve got some wins under my belt, but none as big as the premier late model division in the country. It would mean a lot to add [a PLM Tour race] to our list of wins and help our program secure funding for next year.”

——-

Accompanying the zMAX CARS Tour for Friday’s Cook Out 225 will be Florence Motor Speedway’s Bandolero and Legends classes, along with the Allison Legacy Series. On track action begins at 6:05 p.m. ET, with the first of two CARS Tour features set to commence at 7:45 p.m. ET in the PLM Tour feature.

FloRacing will provide live coverage all evening.

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.