The 2023 CARS Tour was full of excellent racing and big moments from the second the season started at Southern National Motorsports Park back in March all the way through to its conclusion in November at Caraway Speedway. Now that the season is over, we've been tasked with figuring out what were the five best moments from a season that was chock full of them. Once we got started, we learned that task was no small ask. It was quite difficult to narrow down the season to just five moments, but we think we've come up with a list that's hard to argue against. So, without further delay, here are the Top Five Moments from the 2023 CARS Tour season.

5) Mason Diaz Finally Scores First CARS Tour Win

Mason Diaz has long been a mainstay with the CARS Tour. He's one of those drivers that quickly comes to mind when you think of the CARS Tour and Late Model racing in the Carolinas and Virginia. But amazingly, Diaz had to yet to visit CARS Tour victory lane entering 2023. And when you saw his finishes in the first few races of the season, you'd be justified in thinking that his first win wouldn't be coming this year either. Diaz went until the season's eighth race before finishing in the top five. He had finishes of eighth, 32nd, sixth, seventh, 13th, 22nd, and seventh before finally finishing in second at Caraway in June. 

Diaz then had to hope that the positive momentum from Caraway would make it to Hickory after the series had a month off. Thankfully, it did. Diaz led 57 of 125 laps to win the "Throowback 276" race at the end of July. Diaz finally went to victory lane in what was his 40th CARS Tour start. He then went on to finish third in the overall points standings with six top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes in 16 races.

4) "Butterbean" Wins North Wilkesboro

When it was announced that Brenden "Butterbean" Queen would be teaming up with Lee Pulliam Performance, many were unsure of what their results would be. At the time, Queen was considered by many to be a one-track-Jack. He was a three-time champion at his home track of Langley Speedway, and a CARS Tour winner at Langley, but he hadn't much success elsewhere in bigger shows while racing for his family-owned team. They answered everyone's questions right away when Queen went to victory lane at Florence Motor Speedway in that fall's South Carolina 400 in their first race together. But then the questions shifted to "Well, can he do that on the CARS Tour?" It didn't take long for Queen and LPP to tell everyone "Yes, we can." 

In the fifth race of the season, Queen went to victory lane at North Wilkesboro Speedway and scored the biggest win of his life in dominating fashion. Queen won the pole and led 65 of 125 laps before winning the Window World 125 by a whopping 4.783 seconds over Ryan Millington. It was the first of four wins in a 2023 season that saw Queen miss out on the championship by just five points.

3) Kvapil Brothers Win CARS Tour Championships On The Same Day

November 4, 2023 will be a special day for the Kvapil family for a very long time. It will also be a day that probably won't be recreated any time soon in the years to come for the CARS Tour. Both divisions, the Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model divisions, ended their season on the same day at Caraway Speedway with Carson wining his second LMSC title in as many years, and younger brother Caden scoring his first PLM championship. 

Think about that for a second and just how cool and special that really is. We've seen brothers have memorable moments together in the past in racing. Terry Labonte won the 1996 Winston Cup Series championship at Atlanta while brother Bobby won the race. Kurt and Kyle Busch have battled against each other for wins multiple times. But two brothers each winning a championship in their respective series at the same track on the same day? It's hard to top that. What a day it was for Carson, Caden, and the entire Kvapil family.

2) Huffman Wins $30K At Tri-County

When Landon Huffman was tabbed to be the driver of the Nelson Motorsports No. 22 for the remainder of the season back in May, the Claremont, North Carolina driver knew he was just given his best shot possible to make a name for himself. But things did not start out very well. Huffman finished 18th, 21st, 21st, 13th, 12th, and 17th in his first six races for the team as they tried to right their ship. But when they went to Tri-County Motor Speedway in Granite Falls, a track where Huffman has had plenty of success, things turned around in a big way.

Huffman out-dueled Kaden Honeycutt for the lead and was forced to fend off Carson Kvapil for the win, but he got the job done in a big way. Huffman scored his first CARS Tour win at a track he considers home in front of a giant crowd full of adoring fans. Oh, and it also happened to pay out $30,000 to win. If you were there that night, you won't soon forget just how loud the crowd was when Huffman took the checkered flag and when he climbed out of his race car.

1) A Showdown For The Ages At Dominion

Brenden Queen led 105 of the 125 laps at Dominion Raceway in June. He took the lead on Lap 9 and held it until Lap 109, and as each lap ticked off it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Queen was heading to victory lane in a bit of a ho-hum affair. But a late caution changed everything and turned this race into one of the most memorable races in the history of the CARS Tour. 

Queen and Carson Kvapil battled hard for the lead on the restart with Kvapil quickly securing the lead. Queen battled back and took the lead back as he and Kvapil traded door-slam after door-slam. While they fought, Bobby McCarty stalked. And then he pounced. Suddenly it is three-wide for the lead and the win off of turn two with all three drivers slamming into each other and the wall. Between Lap 110 and Lap 125 there were six lead changes between Queen, Kvapil, and McCarty. And it ended with a finish that won't ever be forgotten with McCarty and Queen side-by-side coming to the checkered flag. McCarty got the win by just 0.009-second in one of the closest LMSC finishes you will ever see.

There's no denying that this finish was the most memorable moment of the CARS Tour season. It's in contention for the most memorable CARS Tour moment of all-time. If you're trying to get a friend or loved one to watch Late Model racing, show them this finish.