This week’s Firecracker 265 at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, N.C. promises to bring some thunder and lightning to the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model ranks. The point battles in both divisions are tight: Connor Hall leads Brenden Queen by just three markers in the Late Model Stock Car category, and the top six are separated by just 27. In Pro Late Model, Spencer Davis has a two-point advantage on Kaden Honeycutt, with just a 19-point difference among the top four. The mid-week race also will see the addition of some firepower in the form of Daytona 500 winner (and former CARS Tour regular) William Byron from the NASCAR Cup Series and current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title contender Corey Heim to the LMSC field. Jared Fryar, the 2020 Late Model Stock Car series champion in the zMAX CARS Tour, is slated to make his season debut following his recovery from a non-racing injury suffered just before the 2024 season opener. Fryar is also an ace at Caraway, winning twice and posting four top-five finishes in his five starts on the quick oval.

Event Notes:

Track: Caraway Speedway

Location: Sophia, N.C.

Length: .400 miles

Laps: 125 LMSC, 100 PLM

CARS LMSC Tour races: 5

CARS Pro LM races: 4

LMSC Caraway Speedway winners: Jared Fryar (2), Brenden Queen, Carson Kvapil, Justin Johnson.

Pro LM Tri-County Speedway winners: Caden Kvapil (2), Kaden Honeycutt, Austin MacDonald.

Daytona 500 Winner Byron Returns to Late Model Roots

William Byron began his journey to NASCAR Cup Series stardom in U.S. Legend Cars and Late Models. Byron will return to the latter this week at Caraway Speedway in the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car series, driving the No. 24 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet out of the JR Motorsports stable. In his late-model career with JRM, Byron started 27 races and won at both Hickory Motor Speedway and South Boston Speedway, adding 14-top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. From there, the now-26-year-old Charlotte native won the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series title before heading to Hendrick Motorsports, where he competes in the team’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro.

Busy Bollman Seeks Back-to-Back Wins in PLM

Jake Bollman has been on a roll of late in the Pro Late Model ranks, winning the most recent race at Tri-County Speedway. The triumph, which saw the California rookie lead 76 laps, is his first win in zMAX CARS Tour PLM competition, and it capped a three-race stretch in which he notched an eighth-place result at Orange County Speedway in April, and an 11th-place showing at Ace Speedway in May. The young driver is also currently competing in the Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway, contributing to a jam-packed schedule for the driver of the No. 24 Wilson Motorsports Toyota.

Heim Can’t Resist Caraway Opportunity with Lee Pulliam Performance

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship contender Corey Heim is another driver with roots in the CARS Tour, and he’ll be on hand Wednesday at Caraway seeking to add a second victory in the ultra-competitive Late Model Stock Car division to his resume. The soon-to-be 22-year-old native of Marietta, Ga. will reunite with Lee Pulliam Performance in its No. 55 Toyota, hoping to improve on his fifth-place finish at Caraway in the 2022 Old North State Nationals. Heim, who owns one zMAX CARS Tour LMSC victory (Hickory Motor Speedway in 2020), will team with current points leader Brenden Queen again, as the duo did at North Wilkesboro Speedway earlier this season for Heim’s Tricon Garage team in the Truck Series. Heim won that race and Queen posted a fourth-place result. Heim is second in the NCTS point standings, 31 points behind leader Christian Eckes, and has three NCTS victories so far this year.

DeCaire Looking for First Pro LM Triumph After Runner-Up at Tr-County

TJ DeCaire fell one spot short of his first zMAX CARS Tour Pro Late Model victory at Tri-County Speedway in May, losing out to Jake Bollman. Despite the disappointment, the young driver of the No. 96 Highlands Motorsports entry sits fourth in series points and is eagerly chasing his first series victory-something that has barely eluded him despite a consistent ability to run near the front. In the past four races, DeCaire-who also runs selected events in the LMSC division with REV Racing-has finished seventh, sixth, ninth, and second.

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The green flag for the Firecracker 265 is set to wave at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 3. FloRacing will broadcast the event live beginning at 5 p.m. with LMSC qualifying. The Pro Late Model 100-lap feature kicks off the night, followed by the 125-lap LMSC event.

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 our Instagram cars_tour.

Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office at (704) 696-3570.

CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Entry List

CARS Tour Pro Late Model Entry List