One week after the most competitive race in the history of the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour at Ace Speedway, many of those same competitors are set to do battle once again right in North Carolina’s state capital of Raleigh.

Located on the outskirts of the city is Wake County Speedway, a quarter-mile bullring that has been a staple of the southeast short track community since 1962. As the smallest track on the CARS LMSC Tour schedule, only a small margin of error exists between visiting Cook Out victory lane and ending the night early on pit road.

Wake County’s tight layout presents plenty of challenges to a field of LMSC Tour drivers still recovering from the chaotic evening last Friday. A win in Saturday’s Drive for Puryear 125 will require patience and discipline around one of the toughest short tracks in the region.

Track Facts:

Track: Wake County Speedway

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Length: .25 mile

Laps: 125

CARS LMSC Tour races: 3

Wake County LMSC winners: Sam Mayer (1), Deac McCaskill (1), Carson Kvapil (1)

Brent Crews begins push for LMSC title

In his rookie CARS LMSC Tour campaign, Brent Crews has the most victories of any driver with three and finds himself only 15 points behind championship leader Connor Hall.

While not necessarily surprised by his immediate success, Crews admitted being able to shine against stalwart competition every week has been rewarding. He attributes the consistency to the strong cars provided by Kevin Harvick Inc. along with his own ability to figure out so many different short tracks around the southeast.

“I know this team is going to have fast race cars, so it’s up to me to produce those finishes and be consistent,” Crews said. “We’ve done a good job of that, and we have to stay on it. This series is so difficult and probably the most competitive I’ve ever raced in. To have a team behind me like [KHI] and being able to compete for a championship is a great opportunity to have.”

Known for his road course and dirt expertise, Crews wanted to prove he could be adept on oval tracks and saw the LMSC Tour as an ideal avenue to refine those skills. After making infrequent appearances in both CARS Tour divisions over the past two years, Crews felt he was ready to tackle a full slate of Late Model Stock races in 2024.

With Toyota Racing Development by his side, Crews feels his time with the LMSC Tour is putting him on the right path towards one day being successful in the NASCAR Cup Series. The only surprising aspect about the series for Crews is the aggressive nature of the field, which was apparent during his most recent win at Ace Speedway on Friday.

Crews expects the status quo to remain in place when the LMSC Tour travels to Wake County Speedway on Saturday evening. The past few weeks have shown Crews the limits of aggressive driving in the LMSC Tour, which only emphasizes his desire to be consistent and not put himself in unfavorable situations to close out the year.

“I want to win a championship, but I’m not going to stare at that,” Crews said. “I’m here to win races and keep the car in one piece. I don’t want to put myself in a situation where you’re racing too hard for the lead, spin somebody out and go to the rear. The championship can be won or lost in a day, which makes it so difficult to win these.”

Carson Haislip hopes to thrill home crowd in CARS Tour debut

One of Wake County Speedway’s brightest young Late Model Stock competitors will test his luck against the best in the discipline on Saturday.

Carson Haislip, who has two Late Model Stock victories at Wake County this year, is optimistic about putting together a strong showing in his CARS LMSC Tour debut. Despite the competitive depth of the field, Haislip said the hard work constantly exuded by himself and is crew is going to be on display when the green flag waves.

“I know Alex Fleming is going to set me up a super fast racecar like he always does,” Haislip said. “[The team] has been working their tails off the past few days and I know they’re going to keep doing that. When I’m able to drive [the car] to victory lane, I know it’s rewarding for them. It’s super cool to have the backing of all these guys.”

During his early years, Haislip garnered a reputation as one of the most efficient drivers in Wake County’s Legends class. After obtaining three victories in his rookie year, Haislip proceeded to amass two consecutive nine-win campaigns, both of which resulted in championships.

The competitive Legends division at Wake County, which usually averages over 20 cars a race, taught Haislip many lessons that he believes refined his race craft. Adapting to a Late Model Stock has been easier for Haislip because of those frenetic events, adding Legends are much more difficult to drive comparatively.

For Haislip, his mindset for the Drive for Puryear 125 is split between pursuing a victory and logging all the laps. Haislip wants nothing more than to celebrate with the Wake County crowd on Saturday, but he said a key component towards obtaining even a strong run revolves around actively learning from his competition.

“Saturday night is going to be different,” Haislip said. “I’m going from racing against eight cars a week to racing against some of the best in the country. I want to learn and figure out how these other people drive. I’ve never raced with any of them and don’t know their race craft, so I want to adapt to that.”

Local hero Clay Jones ready to chase a victory on Saturday

Four-time Wake County Speedway track champion Clay Jones seeks to add another accomplishment at the facility to his resume on Saturday, a CARS LMSC Tour win.

Jones is teaming back up with veteran car owner Jency Markham with the goal of besting the LMSC Tour regulars in front of a capacity Wake County crowd. The fervent atmosphere always prevalent in Wake County’s weekly shows is one of the main reasons why Jones continues to race at the facility.

“We’re really excited,” Jones said. “We went and tested this past Saturday and ran really well. We learned a few things and picked up some speed while we were there. Wake County keeps the stands packed and has great shows going. There’s great energy in that place and it’s a fun environment to be in.”

Last year’s Drive for Puryear 125 at Wake County served as Jones’ LMSC Tour debut after previously competing in several Super Late Model races under the CARS Tour banner. He earned the pole and led 42 laps in Markham’s No. 1 Chevrolet before fading to ninth at the end of the evening.

Jones feels he and Markham are more prepared to handle 125 laps at Wake County compared to their first outing. The early speed he showed in 2023 proved to Jones he can win an LMSC Tour event in Markham’s car, but he knows execution will have to be perfect in every regard on Saturday if he wishes to beat the series regulars.

A stellar weekly season at Wake County, in which Jones currently holds a narrow lead in the point standings, has also bolstered his confidence ahead of the LMSC Tour’s arrival. Combined with the progress shown in testing Markham’s car, Jones believes everything is aligning for him to pull off a popular victory amongst the Wake County faithful.

“Winning would be big not only for me, but for all my guys and the Wake County fans themselves,” Jones said. “Having a local guy that competes every week win one of the biggest shows of the year against all the NASCAR guys would make that place go crazy.”

——-

Accompanying CARS LMSC Tour competitors on Saturday evening will be the Bomber and Any Car classes, each of which will have 20 lap features as part of Wake County Speedway’s R&R Towing 40. FloRacing’s coverage of the Drive for Puryear 125 begins at 5 p.m. ET with LMSC Tour qualifying.

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.

LMSC Point Standings:

Connor Hall

Brenden Queen -11

Brent Crews -15

Mini Tyrrell -34

Ryan Millington -47

Treyten Lapcevich -58

Carson Kvapil -60

Bobby McCarty -86

Chad McCumbee -120

Ronnie Bassett Jr. -124

CARS Tour At Wake County Speedway Entry List