The zMAX CARS Tour heads to Tri-County Motor Speedway this weekend with heavy hearts amidst the ongoing cleanup in the Appalachian Mountains.

Hurricane Helene’s arrival on Sept. 27 devastated several cities and towns across North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and the surrounding states. Catastrophic flooding has left hundreds of people dead, destroyed crucial infrastructure and cut off access to several major highways in the region.

Relief efforts have been established throughout the motorsports community in an effort to quickly deliver aid to the impacted areas. This included a donation collection organized by the CARS Tour at JR Motorsports last week, where fans and residents were asked to drop off items such as non-perishable foods, bottled water and other supplies.

Several humanitarian initiatives will be centered around Saturday’s CARS Tour 225 pres. by GeoCut at Tri-County. The relief efforts are expected to persist for some time, but the CARS Tour hopes to bring the local communities together with an action-packed night of racing between the Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model divisions.

Track Facts:

Track: Tri-County Motor Speedway

Location: Hudson, North Carolina

Length: .4 mile

Laps: 125 (LMSC) / 100 (PLM)

CARS LMSC Tour races: 9

CARS PLM Tour races: 6

Tri-County LMSC winners: Josh Berry (2), Brenden Queen (2), Brayton Haws (1), Bobby McCarty (1), Mini Tyrrell (1), Conner Jones (1), Landon Huffman (1),

Tri-County PLM winners: Caden Kvapil (2), William Sawalich (1), Jake Garcia (1), Carson Kvapil (1), Jake Bollman (1)

Higgins family leading charge on rebuilding local communities

One of several cities that received significant damage from Hurricane Helene was Barnardsville, North Carolina, an unincorporated community of just over 550 residents that is the hometown of Tri-County Motor Speedway promoters Shane and Shad Higgins.

With several members of the Higgins family still residing in or near Barnardsville, Shad and Shane have taken the initiative to ensure residents get the help they need. The brothers have made multiple trips to and from Barnardsville over the past week, with Shad’s company Weaverville Tire & Wheel being transformed into a distribution center.

Crate Payne, Tri-County’s race director who considers Shad and Shane to be family, said the compassion of the two has been on full display since Helene’s initial impact. Payne has been alongside the Higgins brothers with their charitable efforts and has seen firsthand how their influence is already making a difference.

“[Shad and Shane] don’t wait to see what somebody wants to do, they just start doing it,” Payne said. “[Barnardsville] is one of the hardest hit areas up here, but they’ve been getting supplies to people who are totally cut off. Not only [in Barnardsville], but to the surrounding communities like Marshall, Hot Springs and Burnsville.”

Payne himself took snacks and N95 masks to a nursing home in Marshall that was struggling to sustain supplies. He said similar acts are going to be imperative over the next several months with many residents in the mountain cities still lacking access to basic needs like power, clear roads and running water.

Others that have assisted the Higgins family and Payne with their humanitarian efforts include Jacob Heafner and his family, who delivered supplies to the region alongside CARS Pro Late Model Tour points leader Spencer Davis. Local Tri-County driver Brody Monahan and his father Shawn are also bringing crucial materials to the region.

The gratitude of the motorsports community towards the Higgins family extends to this weekend’s CARS Tour 225 pres. by GeoCut. Ashton Higgins will have a chance to chase a victory on Saturday evening with Conner Jones relinquishing his Pro Late Model ride to the Tri-County fan favorite

Although Shad, Shane and many others remain at the forefront of the rebuilding process, Payne is thrilled that Tri-County is still going to be in operation for this weekend. With many people in the area now struggling to maintain daily lives, Payne said any sense of normalcy is going to beneficial from a mental standpoint.

“These people need one night of entertainment,” Payne said. “They’ve been surrounded with doom and gloom for over a week now. They need one night to get out, get a hot cheeseburger and an ice-cold drink, along with a night of entertainment.”

With general admission only being $5 for Saturday’s CARS Tour 225 pres. by GeoCut, Payne and the Higgins family are encouraging fans to bring cash donations and other supplies to Tri-County so that residents can be prepared for the upcoming winter months.

God’s Pit Crew to be on-site at Tri-County

Among the organizations that will be present at Tri-County Motor Speedway to assist with relief efforts is God’s Pit Crew, based out of Danville, Virginia.

When one of the deadliest tornadoes in history impacted Oklahoma City in 1999, Randy and Terri Johnson borrowed trailers to deliver three loads of supplies to affected residents. This act of generosity blossomed into God’s Pit Crew, which continues to help towards people impacted from natural disasters like Hurricane Helene.

Nelson Motorsports owner Barry Nelson has maintained a solid relationship with God’s Pit Crew after he helped repair some of their equipment several years ago. He said the way everything is operated at God’s Pit Crew makes them a reliable source of aid for those still recovering in the Appalachian Mountains.

“I donated $5,000 to [God’s Pit Crew recently],” Nelson said. “They can turn $5,000 into $20,000 buy or spend because the suppliers give them such a discount to donate. We spend a dollar; they spend 20 cents. They go directly to those in need and they have volunteers everywhere. This is what they do.”

God’s Pit Crew has already been actively involved with relief and cleanup in the week following Helene’s arrival. Their reach extended into Barnardsville, where several volunteers with chainsaws removed trees that had blocked roads and fallen onto houses.

Nelson stressed how important both simple and ubiquitous actions are from organizations like God’s Pit Crew, especially since many families lost their homes from the storm. Seeing the destruction in western Virginia has particularly affected Nelson, who has already sent several trucks of supplies to those respective communities.

The devastation has left Nelson emotional, but he is eager to support God’s Pit Crew and the nearby communities around Tri-County this weekend. He is also asking everyone to stay vigilant with sending donations and volunteer work, as those will only expedite the lengthy recovery period.

“We’re not just out there racing, we’re out there helping families in need,” Nelson said. “If everything goes right, we’re going to do this at North Wilkesboro too. This is not just a one-time thing. [The recovery is] going to be going on for a couple of years.”

Anyone who wishes to learn more about God’s Pit Crew and their mission can visit https://godspitcrew.org.

Championship battles remain tight with two races remaining

Although they have taken a backseat to the humanitarian efforts surrounding the CARS Tour 225 pres. by GeoCut at Tri-County Motor Speedway, both championships remain tight with two events remaining.

The top two in the CARS LMSC Tour standings, Connor Hall and Brenden Queen, are only separated by one point heading into Tri-County. Hall has controlled the standings for most of 2024, but a recent streak of consistency by Queen has him within reach of his first CARS LMSC Tour title.

Tri-County presents a perfect opportunity for Queen to wrestle Hall’s championship lead away from him and enter North Wilkesboro Speedway in control of his own destiny. Queen has emerged victorious in the last two LMSC Tour events at Tri-County, leading wire-to-wire from the pole on both occasions.

With the CARS PLM Tour, the championship picture is slightly more coherent. Spencer Davis and Kaden Honeycutt are the two clear frontrunners, but a more consistent season from Davis has enabled him to build a narrow but comfortable 11-point advantage over Honeycutt.

The Cook Out 225 at Florence Motor Speedway saw Davis break through for his first PLM Tour checkered flag after accumulating six prior top five finishes across nine races. Davis backed that performance up in the AutosByNelson.com 280 at South Boston Speedway, leading 45 of 100 laps to bring home a second straight win.

Honeycutt has endured an adventurous campaign to just be in contention for the PLM Tour title, as he is finishing out the season with Bryson Lopez Racing after starting the year with Maverick Page Motorsports. With a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride lined up for 2025, Honeycutt seeks to build momentum by claiming a PLM Tour championship.

All the championship contenders will have to deal with several other talented competitors in their own respective races on an evening that will serve as a small but pivotal healing moment for fans and residents affected by Hurricane Helene.

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Donations are being accepted by the zMAX CARS Tour on Friday and Saturday at Tri-County Motor Speedway. All supplies and proceeds will be delivered to impacted communities on Oct. 26.

The first race of the CARS Tour 225 pres. by GeoCut at Tri-County Motor Speedway commences at 7:45 p.m. ET when the green flag waves for the CARS Pro Late Model Tour. FloRacing’s coverage begins at 5 p.m. ET with CARS Late Model Stock Car 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.

Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in Mooresville, NC, at 704-662-9212.

CARS Tour LMSC Points Standings

Connor Hall

Brenden Queen -1

Mini Tyrrell -29

Ryan Millington -31

Brent Crews -44

Treyten Lapcevich -53

Carson Kvapil -106

Bobby McCarty -121

Kade Brown -158

Ronnie Bassett Jr. -173

CARS Tour PLM Points Standings

Spencer Davis

Kaden Honeycutt -11

Caden Kvapil -30

Jimmy Renfrew Jr. -39

Tristan McKee -45

Jake Bollman -46

T.J. DeCaire -74

Brandon Lopez -138

Joshua Horniman -143

Kyle Campbell -144

Dylan Garner -144

CARS Tour LMSC Entry List

CARS Tour PLM Entry List