New River All American Speedway in Jacksonville, N.C. will host the third race of the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car season. The event was originally scheduled for March 9, as the second LMSC event, but inclement weather forced its postponement to Saturday night. The .400-mile oval has produced a pair of thrilling events for the Tour the past two seasons, won by Connor Hall (2022) and Brenden Queen (2023). Both drivers also won the pole position for their respective victories.
In the 2022 inaugural event, Hall led 58 laps, including the final 45, to take the victory, while Queen led just 14 laps, including the final seven. In the two races, a total of nine drivers led laps on the racy layout.
Event Notes:
Track: New River All American Speedway
Location: Jacksonville, North Carolina
Length: .400 mile
Laps: 125
CARS LMSC Tour races: 2
LMSC New River All American winners: Connor Hall,Brenden Queen
LMSC Entry List: #03 Brenden Queen, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #08 Deac McCaskill, #1 Andrew Grady, #2 Brandon Pierce, #3 Dale Earnhardt Jr., #6 Bobby McCarty, #8 Carson Kvapil, #11 Buddy Isles Jr., #14 Mason Diaz, #15 Ryan Millington, #15c Logan Clark, #16 Chad McCumbee, #22 Connor Hall, #23 Kade Brown, #24 Cody Dempster, #29 Brent Crews, #29w Paul Williamson, #37 Landon Huffman, #45 Bryce Applegate, #55 Isabella Robusto, #62 Landen Lewis, #71 Katie Hettinger, #77 Treyton Lapcevich, #81 Mini Tyrell, #95 Jacob Heafner
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Joins LMSC Field at NRAAS
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make his first start of the CARS Tour season this weekend at New River All American Speedway, driving his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats & ATVs Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. The 15-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver and Daytona 500 winner got his start in Late Models at the now-defunct Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina, and the .400-mile NRAAS oval’s shape and track surface are similar to that of MBS. Earnhardt Jr. has made one start this season, finishing fourth in the Icebreaker 125 at Florence (S.C.) Motor Speedway.
Connor Hall Has Momentum Heading to the Beach
In addition to being the inaugural zMAX CARS Tour winner at New River All American Speedway, Connor Hall has joined Barry Nelson at Nelson Motorsports for the 2024 season, driving the No. 22 Blue Ridge Color Toyota. Hall battled for the lead with eventual race winner Carson Kvapil over the closing laps of the season opener at Southern National Motorsports Park, falling just short at the checkered flag. After a bumpy end to the 2023 season, Hall has found confidence in the Nelson camp, finishing second in the Icebreaker 125 at Florence Motor Speedway and earning three victories in the inaugural Speed Weeks at Southern National. Heading to New River after a fourth-place finish at Hickory last weekend, should be an additional boost for Hall, as the track layout resembles his home track, Langley Speedway in Virginia.
Ronnie Bassett Jr. Seeking Repeat Performance in 2024
Queen won the battle last season in a last-lap, last-corner duel with Ronnie Bassett Jr., and Bassett is looking to take one step up the podium this weekend. Bassett, who spent several weekends last season racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, got to the inside of Queen in Turn 3 on the final lap challenging for the win, but a slip in the middle of the corner cost him a chance at the victory and he finished third. The 28-year-old driver ran near the front for much of the event and began his charge with six laps to go and nearly took his family-owned Chevrolet to Victory Lane. Bassett’s experience racing at the national level in NASCAR’s second-highest category proved the notion that the short-track style of the zMAX CARS Tour is alive and well every weekend.
McCumbee Looks to Finish First After Strong Run at New River in 2023
Chad McCumbee led laps and ran in the top five most of the night last time out at New River All-American Speedway. In fact, that pretty much describes McCumbee’s approach: run fast, lead laps, contend for victory. Despite finishing seventh due to the late-race scuffle for positions, McCumbee is a threat at just about any venue on which the zMAX CARS Tour races, just as he was last weekend at Hickory Motor Speedway on the way to a third-place finish. McCumbee won the Thunder Road Harley Davidson Pole Award at Southern National and was in the mix for the race win before a brake issue cut his day short. New River’s pavement resembles that at the now-defunct Myrtle Beach Speedway, and McCumbee earned his stripes on that legendary oval coming up through the ranks.
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The green flag for the National Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram 250 zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour race is set to wave at 8:30 p.m. ET, with FloRacing providing coverage of all events. FloRacing will go live at 5 p.m. ET for zMAX CARS Tour LMSC qualifying. The racing program also includesBandoleros, Legend Cars and the Grand National Super Series.All ticketholders are eligible to attend a meet-and-greet at the flag stand on the front straightaway from 6-6:40 p.m. The125-lap zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car feature will follow at 8:30 p.m.
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 at (704) 662-9212.
