The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour is set to make its northernmost trip on the 2023 schedule Saturday evening with the CARS Tour 125 presented by NAPA Auto Parts and Chaney Enterprises at Dominion Raceway.
Acting as a spiritual successor to Old Dominion Speedway, which operated from 1948 until its closure in 2012, Dominion is one of the newest short tracks in the southeast with modern amenities that include a restaurant on the frontstretch, along with a vibrant weekly racing atmosphere.
In the brief time the track has been on the CARS Tour schedule, races at Dominion have been dominated by high speeds, attrition, and close racing; themes which are expected to be prevalent once again when the stars of the LMSC Tour travel up to Thornburg, Virginia for their seventh race of the year.
Event Notes:
Track: Dominion Raceway
Location: Thornburg, Virginia
Length: .400-mile
Laps: 125
CARS LMSC Tour races: 6
Dominion LMSC winners: Jared Fryar (1), Layne Riggs (1), Josh Berry (1), Jonathan Findley (1), Daniel Silvestri (1), Connor Hall (1)
LMSC Entry List (27 cars): #03 Brenden Queen, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #0 Landon Pembelton, #1 Andrew Grady, #2 Brandon Pierce, #4 Dylon Wilson, #5B Bryant Barnhill, #6 Bobby McCarty, #8 Carson Kvapil, #8B Chase Burrow, #10 Kaden Honeycutt, #12 Mike Looney, #15 Ryan Millington, #15C Logan Clark, #16 Chad McCumbee, #20 Joshua Dickens, #22 Landon Huffman, #24 Mason Diaz, #42 Carson Brown, #44 Conner Jones, #45 Jonathan Findley, #57 Connor Zilisch, #67 Cameron Bolin, #77 Connor Hall, #81 Mini Tyrrell, #87 Tate Fogleman, #95 Jacob Heafner
LMSC Tour point standings:
- Carson Kvapil
- Brenden Queen -20
- Connor Hall -23
- Chad McCumbee -51
- Kaden Honeycutt -53
- Ryan Millington -60
- Deac McCaskill -79
- Brandon Pierce -83
- Jacob Heafner -85
- Bobby McCarty -87
- Mason Diaz -87
Mini Tyrrell to have Walter Reed Hospital patients as special guests
Ever since his childhood, Mini Tyrrell has been passionate about supporting children that are suffering from pediatric cancer.
Tyrrell is going all in with his mission in Saturday’s CARS Tour 125 presented by NAPA Auto Parts and Chaney Enterprises at Dominion Raceway, as he is inviting 12 patients and their families from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland to the facility, where they will participate in a full weekend of events on and off the track.
“We got in contact with Paul Nichols, who is involved with the Walter Reed Hospital and Children’s National,” Tyrrell said. “My dad and I got to talking, and we wanted to do something that would involve the CARS Tour and the Touring 12 program, so we decided to host 12 families. What better place to do this than my home track of Dominion?”
The festivities for the Walter Reed patients kick off on Friday night with a dinner and comedy show, which will also see each member of the Touring 12, Tyrrell included, interact with the families. On Saturday morning, a chapel service will be held for the patients, followed by a tour of Dominion and participation in driver introductions.
Tyrrell said the idea for this event started when he brought a young boy to Florence Motor Speedway that was battling sickle cell disease. He recalled how much fun the boy and his family had that weekend and wanted to expand upon this concept that also encompassed the Touring 12 members of the CARS LMSC Tour.
All expenses for the families are being covered by Tyrrell for Dominion. His main goal for the weekend is to ensure everyone enjoys themselves leading up for the race, with Tyrrell expressing optimism over how such an event could serve as a launching pad for similar CARS Tour fundraisers in the future.
“I’ve raised almost half a million dollars for pediatric cancer through various organizations and fundraising programs,” Tyrrell said. “I enjoy helping people, I’ve done it all my life and I wanted to bring something cool to the racetrack. Hopefully this ignites a fire for everyone else to start doing nice things for other people as well.”
Anyone who wishes to donate to Tyrrell as he supports of children battling pediatric cancer can contact him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Kaden Honeycutt determined to earn first victory of 2023
Kaden Honeycutt has done everything except win in the CARS LMSC Tour this year.
Despite missing Florence Motor Speedway earlier this year due to commitments in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Honeycutt finds himself fifth in the LMSC Tour point standings with four Top 5s and plenty of confidence on his side as he prepares to head up to Dominion Raceway on Saturday evening.
“We’ve had a good year so far,” Honeycutt said. “The only bad race for us was at Ace [Speedway] and that was still an eighth-place finish after we came from 25th in the middle of it. We’re just trying to win races and that’s what we’re all here to do. It’s only a matter of time before one of these races click.”
Honeycutt nearly broke through for a victory in the LMSC Tour’s most recent outing during the VisitHampton.com 125 at Langley Speedway. He led a race-high 94 laps until his right-rear tire started to get hot, causing Honeycutt to lose speed and settle for third.
Despite the disappointment of narrowly claiming his second LMSC Tour win at Langley, Honeycutt has been more than satisfied with his performance at Mike Darne Racing. The deal between the two came together in January to specifically chase wins, which remains the goal for them as the LMSC Tour approaches the halfway point.
Dominion is not a track Honeycutt would consider to be his favorite, but he does have finishes of third and sixth in the LMSC Tour at the facility. With the speed he has shown in Darne’s equipment all year, Honeycutt believes he can start up front and put himself in the perfect position to earn his first victory of 2023.
“Qualifying will be insanely important [at Dominion] like it is every time,” Honeycutt said. “As long as we can qualify good and turn well the entire time, I think we’ll be fine. We’ll keep working hard to make sure we’re fast every lap.”
Bobby McCarty looks to replicate performance from Dominion last Saturday
One advantage three-time CARS LMSC Tour champion Bobby McCarty holds over the rest of the field is that he has already visited victory lane at Dominion Raceway.
Although he was ultimately disqualified from Dominion’s ‘Big One’, a $5,000-to-win Late Model Stock event, McCarty has a sense of optimism for this weekend’s CARS Tour 125 presented by NAPA Auto Parts and Chaney Enterprises, where he looks to break a winless drought in the LMSC Tour that dates to October 2021.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” McCarty said. “Everybody at R&S Race Cars has been working very hard and I feel like we’re starting to click. We had a good run at Langley and [got this win] at Dominion, so we want to start knocking off a few more here.”
McCarty believes his first season with R&S Race Cars has gone according to plan even though they only have one Top 5 so far, which came at Ace Speedway. He particularly loves the chemistry developed between himself and his crew members, which he expects will gradually lead to better results.
One factor that has led to the cohesion was McCarty’s existing relationship with R&S Race Cars co-owner Marcus Richmond. McCarty has been impressed by how much R&S Race Cars has grown under Richmond and Steve Stallings but knew it would take some time to fully adjust to his new environment.
Now that McCarty has several races under his belt with R&S Race Cars, he has high expectations on his outlook for the rest of 2023. He said Dominion presents several unique challenges compared to other tracks, but added the notebook from last weekend’s race should be beneficial to helping him earn a win No. 6 Solid Rock Carriers/Bilstein Ford at the track.
“With Dominion, there’s so much speed,” McCarty said. “South Boston is fast too, but at Dominion you’re carrying more speed into the corner. The track doesn’t hurt tires, but it does make them gain a ton of air pressure, so you have to be mindful of that along with being aero tight. We’re just going to do exactly what we did last Saturday going into this one.”
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Saturday’s CARS Tour 125 presented by NAPA Auto Parts and Chaney Enterprises will also have features for three of Dominion Raceway’s weekly classes in the Va. Racers, UCARS and Southern Ground Pounders. The 125-lap Late Model Stock race serves as the third event of the night, with all on-track action being streamed on FloRacing starting at 7 p.m. ET.
For more information on the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the 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 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.
