The CARS Tour will take to the asphalt of Ace Speedway this weekend for its fifth event of the 17-race season. At the quarter-completion mark of the year, that makes this a good time to grade who’s standing out the most during the 2024 season to date.
But first, a few ground rules. The field is stacked with talent, but only mostly full-time drivers will be ranked. CARS Tour stats will weigh more than outside endeavors, which can help highlight someone’s talent but doesn’t affect what they have done within the league itself. Best finishes can also impact the rating, placing them over a higher-positioned driver in the actual points standings due to the perceived higher ceiling.
Honorable Mention:
One driver not included in the power rankings list due to the rules above but definitely showing promise is Connor Zilisch.
Zilisch won impressively at Hickory Motor Speedway in April. But he’s running a partial schedule and finished 15th in his second start of the 2024 season at Orange County Speedway. This would be where the outside success can help elevate a driver’s strength and talent. A win helps, but we need to see more from the young driver to overcome lack of starts, so he’s out of the rankings for now.
Now then, let’s get on to the rankings.
1. Carson Kvapil
Reigning 2023 champion Carson Kvapil tops the charts in the first power rankings of the 2024 season.
Kvapil won the season opener at Southern National Motorsports Park. Despite missing the race at Hickory to run in the Xfinity Series that weekend, the young JRM driver sits a comfortable sixth in the point standings, with two other top-fives in his starts this point.
The defending champ has two wins to his name at the next track on the schedule, Ace Speedway. Kvapil will be looking to add to that tally, build his resume and possibly compete for another championship as the season goes on.
2. Connor Hall
Connor Hall currently leads the point standings. He doesn’t have a win to show for his success just yet, but Hall’s consistency up front has made for a start to the season any driver would want, even with a lack of victories.
The Earle Hall driver hasn’t finished worse than fourth all season, doing so twice – most recently at Orange County despite starting 18th. He came home a season-best second behind Kvapil at Southern National and finished third at New River All American Speedway.
The consistency is there. We just need to see some victories. If Hall can snag his first win at Ace this weekend, he’ll position himself for a move to the top of these rankings.
3. Treyten Lapcevich
Treyten Lapcevich’s story is one of the most unique situations in the CARS Tour garage. He has already earned a NASCAR championship, having triumphed in Canada’s NASCAR Pinty’s Series. Lapcevich won the tour’s 2023 title before moving into the Late Model Stock division for 2024, where he hasn’t disappointed.
With no finishes thus far outside the top 10, the Canadian is up to fourth in points. He’s still searching for his first win, with a best finish of fourth at New River. But Lapcevich is showing he can race near the front and finish inside the top 10 with consistency.
That’s been enough to make him an early title threat and land him third on our list.
4. Brent Crews
Brent Crews is a promising young star and the most recent winner of the season, having triumphed at Orange County. It was his first-career win, a good bounce back after a pair of difficult runs in 2023.
But the highs have been balanced out with a low. Crews finished 16th at New River, a season worst that offset his other two top 10s to open the year. That’s why Crews sits second in the points standings, 15 points behind Hall.
The speed is there. If Crews can add more wins and avoid further setbacks, he could be there at the end to win a championship.
5. Bobby McCarty
Winning matters. That’s why Bobby McCarty has snuck into the top five of these rankings. McCarty got his first win of 2024 at New River after scoring back-to-back top 10’s to start the season.
He would be even further up this list, but McCarty suffered a setback of his own at Orange County, finishing 24th. He currently sits fifth in the standings, 22 points back from Hall.
The 12-time winner only won a single race in 2023, but his only finishes outside of the top-12 were due to various failures beyond his control. McCarty is a veteran of the series known for his consistency and is a threat to win each week.
The Best Of The Rest
6. Mini Tyrell: Points-Third, Best Finish-Second, Worst Finish-18th
7. Ryan Millington: Points-Eighth, Best Finish-Seventh, Worst Finish-22nd
8. Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen: Points-Seventh, Best Finish-Second, Worst Finish-19th
9. Katie Hettinger: Points-11th, Best Finish-Sixth, Worst Finish-21st
10. Deac McCaskill: Points- 12th, Best Finish- Third, Worst Finish-23rd
Up Next: The CARS Tour will race at Ace Speedway later today, May 3. Coverage will be available via FloRacing starting at 4:15 p.m. ET.
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