The last time the zMAX CARS Tour was in action, the series put on one of the greatest displays of Late Model Stock car racing the short track community has ever seen.
After Brent Crews topped William Byron, Connor Hall and Carson Kvapil at Caraway Speedway on Wednesday, July 3, many were calling the finish the greatest in series history.
That got us thinking – was it actually the greatest finish in CARS Tour history? There’s certainly an argument to be made, but we’ve seen plenty of thrillers over the course of the tour’s near-decade-long existence.
With that in mind, Frontstretch has decided to give you our personal favorites from the Tour, with a few honorable mentions as well.
From intense championship battles to three-wide photo finishes, here’s our Top 10 CARS Tour Late Model Stock car finishes of all time.
Honorable Mentions
There have been so many fantastic finishes in the history of the CARS Tour that 10 spots wasn’t enough to cover them all. Here’s a few honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut.
Southern National Motorsports Park, 2015: The inaugural CARS Tour race ended with a bump and run. In the end, 14-year old Todd Gilliland stole the series first race out from under Deac McCaskill.
Hickory Motor Speedway Duel 1, 2017: Back when the CARS Tour ran dual features on occasion, the first duel at Hickory saw Anthony Alfredo best Austin McDaniel in the end. The two raced door to door throughout the final five laps, with Alfredo taking the checkered flag.
Langley Speedway, 2019: Unlike the opener back in 2015, McCaskill was on the other end of a last lap pass at Langley in 2019. McCaskill snuck by for the win after leaders Bobby McCarty and Layne Riggs tangled in turn 3.
Langley Speedway, 2020: Another Langley thriller – not the last, either. Riggs ran down leader Corey Heim late in the running, waiting until turn 3 of the final lap to make the race-winning move.
Hickory Motor Speedway, 2022: Connor Hall got the best of William Sawalich during Hickory’s throwback race in 2022. The battle started with 10 laps to go and lasted until Hall completed the race-winning pass with three to go, leading the rest of the way.
10. Bobby McCarty Vs. Josh Berry For The Title
South Boston Speedway, 2019
This one is a little unorthodox in terms of ‘best finish,’ which is why we have it at No. 10. Back in 2019, the CARS Tour season finale saw Berry pick up his fourth win of the season by nearly three seconds.
What made this such a good finish was the race for the championship, which included Berry and rival McCarty. At the drop of the green flag, McCarty had a five point lead over Berry. That quickly dropped to four as Berry led the opening lap from the pole.
Berry, needing to score max points, did his job, leading all 125 laps on the way to victory lane and picking up an additional point for most laps led. With a max points day for Berry, McCarty HAD to finish second to win the title.
With 10 to go, McCarty was running second when Heim arrived on the rear bumper of the No. 22. Heim made the move to the inside with four laps to go. McCarty held Heim to his inside, beating the No. 89 to the line by inches to score his second-consecutive series championship.
Now, had this been a race for the win, it would be much higher. But since all the action was ultimately for second, it ultimately lands in p10.
9. Berry Spoils Garrett Campbell‘s Party
Tri County Speedway, 2017
The oldest race on this list comes in at No. 9, taking us all the way back to Tri County in 2017 for a Cinderella story that never was.
Making his only Late Model Stock car start of 2017 (and last start to date) filling in for the injured Jared Fryar, Campbell took the lead with 17 laps to go. An impressive three wide move around McCaskill and Brandon Grosso put the No. 81 on point.
Everything seemed to be falling into place, until the caution flew for a spin in turn 4 on the white flag lap. From there, it was a battle between Berry and Campbell during the ensuing green, white, checkered.
Berry got the jump and cleared Campbell for the lead coming to the white flag. Campbell made one last effort with a dive-bomb into turn 3. The No. 81 slid up the hill, Berry backed up the corned and crossed under and the two had a drag race to the line with McCaskill on the bottom.
In the end, it was Berry by 0.076s at the line.
What makes this finish so great is not only the story, but how it plays into the race craft shown by the drivers. Campbell, the underdog, making a desperation dive for the win, while the crafty vet Berry reads the move and pulls off a cross over.
Fantastic racing, just not as good as the following eight.
8. Kvapil Over Hall By Inches
Hickory Motor Speedway (April), 2023
One of the most forgotten great finishes in recent memory is Kvapil holding off Hall to win at Hickory in the spring of 2023. The reason this one is so forgotten and only slots in eighth, is that not much happened around the key moment.
In a race dominated by Kvapil, Hall ran down the No. 8 late in the running and got to the defending champ’s back bumper in turn 3 of the final lap. Hall knocked Kvapil sideways and the two buzzed the tires all the way to the line.
This may not seem significant, but these two have a history – one that will be revisited again. There’s certainly no love lost and it added fuel to the fire.
Kvapil picked up the win by a mere 0.025 seconds, making it the closest finish in CARS history at the time. That alone puts it on this list, although that record quickly fell a few months later.
7. Butterbean’s Grand Introduction
Langley Speedway, 2022
If we told you Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen won at his home track Langley last night, you most likely wouldn’t be surprised. However, had we told you that prior to No. 7 on this list, you’d have called us mad.
Prior to the 2022 race at Langley, Queen had just one CARS start to his name, coming three years prior at the same track.
But even without experience, there was Butterbean late in the going with a shot to win at his home track. After lining up outside front row for a five to go restart, Butterbean found the back bumper of Kvapil’s No. 8 headed to the white flag.
Queen slid in front of Kvapil into 3, Kvapil tried the crossover and was subsequently turned by Chad McCumbee. Butterbean powered off turn 4 all alone and rolled to his first win.
Not only was this a fantastic underdog story at the time, we would soon learn in the coming months that it was a preview for many more battles to come, landing it at No. 7.
6. Berry vs. McCarty Comes to Blows Part 1
Motor Mile Speedway, 2019
Before the Hall, Kvapil and Queen rivalry we have today, we had Berry and McCarty. No. 6 on this list almost never was, as Berry was seconds from taking the checkered before a last-lap yellow.
The ensuing restart saw McCarty line up outside front row, pull a crossover on Berry coming to the white flag and spin Berry’s No. 88 entering turn 1.
On the following restart, McCarty and Justin Carroll battled side-by-side for two consecutive laps, all the way to the checkered flag. In a photo finish, McCarty took the win by 0.029s.
Not only did this finish feature the peak (at the time) of arguably the series’ greatest rivalry, it ended with a door-slamming photo finish at the line. You truly can’t ask for much more than that in Late Model Stock car racing.
But even that isn’t enough for the top-five on this list.
5. Berry vs. McCarty Comes to Blows Part 2
Ace Speedway, 2020
Imagine that, these two again – only this time it got even better.
Prior to this race, the entire world had been cooped up for months due to COVID-19. The first CARS race back did not disappoint.
Early in the race, McCarty and Berry battled for the lead. Much like No. 6 above it, resulted in Berry spun around backwards.
This time, however, Berry kept his receipt.
With five laps to go, McCarty seemed to be on his way to another win, coming up to lap Berry. However, that quickly went down the drain as Berry immediately turned McCarty into the inside wall off turn 4.
With McCarty and Berry out, the finish saw a fantastic side-by-side battle between Riggs and Ryan Millington, as the two raced door to door to the checkered flag. Millington powered around the outside and picked up his first and only CARS win to date.
A jaw-dropping moment in a legendary rivalry, a photo finish and a first time winner lands this one at No. 5. However, these top four stand clear above the rest.
4. Three Wide to the Line, Closest Finish Ever
Langley Speedway, 2024
Now I know what you’re thinking. How in the world is this No. 4?
Allow us to explain.
If you’ve never seen this finish before, take the time to watch, because it’s truly incredible. Late race chaos set up a green-white-checkered finish between three of the series’ brightest young stars.
Kvapil and Hall battle into turn 3, Crews sneaks to the inside of Kvapil. The three drag race off of turn 4 in one of the coolest finishes you’ll ever see in any form of racing.
Officially, Hall on the outside beat Crews on the inside by 0.007s. Kvapil in the middle was only 0.064 from the win in third, although it seemed so far away. On paper, this is the closest finish ever. It may never be topped between a top three.
The only thing that puts this finish at No. 4 and not No. 1 is the fact that it was set up by a green-white-checkered – something the three upcoming races didn’t need.
Nonetheless, there was incredible race craft shown by all three drivers to keep it clean for the Tour’s most picturesque finish ever.
3. Fryar vs. Looney In A Duel For the Ages
Franklin County Speedway, 2020
Coming in a No. 3, the greatest mano a mano duel for a CARS win in Series history. Fryar and Mike Looney put on an absolutely incredible one on one battle for the win, that ended in Fryar’s lone win of his championship season.
Fryar ran down race leader Looney with eight laps to go, finally drawing even with three laps remaining. The two made contact down the backstretch, sending both cars sideways.
They hung on and made contact again off turn 4. In a four-wheel slide, Fryar somehow kept his No. 14 pointed in the right direction entering turn 1 as Looney gave Fryar room to catch the car.
Looney shot Fryar up the track off turn 4, reclaiming the lead as they took the white flag. Fryar then moved Looney for the crossover off turn 2, and it was a drag race through 3 and 4, with Fryar coming out on top.
The finish of that race had everything you wanted. How Fryar saved the car into turn 1 we’ll never understand. That both drivers kept their cool and never crossed the line of fair and foul could never receive enough praise.
Best of all, it happened naturally with no cautions. The only thing holding it back is that the next two finishes had more than two cars in the battle, leaving this one at No. 3.
2. Fireworks at the Firecracker
Caraway Speedway, 2024
We had to hold back the recency bias on this one, so this past week’s race at Caraway falls at No. 2. By now, you probably know what No. 1 is, so we’ll explain why.
First of all, this finish was quintessential short track racing in every aspect. At some point in the final four laps, four different drivers were in position to win.
What made this so special was the reignited fued between Kvapil and Hall, one that had sat dormant for quite some time. Hall used up the back bumper of Kvapil’s No. 8 some 25 laps prior to the final restart, so we all knew what was coming.
On the restart, Kvapil used the opportunity to ship Hall’s No. 22 off into turn 1 and take the lead. This opened the door for Crews and chaos ensued.
All three drivers along with Byron proceeded to play seven laps worth of late model bumper cars. In the end, it was Crews who took the final swing, knocking Hall out of the way for the win.
The drama post-race with Crews celebrating, Hall and Kvapil pitted by each other and NASCAR Cup Series star Byron just happy to be there only added to the aura of this finish. However, just one thing was missing, something No. 1 still had.
1. The Greatest of All Time
Dominion Raceway, 2023
Once you all saw the previous three, it was probably a given that this was No. 1 – and deservingly so. McCarty was the victor over Kvapil and Queen in the greatest CARS Tour finish ever.
Kvapil stole the lead from Queen on a restart with 12 to go, a shocker after Queen had been dominant all night. It wasn’t long before Queen was knocking on the door for the lead once again, clawing to the inside of Kvapil with six laps to go.
The rest, as they say, is history.
For three consecutive laps, Queen doored Kvapil into turn 1. With three to go, it finally bit them both. McCarty snuck to the inside and made it three wide off turn 2, with all three trading paint into turn 3.
Kvapil fell back in the final two laps while Queen and McCarty stayed door to door all the way to the checkered. In a photo finish, McCarty stole the win by just 0.009 seconds, claiming what was the closest finish in CARS Tour history.
What makes this race No. 1 is that it picks up the slack where each of No. 2-4 has a flaw. No green-white-checkered like Langley this year. A three-car battle to Franklin County’s two. A photo finish that Caraway lacks.
It truly is the perfect CARS Tour finish and may never be topped, though this list of classic finishes shows it’s always possible.
About the author
Chase began working with Frontstretch in the spring of 2023 as a news writer, while also helping fill in for other columns as needed. Chase is now the main writer and reporter for Frontstretch.com's CARS Tour coverage, a role which began late in 2023. Aside from racing, some of Chase's other hobbies include time in the outdoors hunting and fishing, and keeping up with all things Philadelphia sports related.
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.