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Short Track Weekly: What to Expect From CARS Tour Championship Weekend

It’s time to crown some champions.

Back in March, the zMAX CARS Tour kicked off a new era of racing at Southern National Motorsports Park. There were new owners, a new title sponsor and so much more.

Seven months and 16 races across three states later, the series is ready to settle a title fight at racing’s field of dreams – North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Both championship battles are separated by less than 10 points, headlined by the culmination of Connor Hall and Brenden Queen‘s season-long war over the Late Model Stock title.

Championships will be won while others turn the page to new chapters of their careers,. Two lucky drivers will ride the lift gate to North Wilkesboro victory lane.

Here’s everything you should know heading into the CARS Tour’s championship weekend.

Hall vs. Butterbean, Round 17

After a back-and-forth heavyweight battle throughout the season, Queen and Hall’s legendary championship battle will come to a close on Saturday night. Queen leads Hall by nine points heading into North Wilkesboro, with all the momentum leaning in Butterbean’s favor.

Hall started the season on a tear, storming to the points lead and seeming to be the car to beat through the early summer stretch. The Virginian and his Nelson Motorsports team started the season with eight top-10 finishes through the first 10 races of the season.

But everything seemed to fall apart after a crash at North Wilkesboro in August. Starting with that night, Hall has had an average finish of 9.6 in his last six races, down from 5.3 in the first 10.

Nothing has seemingly gone right for Hall and the No. 22 team lately, leaving the group facing an uphill battle to claim the title this weekend.

On the opposite side of the fight, Butterbean and the No. 03 team have done everything but find victory lane down the stretch, finally reclaiming the points lead from Hall at Tri-County Speedway this past Saturday.

Queen started the season off comparatively rocky, holding an average finish of 9.6 through the first nine races, albeit with two wins. In complete feast or famine fashion, Queen had four top-two finishes and five finishes outside the top 10 during this stretch.

But since a DNF at Caraway in July, Queen has flipped the switch. He has seven-straight top fives and an average finish of 3.8, helping him erase a championship gap to the struggling Hall and emerge with the points lead heading into the finale.

All the momentum has shifted in Butterbean’s favor. He’s on the hot streak, finished in the top five at North Wilkesboro in August and has a win at the track in 2023. Queen also scored a top five at the track in his Craftsman Truck Series debut back in May.

In his final CARS Tour race with Nelson Motorsports, Hall will need some help to claim the championship. Winning the pole would help, as points are available for the pole winner, lap leaders and leader of the most laps throughout the event.

A Pro Late Model Showdown

Overshadowed by the Late Model Stock cars is a fantastic championship battle for the Pro Late Models. A back-and-forth battle has led Spencer Davis to a measly six-point lead over Kaden Honeycutt with one race remaining.

Davis has been the model of consistency, scoring two wins and just one finish worth than sixth in 12 races thus far. The Georgian picked up consecutive wins at Florence Motor Speedway and South Boston Speedway.

Honeycutt has had a strong season in his own right, all while driving for two different race teams throughout the year. The Texan started the season in the Maverick Page Motorsports No. 51, before jumping to the Bryson Lopez Racing No. 47.

Even with the change of scenery, Honeycutt has been a consistent contender. He has a win with both teams and has clawed back into the title fight with a shot at spoiling Davis’ party at North Wilkesboro.

Davis had the better run at North Wilkesboro back in August, finishing third to Honeycutt’s eighth. But Honeycutt was still in the No. 51 at the time, so a new team could bring fresh opportunity for the driver of the No. 47.

A Last Hurrah

Saturday will mark the end of an era for JR Motorsports’ CARS Tour program, with Carson Kvapil moving on to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025.

Kvapil made his first Late Model Stock start with JRM late in 2021, nearly winning at Florence Speedway. He took the reins of the late model program from there and, as they say, the rest was history.

In three seasons, albeit part-time in 2024, Kvapil has amassed 12 wins in just 45 starts, winning in a whopping 26.7% of his appearances with the series. That number is good enough for second all-time on the series wins list, tied with Bobby McCarty and trailing only Josh Berry.

All the while, Kvapil managed to put together back-to-back championship campaigns in 2022-2023, making him only the second multi-time champion of the series alongside McCarty.

We know Hall will step in to fill the shoes of Kvapil beginning in 2025, so the JRM seat is in good hands. At this point, it’s uncertain when we’ll see Kvapil back in the CARS Tour, but the opportunities will be slim with Xfinity typically running on Saturdays.

If this is the last start for quite some time, he’ll be sure to make it count. The winner of the inaugural return to North Wilkesboro just might have one more card to play in order to claim sole possession of second on the all-time wins list.

North Wilkesboro Schedule

The two-day show at North Wilkesboro has been set up to get all racing action in on Saturday, for all fans in attendance to enjoy. Friday will sere as a practice and qualifying day, with fans being treated to the Pro Late Model and Late Model Stock features on Saturday, along with a race by the SMART Modified Tour.

The first green flag of the evening is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET. All coverage can be found live on FloRacing.

About the author

Chase_folsom_ROVAL_2022

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.

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