JACKSONVILLE, N.C.- For the first time in over four months, we finally saw the zMAX CARS Tour back in action this past Saturday (March 1) night at New River All-American Speedway.
The series carried hype and momentum into 2025 after a strong 2024 campaign. And with 38 cars vying for 30 spots in the season opening field, its return didn’t disappoint.
In the end, it was Connor Hall who started his CARS Tour title bid off with a win. But his statement-making performance wasn’t the only story from the season opener at New River. A wild night of action produced plenty to talk about for both the Pro Late Models and Late Model Stock cars.
From a brand new tire to a rising star, here are our three takeaways from the CARS Tour opener at New River.
Note: You can see results and a general breakdown of each race in our race recap.
One Up, One Down For Connor Hall
The new pairing of JR Motorsports and Hall is official one-for-one.
In baseball terms, you’d say they’re batting 1.000.
When the announcement was made last fall that Hall would leave Nelson Motorsports to join the JR Motorsports powerhouse in 2025, the only question was when they would win, not if.
The answer to that question came fast. Hall and company now sit atop the CARS Tour standings with an early win. At the end of the day, this is what we all expected from Hall with JRM, and all this did was release the pressure of getting the first one out of the way.
“I feel really good,” Hall told Frontstretch post-race. “It’s a really good feeling, kind of a breath of relief.”
Hall managed the tire wear game perfectly at the front of the field and was able to outlast Bobby McCarty at the end of the night.
“When he got to me, he was wearing me out pretty good,” Hall said of McCarty. “I could just tell he was turning really really well. He kind of got the nose under me and actually it was when him and Kade [Brown] were behind me. … I thought my best shot to win was to kind of drop back and punt, let everything kind of cool back down.
“I feel like we hit the save and track position battle pretty well, and the cards played out in our favor tonight.”
If it wasn’t known before, it’s certain now that the championship will run through Hall. Now we wait to see who rises up to challenge him.
Jade Avedisian is the Real Deal
If the world wasn’t paying attention to Jade Avedisian before, they should be now.
Avedisian has been in the spotlight for a while, making the Chili Bowl Nationals feature and winning the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series championship driving for Keith Kunz Motorsports in 2023. After claiming a title under the World Racing Group banner, Toyota Racing Development chose Avedisian as their next driver to make the switch to asphalt racing.
The Californian found immediate success behind the wheel of an asphalt late model, winning a Carolina Pro Late Model race at Hickory Motor Speedway late in 2024 in her second start in the car.
Her move to the CARS Pro Late Model Tour promised a step up in competition. But Avedisian needed just one week to secure a victory.
Not only did she show strong raw pace Saturday at New River, Avedisian also displayed poise, never once being rattled on a series of late-race restarts with Tristan McKee and T.J. DeCaire.
Some elbows were thrown that prevented her from crossing the line first, but a disqualification for DeCaire’s awarded her the trophy that some would say she rightfully deserved.
“Obviously, I want to be the first one to the checkered flag,” Avedisian told Frontstretch. “But, a win is a win, and a disqualification is a disqualification. So, we’re the winners tonight, and I’ve just got to do a better job over the next few weeks of studying and figuring out how my restarts can be better.”
Avedisian made history on Saturday night as the first woman to find CARS Tour victory lane in the series’ 11-year history. With a win under her belt, the sky is the limit for the 18-year old. Everyone should be watching to see how she progresses this season.
Hoosier’s F45* Tires Delivered
Last year was defined by tire problems for both the CARS Tour and Hoosier themselves. That season of controversy led Hoosier to develop a whole new tire, the F45*, for the 2025 CARS Tour season.
One week in, the tires have delivered. Drivers gave positive reviews across the board for Hoosier and the new tire compound after Saturday’s race.
“I thought it was great,” Ronnie Bassett Jr. told Frontstretch. “We haven’t had any problems this weekend, they’ve all be consistent. That’s all we ask for is just consistency man, if we’re a half a second off from last year’s time so be it, as long as everybody is the same.”
McCarty was thrilled after his runner-up run in the feature. “I’ll be 100% honest with you, I give a round of applause to Hoosier and CARS Tour for making this change,” he said. ” This is a badass tire, man. I’d say we were probably going 70% up until (about) lap 80.”
Ryan Millington was also a fan, saying he thought “they raced really good.
“As long as they’re consistent from week to week and car to car and set to set, I think that’s all that matters,” he added. “We’re all going to be on the same tires, I think there will be some good racing.”
From our vantage point, the racing was fantastic. Just the right combination of taking care of equipment and maintaining track position – the golden mix for Late Model Stock car racing.
If this is how it’s going to be all year long, buckle up. We’re in for one heck of a ride.
What’s Up Next?
The CARS Tour is back in action in three weeks time at Wake County Speedway in Raleigh, N.C. The Late Model Stock cars will take on America’s Favorite Bullring while the Pro Late Models take some time off until April.
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.