Hello, Newman!
In case you missed it, 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman will attempt his first start with the zMAX CARS Tour this Saturday (April 26) at Orange County Speedway.
The Rocket Man will drive the No. 7 for Matt Piercy Racing with sponsorship from High Rock Vodka, adding his name to an ever-growing list of NASCAR-CARS Tour crossovers in recent years.
There are plenty of examples for CARS Tour drivers making their way into the NASCAR National ranks – Carson Kvapil and defending champs Kaden Honeycutt and Brenden Queen to name a few.
NASCAR stars going the other way are more of a rarity, often resigned to one-offs, but they still make a memorable experience for grassroots fans. Since the North Wilkesboro Speedway revival in 2022, the status of the CARS Tour has been on a steady rise. Newman is one of many high-profile drivers to throw their hat in the ring.
How will Newman fare against those before him? It remains to be seen. But we’ll help you make an educated guess.
Here’s a brief history of those major guest appearances and how they fared.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
There is no better way to kick this list off than with Dale Earnhardt Jr., the catalyst behind this entire period of growth.
Earnhardt has fielded a car in the series since its creation back in 2015 and now co-owns the series to go along with the driving efforts he puts in himself. Going back to 2022, the fan-favorite has also raced five times with the series, at least once in each season.
The first of those was the famous Wilkesboro revival race that put the series on the map, putting a bow on a magical return for a racetrack many had hoped would come back to life for decades. Earnhardt was a contender all night long and finished third.
One year later, Earnhardt returned to Wilkesboro with the series, this time as part of NASCAR’s return with All-Star weekend. A strong run early was derailed by crash damage as Earnhardt settled for 16th in 2023.
In 2024, Earnhardt raced with the series twice, both at New River All-American Speedway and Florence Motor Speedway. A mid-race crash held Earnhardt to 14th at New River, while he picked up his second series top-10 at Florence (10th).
Earnhardt made his first 2025 appearance early, traveling with the Tour to Cordele Motor Speedway in a debut for both the driver and series at the south Georgia track. His No. 8 was in contention for a top-five, but came home 21st after a late incident. The NASCAR Hall of Famer has announced plans to run at Tri County Speedway, so he’ll be back with the Tour later this season.
Kevin Harvick
Moving from one series owner to another, Kevin Harvick has two starts with the Tour under his belt, both coming at North Wilkesboro.
Harvick made his return to Late Model Stock racing at Wilkesboro in 2023, bringing back Kevin Harvick Inc. in the process. Harvick qualified 19th and brought the No. 62 home in 11th at night’s end.
The 2024 Wilkesboro race originally scheduled for All-Star week in May was rescheduled to August after rain washed out the May date. The rescheduling prevented Josh Berry from running the race an opened up the door for Harvick to return. The 2014 Cup Series champion qualified 19th and finished 11th, a mirror image to his performance a year prior.
Outside of Late Model Stock competition, Harvick also has one Pro Late Model start to his name. He competed at Florence Motor Speedway last August, starting sixth and finishing seventh.
Kyle Larson
Perhaps American motorsport’s biggest modern star, 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson made his Late Model Stock debut with the Tour in 2023, driving for JR Motorsports at Caraway Speedway.
Caraway being run on a Wednesday opened the door for Larson to compete, allowing the driver known for racing anything to add another discipline to his racing resume.
Larson had never raced a Late Model Stock car before the event, so his performance was solid, all things considering. The Californian qualified 16th out of 31 cars, kept his nose clean throughout the race and drove to seventh at race’s end.
William Byron
A year after his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, two-time Daytona 500 champion William Byron took his shot with the Tour at Caraway in 2024. Like Larson, the Wednesday date for Caraway allowed the race to fit into Byron’s busy Cup Series schedule.
With much more experience behind the wheel of a pavement late model, Byron skipped the learning curve Larson had to overcome, immediately becoming a threat to win.
Byron missed the mark in qualifying, clocking in 15th, but quickly charged through the field in the feature. The final 10 laps saw arguably the greatest four-car battle for the win in series history, with Byron ultimately finishing second to Brent Crews.
Brad Keselowski
Like Earnhardt and Harvick above, Brad Keselowski was a part of the Wilkesboro All-Star week event for the Tour back in 2023. The race was Keselowski’s debut with CARS and his only start with the Tour to date, coming with Hedgecock Racing.
After qualifying down in 22nd, the race itself was an uphill climb for the RFK Racing owner-driver, but the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion kept his nose clean for a 12th-place finish at the end of the night.
Chase Briscoe
Chase Briscoe joined Harvick and Keselowski above in making his CARS Tour debut at North Wilkesboro in 2023, driving the No. 5 for Chad Bryant Racing.
Of every Cup driver in the field at Wilkesboro, Briscoe seemed to have the best shot to win as pit strategy put the No. 5 in the top five for a good majority of the race. But newer tires prevailed in the end and Briscoe wound up a respectable 10th after starting down in 30th.
Daniel Suarez
Daniel Suarez has made one start with the CARS Tour, coming at North Wilkesboro in 2023.
There’s a trend here, if you haven’t noticed.
Suarez nearly had his night ended by an early pile-up, the same wreck Earnhardt received his damage from. But the Mexican star battled back from the front nose damage to be in contention late, finishing the best of the Cup drivers in sixth.
Had Suarez not suffered damage, he very well could have gotten a few spots higher and possibly even challenged Queen for the win. But the end result was still a solid one, leading a field of Cup contenders.
Ross Chastain
Like nearly everyone listed above, Ross Chastain made his CARS debut at North Wilkesboro in 2023. But it wasn’t the greatest of showings for the Trackhouse Racing driver.
Chastain started 27th and was well off the pace for a good portion of the event, struggling to climb through the field en route to a 19th-place finish.
Although his Late Model Stock start did not go to plan, Chastain has made multiple Pro Late Model starts outside of the CARS Tour with relative success, including driving the Tootsie’s No. 1 at Nashville Fairgrounds last summer.
Kenny Wallace
Here’s one for the old-school fans.
With some convincing from Earnhardt, Kenny Wallace jumped behind the wheel of a Late Model Stock car at South Boston Speedway in 2023.
Primarily known for dirt racing outside of NASCAR, Wallace did a solid job at age 50, staying on the lead lap to score a 21st-place finish. It was all about fun for the Hermanator, who had a blast at South Boston.
Josh Berry
Okay, this one is kind of cheating.
The final driver on this list is the embodiment of a crossover from CARS to NASCAR. Josh Berry picked up his first Cup Series win earlier this season. but wouldn’t be where he is now without his success in the CARS Tour along the way.
Berry is still the all time wins leader in the series with 22 victories and claimed the series championship in 2017. But that’s from a different time, when Berry was ‘the guy’ and not the invader.
Since his rise to Cup racing, Berry has one start under his belt at Hickory Motor Speedway in 2024. Berry stayed in contention throughout the race and finished ninth after starting seventh. But the Tennessean will be back in May, contesting the Pro Late Model race at North Wilkesboro.
Every one of these drivers has brought eyes to the series and given local fans a chance to see one of the stars of Sunday in the short track ranks. It’s always fun to see the Cup guys try their hand against the aces who run these cars on a weekly basis.
With multiple events held in conjunction with NASCAR this season and a another Wednesday night race at Caraway, don’t be surprised if a few names are added to this list in the near future.
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.