HUDSON, N.C.- The zMAX CARS Tour hit up Tri-County Speedway this past Saturday (Oct. 4) night for the penultimate round of the 2025 season. With Dale Earnhardt Jr. amongst the field of regulars, it was another wild and memorable night of racing.
Tri-County is known for chaos when the CARS Tour comes to town and Saturday was no different, as Jared Fryar picked up the win after a chaotic 125-lap feature.
🏁 @JaredFryar14 picks up his 3rd @CARSTour win of the year at @racetrico!#CARSTour #SoundGear225 pic.twitter.com/fjp6GwaPRc
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) October 5, 2025
Fryar secured his third win on the season after the previous leaders crashed in front of him, while tension began to rise between the title contenders in the pack. Here are three takeaways from the Sound Gear 225 at Tri-County.
Hall Gave Himself a Shot
Everyone knew the 18 points between Landen Lewis and Connor Hall would be a tall order for Hall to erase in two races. But with the series headed to North Wilkesboro Speedway to close out the season in two weeks time, Hall has a shot.
The chances looked bleak for Hall around 40 laps to go. It had been a grind for the No. 88 team to climb out of a deep qualifying hole and get to the top five. Meanwhile, Lewis had started up front and stayed there for almost the entire night.
Hall finally got to the back bumper of Lewis and the pair raced each other hard for a number of laps before a caution slowed the field, ending what had been a pretty physical battle. The fight resumed as the race went back green, with Hall once again trying everything to get around Lewis in the No. 29.
The move that changed the entire outlook of this title fight was Hall’s decision to put the bumper to Lewis in turn 3, inside 20 laps to go. Hall gave the No. 29 a shot on corner entry, sending Lewis up into the marbles as Hall sped on by with the spot.
𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙏𝙊 𝙂𝙊 🏳️
— CARS Tour (@CARSTour) October 7, 2025
Hall closes the gap slightly on points leader Landen Lewis with one race left in 2025. @zmaxraceproduc1 | @SoundGearHear | @FloRacing pic.twitter.com/3J3hGf1MHO
Lewis lost multiple spots, ultimately finishing ninth while Hall scored a podium in third. That move flipped what would have been a 20-point gap heading to North Wilkesboro down to a 12-point gap between Lewis and Hall.
Make not mistake, closing up 12 points is no easy task. But it’s a lot more manageable than 20, and we’ve seen what Hall is willing to do to give himself a shot. Things have hit the fan at North Wilkesboro before, especially on restarts, so a 12-point gap isn’t insurmountable.
For now, Lewis still holds a cushion between himself and Hall, but not as much of one. Hall’s bump-and-run gives him a fighting chance heading into what could be a dramatic season finale.
Super Jared Strikes Again
On a part-time basis, Fryar has been the best Late Model Stock car driver in America in 2025.
He hasn’t run the Tour full-time and didn’t compete for a track championship anywhere. Fryar has just run wherever and whenever he and the Jimmy Mooring Racing team choose. And it’s worked, to the tune of three CARS Tour wins in 2025.
Fryar has been excellent in his starts with the Tour this year. Since his opening-lap crash at New River All-American Speedway in the first race of the season, Fryar has secured three wins, six podiums and had an average finish of 1.66 in his six subsequent starts.
Finishing no worse than third and winning 50% of your races is incredible whether you’re a part-timer or not. You can throw in a third-place finish in Martinsville Speedway’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 as well.
For the 3rd time this year, @JaredFryar14 goes to @CookOut victory lane! 🍾@zmaxraceproduc1 | @SoundGearHear 225 | @FloRacing pic.twitter.com/eP1UqroQg8
— CARS Tour (@CARSTour) October 5, 2025
Once again, Fryar made the most of his opportunity Saturday night at Tri-County. Having already driven up to third, Fryar made the most of a crash between the two leaders in front of him and held off Landon S. Huffman in a fierce battle for the win.
That begs the question: What if Fryar had run full-time? If he could have replicated this success across the entire season instead of just half of it, he’d be ahead of both Hall and Lewis in points. It’s hard to know what could have happened, as Fryar easily could have been caught up in a crash or had mechanical failures, but the hypothetical is fun to envision.
We already know Fryar can win a championship. He did so back in 2020. But for the first time in his CARS Tour career, Fryar has a multi-win season, moving his career total to seven with a three-win campaign.
Should Fryar run North Wilkesboro, he’ll be a threat. It’s about time Fryar starts getting recognition as one of the current best in the sport with a Late Model Stock.
A Battle For the Lead Gone Wrong
CARS Tour racing at Tri-County always seems to fall near a full moon. We were a few days early this year, but Saturday still played out like the moon was as full as it could be.
Chad McCumbee and Landon Huffman seemed to be the class of the field – one a veteran looking for his first win since 2022, the other a fan favorite and weekly points leader at Tri-County looking for his first win since 2023.
McCumbee had the lead after starting up front. Huffman had charged from the third row to battle for the lead. As the laps began to wind down, it seemed as though Huffman had the edge and the faster car.
After multiple attempts to gain position, Huffman finally got to the inside of McCumbee. But the pair’s side-by-side battle into turn 1 turned upside down, almost literally, with a quickness.
🤯 The leaders tangle in the @CARSTour #SoundGear225!!#CARSTour pic.twitter.com/g7gHVbkPrb
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) October 5, 2025
Huffman got loose on corner entry, slid up into McCumbee and then wheel-hopped his No. 57 over the No. 16. From that point on, they were along for the ride. Huffman landed on the hood of McCumbee, both cars coming to rest in turn 2, throwing the duo’s chances to break their winless streak out the window.
McCumbee was unhappy with Huffman, while Huffman simply owned the mistake. Chances to win are hard to come by, and you have to think both drivers will be stirring over this one for quite some time.
Especially in the case of Huffman, who leads the track championship points at Tri County and won the Old North State Nationals at the track in 2023. After so many near misses in 2025, this one felt like the opportunity for Huffman to break through, and it was right there in front of him.
Both have one more shot to win in 2025. But this one will sting for a while.
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.