HUDSON, N.C. — Saturday’s SoundGear 225 for the zMAX CARS Tour produced the usual thrills and spills that have become synonymous with the series’ visits to Tri-County Motor Speedway over the past several years.
Both the Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model divisions saw potential winners eliminated from contention in the closing stages. This created opportunities for both young prospects and seasoned veterans to pounce on the opportunity at the front of the field, which produced two equally intense finishes.
When the dust settled on the CARS LMSC Tour race, Jared Fryar emerged victorious after fending off a valiant challenge from Landon S. Huffman for his third victory of 2025.
In the CARS PLM Tour, young T.J. DeCaire showcased the speed of Bryson Lopez Racing’s No. 47 by driving it to his first career win.
Fryar traded plenty of blows with upcoming prospect Huffman for the lead until a mistake by the latter enabled Fryar to pull ahead with five laps remaining. Fryar praised Huffman’s composure and was thrilled to overtake him and earn another Late Model Stock checkered flag this year.
“I raced with [Huffman] earlier and he was giving me plenty of room doing his thing on the top,” Fryar said. “I was able to run my line at the bottom and I didn’t feel like I had to do anything dumb. Obviously had to do a little bit of something to get by him and clear him, but I knew he was going to race me clean and we put on a good show there.”
Although he is now part-time in the LMSC Tour, the 2025 season has statistically been Fryar’s best on the platform, having collected multiple victories in a single year for the first time in his career.
Fryar was initially unsure if he would be able to contend on Saturday, as he started the 125-lap Late Model Stock event from the 18th position. After methodically climbing to third, Fryar avoided a late crash involving leaders Chad McCumbee and Landon Huffman, leaving him to fend off the other Huffman for the win.
The first appearance for Landon S. Huffman in the No. 11 Mountain Dew/Pepsi Chevrolet for Houser Brothers Racing and Sons nearly resulted in the biggest win of his young career to date.
Huffman made significant strides by utilizing Tri-County Motor Speedway’s top lane, propelling him from 21st all the way to the lead. The poor starting position is something Huffman attributed to his second place showing, as he did not believe he had enough car left to fend off Jared Fryar.
“It was fun,” Huffman said. “Unfortunately, I think I pissed my right front off a little too much coming up through the field. Lost a lot of turn there at the end and I couldn’t get the drive off I needed because I couldn’t get turned to the center down in [turn] three and four.”
During the CARS PLM Tour season-opener at Coastal Plains Raceway Park back in March, T.J. DeCaire saw his breakthrough victory get taken away from him due to an infraction in post-race inspection.
The journey toward getting back to Cook Out Victory Lane for DeCaire ended in cathartic fashion on Saturday at Tri-County Motor Speedway. Driving the No. 47 for Bryson Lopez Racing, DeCaire withstood several valiant charges from Bayley Currey for that elusive first win, which he got to keep this time around.
“I can’t race every week, so I try to help out the team every day I can,” DeCaire said. “I care for so many people in the pits and I can’t thank all these guys enough. They all did a phenomenal job all weekend and now we’re here.”
DeCaire’s inaugural PLM Tour triumph came in his 23rd start.
The finish:
Jared Fryar, Landon S. Huffman, Connor Hall, Parker Eatmon, Brandon Pierce, Landon Huffman, Carson Loftin, Mitch Walker, Landen Lewis, Lanie Buice, Kade Brown, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Bumgarner, Matt Leicht, Doug Barnes Jr., Jke Bollman, Aiden King, Brad Means, Conner Jones, Mini Tyrrell, Trevor Ward, Austin Somero, Chad McCumbee, Hudson Bulger, Graham Hollar, Ryan Millington, Donovan Strauss, Thomas Beane, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Chase Burrow.
