ASHEBORO, N.C. — Inclement weather on Saturday evening resulted in a rare Sunday afternoon race for the zMAX CARS Tour at Caraway Speedway.
The change in track conditions still led to two familiar faces earning checkered flags in the TCPS Plumbing & Septic 250. Reigning CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour champion Landen Lewis prevailed in the corresponding 125-lap feature, while Kaden Honeycutt secured a win in the CARS Pro Late Model Tour race.
Lewis was sent to the rear of the field early after running over the choose V prior to a restart, which required him to methodically but aggressively climb his way towards the front before making the race-winning pass with 25 laps remaining.
Lewis’ victory was his sixth on the CARS LMSC Tour overall, with four of those coming during his championship campaign in 2025. For Honeycutt, who won the PLM Tour title back in 2024, he now possesses 10 victories across the CARS Tour platform, four in Late Model Stocks, six in a Pro Late Model.
Although he was overjoyed to deliver another CARS LMSC Tour victory for Kevin Harvick Inc., Lewis knew the outcome was much more arduous than it needed to be.
It took Lewis nearly the entirety of the TCPS Plumbing & Septic 250 to rebound from running over the choose V while coming to an early restart, a miscue he never imagined making during his career. By staying composed and relying on his strengths, Lewis made his way forward and ended the day in Cook Out Victory Lane.
“I want to apologize for making a mistake that I’m far above making,” Lewis said. “I shouldn’t make those mistakes [with] where we’re at in racing. I guess I’ll never hit the orange cone, but I’m so thankful for my guys. Discipline is what it really took to get back to the front, pick them off one at a time and make up for the mistake.”
While Lewis believed he could get to the top 10 after the penalty, he said the cautions timed out perfectly for him to recapture all the track position he lost. Lewis also made sure to credit everyone at Kevin Harvick Inc. for providing him a strong car and the confidence needed to persevere through the self-inflicted adversity.
“I give this one to my team at the end of the day,” Lewis said. “They’re the ones who work their butts off. Without them, I wouldn’t be here, so I think this is a group effort. This is probably one of my favorite wins I’ve ever raced, being able to come from the back, back to the front. It taught us all discipline and not to give up.”
Nearly one month removed from his victory at Wake County Speedway, Conner Jones believed another trip to Cook Out Victory Lane was in store for him.
Despite being the most dominant driver on the afternoon, Jones was unable to withstand Landen Lewis’ charge from the rear of the field and ended up settling for a runner-up finish.
“We led the most laps, so it’s tough to go out like that,” Jones said. “It was hard racing the whole time. I feel like I used and abused my rear tires there towards the end. That just gave [Lewis] the advantage on the restart.”
As one of two drivers entered in both features for the TCPS Plumbing & Septic 250, Kaden Honeycutt managed to snag one checkered flag during his off weekend from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
The precision that has followed Honeycutt throughout his diverse career was on full display Sunday as he claimed another victory in the CARS PLM Tour. Sunday’s 100-lap feature ultimately came down to perfect execution on restarts, but Honeycutt never wavered regardless of who challenged him on the front row.
“I just needed to take control on the restart,” Honeycutt said. “It’s really difficult here to choose the bottom or the top. As the leader, you can go either way, but I wanted to make the right decision there and thankfully we did. It’s amazing to run in front of a short track crowd and I’m looking forward to seeing if we can get another one later.”
The finish:
Landen Lewis, Conner Jones, Caden Kvapil, Kaden Honeycutt, Dylan Fetcho, Jared Fryar, Treyten Lapcevich, Carson Brown, London McKenzie, Chad McCumbee, Chase Burrow, Landon S. Huffman, Mini Tyrrell, Parker Eatmon, Michael Bumgarner, Landon Huffman, Aiden King, Sam Butler, Brandon Lopez, Brandon Pierce, Mason Bailey, Mason Diaz, Carson Loftin, Jace Hale, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Donovan Strauss, Doug Barnes Jr., Matt Gould, Brian Blevins, Austin Somero.
