ANDERSON, S.C. — A capacity crowd descended upon Anderson Motor Speedway Saturday evening for the zMAX CARS Tour’s first race at the facility since 2018.
The presence of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the field contributed to the influx of spectators, many of whom were eager to see the MLB All-Star Classic paint scheme he piloted to victory lane in the 2001 Pepsi 400.
Landen Lewis ended a tough summer stretch by emerging victorious in the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour portion of the Bennett Equipment 225 after a late race-winning pass.
In the CARS Pro Late Model Tour race, Luke Baldwin would be the one to take home a checkered flag in Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51.
Since earning his second victory of 2025 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May, Lewis has been in contention to win almost every race since then.
Circumstances within and outside of his control prevented Lewis from sustaining his momentum, which also caused him to lose the CARS LMSC Tour points lead. A tumultuous period for Lewis finally ended Saturday evening at Anderson Motor Speedway, coming out on top in an intense battle with Jared Fryar.
“This is insane,” Lewis said. “It’s been a rough two weeks. I cancelled a jet ski trip to stay back at the race shop and help these guys fix this race car. When I walked in Tuesday morning, I got pretty emotional. We fought hard and I’m so thankful for all these [Kevin Harvick Inc.] guys for busting their butts.”
Lewis used the frustration from the Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway as motivation for Saturday evening. A hard battle between him and Tristan McKee for the lead on a late-race restart ended in a hard crash that cost Lewis an opportunity at $50,000.
With the guidance of Kevin Harvick and a seasoned team at his disposal, Lewis felt confident Anderson could be the track where he ended his winless drought.
It took Lewis most of the feature to find a way around Fryar for the lead, but he finally made the crucial overtake with 13 laps remaining.
The spirited battle for the win with Fryar is why Lewis considered Saturday’s Bennett Equipment 225 one of the most enjoyable Late Model Stock races he has participated in. Besting a veteran like Fryar required plenty of maturity on Lewis’ behalf, something he said was imperative off track as he regrouped from Hickory.
“A destroyed race car is never fun,” Lewis said. “These guys are all down and out [because] we had a shot to win $50,000 and it was swept away from us. It’s so special when you can rebound like this and cap it off with a win. Definitely a new mentality.”
No one in the field could match Landon Huffman’s pace in the closing stages as he picked off his competition one-by-one. Huffman passed Fryar shortly before the white flag to earn a strong second-place finish.
“This is the same race car I had at Caraway [Speedway],” Huffman said. “We’ve been chipping away at it. This Carroll Speedshop group has been working hard week in and week out and I’m really proud of the speed we’ve got at the end of these races.”
Fryar, Chase Burrow and Connor Hall completed the top five.
Pro Late Models
Only a few inches separated Luke Baldwin from earning $30,000 in the Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway a couple of weeks ago.
Baldwin wasted no time moving forward from that evening by pulling away with a commanding lead at Anderson Motor Speedway on Saturday for his second CARS PLM Tour victory of 2025. The No. 51 was so efficient at the end of the race that Baldwin backed off to conserve his tires in case he needed them for a late sprint.
“What a race car today,” Baldwin said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever saved tire harder in a Pro Late Model than I was those last 15 laps, praying for no yellow. I didn’t really do anything, so hats off to Troy Smith and the whole [Rick Ware Racing] team. I don’t think this race car was being stopped at the end.”
After qualifying in the third position, Baldwin methodically ran his own pace behind the leaders, as he knew not to expense his equipment too early on Anderson’s abrasive surface. Third was where Baldwin primarily stayed during the opening half until a crucial, mid-race restart.
While trying to hold his lead, PLM Tour points leader Ben Maier got loose under Tristan McKee in turn one, sending both cars up the track. Baldwin capitalized on the opportunity and effortlessly took control of the race, where the benefit of clean air enabled him to extend his advantage by over six seconds at the checkered flag.
Baldwin’s triumph gave Rick Ware Racing its third PLM Tour victory of 2025, with Carson Ware scoring the other one in a rain-shortened event at Ace Speedway back in May.
The finish:
Landen Lewis, Landon Huffman, Jared Fryar, Chase Burrow, Connor Hall, Mini Tyrrell, Tristan McKee, Kade Brown, Parker Eatmon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Donovan Strauss, Lanie Buice, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Doug Barnes Jr., Carson Loftin, Thomas Beane, Brandon Pierce, Conner Jones, Gary Greenwood Jr., Jake Bollman, Ryan Howard, Taylor Satterfield, Ralph Carnes, Neil Meredith, Riley Gentry, Jeremy Burns, David Roberts, Ryan Wilson.
