TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. — With a guaranteed pole position for the South Carolina 400 on the line in Friday’s Cook Out 225, Ryan Millington had plenty of motivation to obtain an overdue zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour victory.
Over four years had passed since Millington edged out current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Layne Riggs for his breakthrough triumph in the CARS LMSC Tour. By executing a flawless tire strategy on the abrasive Florence Motor Speedway, Millington finally made his way back to Cook Out Victory Lane against a talented field of competitors.
While Millington relived the cathartic emotions of an LMSC Tour win all over again, the co-CARS PLM Tour points leader scored his maiden checkered flag, giving him a small advantage over Kaden Honeycutt in the tight championship battle.
Years Of Hard Work Pays Off For Ryan Millington
The road back to the top of the CARS LMSC Tour pedestal for Ryan Millington was equal parts arduous and frustrating.
Victory had eluded Millington on numerous occasions over the past several years despite countless improvements to his program. Reaching that milestone on Friday at Florence Motor Speedway required Millington to be patient with tire strategy, an aspect of late model stock competition he admitted was never one of his strengths.
“I’m speechless at this point to say the least,” Millington said. “I didn’t think we had the best car, but I think we ended up running the best race, which worked out for us. I’ve had a lot of bad experiences here riding and using my stuff, so I guess I learned enough for tonight. Everything went our way for once.”
For Millington, every day of his life sees him and his father work tirelessly on their No. 15 Leisure Tyme Rentals Chevrolet. Purchasing an R&S Race Cars chassis over the offseason gave the duo some confidence about being a consistent presence at the front of the field.
Close calls at Hickory Motor Speedway and Ace Speedway over the past month only invigorated Millington further to put together a race that highlighted just how strong his program was. Every defeat taught Millington a valuable lesson, which created an ideal blueprint for how to approach 125 laps around Florence.
The plan was executed to perfection by Millington, who now must start brainstorming a strategy for the South Carolina 400 from the pole. With the crown jewel event still a couple of months away, Millington intends to celebrate his LMSC Tour victory at Florence before immediately returning to the shop and resuming work on his car.
“We didn’t even have [the South Carolina 400] on the list to come run, but I guess I’ll have to now,” Millington said. “We need to keep bringing fast cars. We’ve had a lot of speed and we’re going to continue to have speed. There’s a long week of work planned to keep this car in the best shape possible so we can to South Boston [Speedway] with a fast piece.”
Second Place For Brenden Queen Tightens LMSC Tour Points Battle Further
The CARS LMSC Tour championship bout took another interesting turn at Florence Motor Speedway with Brenden Queen finishing in front of points leader Connor Hall for the fourth consecutive week.
A slim margin separates the two late-model stock stalwarts with just three events remaining on the 2024 schedule. Queen would have preferred to usurp Hall in the point standings with a victory in the Cook Out 225, but he said having stellar outings every weekend is imperative if he wants to claim his first LMSC Tour title.
“It was a great points night,” Queen said. “Obviously we want to be in victory lane and you hate giving these races away, but any time you can run second and have a good points night in our situation, that’s as good as a win right now.”
Queen commended the hard work of everyone at Lee Pulliam Performance for how they responded to an inconsistent first half of 2024. Were it not for a crash at Caraway Speedway in July, Queen is confident he would have already passed Hall in the LMSC Tour standings.
The surge towards being in championship contention for Queen occurred despite having gone winless since Dominion Raceway in July. Florence presented a perfect opportunity for Queen to break that drought and emerge as the new points leader, as he previously won the South Carolina 400 with Pulliam back in 2022.
A win will have to wait another week for Queen, who now turns his attention from an abrasive track like Florence to a high-grip facility in South Boston Speedway. Queen plans to lean heavily on Pulliam leading into that weekend, as any advice will be crucial to moving one step in what he believes will be an intense battle with Hall.
“Lee Pulliam is great at South Boston, but that’s probably been one of my weaker tracks,” Queen said. “If we get through there, Tri-County and North Wilkesboro are really good for us, so we’re looking forward to these three races and a dogfight all the way to the end.”
Spencer Davis Finally Earns A Win In The PLM Tour
Despite being at the front of the CARS PLM Tour standings since the season-opener at Southern National Motorsports Park, Spencer Davis had yet to tally a victory before Friday’s Cook Out 225 at Florence Motor Speedway.
Davis changed the status quo by patiently biding his time behind Jake Bollman before making his race-winning maneuver in the closing stages. The fact that it took ten races for Davis to finally take home a checkered flag during a championship-caliber year is something he attributes to the competitive depth of the PLM Tour fields.
“I’ve been running CARS Tour on and off for years in the Late Model Stocks and Super [Late Models],” Davis said. “The competition is second to none. It’s so, so hard to win one of these races with really good drivers like Kaden Honeycutt and Tristan McKee. Heck, I beat my childhood idol in Kevin Harvick too.”
Minimizing mistakes was a goal for Davis entering the weekend. He saw a couple of potential wins fall by the wayside due to circumstances within and outside of his control, yet Davis felt he could control his own destiny on Friday by patiently conserving his tires.
With a flawless tire strategy, Davis got the win he needed to separate himself from Kaden Honeycutt, if only slightly. The two entered Florence in a tie for the PLM Tour points lead, with Honeycutt holding the tiebreaker due to the victory he obtained at Orange County Speedway back in April.
Nothing will come easy for Davis if he wishes to fend off Honeycutt for the PLM Tour title, but he considers himself grateful to have the opportunity after over two decades of racing. If he can build off the momentum from his Florence triumph, Davis is confident he will be the one hoisting the PLM Tour championship trophy at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
“Ecstatic is an understatement,” Davis said. “I pour my life and soul into these race cars. I’ve got three businesses to support this thing and we do all we can. We have to win these last three [races] and then everything else will take care of itself.”