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One week after holding its biggest race of the year in the Old North State Nationals at
Tri-County Motor Speedway, the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour will travel to the smallest track on the schedule in Wake County Speedway for the Drive for Puryear 125.
Nestled in the woods, (just 10 minutes south of downtown) Raleigh, North Carolina, Saturday serves as the second CARS Tour race hosted by Wake County following a thrilling Pro Late Model Tour event in July that saw Logan Jones collect his first win. This time the Late Model Stock Car Tour will tackle the quarter-mile bullring, their first race at the track since 2021.
With fresh pavement having recently been put down at Wake County, tight racing and plenty of thrills are expected for Saturday’s Drive for Puryear 125 as LMSC Tour drivers look to push forward from an eventful Old North State Nationals.
Event Notes:
Track: Wake County Speedway Location: Raleigh, North Carolina Length: .250 mile Laps: 125 CARS LMSC Tour races: 2 Wake County LMSC winners: Sam Mayer (1), Deac McCaskill (1) LMSC Entry List (22 cars): #03 Brenden Queen, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #05 Mason Bailey, #08 Deac McCaskill, #1 Andrew Grady, #1J Clay Jones, #2 Brandon Pierce, #4 Dylon Wilson, #5C Giovanni Ruggiero, #6 Bobby McCarty, #8 Carson Kvapil, #8B Chase Burrow, #11X Buddy Isles, #15 Ryan Millington, #16 Chad McCumbee, #22 Landon Huffman, #24 Mason Diaz, #51 Ethan Johnson, #67 Cameron Bolin, #77 Connor Hall, #81 Mini Tyrrell, #95 Jacob Heafner
LMSC Point Standings:
Carson Kvapil
Brenden Queen -35
Mason Diaz -96
Ryan Millington -104
Connor Hall -110
Bobby McCarty -117
Kaden Honeycutt -123
Chad McCumbee -126
Jacob Heafner -132
Brandon Pierce -147
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Clay Jones Teams with Jency Markham for LMSC Tour Debut
Wake County Speedway will have a hometown hero mixing it up with the CARS LMSC Tour regulars on Saturday evening.
Four-time track champion Clay Jones has teamed up with car owner Jency Markham in pursuit of a national victory at Wake County. The deal only came together recently for Jones, but he said there is plenty of mutual excitement between him and Markham as they prepare to battle for 125 laps.
“I hit Jency up online and said if he ever needed a driver, I’d love to run some races with him,” Jones said. “It was one of those deals that just kind of came together and I guess great minds think alike. We talked on the phone for a bit and now here we are.”
Jones, who scored two Top 5s in the CARS Tour’s defunct Super Late Model division, compared a race at Wake County to driving at renowned go-kart tracks like Rush Hour Karting and Trackhouse Motorplex.
The constant off-throttle time associated with Wake County’s short layout requires drivers to always be aggressive. Jones admitted the repave initially narrowed down the racing groove but has noticed drivers start using the higher line more, which he believes will make for an intense LMSC Tour feature.
A surplus of cars compared to a usual Wake County show is something Jones believes will only add to the energetic atmosphere. There will be a small margin of error for Jones when the green flag flies, but he hopes the Drive for Puryear 125 is the first of many successful runs with Markham.
“That would easily be one of the biggest wins I’ve had in a while,” Jones said. “It’d would be even bigger for us and Jency as a group now. We kind of threw this thing together and we’re hoping to run some more CARS Tour races with him next year. To kick off this relationship with a win would be special all the way around.”
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A full schedule is on hand at Wake County for Saturday’s Drive for Puryear 125, with the track’s Charger and Bandolero classes accompanying the CARS LMSC Tour. Chargers kick off the racing at 7 p.m. ET, with the 125-lap Late Model Stock feature set to get going at 8:15 p.m. ET.
FloRacing is providing coverage of all the on-track action on Saturday.
For more information on the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the CARS Pro Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com. Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on Twitter and scrolling through photos on Instagram cars_tour. Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in Mooresville, NC, at 704.662.9212.
Tickets are on sale now at wcspeedway.com/tickets.
Written by CARS Tour staff with additional photography and graphics by Wake County Speedway.