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By Ronald Young
NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced this week that he’ll be back behind the wheel of a JR Motorsports Late Model this weekend. Earnhardt will be competing in the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car event at New River All-American Speedway on Saturday, April 13.
The 15-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver and Daytona 500 winner got his start in Late Models at the now-defunct Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina, and the .400-mile NRAAS oval’s shape and track surface are similar to that of MBS. Earnhardt Jr. has made one start this season, finishing fourth in the Icebreaker 125 at Florence (S.C.) Motor Speedway.
“I’m a huge fan of the CARS Tour and local short-track racing,” Earnhardt said. “The competition, the tracks, and the drivers are some of the best around. These regional series are vital to the quality of racing you see at the top level – it’s the heartbeat of motorsports in North America.”
Earnhardt, a co-owner of the CARS Tour, will be making his third career start with the popular Late Model series and his first away from North Wilkesboro Speedway. He recorded a career-best CARS Tour finish of third at North WIlkesboro in 2022 and followed that up with a 16th-place finish in 2023.
Earnhardt Jr can expect a strong field to compete on Saturday with 26 drivers currently entered including previous winners at the track Brenden Queen and Connor Hall.
Queen held off a last lap charge by Ronnie Bassett Jr to claim the win last fall and heads into this race after finishing 2nd at Hickory. Queen hopes that run will help his team build momentum after a slow start the season where much is expected after a runner-up finish to Carson Kvapil in the championship chase last season.
“I feel a lot better after Hickory,” Queen stated. “We’re back in the picture now. I feel like we can win anywhere with Lee [Pulliam]. New River, with our success last year, you never know what can happen so you can’t say we expect to win. Anything can happen in racing. But, if we don’t win, it’s going to be a dejection because, even though it’s not our home track, we feel like it’s our playground.”
In addition to being the inaugural zMAX CARS Tour winner at New River All American Speedway, Connor Hall has joined a rejuvenated Nelson Motorsports for the 2024 season. Hall battled for the lead with eventual race winner Carson Kvapil over the closing laps of the season opener at Southern National Motorsports Park, falling just short at the checkered flag. After a bumpy end to the 2023 season, Hall has found confidence in the Nelson camp, finishing second in the Icebreaker 125 at Florence Motor Speedway and earning three victories in the inaugural Speed Weeks at Southern National. Heading to New River after a fourth-place finish at Hickory last week, should be an additional boost for Hall, as the track layout resembles his home track, Langley Speedway in Virginia.
Other top contenders at New River for the win include Chad McCumbee and defending CARS Tour champion Carson Kvapil.
Chad McCumbee led laps and ran in the top five most of the night last time out at New River All-American Speedway. In fact, that pretty much describes McCumbee’s approach: run fast, lead laps, contend for victory. Despite finishing seventh due to the late-race scuffle for positions, McCumbee is a threat at just about any venue on which the zMAX CARS Tour races just as he was last weekend at Hickory Motor Speedway on the way to a third-place finish. McCumbee won the pole at Southern National last month and was in the mix for the race win before a brake issue cut his day short. New River’s pavement resembles that at the now-defunct Myrtle Beach Speedway, and McCumbee earned his stripes on that legendary oval coming up through the ranks.
Fresh off his 4th place finish in the Xfinity race at Martinsville, Carson Kvapil figures to be strong again this week in the 2nd JR Motorsports entry after his win at Southern National and the speed he has shown in both races previously held at this track.
Saturday’s CARS Tour event will be the third event of the 2024 CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car season. The race was previously scheduled for March 23 before being postponed to April 13 due to a poor weather forecast.
The green flag for the National Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram 250 zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour race is set to wave at 8:30 p.m. ET, with FloRacing providing coverage.FloRacing will go live at 5 p.m. ET for zMAX CARS Tour LMSC qualifying. The racing program also includes Bandoleros, Legend Cars and the Grand National Super Series.All ticketholders are eligible to attend a meet-and-greet at the flag stand on the front straightaway from 6-6:40 p.m. The125-lap zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car feature will be the third race of the evening
LMSC Entry List:#03 Brenden Queen, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr.,#08 Deac McCaskill,#1Andrew Grady,#2 Brandon Pierce, #3 Dale Earnhardt Jr.,#6 Bobby McCarty,#8 Carson Kvapil,#11 Buddy Isles Jr.,#14 Mason Diaz,#15 Ryan Millington,#15c Logan Clark, #16 Chad McCumbee,#22 Connor Hall, #23 Kade Brown, #24 Cody Dempster,#29 Brent Crews, #29w Paul Williamson,#37 Landon Huffman,#45 Bryce Applegate,#55 Isabella Robusto, #62 Landen Lewis, #71 Katie Hettinger, #77 Treyton Lapcevich, #81 Mini Tyrell, #95 Jacob Heafner
