There’s always excitement in the air during NASCAR All-Star Weekend. For the third year in a row, the NASCAR Greats head to the hallowed grounds of North Wilkesboro Speedway for its annual All-Star Race festivities. While the All-Star race itself isn’t until Sunday, we still have a lot of old-school, throwback action coming your way as a buildup to Sunday’s main event. First up: the ZMax CARS Tour Late Model Stocks. We have some familiar faces in the broadcast booth and the field alike. So, let’s take a look at the WindowWorld 100, which aired live on FS1!
Undeniably, one of the CARS Tour’s marquee events on their annual schedule is the race at North Wilkesboro Speedway during All-Star weekend. And this year, the series went bigger than ever before. For the first time ever in series history, the ZMax CARS Tour will take center stage on FS1 in collaboration with the series’ usual streaming partner, Flo Racing. And to add to the excitement, FS1 tapped some of the most legendary NASCAR Cup Series drivers to call the shots in the FOX Sports booth. They are CARS Tour co-owners, NASCAR on Prime commentator Dale Earnhardt Jr., and NASCAR on FOX analyst Kevin Harvick.
Joining these two stars of yesterday was regular Flo Racing CARS Tour commentator, Eric Brennan. And, from the start of the broadcast, it was clear that this trio of veteran announcers had chemistry and the production came along quite nicely. The broadcast was noticeably different from the typical FOX Sports broadcast, which was a welcome change in the eyes of many fans. Earnhardt was great as always, Harvick was serviceable, but the real standout was play-by-play announcer Eric Brennan. Hopefully, FOX Sports was taking notes from the Flo Racing talent/production team.
A number of drivers who have climbed the NASCAR ladder made starts in tonight’s race. Perhaps the most high-profile driver participating tonight was former Cup Series driver, Corey Lajoie, who was driving the number 12 Ford. Also racing tonight was 2-time CARS Tour Champion and current Xfinity Series rookie, Carson Kvapil. Truck Series driver, Kaden Honeycutt, too, started tonight.
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and 2024 CARS Tour Champion, Carson Kvapil (driving the family-owned number 32 Chevy), was involved in an incident on Lap 4. The incident in question saw Truck Series regular, Kaden Honeycutt in the number 5 get loose on the bottom. Honeycutt chased the car up the track and into the elder Kvapil brother. Kvapil backed his Chevy into the outside SAFER barrier, receiving significant damage to the back end. He was, however, able to continue.
Kevin Harvick Incorporated driver, Landen Lewis, started on the pole for tonight’s feature in the number 29 Chevy. Other young guns to watch tonight were Lanie Buice (No. 03), JR Motorsports drivers Caden Kvapil (No. 8) and Connor Hall (No. 88), Spire Motorsports driver Tristan McKee (No. 7), among others. The points leader heading into tonight’s race was Connor Hall. After two quick cautions, Lewis developed a rhythm, racing toward the competition caution on lap 26. At the time of caution, he was leading McKee and Mini Tyrell.
Lewis rocketed out front, clearing second-place runner Jake Bollman. However, on the second lap, Bollman in the number 71 wasn’t able to clear the defending team champion, the 03 of Lanie Buice. Buice got loose beneath the 71 and the two collided in Turn 1. Both drivers plowed into the outside retaining wall, leading to a massive pile-up in the corner. Involved in the wreck but not receiving significant damage were rookie Caden Kvapil and former Cup Series veteran Corey Lajoie. After the incident, the field was red-flagged on the frontstretch while the clean up crews got to work. At total of 15 cars were involved in the carnage.
CBS Sports Journalist, Steven Taranto, was in the garage for tonight’s race. He shared the following pictures with fans on X.
As the field approached halfway, Cup Series veteran Corey Lajoie brought his number 12 Ford down pit road and dropped the window net, citing electrical issues. Meanwhile, as that happened, JRM driver Caden Kvapil’s engine expired. Kvapil limped his number 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevy around the track until it was clear, finally nursing it down pit road. No caution came out and both Kvapil and Lajoie retired from the race.
Out front, it was a no-contest. Kevin Harvick Incorporated driver, Landon Lewis, led every lap on his way to win the Window World 100 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. With this win, Lewis, who was only 4 points behind points leader Connor Hall heading into tonight’s race, took the ZMax CARS Tour points lead. He certainly has a bright future in this sport.
That does it for the annual CARS Tour Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Did you catch it? If you did, what did you think of the broadcast? Did you think it was an overall improvement compared to FOX’s normal broadcasts? What’d you think of the booth and would you oppose FS1 showing more CARS Tour events in the future? Let us know what you’re thinking!
Be sure to tune back in tomorrow as we here at the Daily Downforce cover the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and the NASCAR All-Star Heats at North Wilkesboro Speedway!
