The CARS Tour has placed part-time driver and full-time NASCAR driver Mini Tyrell on probation following a run-in with a competitor this past weekend.
During Saturday’s CARS Tour Late Model Stock feature at Wake County Speedway, Kaulig Racing driver Mini Tyrrell and CARS Tour regular Doug Barnes Jr. had a now viral on-track run-in, with Tyrrell’s Dodge running up the right rear of Barnes’ Chevrolet during a battle for the lead.
After this, the two continued to battle, with Barnes eventually turning the No. 81 from the lead in turn one with 61 laps to go. Now, several days after the incident, CARS Tour officials have acted on this action, distributing penalties to both drivers.
For his rough driving in the back-and-forth on track, Tyrrell is on probation for the remainder of the 2026 CARS Tour season. This penalty is really a slap on the wrist, as the Virginia native is not running full-time in the series this season.
Barnes, however, is getting off worse, with a one-race suspension that makes him ineligible for this weekend’s race at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
After his 15th-place finish at Wake County, Barnes sat fourth in points, seven back of leader Caden Kvapil. As the CARS Tour uses a full-season points system, with no changes or resets, a one-race suspension could very likely end Barnes’ pursuit of the championship.
Following Saturday’s race, Barnes called out Tyrrell, the winner of Kaulig Racing and Ram Truck’s RAM: Race For the Seat TV Game show, which granted him a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride for 2026, telling Matt Weaver of Short Track Scene, that he “got Mini Tyrrell-ed again.”
For his part, the Ram driver, who sits 23rd in Craftsman Truck Series points, told FloRacing afterward that Barnes was mad because Tyrrell is “always faster than him.”
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