BREAKING: Jake Garcia Scores First Career Truck Series Win at Bristol

Conner Jones Wins CARS Tour at Tri-County Speedway (9.13.26)

Conner Jones brought home the hardware Sunday at Tri County Speedway, holding off Carson Loftin and points leader Caden Kvapil to claim the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car victory.

Kvapil led Lap 1 before Jones moved to the inside for the lead on Lap 16. The two continued racing side by side through Lap 25 as the battle for the top spot remained intense.

On Lap 23, the No. 10 made contact with the No. 8 while running side by side in Turn 3, but no caution was called. Smoke appeared from the No. 10 on Lap 29, while the No. 95 suffered an apparent engine issue on Lap 34.

Lap 36 saw contact involving Tyrell and Bassett, sending Bassett high through Turn 3 without bringing out a caution. Jones moved to the high groove on Lap 38 as the field continued under green.

The first caution came on Lap 44. Keelan Harvick experienced trouble on pit road and went under the hood, while the No. 15 of Hale also worked under the hood during the caution.

After the restart, the race remained green through Lap 75. Treyten Lapcevich had caught Jones and Kvapil, turning the fight for the lead into a three car battle.

Another caution came on Lap 89, with Doug Barnes on pit road for hood repairs. The No. 99 and No. 15 were also on pit road during the caution.

A final caution on Lap 120 saw the No. 57 of Landon Huffman, a teammate of Jones, spin and bring out the caution. The incident stacked the field up for a late five lap shootout to the finish.

In the final five laps, Carson Loftin made a late race charge to move into second, while Caden Kvapil brought his No. 88 home third.

Jones held on for the victory, adding another CARS Tour win at Tri County Speedway and becoming the winningest driver in CARS Tour history at the track.

Top Three

Conner Jones
Carson Loftin
Caden Kvapil

Brody Monahan Comes From Behind to Win CARS Tout PLM Race at Tri-County Speedway (9.13.26)

The CARS Tour Pro Late Model race at Tri County Speedway saw an early multi car incident on Lap 8, when several cars went around entering Turn 3. Jack Baldwin and Colton Hale were among those taken out in the incident.

As the race continued, much of the race was led by T.J. DeCaire and Conner Jones, who battled aggressively at the front of the field through multiple restarts.

Brody Monahan ultimately came back through to take the victory, overcoming the aggressive racing between DeCaire and Jones to bring home the win.

The intensity between DeCaire and Jones continued beyond the racing surface following the race. The post race situation was quickly dismissed by co series owner Kevin Harvick, who was present for the entire week of festivities at Tri County Speedway.

Another highlight of the race was the intense battle between Brandon Lopez in the No. 6L and Case James in the No. 15. The two drivers battled side by side for multiple laps late in the race, fighting for seventh position and putting on one of the strongest battles of the closing stages.

Kaden Honeycutt did not have the race he was hoping for. Honeycutt came into the event looking to win, particularly after putting in an enormous number of laps around Tri County Speedway throughout the week, potentially more than anyone other than Conner Jones.

Despite all of that preparation, Honeycutt finished 12th, a result that was not what he was looking for coming into the weekend.

Top Five Finishers

Brody Monahan
Conner Jones
T.J. DeCaire
Mason Walters
Evan McKnight

With Jones finishing second and Mason Walters fourth, Jones closed the 9 point gap on Walters in what is already a very tight championship battle. That points battle will be something to watch closely when the CARS Tour heads to Newport for the next race.

By Ethan Boyles

Saturday’s CARS Tour doubleheader at Tri County Speedway was postponed (9.12.26)

After heavy rain moved into the track and brought on the most rainfall the facility has seen in such a short amount of time all season.

The day had progressed as scheduled, with practice sessions completed before the weather moved in. The rain ultimately prevented qualifying from taking place and brought Saturday’s planned racing program to a halt.

With qualifying rained out, the starting lineups for both CARS Tour races will be determined by owners points. The fields will line up according to the current points standings rather than qualifying times when the races take place Sunday.

Late Model Stock Starting Lineup

#88 Caden Kvapil
#77 Treyten Lapcevich
#44 Conner Jones
#5 Chase Burrow
#16 Chad McCumbee
#62 Keelan Harvick
#4 Parker Eatmon
#57 Landon Huffman
#7 Thomas Beane
#95 London McKenzie
#20 Carson Loftin
#22B Chase Burgeson
#04 Ronnie Bassett Jr.
#88B Doug Barnes Jr.
#22 Jared Fryar
#15 Jace Hale
#4G Matt Gould
#B1 Mini Tyrrell
#8 Lee Pulliam
#09 Riley Gentry
#37 Chase Robertson
#10 Sam Butler
#99 Dylan Fetcho
#995 Billy Snodgrass
#155 Hudson Sharp

Pro Late Model Starting Lineup

#1 T.J. DeCaire
#6 Mason Walters
#44 Conner Jones
#31 Brody Monahan
#54 Kaden Honeycutt
#20 Evan McKnight
#25 Rodney Dowless Jr.
#15 Case James
#97 Dylan Garner
#30 Treyten Lapcevich
#11 Jack Baldwin
#47 Carter Whalen
#6L Brandon Lopez
#12 Colton Hale
#27 Vito Cancilla
#55 Palmer Haag
#15J Jake Johnson
#51 Parker Eatmon
#43 Joshua Horniman
#27R Kole Raz
#2 Austin Thompson

The postponed doubleheader will now be run Sunday at Tri County Speedway. The Pro Late Model race is scheduled for 1:30 PM, followed by the Late Model race at 2:30 PM.

The garage will open at 12:00 PM, with the drivers meeting scheduled for 12:15 PM. No specific grandstand opening time has been announced.

Races will be broadcast live on FloRacing.

Home Track Advantage or Not?

CARS Tour Returns to a Wide Open Tri-County Speedway (9.11.26)

CARS Tour Returns to a Wide Open Tri County Speedway

The CARS Tour returns to Tri County Speedway Saturday night, and while the home track advantage may seem obvious, this weekend’s field makes that anything but a guarantee.

The SoundGear 225 presented by Stoke Shoes brings both the Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model divisions to the .400 mile oval for the penultimate CARS Tour championship race of the season. What makes this one especially difficult to predict is the depth of recent Tri County experience throughout both fields.

There are drivers coming to the track who have already won here. There are championship contenders who have spent years racing here. There are teams with deep ties to the track. And several drivers have already turned laps at Tri County this week.

This could be anybody’s race.

Huffman Has the Home Track Advantage

Landon Huffman remains the driver most closely associated with Tri County Speedway.

The defending track champion has already won multiple Late Model races at the track this season, including the September 5 feature where he led the final 85 laps.

Huffman also came close to winning the 2025 CARS Tour race at Tri County before a late incident ended his run while battling for the lead.

He will be one of the favorites Saturday, but the field around him makes a repeat of that home track advantage anything but automatic.

Beane Still Has Something to Prove

Thomas Beane has unfinished business at Tri County.

He led the first 65 laps of last year’s championship deciding Late Model race before an incident with 10 laps remaining ended his night and his championship hopes. Huffman went on to claim the championship, while Beane finished third in the final standings.

Beane has continued to be a familiar name near the front at Tri County and will have another opportunity Saturday to turn that history into a CARS Tour victory.

Bassett Has Already Won Here

Ronnie Bassett Jr. brings something else to the equation: a 2026 Tri County victory.

Bassett won the May 2 Late Model feature over Beane and Lanie Buice. He followed that with another strong performance May 16, qualifying fastest and leading 52 laps before Huffman took the win.

That makes Bassett another driver who has already demonstrated he can run at the front of Huffman’s home track.

Fresh Laps and Familiar Names

Several CARS Tour drivers also competed in Wednesday night’s ASA STARS National Tour Ebb Logistics 250, giving them fresh race laps before Saturday.

Conner Jones fought through a pit penalty and multiple stops to finish eighth. Vito Cancilla, Keelan Harvick and Brandon Lopez also competed in the ASA event.

Kaden Honeycutt has spent much of the week working at the track, testing, setting up and driving cars for Christopher Bell and Brandon Lopez. Bell went on to win Wednesday night’s ASA race.

Honeycutt, who was the keynote speaker at the 2025 Tri County Speedway Championship Banquet, will return Saturday in the Pro Late Model field.

The list of drivers with Tri County experience continues beyond those names. Caden Kvapil, Kade Brown and Treyten Lapcevich all bring recent success or extensive experience at the track, while the Pro Late Model field includes championship contenders Mason Walters and Conner Jones, both of whom know Tri County well.

The Pro Late Model Championship Could Be Just as Good

The Pro Late Model race deserves particular attention.

Walters leads Jones by only nine points entering the weekend, putting the championship battle directly into a race at a track both drivers know well.

Neither driver has to learn Tri County on Saturday. They have both spent enough time there to understand what it takes to be competitive, and they will have to navigate a field filled with other experienced drivers.

That could make the Pro Late Model race one of the most interesting battles of the night.

Drivers to Watch

Late Model Stock

Landon Huffman: The home track favorite with multiple wins at Tri County this season and one of the strongest recent records at the track.

Thomas Beane: A driver with unfinished business after coming within 10 laps of a championship last year and another strong opportunity Saturday.

Caden Kvapil: The championship leader, a recent CARS Tour winner and a driver who already knows how to win at Tri County.

Pro Late Model

Joshua Horniman: Horniman could be the breakthrough candidate. With extensive Tri County Speedway experience, Saturday could be the night he turns that familiarity into his first CARS Tour Pro Late Model victory.

Conner Jones: Jones enters with championship pressure and fresh Tri County laps from Wednesday’s ASA race, where he fought through adversity to finish eighth. He is only nine points behind Walters, making every position important.

Mason Walters: The championship leader brings plenty of Tri County experience into Saturday’s race. With only nine points separating him from Jones, Walters has an opportunity to protect the points lead while competing at a track he knows well.

Home Track Advantage or Not?

That is the question.

We can highlight Huffman, Beane, Bassett, Kvapil, Walters, Jones and plenty of other names, but the bigger story is the depth of the field.

Both CARS Tour races are packed with drivers who have experience at Tri County Speedway. Many have won here. Others have come close. The championship contenders already know the track, and several drivers will arrive with fresh laps from this week’s ASA race.

The home track advantage may belong to Huffman or Beane, but the opportunity to win belongs to everyone.

That is what makes Saturday night’s CARS Tour doubleheader one to watch.

By Ethan Boyles

Christopher Bell Takes Ebb Logistics 250 Victory at Tri County Speedway (9.10.26)

Bell battles Carson Brown in a thrilling 250 lap finish at the Western North Carolina short track

Tri County Speedway delivered exactly what fans came to see Wednesday night.

The Ebb Logistics 250 Presented by SAVE22.VET brought the ASA STARS National Tour to Western North Carolina for 250 laps of Super Late Model racing, with NASCAR Cup Series star Christopher Bell ultimately coming out on top after a hard fought battle with Carson Brown and Ty Fredrickson.

Bell, driving the No. 20 Wilson Motorsports entry, took the checkered flag after an extended side by side battle with Brown in one of the longest races in recent Tri County Speedway history.

The victory was anything but easy.

Bell and Brown spent the closing portion of the race battling for position in a race that featured plenty of sliding and close quarters racing. Both drivers used their dirt track experience to their advantage, trading slide jobs and racing aggressively through the corners.

Bell eventually took control following the third stage restart and held the lead for the remainder of the event.

Brown finished second, followed by Fredrickson in third.

Conner Jones made several pit stops throughout the night and repeatedly drove his way back through the field, eventually earning a top ten finish. Despite the battles and challenges throughout the night, Jones summed up his evening simply.

“If I have a smile on my face it was a good day, and I’m smiling today.”

Keelan Harvick and Kyle Steckly, who entered the night second in ASA STARS National Tour points, both encountered trouble on the racetrack, bringing their nights to an early end.

For Bell, the win added another chapter to an already memorable stretch of racing.

Just days after winning the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Bell traveled to Tri County to compete in a Super Late Model. The NASCAR Cup Series championship contender had never previously raced at the Western North Carolina track, but quickly adapted to the high speed short track with help from CARS Tour standout and NASCAR Truck Series championship contender Kayden Honeycutt.

Bell had never heard of Tri County Speedway before the opportunity to race there came together through Wilson Motorsports.

Following the event, Bell told Short Track Scene, “I didn’t know anything about Tri County and Bond asked me to come and do it. I said sure and now I love this place.”

That appreciation showed on the track.

Bell posted an eighth place qualifying time Wednesday, but when the green flag dropped, the No. 20 quickly climbed into the top three and remained a factor at the front of the field throughout the night.

The race ultimately came down to Bell and Brown, with the two drivers separating themselves from the rest of the field during the final stretch while swapping slide jobs and racing aggressively through nearly every corner.

For Tri County Speedway, the night provided another opportunity to showcase one of Western North Carolina’s premier short tracks on a national stage.

For Bell, it provided another win during a stretch that has quickly become one of the most successful weeks of his 2026 season.

After finally breaking through for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the year at Darlington, snapping a 33 race winless streak despite earning seven second place finishes during the 2026 Cup season, Bell added an ASA STARS victory at Tri County Speedway just days later.

And he made it clear Wednesday night that Tri County may have made a new fan.

“I said sure and now I love this place.”

For a track that prides itself on putting the action close to the fans, Wednesday night was another reminder that the racing at Tri County can stand alongside some of the biggest names in the sport.

And the racing is not over yet.

The ZMAX CARS Tour returns to Tri County Speedway this Saturday for another action packed night of racing at one of the region’s most respected short tracks.

By Ethan Boyles

Photos by Ethan Boyles

Brexton Busch Wins Emotional Legends Car Race at Tri County Speedway (9.10.26)

Busch takes an unforgettable three wide victory in one of the closest finishes in Tri County Speedway history

Some nights at the racetrack are about more than just who takes the checkered flag.

Saturday night at Tri County Speedway, Brexton Busch found himself at the center of one of those nights.

Busch was originally scheduled to compete in the Legends Car race at Tri County Speedway back in May alongside his late father, Kyle Busch. That event was ultimately postponed due to rain, with Kyle passing away the following day.

When the rescheduled race finally arrived, Brexton returned to Tri County Speedway surrounded by family, including his uncle Kurt Busch.

What followed was a finish that will be remembered at the track for a long time.

Busch found himself involved in an incredible three wide battle for the win as the field charged toward the finish. The cars crossed the line so closely together that there was no immediate determination of an official winner.

Instead, officials were forced into an extended review.

For approximately 10 minutes, the finish was examined in intense detail before Brexton Busch was ultimately declared the winner.

The deciding factor came down to the middle push guard on the front end of Busch’s car.

That tiny difference was enough to determine the winner of a finish that could hardly have been closer.

But the story of Brexton’s night goes beyond the finish itself.

In a social media post following the race, Brexton’s mother shared a reminder of something his father had once told him: you could not win a Legends race by passing on the outside.

On Saturday night at Tri County Speedway, Brexton proved that he could.

For Busch and his family, the significance of the night went far beyond the final margin.

This was a race that was originally supposed to be shared with his father.

Instead, Brexton returned to Tri County Speedway with his family beside him and drove to one of the most memorable victories the track has seen.

With his uncle Kurt Busch in attendance and his family surrounding him, Brexton was able to finish what began as a race he was supposed to run alongside his father.

The circumstances surrounding the race made the victory emotional enough on their own. The way Busch won it made the night even more unforgettable.

But the celebration afterward may have been the moment that said everything.

After the race, Brexton’s Legends Car was brought into Victory Lane. He climbed onto the roof of the car and performed Kyle’s signature bow to the Tri County Speedway crowd.

As he looked toward the sky, it was impossible not to understand who was on his mind.

His dad.

Brexton has carried on a tradition that Kyle made his own. For a few seconds, it was almost as if Kyle was right there with him.

By Ethan Boyles

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