Deac McCaskill (left) and Mike Hopkins (right) were both victorious in the CARS Racing Tour season opener at Southern National Motorsports Park on Saturday. McCaskill won the Late Model Stock Car feature, with Hopkins taking the win in the Pro Late Model feature. Photos: CARS Racing Tour/Twitter
A pair of veterans came home with victories in Saturday’s season openers for the CARS Racing Tour at Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, North Carolina.
Deac McCaskill took the win in the Late Model Stock feature, while Mike Hopkins took the Pro Late Model feature win.
In the Late Model Stock feature, McCaskill took the lead from Ryan Millington on a late restart and never looked back to claim his 10th career series victory.
“This is awesome,” McCaskill said. “I’m 45 years old, so being able to run with these kids is really special. There are a lot of great teams up and down pit road, but we have great help on our side. It was one of those days where everything worked out good for us.”
Carson Kvapil followed in second, with Kaden Honeycutt in third, Connor Hall in fourth, and Ryan Millington in fifth.
Jacob Heafner, Brenden Queen, Mason Diaz, Chase Burrow, and Bobby McCarty rounded out the top 10.
In the Pro Late Model feature, Mike Hopkins took the lead from Justin Crider on lap 43 of the 100 lap race before surviving a chaotic finish to park his car in victory lane.
“This place is phenomenal,” Hopkins said. “It’s fun, it’s racy and there’s a good class of cars. (Michael Diaz) does a phenomenal job along with the CARS Tour. This is only my third CARS Tour race, but winning never gets old, especially when you race part-time like myself.”
Even after effectively conserving his tires and pulling away from the field, a rash of late-race cautions forced Hopkins to fend off drivers like Gavan Boschele and Katie Hettinger for the win. He withstood every challenge that came his en route to the win.
Bryan Kruczek finished in second, with Luke Morey in third, Crider in fourth, and Hettinger in fifth.
Isabella Robusto, Ashton Higgins, Caden Kvapil, Brett Suggs, and Logan Jones rounded out the top 10.
The CARS Late Model Stock Cars next travels to South Carolina’s Florence Motor Speedway on March 25. The Pro Late Models will not return to action until the April 22 event at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway.
For more information, visit CARSRacingTour.com.
CARS Racing Tour
Southern National Motorsports Park – Kenly, NC
Puryear Tank Lines 225 – March 11, 2023
Late Model Stock Cars
1. 08 Deac McCaskill
2. 8 Carson Kvapil
3. 10 Kaden Honeycutt
4. 77 Connor Hall
5. 15 Ryan Millington
6. 95 Jacob Heafner
7. 03 Brenden Queen
8. 24 Mason Diaz
9. 8B Chase Burrow
10. 6 Bobby McCarty
11. 16 Chad McCumbee
12. 14 Jared Fryar
13. 1 Andrew Grady
14. 2 Brandon Pierce
15. 0 Landon Pembelton
16. 04 Ronnie Bassett, Jr.
17. 8F Tate Fogleman
18. 67 Cameron Bolin
19. 22 Cale Gale
20. 32 Zack Miracle
21. 4F Jonathan Findley
22. 81 Mini Tyrrell
23. 4 Dylon Wilson
24. 59 Blake Lothian
25. 42 Carson Brown
26. 97A Jason Kitzmiller
27. 20 Joshua Dickens
28. 00 Jody Measamer
29. 2W Ryan Wilson
30. 55 Isabella Robusto
31. 29 Brian Obiedzenski
32. 19 Jessica Cann
Pro Late Models
1. 15 Mike Hopkins
2. 19 Bryan Kruczek
3. 49M Luke Morey
4. 7C Justin Crider
5. 81 Katie Hettinger
6. 28 Isabella Robusto
7. 9 Ashton Higgins
8. 96 Caden Kvapil
9. 15 Brett Suggs
10. 77 Logan Jones
11. 13 Austin MacDonald
12. 43 Nick Loden
13. 03 Kyle Campbell
14. 6 George Phillips
15. 24 Carter Langley
16. 5B Gavan Boschele
17. 8 Rusty Skewes
18. 43H Joshua Horniman
19. 44 Justin Whitaker
20. 5 Zac Fowler
21. 97 Dylan Garner
22. 48 Jeff Batten
23. 29 Logan Boyett
24. 7 Tristan McKee
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