HICKORY, N.C. — In 54 USAR Pro Cup Series starts, accomplished short track competitor Kirk Leone was never able to visit victory lane.
Driving a car that resembled the colors Leone carried for most of his USAR Pro Cup Series career, Mason Diaz finally broke through for his first Solid Rock Carriers CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour victory at Hickory Motor Speedway, which came in his 40th start.
Sunday’s USAR Pro Cup Throwback 225, which was pushed back a day due to persistent rainfall the night before, also saw Super Late Model standout Cole Butcher take home his first win in the CARS Pro Late Model Tour following a dominant performance with Donnie Wilson Motorsports.
In true throwback fashion, Diaz had to earn his first CARS LMSC Tour win in the sweltering heat.
An exhausted Diaz was equally elated to finally add his name into the CARS Tour record books as a winner, which he believed was inevitable with Chad Bryant Racing after matching his career-best finish of second in the most recent event at Caraway Speedway.
“It was a long race,” Diaz said. “I never gave up and this crew never gave up on me. It’s been an up and down season, but we’re getting our roll on here. It started at Caraway and things haven’t stopped since. We stayed up front all day and kept the lead.”
The elements were not Diaz’ only obstacle standing in the way of that elusive first win, as he had to find a way around polesitter and standout Hickory Motor Speedway regular Kade Brown.
Through a handful of late restarts, Diaz and Brown engaged in a hard, but clean battle for the win in the USAR Pro Cup Throwback 225. After Brown got out in front of him on the final restart, Diaz applied steady pressure on the young driver and was able to eventually muscle his way to the lead, which he held onto until the checkered flag was displayed.
Diaz was confident he could contend on Sunday after sweeping both Late Model Stock events at Hickory last weekend. Despite this, bringing home an LMSC Tour victory in a Kirk Leone scheme carried a huge sense of catharsis for Diaz, who intends to keep the momentum going with seven races left on the schedule.
“A lot of pressure has been taken off of me now,” Diaz said. “Getting those two wins [at Hickory] last weekend was big for me, but coming out here now and having a dominant performance like we did was amazing. Chad Bryant Racing brought me a fast car and hopefully we’re just getting started.”
Cole Butcher achieves Hickory redemption for Donnie Wilson
After coming close to earning a CARS PLM Tour victory at Hickory with Isabella Robusto in the spring, Donnie Wilson Motorsports arrived at the facility this weekend determined to pick up from where they left off.
Butcher initially had no idea he would be the one to achieve Hickory redemption for Wilson’s organization. Butcher did not need much time to prepare for the USAR Pro Cup Throwback 225, as he easily pulled away from the rest of the PLM Tour field to score his maiden victory in the series.
“This means a lot,” Butcher said. “I got a phone call from Donnie Wilson about a week ago and he asked me if I wanted to drive the GearWrench Toyota and I said absolutely. Hickory’s one of my favorite racetracks and to get my third win here this year is awesome.”
Butcher was so confident about his chances of winning that he and his crew relaxed as much as they feasibly could on Saturday evening after the PLM Tour race was stopped after 32 laps because of rain.
The only difference Butcher noticed in his car on Sunday was a lack of front-end grip, but that change did little to slow his torrid pace. With Austin MacDonald, Caden Kvapil and PLM Tour points leader Katie Hettinger all fighting for track position behind him, Butcher patiently worked through lapped traffic to cruise towards Hickory’s victory lane.
Butcher cherishes every opportunity to make a trip down to Hickory and turn competitive laps around the facility. He has always been comfortable with racing on Hickory’s abrasive surface and felt honored to earn a win in one of the most prestigious events for the track and the CARS Tour.
“[Hickory] reminds me a lot of the tracks at home,” Butcher said. “It has a lot of history, especially with the CARS Tour and the [current] ownership. It felt great to win, especially in the Throwback race and now we get to bring home this beautiful trophy.”