HICKORY, N.C. — The largest field in the history of the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour assembled Saturday night at Hickory Motor Speedway with Carson Kvapil and Mike Hopkins claiming victories.
Twenty-nine cars took the green flag for the 100-lap Pro Late Model race, while the Late Model Stock Car class boasted 41 entries, forcing the introduction of a last-chance race to trim the field to 32 starters.
Kvapil maintained his own pace in the 150-lap LMSC Tour feature before lapped traffic enabled Connor Hall to reel him in during the closing stages.
A few months removed from his Throwback 276 at Hickory, Hall methodically worked Kvapil over before driving his car deep into turn four on the last lap. The ensuing contact knocked Kvapil sideways, but it was not enough for Hall to claim the victory.
Kaden Honeycutt finished third, with Chad McCumbee and Deac McCaskill rounding out the top five.
In the PLM Tour, Isabella Robusto was on the verge of becoming the first woman to win in either CARS Tour division, having driven a mostly flawless race despite turning Connor Zilisch early while battling for the lead.
The final laps saw Hopkins gradually reel in Robusto before passing her with a few laps remaining. Robusto attempted to retake the lead on the bottom of the track coming to the white flag, but ended up losing control of the car, causing her to make heavy contact with the inside wall.
Hopkins was still left to deal with Zilisch and Brent Crews over the course of two green-white-checkered attempts.
Crews was the one to pull alongside Hopkins coming to the checkered flag, only for the two to spin out on the frontstretch with Hopkins crossing the line first for his second consecutive victory.
The finish:
Carson Kvapil, Connor Hall, Kaden Honeycutt, Chad McCumbee, Deac McCaskill, Jacob Heafner, Brenden Queen, Mason Diaz, Connor Zilisch, William Sawalich, Ryan Millington, Conner Jones, Cody Kelley, Brandon Pierce, Charlie Watson, Andrew Grady, Chase Burrow, Dylon Wilson, Colby Howard, Landon Huffman, Isabella Robusto, Zack Miracle, Cameron Bolin, Carson Brown, Mini Tyrrell, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Layne Riggs, Riley Genry, Lanie Buice, Bobby McCarty, Kade Brown, Ashton Higgins.
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