# Friday Night Lights at North Wilkesboro: Inside the zMAX CARS Tour Doubleheader

**By Luca Bertolini**  \nPublished August 4, 2026  \nUpdated September 9, 2026

> Before NASCAR tackles its first Cup points race at North Wilkesboro in 30 years, the zMAX CARS Tour opened a blockbuster weekend with a loaded Pro Late Model and Late Model Stock doubleheader.

When the zMAX CARS Tour pulls into North Wilkesboro Speedway, it arrives not merely as an opening act, but as the heartbeat of a facility whose modern resurrection is one of stock car racing's most compelling arcs. Dormant for over two decades after NASCAR's departure in 1996, the historic 0.625-mile oval began its crawl back to life when a CARS Tour event anchored its August 2022 revival. That foundational night proved the venue was primed for national prominence once more, paving the way for the NASCAR All-Star Race residency and, ultimately, Sunday's Window World 450—the first points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race at the track in 30 years.

Before the Cup and Craftsman Truck Series took over the weekend, Friday night belonged to a massive grassroots showcase featuring the Spears Manufacturing 75 for Pro Late Models and the Skyline National Bank 100 for Late Model Stocks. With Dale Earnhardt Jr. providing color commentary in the FloRacing broadcast booth, the stakes, garage depth, and technical challenges were dialled to maximum.

## The Pro Late Model Opener and Honeycutt's Masterclass

The 75-lap Spears Manufacturing Pro Late Model feature delivered immediate friction on the 0.625-mile layout. Luke Baldwin and Mason Walters brought the field to green, with Baldwin immediately working his way to the front before scraping the outside wall on Lap 5 during a fierce battle for position. Caution flags dictated the rhythm of the early stints, including a Lap 18 stoppage for James Seeright.

As the race evolved, Kaden Honeycutt masterfully rolled the outside lane. Following a mid-race restart on Lap 57—necessitated when Dylan Cappello spun and tagged the inside wall—Honeycutt wrestled the lead away. Even as TJ DeCaire charged hard over the final five circuits, Honeycutt held firm to secure the victory at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

### Spears Manufacturing 75 Top Finishers

PositionDriver1Kaden Honeycutt2TJ DeCaire3Conner Jones4Luke Baldwin5Mason Walters6Kasey Kleyn7Keelan Harvick8Brody Monahan9Case James10Albert Francis

## Technical Trade-Offs: Setup, Surface, and Attrition

For the elite cross-over talent and full-time CARS Tour regulars alike, North Wilkesboro's aging, continuously evolving surface presents a unique engineering puzzle. As drivers noted throughout the weekend, mechanical grip must be balanced against aggressive aerodynamic management. In Pro Late Models and Late Model Stocks alike, the margin for error is razor-thin.

Drivers navigating the 0.625-mile bullring faced a distinct tactical triage:

- **Track Position:** With passing at a premium on the abrasive surface, early qualifying efforts—such as Honeycutt claiming the Late Model Stock pole by over a tenth over Jake Bollman—proved vital.
- **Tire Management:** Conserving rubber across longer green-flag runs separated contenders from drivers who burned their stuff early.
- **Car Preservation:** Avoiding contact dictated survival; qualifying alone saw heavy hits, such as Colton Ingerick slamming the turn-one wall after an apparent right-front failure, alongside major saved slides by Keelan Harvick and Caden Kvapil.

## The Star-Studded Garage and Double-Duty Grinds

The entry lists read like a cross-section of American motorsports royalty. Headlining the marquee was 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, executing a grueling quadruple-header weekend across three days. Steering JR Motorsports' Late Model Stock entry alongside his own Pro Late Model car, Elliott added short-track reps to a schedule that included the Truck Series event and Sunday's Cup race. Similarly, Truck Series regular Brenden 'Butterbean' Queen—the 2024 CARS LMSC champion—returned to the track where he scored a career-defining win in 2023, leaning on the efficiency of Lee Pulliam Performance to chase another clock.

Family storylines added further texture to the paddock. Brothers Luke and Jack Baldwin tackled the Pro Late Model feature from different paths—Luke boasting prior PLM wins and serving as a mentor, while Jack transitioned from Crate Modifieds, appreciating the relative forgiveness of full-bodied stock car fenders over open-wheel contact where touching a right-rear tire can instantly destroy a machine.

Meanwhile, fan favorite Landon S. Huffman entered Friday looking to erase the heartbreak of a last-lap defeat to Caden Kvapil from the previous fall. Armed with experience from a strong ARCA Menards Series campaign, Huffman sought to capitalize on aerodynamic setups to conquer the Skyline National Bank 100.

When the dust settled on Friday night's lights, North Wilkesboro reaffirmed its status as sacred short-track ground. The CARS Tour didn't just fill out a schedule; it provided a high-velocity bridge connecting grassroots racing heritage to the modern national stage.

## Sources

- [floracing.com](https://www.floracing.com/articles/16067508-cars-tour-entry-list-event-preview-for-doubleheader-at-north-wilkeboro-speedway) — original
- [Jackson Fryburger Fri, July 17, 2026 at 6:54 PM UTC · 4 min read](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/friday-night-lights-cars-tour-185454861.html) — original
- [Shane Walters](https://racingnews.co/2026/07/17/north-wilkesboro-race-results-july-17-2026-cars-tour-plm/) — original
- [Jackson Fryburger](https://easysportz.com/2026/07/friday-night-lights-cars-tour-takes-over-north-wilkesboro/) — original
- [Chase Folsom](https://www.shorttrackscene.com/uncategorized/honeycutt-rockets-to-cars-tour-pole-at-north-wilkesboro/) — original
- [Jackson Fryburger Fri, July 17, 2026 at 7:35 p.m. UTC · 2 min read](https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/watch-cars-tour-hits-north-193549377.html) — original