When zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour competitors head to Florence Motor Speedway, there’s more at stake than just a win.

The driver who finishes first in Friday’s Cook Out 225 will automatically earn the pole position for the South Carolina 400 on November 23. Since 2020, Florence has proudly continued the year-end crown jewel that was started in 1993 by the now-defunct Myrtle Beach Speedway and regularly attracts many of the top Late Model Stock competitors in the Southeast.

With so much at stake, big names like Dale Earnhardt Jr. will line up for a packed schedule of racing that includes the return of the CARS PLM Tour, as they face off against local heroes from Florence looking to gain a decisive advantage ahead of their circuit’s most prestigious race.

Route data:

Track: Florence Motor Speedway

Location: Timmonsville, South Carolina

Length: 0.4 miles

Laps: 125 (LMSC), 100 (PLM)

CARS LMSC Tour races: 3

Florence LMSC Winners: Nolan Pope (1), Kaden Honeycutt (1), Carson Kvapil (1)

Ryan Millington travels to Florence with momentum

The 2024 CARS LMSC Tour season was both exciting and frustrating for experienced competitor Ryan Millington.

Millington has been a contender for the win several times in his No. 15 Leisure Tyme Rentals Chevrolet, but after 13 races he is still unclaimed. Still, Millington remains optimistic and believes Friday’s Cook Out 225 is the perfect opportunity for him to finally get a win.

“It’s been a very good year,” Millington said. “We brought another fast car to Wake County (Speedway) and were dominant pretty much all day in practice on Friday, but when we put the race tires on we fell off. We qualified 12th and finished fifth, so not a bad night for us, but I’m really looking forward to going to Florence.”

Millington is no stranger to the LMSC Tour’s Cook Out Victory Lane, with his lone triumph coming in 2020 at Ace Speedway, where he held off current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rival Layne Riggs in a photo finish.

It’s been a long four years since that day, but Millington has edged ever closer to another win. Factors that have improved Millington’s performance include his team’s switch to an R&S Race Cars chassis earlier this year, as well as further testing that has helped Millington gather valuable data.

A win is the only thing missing from Millington’s best season to date on the LMSC Tour, which includes two top-five finishes and a pole position. Millington is confident he can end his long drought Friday night, but stressed the importance of being patient on the rough surface of Florence Motor Speedway.

“We have one goal for the rest of the year and that is to win a race,” Millington said. “You definitely need a good race car (at Florence) because it’s a lot of tire work, so there’s a lot of driving around. I bet whoever is leading at the halfway point isn’t going to be the one who wins. So you need a good car and a good driver.”

Matt Cox hopes for success in the first CARS Tour race since 2020

It has been nearly four years since the Florence Motor Speedway regular last competed in the CARS LMSC Tour.

With a chance at the pole position at the South Carolina 400 right in front of him this weekend, Cox wasn’t going to skip the Cook Out 225. Cox expects a tough challenge against the LMSC Tour regulars, but hopes his experience in Florence and the strength of his car will give him a home-field advantage.

“I think we have a pretty good chance,” said Cox. “We did well in Florence and won a lot of races there. The car we’re running this weekend is the one we used in the shakedown two weeks ago and we dominated the first doubleheader with it. We’re going into the race with some confidence and I think we can run up front.”

Originally a regular at Myrtle Beach Speedway, Cox followed Steve Zacharias and his team to Florence when they took over the facility in 2020. He quickly became one of Florence’s top Late Model Stock competitors, winning two track titles and two South Carolina state championships while racing there.

Cox’s consistency has continued at the South Carolina 400, where he qualified in the top five in all four events at Florence, including the pole in 2020. Bad luck prevented Cox from adding his name to the list of South Carolina 400 winners, but the laps he put in at Florence have prepared him for what Friday’s 125-lap Late Model Stock race will throw at him.

Cox plans to be cautious in the early stages and position himself to take the checkered flag. To achieve this goal, Cox will find it crucial to conserve his tires. He also hopes luck is on his side so he can leave Florence satisfied without having to worry about qualifying for the South Carolina 400.

“It’s always nice to go to one of these races and know you’re guaranteed to start on the pole,” Cox said. “That way you can focus on long-distance speed, which is very important in Florence, but these CARS Tour races are extremely hard to win. This is the elite of Late Model Stock racing right now, so to win one is a huge accomplishment.”

Caden Kvapil confident and calm after LMSC mission

After a two-week stint as a replacement for his brother Carson Kvapil in the JR Motorsports Late Model Stock, Caden Kvapil is once again concentrating specifically on the CARS PLM Tour.

Caden believes having the support of so many talented people at JR Motorsports will help him defend his PLM Tour title. The next stop on Caden’s journey is Friday’s Cook Out 225, which will also be the PLM Tour’s first visit to the facility.

“It’s going to be a little different going from a Late Model (Stock) to a Pro (Late Model),” Caden said. “The cars drive a lot different, but I’m excited to get back to what I’m used to. We just got a Pro win at Ace and I think we’ll have a good car in Florence. It’s new for everyone in the Pro field, so it’s going to be pretty tough.”

By switching between Late Model Stocks and Pro Late Models at Ace Speedway, Caden learned the differences between the cars, especially when it came to brake usage. Since Ace relies on the brakes, Caden said the knowledge he gained from the Late Model Stock helped him take the PLM Tour win that same night.

Although Caden has two previous CARS LMSC Tour appearances under his belt, he doesn’t know what to expect on Friday as Florence is a blank slate for most PLM Tour competitors. He can draw on Carson’s notes from previous LMSC Tour events, but added that he likely won’t go easy on the tires significantly as his race is only 100 laps.

Caden knows a win at Florence will be crucial in breaking the grip of Kaden Honeycutt and Spencer Davis in the PLM Tour standings. By carrying the momentum from Ace, Caden is confident he can close his points deficit and celebrate another title at North Wilkesboro Speedway in October.

“We’re nine points behind right now, so we need to make some good runs and get some wins,” Caden said. “The next three tracks we race at are going to be really good for us, I think. We just need to build on the win at Ace and it’s going to be important for me to get a lot of points.”

On Friday, three of Florence Motor Speedway’s local divisions will compete in the CARS LMSC and PLM Tour: the Bandoleros, Legends and Allison Legacy Series. FloRacing begins live coverage of the Cook Out 225 at 4:30 p.m. ET, beginning with LMSC Tour qualifying.

For more information on the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com. Stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on X (formerly known as Twitter) and scrolling through photos on Instagram cars_tour.

For more information about the series, call the CARS Tour Series office in Mooresville, NC at 704-662-9212.

CARS Tour LMSC points standings

Connor Hall

Brenden Queen -3

Brent Crews -16

Mini Tyrell -27

Ryan Millington -41

Treyten Lapcevich -48

Carson Kvapil -82

Bobby McCarty-107

Kade Brown -141

Chad McCumbee-141

CARS Tour PLM Points

Kaden Honeycutt*

Spencer Davis

Caden Kvapil -9

Jimmy Renfrew Jr. -16

TJ DeCaire -32

Jake Bollman -33

Tristan McKee -40

Connor Jones -78

Kyle Campbell -94

Brandon Lopez -114

*Note: Kaden Honeycutt has the tiebreaker over Spencer Davis due to his win at Orange County Speedway.

Participant list for Stockcar Late Models in Florence

Car No.	driver
00	Chase Burrow
03	BrendenQueen
04	Ronnie Bassett Jr.
1	Andrew Grady
2	Brandon Pierce
2W	Danielle Wilson
3	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
6	Bobby McCarty
11	Buddy Isles Jr.
13	Cody Kelly
15	Ryan Millington
16	Chad McCumbee
21	Casey Kelley
22	Connor Hall
23	Kade Brown
28	Landon S. Huffman
28G	Ryan Glenski
29	Brent Crews
44	Connor Jones
45	Mason Diaz
51	Matt Cox
51S	Donovan Strauss
54	Michael Foss
55	Isabella Robusto
62	Landen Lewis
71	Rajah Caruth
77	Treyten Lapcevich
81	Mini Tyrrell
95	Jacob Heafner

Participant list for “Pro Late Model” in Florence

Car No.	driver
00	Jimmy Renfrew, Jr.
03	Kyle Campbell
6	Tristan McKee
6B	Brandon Lopez
7T	Tyler Church
15	Jonathan Shafer
24	Jake Bollman
29	Spencer Davis
35	Caden Kvapil
43	Nick Loden
43 hours	Joshua Horniman
47	Kaden Honeycutt
51	Travis Braden
62	Kevin Harvick
65	Tyler Tanner
67	Cameron Bolin
88	Max Reaves
97	Dylan Garner