Craig and McCarty Command Cloer Construction 250 at Hickory

NEWTON, N.C. (Aug. 1, 2020) – Bobby McCarty and Matt Craig dominated the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Late Model Stock and Super Late Model Tour races in Saturday night’s Cloer Construction 250 at Hickory Motor Speedway.

McCarty, who is the two-time defending champion of the CARS Late Model Stock Tour, passed pole-sitter Mini Tyrrell on the opening lap of the 125-lap Late Model Stock Car feature and never looked back. The veteran driver survived a handful of restarts throughout the race to score the victory – his first of the 2020 season.

“We had a really good car,” McCarty said. “We played our strategy out to a T and didn’t move off our strategy, even when they were kind of getting close to us and started pressuring us. We just stuck to our strategy and it worked out. In the end, we were able to go and, once we went, we were really strong coming off the corner and they couldn’t pull up on me there.”

While McCarty relished in his victory, he had hoped to be able to outduel rival Josh Berry, who was absent from Saturday night’s race. After a subpar finish at Southern National Motorsports Park and the controversial crash at Ace Speedway, tonight’s win vaulted McCarty up the points standings. However, the focus for the No. 22 team is not gaining points, but winning races.

“I just want to win,” McCarty said. “I don’t like the way things have played out, so at this point, we are out for blood. I’m not worried about the points because that will work itself out. We are ready for war.”

Jared Fryar, who entered tonight’s race third in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour LMSC standings, finished in the runner-up spot, passing Tyrrell in the closing laps.

“Our run was awesome,” Fryar said. “We didn’t have the qualifying speed we needed, but I knew I was going to have really good race speed. We have to work on getting the balance back between good qualifying runs and race speed.”

Mini Tyrrell had one of his best nights in his CARS Tour career, starting on pole and finishing in third at the end of the night. His run broke a streak of three consecutive DNFs heading into next weekend’s race at his home track, Dominion Raceway.

“It definitely boosts our confidence as a whole team,” Tyrrell said. “It was a solid run all night. Obviously the pole was just amazing, that was so cool. We had a really solid car at the beginning there. Bobby’s car was just outstanding. He was on a rail. Hats off to him. He deserved to win. He had the best car by far.”

Trevor Ward and Chad McCumbee rounded out the top five.

Matt Craig led 120 laps in the 125-lap Super Late Model portion of the Cloer Construction 250 to pick up his second Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour win of the season and his second win at Hickory in his last three CARS Tour starts at the track.

“Getting to Victory Lane here is the best part because it’s our home track now that Concord’s gone,” Craig said. “We put a little extra emphasis on this track and so does Kodie [Conner].”

From the drop of the green flag, Craig knew he had a solid race car. “The car was really good at the beginning for sure, he said. “A couple of those guys wanted to go a little faster than I was going, which is fine. As soon as they try to pass me, I’m going to speed up so I can keep the lead and keep control of the race. My car was good.”

“The last 15 laps, Kodie was a little better than me. My team told me he rode in the back. That’s always a good strategy but being out front is hard to beat. You can build up that buffer and, if the race goes green, you can rely on that lead. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Tonight, it worked.”

Conner went on to finish second, a career-best finish in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour for the reigning PRA Super Late Model Series champion.

“I felt like if we had a caution, we would have been right there with [Craig],” Conner said. “If it was a 150-lap race, maybe we would have had something else for him, but all in all, it was a great race weekend.”

Trevor Noles finished third while Carson Kvapil and Tyler Church rounded out the top-five.

The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour will return to action next week with the Radley Chevrolet 125 at Dominion Raceway in Thornburg, Virginia.

The Late Model Stock Cars of the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour head north to Dominion Raceway next Saturday night for the Radley Chevrolet 125. More information can be found on the CARS Tour website. All races of the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour are broadcast live on CARSTour.TV.

Results: Cloer Construction 250 – Hickory Motor Speedway, Newton, N.C. – Aug. 1, 2020

LATE MODEL STOCK CAR – 125 LAPS

1. 22 – Bobby McCarty

2. 14 – Jared Fryar

3. 81 – Mini Tyrrell

4. 77 – Trevor Ward

5. 16 – Chad McCumbee

6. 81b – Sam Butler

7. 88 – Connor Mosack

8. 78 – Corey Heim

9. 2s – Jonathan Shafer

10. 1 – Nolan Pope

11. 51 – Matt Cox

12. 2 – Brandon Pierce

13. 19 – Blake Stallings

14. 08 – Deac McCaskill

15. 3 – William Cox III

16. 12p – Gage Painter

17. 4 – Jonathan Findley -1

18. 19c – Jessica Cann -1

19. 74 – Ronald Hill -1

20. 44 – Justin Johnson OUT

21. 57 – Justin Carroll OUT

22. 99 – Layne Riggs OUT

23. 63 – Tyler Matthews OUT

24. 1m – Craig Moore OUT

SUPER LATE MODEL – 125 LAPS

1. 54 – Matt Craig

2. 45 – Kodie Conner

3. 22 – Trevor Noles

4. 35 – Carson Kvapil

5. 7c – Tyler Church

6. 51s – Sammy Smith

7. 49 – Jeff Batten

8. 7 – Justin Crider

9. 28 – T.J. Duke

10. 21s – Dylan Smith

11. 21 – Kris Wright -1

12. 15f – Jeff Fultz OUT

13. 11 – Michael Ritch OUT

About the CARS Tour

The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour is one of the premier short track series in the United States. Drivers compete in Late Model Stock Cars and Super Late Models at the best short tracks across the Carolinas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. The CARS Tour can be found on Facebook at “CARS Tour”, on Twitter @CARSTour, and on Instagram as @CARS_Tour. For more information, visit www.carsracingtour.com or call their Mooresville, N.C. offices at 704.662.9212.

Sources: James Pike/CARS Tour PR
PHOTO CREDIT: CHRISTIAN GARDNER