This Saturday, under the lights of North Wilkesboro Speedway, a new chapter in racing history will be written as the zMAX CARS Tour crowns its 11th Late Model Stock car champion. But here's the real question: What happens to these champions after they claim the title? Since its inception in 2015, the CARS Tour has been a launching pad for some of the nation's most talented late model racers. Some have carved out careers in late model racing, while others have used it as a stepping stone to bigger things. This weekend, an eighth champion will join the ranks in Wilkes County, and the Pro Late Models will crown their fourth champion in just four seasons.
And this is the part most people miss: The journey of these champions is as diverse as it is inspiring. Take Ben Maier, for instance, who’s all but secured the Pro Late Model championship this year. Unless something unexpected happens, he’ll be celebrating on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Late Model Stock competition is a nail-biter, with Landen Lewis clinging to a slim 12-point lead over Connor Hall. Kade Brown is still in the mix mathematically, but it would take a miracle for him to clinch the title. Hall knows this pressure well, having been in this position before, including last year. What would winning a CARS championship mean for his career?
To answer that, let’s take a trip down memory lane and see where past champions are today.
Brenden Queen (2024 Late Model Stock Champion)
Known as ‘Butterbean,’ Queen burst onto the scene in 2022, winning the South Carolina 400 in his first start with Lee Pulliam Performance. That night marked the beginning of his rise from a Langley Speedway regular to a national star. After narrowly missing the 2023 title by five points, Queen dominated in 2024, overcoming an early points deficit to win the championship with eight top-five finishes. With seven CARS Tour wins under his belt, Queen moved to the ARCA Menards Series in 2025, winning six races, including one at Daytona, and the series championship. He made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut with Kaulig Racing at Kansas Speedway and will be the first full-time driver for Kaulig’s new RAM NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program in 2026. But is this the peak, or just the beginning?
Kaden Honeycutt (2024 Pro Late Model Champion)
Honeycutt clinched the 2024 Pro Late Model title by a hair over Spencer Davis in the final race. A CARS Tour veteran, he nearly won the Late Model Stock championship in 2021 before switching to Pro Late Models in 2024, where he scored three wins. Amidst a part-time Truck Series schedule with Niece Motorsports, he won the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway. His success earned him a full-time spot with Niece for 2025, but he won’t be back in 2026. Now, he’s driving the Halmar Friesen Racing No. 52 for the injured Stewart Friesen and is fighting for a spot in the Championship 4. Rumors link him to TRICON Garage for 2026, but nothing’s official yet. Will he find a stable home, or continue to bounce around?
Carson Kvapil (2022, 2023 Late Model Stock Champion)
The son of former Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil, Carson built his legacy at JR Motorsports. Starting as a shop guy, he earned a full-time ride through hard work and a Super Late Model championship in 2021. With 12 wins, he’s tied for second all-time in the Tour. His success led to a NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Martinsville in 2024, where he finished fourth. After winning the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville, he was announced as JR Motorsports’ full-time Xfinity Series driver for 2025. He’s currently in the Xfinity Series Round of 8, battling for a spot in the Championship 4. But can he replicate his CARS Tour dominance at the national level?
Caden Kvapil (2023 Pro Late Model Champion)
Carson’s younger brother, Caden, won the Pro Late Model title in 2023 after a season-long battle with Katie Hettinger. In 2024, he bounced between Pro Late Models and Super Late Models before moving to Late Model Stock competition in 2025. Running part-time for JR Motorsports, he’s picked up three top 10s so far. With Hall’s pending departure and Caden’s relationship with the team, he could follow in his brother’s footsteps as the next driver of the JR Motorsports No. 8 in 2026. Is he ready for the spotlight, or will he need more time to develop?
Luke Fenhaus (2022 Pro Late Model Champion)
Fenhaus won the inaugural CARS Pro Late Model championship in 2022 without a single race win, relying instead on consistency—11 top-five finishes in 12 races. He moved to the ARCA Menards Series East in 2023, winning two races, including an ARCA national win at Iowa Speedway, and finished second in the championship. This season, he’s started 11 Craftsman Truck Series races for ThorSport Racing, including a third-place finish at Michigan. But will he break through to the top tier, or remain a solid mid-pack contender?
Bobby McCarty (2018, 2019, 2021 Late Model Stock Champion)
The only three-time champion in series history, McCarty is a legend of the CARS Tour and Late Model Stock racing. He claimed all three titles driving the Nelson Motorsports No. 22, with his 2019 title coming down to the final lap, winning by one point over Josh Berry. McCarty has 12 wins, tied with Kvapil for second all-time, but has only one NASCAR start—31st at Bristol in 2022. Unlike others, he’s dedicated his career to Late Model Stock racing. Recently, he stepped away from the CARS Tour to start his own team, McCarty Motorsports, competing at the NASCAR Regional level. Is this the end of his racing career, or just a new beginning?
Jared Fryar (2020 Late Model Stock Champion)
Fryar won his lone CARS championship in 2020 during the COVID-19 season, beating Layne Riggs by one point and Corey Heim by five. That championship looks even more impressive now, as both Riggs and Heim are NASCAR Truck Series winners battling for the 2025 title. Like McCarty, Fryar is a late model specialist and is having a career year in 2025, with three CARS LMSC wins—the first time he’s won multiple races in a single year. But can he sustain this momentum, or will he fade back into the pack?
Josh Berry (2017 Late Model Stock Champion)
Berry won his lone CARS championship in 2017, beating Anthony Alfredo by seven points and Riggs by nine. With 22 wins, he’s the all-time wins leader of the CARS Tour. Berry used his success to springboard into NASCAR, winning the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I championship in 2020. He made his Xfinity Series debut in 2021, winning at Martinsville, and raced full-time for JR Motorsports in 2022 and 2023. He moved to the Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024 and, after SHR’s closure, joined Wood Brothers Racing in 2025, winning his first Cup Series race at Las Vegas. Is he the ultimate success story, or just one of many?
Deac McCaskill (2016 Late Model Stock Champion)
One of the CARS Tour’s founding members, McCaskill won his first and only championship in 2016 after narrowly missing out in 2015. With 10 wins, he’s fourth all-time in series wins. McCaskill raced full-time with CARS until mid-2024, when he left R&S Race Cars. He’s scaled back from full-time racing, competing part-time at Wake County Speedway and Southern National Motorsports Park. Is this a quiet retirement, or just a new phase in his career?
Brayton Haws (2015 Late Model Stock Champion)
The inaugural champion won the title by five points over McCaskill in 2015 with three wins. Surprisingly, he never raced in the CARS Tour again and has largely disappeared from the racing scene. The Haws Motorsports Facebook page suggests he might still be racing dirt modifieds, but only one post has been made since 2020. What happened to this once-promising champion?
As Maier and Hall prepare to join this elite list, one can’t help but wonder: What does the future hold for them? Will they follow in the footsteps of Berry and Queen, or carve out their own unique paths? And what does this say about the CARS Tour’s role in shaping the next generation of racing stars? Is it a stepping stone, or a destination in itself? Let us know your thoughts in the comments—this is a conversation worth having.
