zMAX CARS Tour Readies for Return to Ace Speedway on Friday

For the second time in the 2024 season, both divisions of the zMAX CARS Tour will visit Altamahaw, North Carolina for a date at Ace Speedway.

A staple on the CARS Tour schedule since its debut race back in 2018, Ace’s .4-mile layout has provided plenty of tests for drivers when it comes to obtaining and then maintaining track position. Many of the best in series history have embraced those challenges and found their way towards Ace’s victory lane.

Following a clean sweep by the Kvapil brothers at Ace in May, CARS Tour competitors head into Friday’s AcceleratedGFX.com 285 with the goal of earning a late summer victory that could build crucial momentum heading into the fall months.

Track Facts:

Track: Ace Speedway
Location: Altamahaw, North Carolina
Length: .400 mile
Laps: 125 (LMSC), 100 (PLM)
CARS LMSC Tour races: 9
CARS PLM Tour races: 4
Ace LMSC winners: Carson Kvapil (3), Bobby McCarty (1), Josh Berry (1), Ryan Millington (1), Layne Riggs (1), Jonathan Shafer (1), Kaden Honeycutt (1)
Ace PLM winners: Caden Kvapil (2), William Sawalich (1), Connor Zilisch (1)

Ace Speedway Schedule

LMSC Entry List (20 cars): #03 Brenden Queen, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #2 Brandon Pierce, #6 Bobby McCarty, #7 Dylan Ward, #8 Caden Kvapil, #11 Buddy Isles Jr., #12W Dean Ward, #15 Ryan Millington, #15C Blake Stallings, #16 Chad McCumbee, #22 Connor Hall, #23 Kade Brown, #29 Brent Crews, #33 Dillon Harville, #55 Isabella Robusto, #59 Heath Causey, #62 Landen Lewis, #77 Treyten Lapcevich, #81 Mini Tyrrell

PLM Entry List (12 cars): #00 Jimmy Renfrew Jr., #6 Tristan McKee, #24 Jake Bollman, #29 Spencer Davis, #35 Caden Kvapil, #43 Nick Loden, #43H Joshua Horniman, #51 TBA, #77 Logan Jones, #88 Max Reaves, #96 T.J. DeCaire, #97 Dylan Garner

LMSC Point Standings:

1. Connor Hall
2. Brenden Queen -12
3. Brent Crews -20
4. Carson Kvapil -31
5. Mini Tyrrell -36
6. Ryan Millington -39
7. Treyten Lapcevich -53
8. Bobby McCarty -75
9. Jacob Heafner -108
10. Ronnie Bassett Jr. -112

PLM Point Standings:

1. Spencer Davis
2. Kaden Honeycutt -5
3. Caden Kvapil -14
4. Jimmy Renfrew Jr. -15
5. T.J. DeCaire -29
6. Tristan McKee -34
7. Jake Bollman -35
8. Conner Jones -49
9. Kyle Campbell -65
10. Dylan Garner -88

Dylan Ward brings experience, home track advantage to Ace Speedway

The vibrant short track culture prevalent at Ace Speedway on Friday evenings has regularly featured the Ward family.

Dean Ward became a household name to the Ace fanbase before passing on his knowledge of racing to his sons Dylan and Trevor. For Dylan, he sees the AcceleratedGFX.com 285 as a perfect opportunity to continue his family’s legacy at Ace by earning his first CARS LMSC Tour victory in front of the local crowd.

“My dad grew up racing and winning championships [at Ace Speedway],” Dylan said. “When [Trevor and I] began racing, that’s where we started. Trevor and I raced Limiteds at Ace for years and we even crew chiefed some cars. We could probably get around that track with our eyes closed.”

A versatile driver like his dad with starts in Late Model Stocks, Pro Late Models and Modifieds, Dylan always circles Ace and Caraway Speedway on his calendar when the CARS Tour visits those tracks. Dylan has typically fared better at Caraway, as both of his top 10s in the CARS Tour came at that facility.

Despite this, Dylan knows he has an advantage every time he visits Ace. The copious amount of laps Dylan has logged in weekly events around Ace have helped him acclimate to the facility’s unique layout, which requires competitors to navigate a narrow first two turns before encountering a wider turn three and four.

Improvements made to his program over the offseason have Dylan confident he can obtain solid track position and properly utilize the experience accumulated at Ace over the years. The competitive depth may be strong in Friday’s field, but Dylan wants nothing more than to prove he can beat the best in the Late Model Stock discipline.

“Winning a CARS Tour race is probably the closest I’m ever going to get to winning at Martinsville [Speedway],” Dylan said. “After [Trevor] won Martinsville, I feel like I got to get one up on him somehow, so hopefully I can do that [by winning at Ace].”

Mini Tyrrell ready to re-establish momentum on Friday evening

A solid second-place performance at North Wilkesboro Speedway was the run Mini Tyrrell needed following a slump in the spring.

Tyrrell’s early efficiency had him in the middle of the CARS LMSC Tour championship hunt before getting hindered by bad luck as the year progressed. Although a title may now be out of reach, Tyrrell believes the showing from Saturday could provide his team a necessary jolt to start regularly contending for wins again.

“It was a phenomenal run,” Tyrrell said. “We’re very proud of that performance and I can’t thank all the guys at the shop enough for getting that car where it was Saturday night. We were top three all night and ended up P3, so I’m glad to be back to where we were at the beginning of the year.”

Tyrrell knew the key to being a contender in a competitive LMSC Tour environment was to focus on himself as a driver. He considers himself more mature from a racing and business aspect, but also credited his crew chief Brandon Butler, a former Late Model Stock driver, for the knowledge provided to his program.

With a handful of close calls this year that include North Wilkesboro, Tyrrell is optimistic he is on the precipice of snapping a winless drought nearing the three-year mark. Consistency has always been a goal for Tyrrell, who added that logging laps and avoiding mistakes are two qualities that can get him closer to victory lane.

Precision is something Tyrrell knows is imperative to finishing strong at Ace Speedway. Slight wall contact at the facility in May prevented Tyrrell from securing a better performance, but he is determined to put together a complete race on Friday evening so he can enjoy a stellar run for the second week in a row.

“I really like [Ace],” Tyrrell said. “We haven’t had the runs to show for it, but I believe we can stay up front [Friday evening]. A win would mean everything to my guys, and it would show the world all the hard work we’ve put into this thing. If we don’t, we don’t, but all we can ask is to keep our car in one piece and keep on trying.”

Tristan McKee hopes to build off North Wilkesboro triumph

The rescheduled North Wilkesboro Speedway weekend was one to remember for 14-year-old Tristan McKee.

Not only did McKee make his CARS LMSC Tour debut, but he also obtained his second CARS PLM Tour victory of 2024 by fending off Corey Heim and Spencer Davis. The final laps were nerve-wracking for McKee, but he took great pride in joining an elite list of drivers who have won at North Wilkesboro.

“That was probably my favorite moment in my career,” McKee said. “After Hickory, I told my guys I wanted to ride that elevator. We had good race speed, especially on the short run, but it got interesting at the end. I was a bit scared when they started getting close.”

For his sophomore PLM Tour campaign, McKee joined Setzer Racing & Development, which has previously aided drivers like William Sawalich and George Phillips. There have been some growing pains for McKee, but he is happy with the progress he and the Setzers have made over the past several months.

McKee commended the Setzers for instilling key fundamentals on how to optimize his performance in a Pro Late Model. With how efficient his No. 6 Chevrolet has been, McKee believes he can contend for victories every week to close out 2024 if he minimizes his on-track mistakes.

A victory at Ace Speedway on Friday would give McKee his third triumph in his last four starts. He compared Ace favorably to another track where he has a PLM Tour victory in Caraway Speedway, which is why McKee is confident the momentum from North Wilkesboro will translate into another strong performance.

“Caraway is a tight track like Ace,” McKee said. “You need to have a car that turns really well there. If we can get that to happen in practice [at Ace], I feel like we’ll have a good chance. We have some notes from last time and changed some things to my liking. There’s going to be a lot of good cars, but we just need to get the car to my liking.”

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A full docket of racing is ahead for Ace Speedway on Friday, with the zMAX CARS Tour events being accompanied by the track’s Mini Stock and Modified divisions, both of which will be 30 laps in length. FloRacing’s live coverage of the on-track action begins at 4:30 p.m. ET with CARS 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. Be sure to 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.

Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in Mooresville, NC, at 704-662-9212.

-CARS Tour Press Release