A bold decision to test his skills against the best Pro Late Model drivers in the southeast ended up paying dividends for Jimmy Renfrew Jr.
The Hooksett, New Hampshire native immediately found his comfort zone with the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour by securing seven top fives and earning his first career victory at Hickory Motor Speedway. A fourth-place finish in the point standings enabled Renfrew to claim the BSCI, Inc. Pro Late Model Rookie of the Year.
While there were aspects of his rookie CARS PLM Tour season he wishes could have been better, Renfrew took pride in everything his operation accomplished despite having not previously competed at many tracks on the schedule prior to 2024.
“It was definitely a good first season,” Renfrew said. “We were trying to be as consistent as we could and try to be there at the end of all the races. Sometimes we struggled to find speed, but we ended up winning the Hickory race and a got a couple other good runs, so it was a successful year.”
Prior to joining the PLM Tour, Renfrew had enjoyed plenty of on-track success across the northeast. Among his accomplishments included three victories in the ACT Late Model Tour along with a third-place points finish he obtained in 2023.
A one-off appearance with the PLM Tour at Caraway Speedway that same year provided Renfrew with some insight into the competitive nature of the series. After coming home third that afternoon, Renfrew elected to shift his focus over to the southeast by committing to a full-time PLM Tour campaign.
Renfrew knew the PLM Tour would be one of the toughest divisions he ever raced in, but he was ready to showcase the same efficiency that yielded results back in the northeast. He formed a partnership with Donnie Wilson Motorsports, a Toyota-backed organization that fielded cars for drivers like Brent Crews, Gio Ruggiero and others.
Without the assistance of Wilson, Renfrew does not believe his season would have been as successful. The cohesion between the two was apparent from the PLM Tour season-opener at Southern National Motorsports Park, as Renfrew maintained top five track position all day before settling for second behind Kyle Campbell.
It would take until the SoundGear Throwback 276 at Hickory before Renfrew’s speed translated into a trip to Cook Out Victory Lane. In a race that saw eight lead changes, Renfrew methodically made his way to the front of the field before outdueling Conner Jones and Caden Kvapil during the final laps to take home the checkered flag.
“I felt like we had a third-place car, but we ended up being in the right place at the right time,” Renfrew said. “We ended up racing three-wide for the win and put on a good show for the fans. There was definitely some luck involved, but we were trying to put ourselves in a position to be there and ended up with a win despite not having the best car.”
The composure Renfrew displayed behind the wheel all season impressed BSCI, Inc. President Greta Ray Anderson. She commended the hard work of Renfrew’s team and looks forward to seeing what his organization accomplishes in the next few years.
“[We offer our] congratulations to Jimmy and his team on clinching the 2024 zMAX CARS Tour Pro Late Model Rookie of the Year honors,” Anderson said. “Our team at BSCI, Inc. is proud to celebrate this accomplishment along with them.”
For Renfrew, he said the 2024 PLM Tour season was a learning experience above everything else. Each venue required Renfrew to be versatile with the setups, which enabled the team to build an in-depth notebook that helped them make gradual improvements, especially when they returned to a track for the second time.
All the knowledge obtained from 2024 is only going to help Renfrew as he prepares to embark on an expanded schedule next year. There is still room for growth within his program, but Renfrew feels confident he can build on the momentum from his PLM Tour Rookie of the Year campaign.
“I want us to learn more as a group,” Renfrew said. “We need to take what we learned as a group and move forward, whether it’s Pro Late Model or Super Late Model racing. We need to take the experience I’ve gained from a lot of different tracks I hadn’t seen before and apply that to whatever the next goal is.”
Renfrew’s gamble on himself proved to the short track industry he can hold his own against many elite Pro Late Model programs. As he finalizes his 2025 plans, Renfrew is grateful for everything the PLM Tour provided as he seeks to keep refining his race craft.
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.
