ROUGEMONT, N.C. – The path back to the winner’s circle for 2020 zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour champion Jared Fryar was an arduous one.
A fractured leg during the offseason heading into 2024 limited Fryar to just two CARS LMSC Tour appearances that season, both of which were top five performances. Those strong outings only served as motivation for Fryar, who was eager to showcase the speed of Jimmy Mooring’s Late Model Stock across a part-time 2025 schedule.
Fryar put together one of his best outings in a Late Model Stock by dominating the second half of the Folsom Fence Supply 250, snapping a winless drought that nearly extended two years. Luke Baldwin joined Fryar in Cook Out Victory Lane on Saturday evening for his maiden victory with the CARS PLM Tour.
Jared Fryar relishes being back in victory lane
The last time Fryar won a CARS LMSC Tour event at Caraway Speedway in 2023, he did so despite not being the first car to cross the start-finish line.
Layne Riggs initially prevailed at Caraway that evening until Fryar inherited the victory when Riggs was disqualified due to a post-race technical infraction. Riggs would be the one Fryar would have to pass at Orange County Speedway on Saturday for a cathartic victory that only reinforced Fryar’s faith in himself.
“I’m super lucky to win at this level,” Fryar said. “I don’t get the opportunity to race as much as I like, but we make the best of it and I’ve got a good group of guys behind me. It’s so special to win these races and they’re so hard. When the stars line up like they did [on Saturday], it means so much to me and my crew.”
Even before his leg injury, Fryar had already started to scale back his racing schedule so he could focus on other ventures. Despite this, Fryar remains a heavy favorite whenever he shows up to Late Model Stock events behind the wheel of Jimmy Mooring’s No. 14.
The duo did not get a chance to display their renowned cohesion in the 2025 LMSC Tour opener at New River All-American Speedway, as a restart crash on lap five knocked Fryar out of the race. Orange County served as a refresh for Fryar, who wasted no time charging up to the lead from his fifth starting position.
Fryar’s triumph at Orange County gives him five career LMSC Tour victories, a feat he considers to be strenuous in multiple regards. Being a part-time competitor has not slowed down the determination and resolve of Fryar, who intends to keep adding wins in the same car that won him a championship nearly five years ago.
“It’s very rare for a guy like myself to race at a level like this,” Fryar said. “I’ve been running with the CARS [Tour] for [about eight years] and it’s been really fun. To keep winning is so special. This series is the toughest and I don’ t think there’s anything harder in circle track racing. I love [Orange County] and I’m glad we got the win.”
Strong night for Kade Brown ends with runner-up showing
Orange County Speedway has been one of R&S Race Cars’ strongest tracks since Marcus Richmond and Steve Stallings formed the program back in 2020.
Kade Brown showcased R&S Race Cars’ strengths at Orange County by methodically working his way up from eighth to match his career-best finish for second. Although he was satisfied with his car’s performance, Brown felt a stronger effort in qualifying could have enabled him to challenge Jared Fryar for the win.
“We were pretty good all weekend,” Brown said. “I feel like it comes down to qualifying there. Jared [Fryar] executed better in qualifying and we had to do a little bit more work to get up there.”
Three consecutive top 10 finishes to open 2025 put Brown third in the CARS LMSC Tour standings prior into Orange County. With points leader Connor Hall and Mini Tyrrell both enduring difficult nights at Orange County, Brown now has a more manageable gap to deal with heading into the month of May.
Brown felt Orange County was an ideal opportunity for him to earn his first LMSC Tour checkered flag, as he previously won the Orange Blossom Shootout at the facility in 2023. R&S Race Cars’ proven Orange County track record only bolstered Brown’s confidence, but he ran out of laps to properly challenge Fryar.
Instead of lingering on the disappointment, Brown plans to generate momentum from Saturday’s performance. Finding additional speed in qualifying is a key component that Brown believes will not only result in trips to Cook Out Victory Lane but also establish himself as an LMSC Tour title contender at the end of the year.
“[Jared Fryar] had so much track position and he could just fire off [so good],” Brown said. “If we qualified better, we could have had a better shot but hats off to all the R&S Race Cars guys. We’re going to keep improving and try to come out swinging at Ace [Speedway].”
Luke Baldwin earns first full-bodied stock car victory
The Baldwin family has long been renowned for their efficiency in Modifieds, which has extended into the current generation that includes ‘Tiger’ Tom Baldwin’s grandsons Jack and Luke.
On Saturday evening at Orange County Speedway, Luke added a full-bodied stock car victory to the family’s proud history in racing. After engaging in an intense battle with Tyler Reif during the opening portion of the 100-lap PLM Tour feature, Baldwin pulled away in the closing laps despite battling an ill-handling car.
“I drove the wheels off the thing,” Baldwin said. “There wasn’t much time where I was riding. I was pretty free all the way through the race, but what does it say about a race car when you can be that sideways and still be that fast? It’s badass and the race with Tyler was awesome. That was some of the most fun racing I’ve had in my life.”
Baldwin’s breakthrough CARS PLM Tour victory also carried some sentimental value. He earned the milestone accomplishment in the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford, which is where his dad in 2002 Daytona 500 winning crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr. is employed as the team’s competition director.
With Ware himself in attendance for the Folsom Fence Supply 250, the younger Baldwin was not going to pull any punches against his PLM Tour competitor. Baldwin needed to be stalwart to hold his own against Reif, who did everything to maintain control of the top spot until Baldwin made the race-winning pass with 45 laps remaining.
Already possessing three SMART Modified Tour wins on his resume, Baldwin was both relieved and ecstatic to finally notch a stock car triumph, especially in his first start with Ware. Baldwin credited everyone at Ware’s team for providing him a perfect opportunity to excel in a Pro Late Model.
“I’ve had some decent runs in a full-fendered race car, but I always managed to mess it up somehow,” Baldwin said. “I almost knocked the fence down off [turn four] one time when I had a 15-car length lead. I tried to give it up, but the race car was too good.”
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The zMAX CARS Tour competitors do not have much time to regroup, as both divisions head to Ace Speedway on Friday evening for the Folsom Fence Supply 275. FloRacing is set to provide live coverage of all the on-track action.
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.
LMSC Results:
- 14 Jared Fryar
- 4 Kade Brown
- 71 Kaden Honeycutt
- 17 Layne Riggs
- 04 Ronnie Bassett Jr.
- 27 Tyler Reif
- 57 Landon Huffman
- 00 Chase Burrow
- 29 Landen Lewis
- 4S Donovan Strauss
- 28 Landon S. Huffman
- 44 Conner Jones
- 1 Andrew Grady
- 7 Ryan Newman
- 71B Jake Bollman
- 15 Ryan Millington
- 2 Brandon Pierce
- 88 Connor Hall
- 11 Buddy Isles Jr.
- 16 Chad McCumbee -1
- 06 Terry Dease -1
- 1J Clay Jones -1
- 22 Carson Loftin -1
- 01 Camden Gulle -2
- 88B Doug Barnes Jr. – OUT
- 81 Mini Tyrrell – OUT
- 8 Tate Fogleman – OUT
- 03 Lanie Buice – OUT
- 4E Parker Eatmon – OUT
- 6 Bobby McCarty – OUT
PLM Results:
- 51 Luke Baldwin
- 24 Jade Avedisian
- 25 Isaac Kitzmiller
- 61 Evan McKnight
- 54B Jarrett Butcher
- 62 Keelan Harvick
- 6M Ben Maier
- 54 Brody Monahan
- 15D Rodeny Dowless
- 97 Dylan Garner
- 6L Brandon Lopez
- 82 Taylor Hull -1
- 31 Kaden Honeycutt -1
- 28D T.J. Duke -1
- 47 Tyler Reif – OUT
