A two-race swing in the state of South Carolina for the zMAX CARS Tour begins this weekend at Anderson Motor Speedway with the Double Aught Double Purse Challenge, which offers a $15,000 race-winning prize for Late Model Stocks and $8,000-to-win for Pro Late Models.
Constructed in 1963 as a dirt oval, Anderson was formally converted to a paved short track during the late 1980s. In the following decades, Anderson hosted races for numerous divisions like the NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series, SMART Modified Tour and others while also maintaining a healthy local racing scene.
After the CARS Tour briefly ventured to Anderson from 2017-2018, the series returned to the complex in full force last year with Dale Earnhardt Jr. headlining a talented field of competitors. Anderson’s vibrant fanbase was treated to two entertaining, competitive shows in 2025 that showed off all the traits that have made the track so special to the locals over the years.
Just like last year, Anderson’s date falls in August, meaning it is an important race for the drivers chasing titles in the CARS Tour’s Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model divisions. Anderson’s confined layout only leaves a small margin of error, so competitors will need to be diligent and patient if they want to visit Cook Out Victory Lane on Saturday evening.
Track Facts:
Track: Anderson Motor Speedway
Location: Anderson, South Carolina
Length: .375 mile
Laps: 125 (LMSC) / 100 (PLM)
CARS LMSC Tour races: 2
CARS PLM Tour races: 1
Anderson LMSC winners: Josh Berry (1), Landen Lewis (1)
Anderson PLM winners: Luke Baldwin (1)
Double Aught Double Purse Challenge schedule
LMSC Entry List (25 cars): #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #09 Riley Gentry, #4 Tyler Reif, #5 Chase Burrow, #5B Carson Brown, #7 Thomas Beane, #13 Cody Kelley, #15 Jace Hale, #16 Chad McCumbee, #16K Casey Kelley, #18 David Roberts, #20 Carson Loftin, #22 Jared Fryar, #22B Chase Burgeson, #23 Kade Brown, #37 Chase Robertson, #41 TBA, #44 Conner Jones, #57 Landon Huffman, #62 Keelan Harvick, #77 Treyten Lapcevich, #84 Brandon Hanks, #88 Caden Kvapil, #95 London McKenzie, #99 Brandon Dean
PLM Entry List (11 cars): #1 T.J. DeCaire, #6 Mason Walters, #11 Jack Baldwin, #15 Case James, #20 Evan McKnight, #22 Jimmy Renfrew Jr., #25 Rodney Dowless Jr., #30 Treyten Lapcevich, #31 Brody Monahan, #44 Conner Jones, #97 Dylan Garner
LMSC standings:
- Caden Kvapil
- Treyten Lapcevich -22
- Conner Jones -43
- Chad McCumbee -65
- Chase Burrow -69
- Parker Eatmon -71
- Landen Lewis -72
- Carson Brown -84
- Landon Huffman -88
- Carson Loftin -103
PLM standings:
- Mason Walters
- Kaden Honeycutt -1
- Conner Jones -13
- Treyten Lapcevich -24
- Brody Monahan -27
- Evan McKnight -38
- Case James -39
- Rodney Dowless Jr. -45
- Dylan Garner -52
- James Seeright -63
Local hero David Roberts ready to chase CARS Tour win
Among those representing Anderson Motor Speedway’s local Late Model Stock division in Saturday’s CARS Tour event is David Roberts.
The three-time Anderson Late Model Stock track champion did not get a proper chance to contend in last year’s race after being collected in a crash on lap 24. With two victories in Anderson’s local division already this year, Roberts looks forward to utilizing years of expertise at the track against the top drivers on the CARS Tour platform.
“[Anderson] is a little tight bullring,” Roberts said. “It’s a place where you can run hard, but running hard sometimes doesn’t pay a reward. You have to show a little more finesse than most people. Anderson’s a fun little place. You can run two-wide for a little while on the outside, but it’s a bottom-feeding track pretty much.”
Roberts was enamored with the electric atmosphere the CARS Tour brought to Anderson during last year’s visit. Given that Anderson is geographically isolated when it comes to pavement short track racing in the southeast, Roberts emphasized how important it is for the facility to receive positive publicity and attract a new generation of fans.
Although Roberts had not attempted a CARS LMSC Tour race prior to 2025, he is used to going up against big fields, having competed in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 and Myrtle Beach 400, among other Late Model Stock crown jewel events. Roberts knows it will be tough to prevail in the LMSC Tour, but he is welcoming the challenge.
Being conservative in the first half of the 125-lap feature is something Roberts believes will be necessary for him and the other locals if they want to go for a win. If he can avoid trouble and acquire solid track position for the closing stretch, Roberts is confident he can best the series regulars and make a serious run at the $15,000 race-winning paycheck.
“They’re coming to my house,” Roberts said. “I’ve never won that much money at one time. We’ve won a lot of races, probably 300 or more races over the years, I’ve won a heat race at Martinsville, but it’d be huge to win a CARS Tour race at my home track.”
Dirt track ace Brandon Hanks set for LMSC Tour debut
The transition from dirt track racing into Late Model Stocks is something Brandon Hanks admits is still a work in progress.
After getting his feet wet in the IHRA Stock Car Series Late Model Sportsman division, Hanks is now set to make his CARS LMSC Tour debut this weekend in his own No. 84. Expectations for Hanks are realistic at Anderson Motor Speedway, but he hopes the experience from the IHRA event he ran there in June leads to a respectable showing.
“This is my fourth late model race ever,” Hanks said. “I’m a Sprint Car guy and this is a totally different world. I’m still getting used to it, but the goal is the same; make the show and run all the laps. If we get halfway through the race and we’re running really well, maybe the goal will change, but I want to keep all four fenders on it.”
As to why he chose to break into Late Model Stocks at 30 years old, Hanks felt the risk was no longer worth the reward when it came to the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. Along with the injuries he has seen, Hanks felt there was a growing disparity between the top-tier organizations and smaller, part-time programs like his.
The IHRA’s decision to buy and revitalize Hanks’ home track of Memphis International Raceway is what ultimately galvanized him to pursue Late Model Stock racing. Although Memphis’ future appears to be in doubt again, Hanks does not regret his decision, though he is still trying to learn patience in Late Model Stocks as opposed to being aggressive all the time in Sprint Cars.
Hanks floated the idea of making his first LMSC Tour start in the Spears Manufacturing Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway but felt it made more sense to do it at a track he was somewhat familiar with in Anderson. If Hanks feels he made progress on Saturday evening, he will consider his maiden CARS Tour weekend a success.
“I’ve got a lot to learn,” Hanks said. “I don’t feel pressure. I’ve kind of got a different mindset these days. I know that I’m new and I know that I have got to learn. I’m just going to do the best I can do, learn as much as I can and just try to have fun. Of course I want to win, but at the end of the day, I realize the position I’m in.”
Evan McKnight looks to build off first top five of 2026
After finishing no worse than sixth in his three CARS PLM Tour starts last year, which included a fourth at Orange County Speedway, Evan McKnight had plenty of optimism going into his first full-time season.
It took McKnight six races, but he finally scored his first top five of 2026 in the Spears Manufacturing Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway. Currently sitting just outside the top five in the PLM Tour standings, McKnight hopes to keep acquiring more knowledge and string together more top fives over the remaining races.
“The season has been really good for us so far, especially considering how little experience we had in the CARS Tour going in,” McKnight said. “We’ve had a couple of great highs and a couple of lows, but overall, I think it’s been a great year of learning, which is very important in this stage of my career.”
Having the guidance of car owners Dennis & Brandon Setzer, two seasoned short track veterans with a plethora of victories, has made McKnight’s transition into the PLM Tour more seamless. McKnight has won Pro Late Model events with Setzer Racing & Development in the past, so he knew good, consistent runs were eventually going to manifest.
In many ways, McKnight found it fitting his first PLM Tour top five of 2026 came at Hickory, as that was the track where he and the Setzers scored two of their three victories together. On the flipside, facilities in which McKnight possesses little to no experience have presented more of a challenge, a trend he looks to change at Anderson Motor Speedway.
From conversations with his team, McKnight believes Anderson will handle similarly to Dillon Motor Speedway, the track where he obtained his other prior Pro Late Model triumph. Learning as much as he can about Anderson will be imperative for McKnight if he wishes to build off his strong run at Hickory and potentially contend for his first PLM Tour victory.
“I’m expecting [Anderson] to be a little bit of a slower track,” McKnight said. “I think it’s decently banked, but it’s definitely on the smaller side of a 3/8-mile oval, so I’m expecting it to be a similar race to Caraway [Speedway] and Ace [Speedway] where it’s a pretty heavy braking track and not so much about rolling momentum in the corners.”
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On-track activities for Saturday’s zMAX CARS Tour event at Anderson Motor Speedway commence at 7 p.m. ET with the 100-lap Pro Late Model Tour feature, with the Late Model Stock event immediately following. FloRacing will carry live, flag-to-flag coverage of the two CARS Tour races.
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 at cars_tour.
Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in Mooresville, NC at 704-662-9212.
