For the eighth time in his 15-race CARS Tour career, Deac McCaskill led the field to green and led the opening third of the race until Chad McCumbee took his turn at the point beginning on lap 30.
A couple of late-race crashes, the worst of which eliminated Craig Stallard, Justin Carroll and Robert Tyler from the event, set up a series of restarts that ultimately played a pivotal role in the outcome of the 100-lap race.
The final caution of the night for Will Burns’ wrecked car on the back straightaway put the No. 27 of Tommy Lemons to the outside race leader Chad McCumbee. When the green flag fell, it was an all-out dash to turn one, and ultimately the finish, with Lemons prevailing from the outside lane off of turn two on lap 92.
Lemons stretched his lead over the final eight laps to claim his first career CARS Late Model Stock Tour win in 15 career starts with McCumbee also finishing a career-best second. Dylan Hall brought home a third place finish in his debut with the tour, while Josh Berry and rookie Chase Purdy rounded out the top five.
“This is a big win right here,” said Lemons in Edelbrock Victory Lane. “This is a brand new car and it’s only been run in the CARS Tour this year. We’ve been really fast with it in the race and have been struggling in qualifying and we finally got it figured out. It’s just bad to the bone right now.
“I learned a little bit on the outside on those restarts late in the race with worn out tires,” he continued when asked about the pass for the lead. “I just wanted it. We kinda gave one away at Tri-County two weeks ago and I just felt like we had to go get it today. This doesn’t really change what we come to the racetrack for. We come for trophies and as long as we get those, we’ll be there at the end for the championship.”
