ROUGEMONT, NC – Myatt Snider sent a statement at Southern National Motorsports Park that he would be a factor in the Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) Late Model Stock Tour championship.  He doubled down on that at Orange County.

After finishing third for the second consecutive race, Myatt Snider should assume control of the top spot in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour championship standings.  Despite that, it was certainly a race Snider could have, and maybe should have, won.  Snider was the co-star of an epic battle for the lead and the win with Brayton Haws, a battle that lasted for the majority of the race until a broken valve relegated Snider to a third place finish.

“We were racing good with Brayton,” Snider said after the race.  “It was short track racing, even he said so himself.  That was great short track racing.  We shook hands afterwards.  I was racing for probably 70 laps.  The last 20, I was bumper to bumper.  On the last green-white-checkered, we broke a valve spring and I tried to salvage it so that’s why I feel off and fell back to third.  Overall, it was a great run.  My guys gave me a great car.”

Much like at Southern National three weeks earlier, Snider raced with patience and respect instead of aggression.  While the two swapped paint a handful of times during their battle, Snider never made an overly aggressive move nor did he attempt to blatantly dump Haws.

“It was a great race,” Snider stated.  “I was just patient for most of the race just saving my tires and waiting for Brayton to make a mistake but he’s really good.  He never did.  He was a little bit sideways off the corner and that’s what I was looking for but he kept it saved enough for those last restarts.  He was able to hold me off until I broke a valve spring.”

Todd Gilliland entered the race with the points lead by virtue of his win at Southern National Motorsports Park over Deac McCaskill and Snider, but Gilliland was swept up in an accident early in the race, finishing 27th.  McCaskill started on the pole but he faded to a 10th place finish.  That, along with Snider’s third place finish, should be enough to move Snider into the points lead in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour championship standings.

“I don’t know where Deac finished,” Snider commented.  “Unfortunately Todd crashed out early.  That might put me in the lead which makes me a pretty happy guy considering how the night’s gone.”

The next race for the CARS Tour will be the Catawba Valley 300 on May 9th at Hickory Motor Speedway in Newton, North Carolina.