Halfway through the Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) Super Late Model Tour season, legitimate contenders have emerged and old and new faces alike are battling for a series championship. Here now is the first ever RACE22.com CARS Tour Power Rankings.
1. Christopher Bell
The Kyle Busch Motorsports prospect has been nearly perfect on the CARS Super Late Model Tour in 2015. He boasts two wins (Orange County, Southern National II) as well as a second-place in the inaugural event at Southern National. Bell isn’t running the full season, but he has been the man to beat on the tour when he shows up.
2. Quin Houff
Houff could have easily had two wins on the CARS Tour. The 17-year-old rallied from a lap two spin and challenged for the win at Orange County before he was shown the black flag for jumping a lap 92 restart. Ironically, it was a similar penalty at Tri-County to Steve Wallace that opened the door for Houff to collect the victory in Hudson.
3. Cole Timm
The only driver to finish in the top five at every CARS Super Late Model Tour event, Cole Timm won the series’ inaugural event at Southern National by outdueling Christopher Bell. As such, he enjoys an 11-point lead over Kyle Grissom in the points standings at the halfway mark of the season.
4. Steve Wallace
An engine failure at Orange County aside, Steve Wallace had been knocking on the door of the top-ten all season. That changed at Tri-County, when Wallace dominated the early stages of the race, was sent to the rear for a restart violation, and fought through the field for a fourth-place finish.
5. Harrison Burton
Following wholesale changes, Harrison Burton is carrying momentum into this weekend’s race at Motor Mile. In his first CARS Tour start after parting ways with Freddie Query and tabbing Chris Wimmer as his new crew chief, Burton finished third after leading 18 of the 125 laps at Southern National.
6. Kyle Grissom
With four podium finishes (including a second-place finish most recently at Tri-County), Grissom has been a model of consistency on the CARS Super Late Model Tour. Grissom also led 66 laps in the Tri-County event, and a win will most certainly come by the end of the season.
7. Zane Smith
Currently leading the Pro All Star Series (PASS) South Super Late Model points standings after winning the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna in February, Smith has been plenty successful in 2015. He is still missing that first CARS win, but a string of incidents and mechanical issues have slowed him. A little luck may be all he needs to crack into victory lane.
8. William Byron
A three-time winner on the K&N Pro Series East tour this year, Byron also added a victory in his lone CARS Super Late Model Tour start. At Hickory, Byron led 104 laps and outraced Chase Elliott to claim the victory. Byron will make his CARS Tour return this weekend at Motor Mile, where he should be a contender for the victory.
9. Clay Jones
Clay Jones had a strong run at Southern National, finishing inside the top five, backing up a ninth place earlier in the year at Lucama. In the CARS Tour’s last stop, the Goldsboro, North Carolina native finished eighth place
10. Chris Davidson
Chris Davidson has been at every CARS Super Late Model Tour race in 2015. He posted a fifth-place finish at Orange County, and most recently scored a top-ten by finishing ninth at Tri-County.
