NEWTON, N.C. - JR Motorsports teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott stole the show during the CARS Super Late Model Tour Catawba Valley 250 at Hickory Motor Speedway in Newton, N.C. on Saturday night, with Byron taking the victory.
Meanwhile, Brayton Haws prevailed for the second straight Late Model Stock race despite a fierce battle with former track champion Austin McDaniel.
In the Super Late Model feature, fourth place starter William Byron took the lead from polesitter Stephen Leicht on lap 21 of the 125-lap contest and was never seriously challenged for the top spot as the race went green the final 92 laps after a few early incidents.
Dawsonville, Ga.’s Chase Elliott, who was moonlighting on a rare NASCAR Xfinity Series off-weekend, climbed his way through the field after starting outside the top ten to chase Byron to the flag. Elliott’s only chance to catch Byron evaporated after the youngster negotiated a group of slower cars without error in the final 20 laps of the race.
“I’ve just got to thank LFR Chassis, first time in this race car and only my third Super Late Model race and they brought me to victory lane,” Byron said. “I can’t thank JR Motorsports for teaching me all they did last year, and Josh Berry who’s here tonight. It’s pretty awesome. You know Chase, I bet he tried really hard and he had to start farther back, so he had to work really hard. The kid has a lot of talent. To be able to race with him tonight was pretty awesome.”
Elliott held on for second, with Kyle Grissom in third. A fourth place finish by Cole Timm allowed him to pad his series points lead. Preston Peltier rounded out the top five.
In the Late Model Stock feature, Tyler Ankrum and Jamey Caudill led the field to the green flag, with Caudill quickly moving to the lead. Series point leader Brayton Haws powered to second spot before the end of the first lap and gave chase to Caudill.
On lap 9, Haws made the move around Caudill for the lead and the two drivers swapped the top spot several times over the next 50 laps.
An assortment of spins, flat tires and crashes dotted the mid-stages of the event before the final restart on lap 105.
Over the final twenty circuits, Haws and Austin McDaniel put on a racing clinic, intensely yet cleanly battling side-by-side for the win. The two drivers exchanged the lead multiple times over the final laps before Haws eventually took command with 2 laps to go, then drove to the win.
“That was the most fun I’ve ever had in a racecar,” Haws said. “We were running side by side every single lap and you know that’s just good short track racing, and I thank him for racing me clean. I was giving it all I had in the car, and once he got maybe a car length out from the inside of me. I was just driving so hard into the corners, then I let it roll and I ended up getting to his door and then passing him.”
McDaniel finished in second, with Justin Crider third, R.D. Smith fourth and Ankrum in fifth.
The CARS Racing Tour returns to action on May 30 at Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, NC. For the latest tour information, visit CARSRacingtour.com.
CARS Racing Tour
Hickory Motor Speedway – Newton, NC
Catawba Valley 250
Super Late Models
1. 9 William Byron
2. 9E Chase Elliott
3. 31 Kyle Grissom
4. 57 Cole Timm
5. 74 Preston Peltier
6. 98 Daniel Hemric
7. 29 Anderson Bowen
8. 77 Zane Smith
9. 7 Tyler Church
10. 5D Dominique Van Wieringen
11. 6 Brandon Setzer
12. 66 Steve Wallace
13. 14D Chris Davidson
14. 24 A.J. Frank
15. 51N Stephen Nasse
16. 51 Kaz Grala
17. 40 Grant Galloway
18. 4 Brandon Lynn
19. 7R Casey Roderick
20. 16 Lucas Jones
21. 2R Clay Rogers
22. 67 Clay Jones
23. 31G David Garbo, Jr.
24. 17 Quin Houff
25. 2V DJ Vanderley
26. 56 Gus Dean
27. 25 Stephen Leicht
28. 47 Chris Fontaine
29. 2L Robby Lyons
30. 29W Matthew Wragg
31. 00 Lucas Ransone
Late Model Stocks
1. 41 Brayton Haws
2. 12M Austin McDaniel
3. 7 Justin Crider
4. 16s RD Smith
5. 58 Tyler Ankrum
6. 00 Shane Lee
7. 2 Myatt Snider
8. 07 Clint King
9. 77 Blake Stallings
10. 1 Trent Barnes
11. 4P Kyle Plott
12. 54 Michael Fose
13. 08 Deac McCaskill
14. 28 Chris Hudspeth
15. 88D Doug Barnes, Jr.
16. 27 Tommy Lemmons, Jr.
17. 17 Stacy Puryear
18. 98 Stefan Parsons
19. 50 Jamey Caudill
20. 16 Jeff Oakley
21. 88T Robert Tyler
22. 1W Dylon Wilson
23. 42 Craig Stallard
24. 99 Mike Darne
25. 31 Thomas Beane
26. 12C Garrett Campbell
27. 98G Todd Gilliland
23. 23R Payton Ryan
24. 59 Roddey Sterling
25. 63 Christian PaHud
