Eventful Throwback 276 at Hickory Produces Two First-Time CARS Tour Winners

The zMAX CARS Tour SoundGear Throwback 276 at Hickory Motor Speedway saw two first-time series winners, two dramatic finishes and plenty of crumpled fenders and heightened tempers. Ronnie Bassett, Jr. was declared the winner of the Late Model Stock 125, while Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. won the Pro Late Model portion of the event.

Ronnie Bassett, Jr. Wins After Ryan Millington, Connor Hall Clash

It was not the way Ronnie Bassett, Jr. envisioned, but he is now a zMAX CARS Tour winner.

Bassett, Jr. entered the final lap in third position, following an intense battle for the win between Ryan Millington and Connor Hall. The two had exchanged contact over the final laps. Millington delivered the final blow of the fight, as contact in turns three and four sent Hall spinning towards the pit wall while Millington crossed the finish line.

However, CARS Tour officials penalized Millington for the last lap contact, turning over the victory to Bassett, Jr. After joining the series full-time in 2023, Bassett, Jr. finally had his elusive first win in the series.

The circumstances were still a bit of a blur as he climbed out in victory lane, but Bassett, Jr. was victorious all the same.

"Honestly, I just want to know what happened," said Bassett in victory lane. "I thought we were across the line third there. Any way you can win one of these races is awesome. It shows that we were in contention to be there all night. We didn't have the best car on the long run, but we hung in there. We fought hard all night and we were there at the end.

"We've had a stressful year and a half starting back Late Model racing," added Bassett. "We're gradually getting better. I'm thankful to be here in victory lane. Like I said, it's not the way I want to do it, but any time you can take one of these wins is the way you want to do it."

Bobby McCarty finished second in the event, bouncing back from a 12th-place effort in qualifying.

"We just qualified so far back," said McCarty. "I got some nose damage early on. I really needed to get around Kade [Brown], but Kade is probably the most respectable young kid in this whole garage. I didn't want to rough him up, so I was trying to pass him the right way and lost a ton of ground.

"I'm super happy for all these guys. Everybody at R&S busted their asses this week. We were really worried after qualifying because of how bad we qualified. To come home second is a big deal for us right now."

Despite the last-lap spin, Hall was able to get his car pointed in the right direction, narrowly beating Kade Brown to the line for what proved to be third place as the cars crossed the line. This comes on the heels of a runner-up finish in last week's Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway.

Hall held his head high despite the late-race disappointment during his interview on the frontstretch post-race.

"We sat on the pole and tried to ride around and save a little bit, put ourselves in position," said Hall. "We were fighting a little loose in, so when I turned under Millington, I was having a little bit of trouble putting the power down.

"I thought we had the race won, but the fastest car doesn't always win the race. This is a tough one. That's three in a row that have been pretty tough to swallow. We're just going to keep putting ourselves in position to succeed and hopefully one will fall our way pretty soon."

Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. Outlasts Competition for First CARS Pro Late Model Win

An all-out battle to close out the Pro Late Model ended with Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. in victory lane, his first victory with the zMAX CARS Tour.

Renfrew took the lead with two laps to go on a three-wide maneuver, battling with Conner Jones and Caden Kvapil for the top spot. Much of the race featured physical battles for the top spot, and the finish was no exception.

"Sometimes, you don't have to have the best car. You just have to be the least of an idiot," said Renfrew. "Those guys started racing each other pretty hard. I knew I'd have a chance when I got in there that first time. Got used back up. It was all fair, but I knew then that if I got the opportunity again, I'd take it for sure.

A winner in both the American-Canadian Tour and the Granite State Pro Stock Series in the past, Renfrew has been making the trip more frequently from New Hampshire to the CARS Tour battlegrounds in the Carolinas over the past two years. Renfrew even brushed the wall during his celebratory burnouts in his excitement for his first CARS win.

"Now we're here, CARS Tour victory lane. I hit the wall doing the burnout, so I feel like a rookie. I get a little excited over this stuff, you know?

"I come out here every week and try to show everybody in the stands, everybody in the higher-ups, that you don't have to have the best car to be a good race car driver. If you drive that thing hard enough, you'll get there eventually. This one's been a long one coming. I can't wait to celebrate with these guys."

Despite the frustration of a runner-up finish, Conner Jones quickly turned his focus to the Late Model Stock 125-lap event on the horizon.

"I'm just ready to get back in the Late Model Stock and get after it for 125 laps, try to get it done again," said Jones after the first race of the evening. "It's going to be hot, it's going to be long, but we'll get it done."

Unfortunately for Jones, he was collected in an early incident in the Late Model Stock feature and unofficially finished 25th.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Shafer rounded out the podium in his Cole Trickle No. 46 throwback.

"It was a pretty good race, we had pretty good speed," said Shafer. "We got through the field to about sixth, and then the 55 decided he wanted to move me in turn three. That's alright, we made it back through the field and passed him clean."

The next zMAX CARS Tour event takes place in one week's time at North Wilkesboro Speedway on August 3. That event is the make-up of the Window World 125 and Reverend 100 originally scheduled for the week of NASCAR's All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro.

-Photo credit: CARS Tour

zMAX CARS Tour Throwback 276 Unofficial Results

Late Model Stock Cars

Pro Late Models