Previewing zMAX CARS Tour at Orange County, Ryan Newman's Series Debut

The next stop on the 2025 schedule for the zMAX CARS Tour is Orange County Speedway, a track that has long been a favorite amongst fans and competitors.

Orange County’s history dates to the 1970s when drivers like Ray Hendrick, Kent Fogleman, Eddie Royster and others dominated the facility in weekly competition. As the years progressed, Orange County became a staple for major touring divisions like the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series and the USAR Pro Cup Series.

During its time as a CARS Tour track, Orange County has hosted plenty of big events for the series, including the Old North State Nationals in 2019 and 2021. The facility returned to the CARS Tour schedule in 2024 after a two-year hiatus, welcoming both the Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model competitors to challenge its fast, competitive layout.

Saturday’s Folsom Fence Supply 250 kicks off a stretch of three events in four weeks across the two CARS Tour divisions. Late Model Stock drivers are looking to use Orange County as the first step towards erasing Connor Hall’s sizeable lead, all while the CARS PLM Tour championship battle remains wide open.

Track Facts:

Track: Orange County Speedway
Location: Rougemont, North Carolina
Length: .375 mile
Laps: 125 (LMSC) / 100 PLM
CARS LMSC Tour races: 12
CARS PLM Tour races: 1
Orange County LMSC winners: Josh Berry (3), Deac McCaskill (2), Brayton Haws (1), Timothy Peters (1), Tommy Lemons Jr. (1), Layne Riggs (1), Lee Pulliam (1), Bobby McCarty (1), Brent Crews (1)
Orange County PLM winners: Kaden Honeycutt (1)

Folsom Fence Supply 250 schedule

LMSC Entry List (32 cars): #00 Chase Burrow, #01 Camden Gullie, #03 Lanie Buice, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #05 Mason Bailey, #06 Terry Dease, #1 Andrew Grady, #1J Clay Jones, #2 Ryan Wilson, #2P Brandon Pierce, #4 Kade Brown, #4S Donovan Strauss, #4E Parker Eatmon, #6 Bobby McCarty, #7 Ryan Newman, #8 Tate Fogleman, #11 Buddy Isles Jr., #14 Jared Fryar, #15 Ryan Millington, #16 Chad McCumbee, #17 Layne Riggs, #22 Carson Loftin, #27 Tyler Reif, #28 Landon S. Huffman, #29 Landen Lewis, #44 Conner Jones, #57 Landon Huffman, #71 Kaden Honeycutt, #71B Jake Bollman, #81 Mini Tyrrell, #88 Connor Hall, #88 Doug Barnes Jr.

PLM Entry List (12 cars): #6 Ben Maier, #6L Brandon Lopez, #15 Rodney Dowless, #24 Jade Avedisian, #25 Isaac Kitzmiller, #31 Kaden Honeycutt, #47 Tyler Reif, #51 Luke Baldwin, #61 Evan McKnight, #62 Keelan Harvick, #82 Taylor Hull, #97 Dylan Garner

LMSC Standings:

1. Connor Hall
2. Mini Tyrrell -21
3. Kade Brown -25
4. Landen Lewis -28
5. Doug Barnes Jr. -28
6. Ronnie Bassett Jr. -31
7. Landon Huffman -38
8. Carson Loftin -40
9. Donovan Strauss -41
10. Buddy Isles Jr. -42

PLM Standings:

1. Tristan McKee
2. Isaac Kitzmiller -18
3. Dylan Garner -20
4. Ben Maier -28
5. Brandon Lopez -31
6. Tyler Reif -34
7. Rodney Dowless -34
8. Brody Monahan -35
9. Logan Jones -41
10. Keelan Harvick -43

Layne Riggs returns to his roots at Orange County

Eight years ago, Layne Riggs reinforced his status as one of the best young prospects in the southeast by leading wire-to-wire in the first of two CARS LMSC Tour events at Orange County Speedway that season.

Now a full-time competitor in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Layne is returning to his home track this weekend in a car fielded by Tom Usry Racing. With the close alliance Tom Usry Racing shares with R&S Race Cars, Layne sees the Folsom Fence Supply 250 as a perfect opportunity for him to claim another LMSC Tour Orange County triumph.

“The track is five minutes from my house,” Layne said. “It’s always good to be in front of your hometown fans and go back to your roots. It keeps me grounded and I think it’s something everyone should do. R&S Race Cars has had some strong pieces at Orange County in the past and beaten me several times, so I’m excited to drive that equipment.”

The Riggs family has logged a copious number of laps around Orange County, as Layne’s father Scott developed his craft there before progressing into NASCAR. When it was time for Layne to start racing, Scott passed down valuable information to his son that helped him find consistency around Orange County.

Layne described Orange County as a forgiving track that also requires immense discipline. One of Layne’s favorite aspects about Orange County is the constant side-by-side racing, which he attributes to a dominant middle line that requires competitors to be aggressive while searching for track position.

A busy Truck Series schedule prevents Layne from competing regularly at Orange County, which is why he cherishes every opportunity to race there. Layne is looking forward to seeing the vibrant Orange County support him on Saturday and is confident he will be able to celebrate with them just like he did in 2017.

“I hope we qualify on the pole and lead every lap in the race,” Layne said. “That’s a lot easier said than done, but I think this is going to be a game of track position and it’ll be a little difficult to pass. Winning a CARS Tour race is probably just as hard as winning a Truck Series race nowadays, but I’m going to prepare the best I can.”

Kade Brown quietly building momentum with R&S Race Cars

After three CARS LMSC Tour events together, Kade Brown and R&S Race Cars currently sit third in the point standings behind Connor Hall and Mini Tyrrell.

Brown has yet to record a finish outside the top 10, with his best performance of the year being fourth at Wake County Speedway. Despite dealing with plenty of challenges to open the year, Brown believes he has found a comfort zone with R&S Race Cars that will allow them to contend for victories as the season progresses.

“I think everything is great,” Brown said. “Me, [co-owner] Marcus [Richmond] and the whole crew kind of clicked right away. I feel like we are bringing good cars to the racetrack. We struggled a little bit at Cordele, but we’re more than happy driving from the tail to finish sixth. We’re going to continue working hard and try to track down some wins soon.”

Brown previously enjoyed success in a Late Model Stock with Matt Piercy Racing, with his accomplishments including a Hickory Motor Speedway track title and a South Carolina 400 victory. Although he enjoyed his time with Piercy, the opportunity for Brown to drive for R&S Race Cars was too prestigious for him to pass up.

The experience prevalent within the R&S Race Cars shop has offered Brown some different perspectives on how to excel in a Late Model Stock. Brown is particularly focusing on providing quality feedback to his crew so they can make the right adjustments to his car and continue to grow as a team.

Efficiency on race day has not been a problem for Brown, but he wants to start making improvements in qualifying. Brown is confident he can take a step forward in every regard with Saturday’s LMSC Tour race at Orange County, as he defeated series champions Deac McCaskill and Brenden Queen for a marquee win at the facility back in 2023.

“I’m really excited for Orange County,” Brown said. “That’s a place where R&S cars are typically really good at and I’ve had a lot of success there. We both have a lot of laps around there. Orange County was my first crown jewel win a couple of years ago, so it’d be cool if we could knock off my first CARS Tour win [there].”

Isaac Kitzmiller hopes to leave Orange County with PLM Tour points lead

With CARS PLM Tour points leader Tristan McKee not making the trip to Orange County Speedway, an opportunity exists for Isaac Kitzmiller to establish himself as a title favorite.

The second-generation competitor enters Orange County second in the standings with one top five to his name at New River All-American Speedway. Kitzmiller anticipated a learning curve in his first PLM Tour season but said the guidance provided by Rackley W.A.R. has been invaluable towards finding a rhythm.

“This is the best competition [around],” Kitzmiller said. “My expectations were just to finish all the laps, because that’s the most important thing. Willie Allen and all those guys [at Rackley W.A.R.] have helped me out so much. They’ve given me everything I need to succeed.”

Pro Late Models are the next step in the developmental ladder for Kitzmiller. During the 2024 season, Kitzmiller earned victories in both Legends cars and the Grand National Super Series, a full-bodied stock car division primarily based in the southeast.

With the Grand National Super Series triumphs giving him confidence, Kitzmiller felt he could at least be competitive in a Rackley W.A.R. Pro Late Model. In his first two PLM Tour events with Rackley W.A.R., Kitzmiller was satisfied with the car’s long-run speed but said qualifying is an area he needs to improve upon.

Having never been to Orange County before, Kitzmiller is taking in as much information as possible by watching old races and conversing with drivers who have experience at the track. Although his maiden PLM Tour victory is the goal, Kitzmiller wants to enjoy a solid weekend so he can depart Orange County as the points leader.

“As long as we can stay up front, we’ll be in good shape,” Kitzmiller said. “[A win at Orange County] would be awesome because the competition is so stiff in the CARS Tour. It would mean a lot to me to be able to do that.”

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Orange County’s Virginia Mini Cup class will join the CARS Tour for Saturday’s on-track activity, with that feature being placed in between the Pro Late Model and Late Model Stock events. The CARS PLM Tour kicks off the evening’s festivities at 7 p.m. ET, with FloRacing set to carry live coverage of every race.

For more information on the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com. Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on X (formerly known as Twitter) and scrolling through photos on Instagram cars_tour.

Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in Mooresville, NC, at 704-662-9212.

-zMAX CARS Tour Press Release
-Photo credit: Will Bellamy