TIMMONSVILLE, SC – The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour’s inaugural trip to Florence Motor Speedway for the Aaron’s 250 saw Super Late Model points leader Matt Craig earned his third victory of the 2020 season.
Craig knew that Trevor Noles, who started on pole after winning the U.S. Short Track Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway the week before, would pose an immense challenge, but he felt confident in his chances to win as soon as he arrived at Florence on Friday.
“We struggled really bad at Bristol, but tonight we had a really good car,” Craig said. “We were really fast off the truck on Friday. My car was really similar to Trevor’s, as we both have Rowdy [Manufacturing] cars, so it was kind of like an IROC race with everyone having the same car, but it was fun.”
Noles and Craig controlled the early portion of the event until Michael Ritch powered his way to the front from the 10th spot on the grid and took the lead. A bad restart briefly put Ritch back in third, but he methodically worked his way back to the lead until Craig passed him on Lap 79.
Ritch would ultimately get knocked out of contention after colliding with Carson Kvapil on a later restart, leaving Craig and Noles to settle the win between themselves. Noles ultimately had nothing for Craig and was forced to watch him pull away with the win.
Craig’s win at Florence will pad out an already comfortable points lead over Sammy Smith, but he said that his second consecutive SLM title in the CARS Tour title is far from guaranteed, given that the season finale is the triple-sanctioned All-American 400 at Nashville.
“With the All-American 400, 32 cars start that race,” Craig said. “I think we’ll still have to finish in the Top 25 or better at Nashville to clinch. A lot of things can happen there, but hopefully we can hang on and get another championship.”
(find full race results listed below)
About the CARS Tour
The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour is one of the premier short track series in the United States. Drivers compete in Late Model Stock Cars and Super Late Models at the best short tracks across the Carolinas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia. The CARS Tour can be found on Facebook at “CARS Tour“, on Twitter @CARSTour, and on Instagram as @CARS_Tour. For more information, visit www.carsracingtour.com or call their Mooresville, N.C. offices at 704.662.9212. All races of the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour are streamed LIVE on CARSTour.TV.
Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour Release
Photos courtesy of Brandon Zumbach
Stay tuned to superlatemodel.com. We will have more on the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour as it becomes available.
Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour – Florence Motor Speedway
Aaron’s SLM 125 – Feature Results
125 laps
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Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour – Florence Motor Speedway
Aaron’s SLM 125 – Qualifying Results
Time Trials
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For more information on the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour visit carsracingtour.com
