The CARS Tour returns to North Carolina’s Tri-County Motor Speedway this weekend for the first time since August’s thrilling Old North State Nationals that saw Landon Huffman go to victory lane and pocket a nice $30,000 check. With 30 cars entered for this Saturday’s 125-lap showdown, it’s sure to be another wild one.

Headlining the entry list is the aforementioned Huffman. Huffman comes from nearby Claremont, North Carolina and will be bringing his massive fanbase with him once again. Huffman’s win in August was his first CARS Tour win, and he’s hoping to replicate that performance in one of his final starts in the Nelson Motorsports No. 22. Huffman announced a couple of weeks ago that he will not be returning to the 22 next season, but he still has two chances left this season to get back into victory lane.

While many of the eyes in the grandstands and on the FloRacing broadcast will be on Huffman, there will be plenty fixated on two other drivers that don’t usually race with the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Cars. In fact, both drivers have just three total CARS Tour LMSC starts between them.

Those drivers are Giovanni Ruggiero and Stephen Nasse, who just made plenty of headlines after their run-in at the end of last Sunday’s Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway in Indiana. Ruggiero, from Seekonk, Massachusetts, and Nasse, from Pinellas Park, Florida, lined up side-by-side on the final restart of the 400-lap race. Ruggiero and Nasse made contact going into the first corner that resulted in Nasse hitting the wall and losing his chance to win at Winchester once again. Ruggiero went on to score his first victory in the Super Late Model crown jewel, but the fireworks didn’t end there.

Nasse and Ruggiero rubbed fenders on the cool-down lap before Nasse’s father approached Ruggiero’s car in the vicinity of victory lane. Ruggiero went to do his celebratory burnout and clipped Nasse’s father, sending him to the ground. Nasse quickly climbed from his race car to go after Ruggiero before he was intercepted by security and taken to the ground as well. 

After the race, Nasse said he would get his revenge in due time for the way he was raced and what ensued after. We’ll just have to wait and see if that revenge will come on Saturday night.

Another surprise name on the entry list is that of two-time ValleyStar Credit Union 300 champion, Timothy Peters. The South Boston, Virginia native has made 13 total CARS Tour LMSC starts, but has made none since 2021. He’s been in de facto retirement for the last year and has been working as a delivery driver for UPS, but the itch to race again came back strong. Peters, who scored one CARS Tour victory at Orange County Speedway in 2016, will be racing for Bobby Hall Motorsports.

It's been a while since we’ve seen Connor Hall at a CARS Tour race, though not as long as it’s been since we’ve seen Peters. Hall hasn’t made a start since August 11 at Ace Speedway because he decided to focus all of his efforts on winning the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national championship. That decision paid off as Hall did go on to clinch his first national championship, and the track championship at his home track of Langley Speedway as well. Hall will be back behind the wheel of Chad Bryant’s No. 77 machine. Hall has just a few races left with Chad Bryant Racing before he fills the seat of the Nelson Motorsports No. 22 in 2024.

Saturday’s Blue Ridge 250 at Tri-County Motor Speedway will be a doubleheader for the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Cars and the Pro Late Models. Racing is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET and FloRacing will carry all of the action live for subscribers. Fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.

CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Entry List