For three years running it seems that when the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Cars roll into Sophia, North Carolina’s Caraway Speedway on a Wednesday night during Independence Day week, you can expect to see plenty of fireworks on the race track. Sometimes there’s even more on the track than in the night sky.

That was once again the case last night at Caraway, on a night that might end up being considered a turning point in the championship battle at year’s end.

Landen Lewis entered six points back of Connor Hall for the points lead. Hall qualified an uncharacteristic 20th, while Lewis time in seventh. Hall stayed near the back for most of the 125-lap race, while Lewis drove his No. 29 to the lead near the halfway point of the race. 

But on a restart with 19 laps to go, all of the points that Lewis appeared poised to gain on Hall were erased. Lewis and Mini Tyrrell entered the first turn door-to-door before the two of them made contact. Lewis’ right-front climbed on top of Tyrrell’s right-rear, turning both of them towards the wall. Landon Huffman, who entered the night fifth in the standings, was collected as well.

Tyrrell was done for the night due to the damage his car suffered. Lewis and Huffman both were able to limp to the finish with battered race cars. Huffman finished 20th, while Lewis was able to get back up to 13th and minimize the points loss to Hall who finished one spot ahead of him in 12th.

But for a night that appeared like it would be a massive gain for Lewis, minimizing the damage couldn’t have been more disappointing.

Meanwhile, Jared Fryar was able to sneak through all of the mayhem on that restart and take the lead. He held off a challenge from Kaden Honeycutt on the ensuing restart and drove off to his second victory of the season. Fryar, a part-time racer, joins Hall, Lewis, and Tyrrell, as the only drivers with multiple victories this season.

Honeycutt finished second, and Tristan McKee, without a right-front fender, drove through the field to finish third. Ronnie Bassett Jr. and Doug Barnes Jr. completed the top five.

The entire unofficial rundown can be found below.

The CARS Tour Late Model Stock Cars will be back in action on Saturday, August 2 for the Throwback Classic, which now pays $50,000 to win.

CARS Tour LMSC at Caraway Unofficial Results