ANDERSON, S.C. – Saturday’s Bennett Equipment & Supply 225 at Anderson Motor Speedway featured a whirlwind of emotions for Carson Loftin.

After earning the pole for the 125-lap zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour feature, Loftin enjoyed a dominant but eventful evening out front as he fended off the pack behind him. A restart violation with 39 laps to go moved Loftin to the second row, forcing him to go on the attack in a bid to keep his hopes of a CARS LMSC Tour victory alive.

Loftin was unable to make much progress and found himself in a heated battle with Conner Jones during the closing laps. That duel ended up turning into a mad dash for the lead when Chase Burgeson, who inherited the top spot after Loftin’s penalty, suffered an apparent tire failure and rapidly lost pace.

The chaos that unfolded saw Loftin pass both Burgeson and Jones on the final lap to bring home his maiden LMSC Tour checkered flag. Brody Monahan also formally added his name to the CARS Tour record books on Saturday as a Pro Late Model Tour, albeit in a slightly more conventional matter after leading every lap from the pole.

Carson Loftin Breaks Through After Overcoming Adversity

With five laps remaining in Saturday’s CARS LMSC Tour race at Anderson Motor Speedway, Carson Loftin had already started mentally preparing to regroup from what he thought was going to be a night that got away

Loftin discovered how hard passing was after the restart penalty cost him the lead, as he spent nearly 20 laps trying to overtake Conner Jones for second. Instead of disappointment, Loftin found himself in Cook Out Victory Lane following Chase Burgeson’s late tire issue, a cathartic culmination to what had been an arduous journey in Late Model Stocks.

“A lot of people gave up on me in my late model career,” Loftin said. “[Mike Darne] really gave me a good opportunity here and a really good ass race car wherever we go. Just had no results. I don’t really know how I jumped the start from the lead. It is what it is and I had to capitalize on it. You don’t really know how many shots you’ll get to win one of these CARS Tour races.”

Possessing a background in Modifieds, Loftin formally broke into Late Model Stocks in 2024, where he drove Nelson Motorsports’ No. 22 to a fifth-place finish in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway. Loftin ultimately joined Nelson full-time for 2025 with the goal of delivering the organization another LMSC Tour title.

There were a handful of positives for Loftin with Nelson’s team, which included winning the pole for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, but he was not satisfied with his overall performance. A mutual decision was made between Loftin and Nelson to part ways at the beginning of June, with the former finding his way to Mike Darne Racing.

The change in scenery served to galvanize Loftin, who felt that Saturday’s Bennett Equipment & Supply 225 was his best showing on the CARS Tour over the past two years. Yet even Loftin himself was surprised at the circumstances that led him to his first Late Model Stock victory, which he hopes is the first of many.

“I didn’t really think I had a shot at it,” Loftin said. “I saw [Burgeson] sparking and [Jones] went to the top. I’ll have to go back and look at it, but it looked like a chain reaction. Luckily we made the most of it and came home with a win. I’m super thankful.”

Flat Tire Costs Chase Burgeson a Victory at Anderson

In only his second ever CARS LMSC Tour start, it appeared Chase Burgeson was going to put together a convincing first win at Anderson Motor Speedway

The emotion Burgeson experienced post-race was that of heartbreak rather than jubilation, as he was left to compartmentalize a defeat that even seasoned drivers would find hard to stomach. Burgeson was proud of the effort he and Lee Pulliam Performance put together but could not help but think about how close he was to visiting Cook Out Victory Lane.

“We made one hell of a statement, I’d like to say,” Burgeson said. “I can’t thank everyone enough. [Lee Pulliam Performance] gave me one hell of a car. To be two laps short and have the right front break it for you is the hardest, most difficult loss I’ve ever had in [my] racing history. I’m sure heartbroken and super tired in defeat.”

Burgeson was originally not supposed to run the Bennett Equipment & Safety 225 on Saturday evening. During a local race at Tri-County Motor Speedway last weekend, Burgeson made a bet with car owner Lee Pulliam that if he ended up winning, they would make the trip to Anderson to chase another victory, which he did.

The confidence Burgeson possessed in himself was on full display at Anderson. Burgeson was methodical and composed while tackling Anderson’s abrasive surface for the first time in a Late Model Stock, which eventually allowed him to take control of the race lead after Carson Loftin and Ronnie Bassett Jr. were penalized for jumping a restart.

Everything appeared to line up for Burgeson to become an LMSC Tour winner, but that opportunity will now have to wait another day. From Burgeson’s perspective, there are only so many positives to take away after losing a race in that manner, but he left Anderson knowing he has the car and the talent to excel on a big stage.

“With five to go, I thought I had it,” Burgeson said. “I felt it starting to get jumpy on the right front. I’ve had that feeling before and it was obviously the last thing I wanted in the back of my mind. With two to go, I hear four [seconds] back instead of 20 back and I’m like ‘the gap I have is completely gone’. Onto the next one I guess.”

Brody Monahan Scores Dominant First PLM Tour Win

Securing that elusive first checkered flag in the CARS PLM Tour at Anderson Motor Speedway was surreal to Brody Monahan in many regards.

Monahan knows how to prevail in a Pro Late Model, but the idea of winning on the CARS Tour platform seemed far-fetched back when he was competing in the World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway in February. Now on top of the PLM Tour podium for the first time, Monahan is proud he and his team have stuck with the venture.

“I didn’t even have any intentions on running any CARS [Tour] races this year,” Monahan said. “I was going to hang it up after New Smyrna [Speedway], but we’ve just been coming out here by circumstance and we’ve been getting better and better. There’s so many people to thank and I’m just super relieved to get a win.”

The first CARS Tour race for Monahan back in 2024 came in the Late Model Stock division, where he finished 22 at Tri-County Motor Speedway after being collected in a late crash. Monahan made another CARS LMSC Tour start the following year while also contesting the first five PLM Tour events, picking up a lone top five at Ace Speedway.

What has turned into a full-time PLM Tour effort for Monahan has featured some positives, but also moments he would like to have back. Monahan was particularly critical of himself after the Spears Manufacturing Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway, in which two missed shifts on restarts led to two multi-car wrecks.

A regrouped and refocused Monahan responded with his best performance on the CARS Tour platform to date. The stellar outing was not entirely stress-free for Monahan with Conner Jones providing constant pressure on restarts, but the 17-year-old competitor never faltered and ended up parking his No. 31 Whelen Engineering Toyota in Cook Out Victory Lane.

There are many elements still fluid with Monahan, who admitted the car he triumphed with on Saturday is available to rent for a funded driver. Whatever the next chapter is, Monahan looks forward to building off Anderson and celebrating more victories with his own program before 2025 ends.

Both zMAX CARS Tour divisions are staying in South Carolina for their next event, which will take place at Florence Motor Speedway on Labor Day weekend. The first green flag will wave at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 4, with all the on-track action between Pro Late Models and Late Model Stocks airing live on FloRacing.

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 at cars_tour.

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

CARS Tour Late Model Stock Results at Anderson Motor Speedway

1) 20 Carson Loftin

2) 44 Conner Jones

3) 22B Chase Burgeson

4) 77 Treyten Lapcevich

5) 88 Caden Kvapil

6) 16 Chad McCumbee

7) 04 Ronnie Bassett Jr.

8) 62 Keelan Harvick

9) 7 Thomas Beane

10) 16K Casey Kelley

11) 5 Carson Brown

12) 37 Chase Robertson

13) 95 London McKenzie

14) 09 Riley Gentry

15) 13 Cody Kelley

16) 5B Chase Burrow

17) 2 Ralph Carnes

18) 84 Brandon Hanks

19) 99 Brandon Dean -1

20) 57 Landon Huffman – OUT

21) 4 Tyler Reif – OUT

22) 15 Jace Hale – OUT

23) 40 Taylor Satterfield – OUT

24) 23 Kade Brown – OUT

25) 18 David Roberts – OUT

26) 22 Jared Fryar – OUT

27) 88G Gary Greenwood Jr. – OUT

CARS Tour Pro Late Models Results at Anderson Motor Speedway

1) 31 Brody Monahan

2) 44 Conner Jones

3) 1 T.J. DeCaire

4) 6 Mason Walters

5) 22 Jimmy Renfrew Jr.

6) 20 Evan McKnight

7) 25 Rodney Dowless Jr.

8) 82 Taylor Hull

9) 11 Jack Baldwin

10) 97 Dylan Garner

11) 15 Case James – OUT

12) 30 Treyten Lapcevich – OUT