Caden Kvapil continued his march toward the 2026 zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car championship Friday night with a victory in a star-studded Cook Out 225 at Florence Motor Speedway.

Kvapil outdueled Carson Brown during the second half of the 125-lap feature before surviving a pair of late restarts to score the victory at the abrasive 0.4-mile South Carolina short track. Brown finished second, while Florence regular Cody Kelley completed the podium in third.

Brown controlled the early portion of the race after taking the lead at the start, while Kvapil patiently worked his way into contention. Kvapil closed to Brown's rear bumper shortly before the scheduled competition caution and briefly moved ahead on the outside before the yellow flag came out prior to the completion of the pass.

Kvapil wasted little time making another attempt following the restart. The two raced side-by-side before Kvapil completed the pass using the outside lane and took control of the race.

The championship leader's path to victory became more complicated during the closing laps. Matt Gould crashed with 17 laps remaining following contact with Conner Jones, setting up a late restart. Another caution followed when Landon S. Huffman went three-wide while battling for second and was forced off the racing surface. Kvapil maintained the lead on the ensuing restart and held off Brown to secure the victory.

Tyler Reif finished fourth, with Brenden Queen completing the top five. NASCAR Cup Series driver Connor Zilisch finished sixth in his return to CARS Tour competition, followed by Ronnie Bassett Jr., Doug Barnes Jr., Casey Kelley and Chase Burrow.

Friday's event featured one of the most unique fields of the CARS Tour season, with Zilisch joined by Trackhouse Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen. Both competed in Red Bull-backed Late Model Stocks after CARS Tour co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. helped put the opportunity together. Zilisch drove a JR Motorsports entry, while van Gisbergen made his CARS Tour debut with Hettinger Racing.

Van Gisbergen finished 13th in his first CARS Tour appearance.

The Late Model Stock feature also featured trouble almost immediately. Zilisch and Cody Kelley made contact entering Turn 1 on Lap 8, triggering a stack-up behind them that collected several cars. Kade Brown suffered heavy damage after being turned into the inside wall.

While Kvapil took center stage in the Late Model Stock portion of the program, Kaden Honeycutt and Earnhardt Jr. provided plenty of excitement earlier in the evening during the 100-lap CARS Tour Pro Late Model feature.

Honeycutt charged past early leader Treyten Lapcevich on the outside following a mid-race restart and pulled away to score the victory. Earnhardt, making his first career start in a Pro Late Model, worked his way through the field and passed Lapcevich for second with 37 laps remaining.

Honeycutt eventually opened a lead of approximately two seconds over Earnhardt Jr. and drove away for the victory. Earnhardt Jr. finished second in his Pro Late Model debut, with Lapcevich third, T.J. DeCaire fourth and Conner Jones fifth.

Earnhardt's appearance reunited him with former NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who now serves as director of chassis development at GMS Race Cars. Earnhardt drove the No. 23 GMS entry Friday night.

Full results from Friday's CARS Tour races at Florence Motor Speedway can be viewed below. 

The CARS Tour continues its 2026 season Sept. 12 at Tri-County Speedway before visiting Newport Speedway on Oct. 3 and concluding the season Oct. 17 at South Boston Speedway.

CARS Tour Results at Florence Motor Speedway

Late Model Stock Cars

Pro Late Models