Landen Lewis, Keelan Harvick kick off Labor Day weekend with victories at Florence

TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. — The fight for the 2025 zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour championship will likely come down between Landen Lewis and Connor Hall.

Entering Friday’s Cook Out 225 at Florence Motor Speedway, the two were only separated by four points in the standings, with Hall holding the advantage. Both championship contenders were at the front for most of the 125-lap Late Model Stock feature, neither one willing to surrender any ground to the other.

Lewis would be the one gaining the upper hand, overtaking Hall on a late-race restart to secure his fourth CARS LMSC Tour win of 2025 and gaining crucial momentum in the title fight. Keelan Harvick also found his way to Cook Out Victory Lane on Friday with a strong second-half performance in the CARS Pro Late Model Tour feature.

Landen Lewis tallies second consecutive LMSC Tour victory

With only four races remaining on the 2025 season, Landen Lewis knew every race would be pivotal in his pursuit for a CARS LMSC Tour championship.

The triumph at Anderson Motor Speedway a couple of weeks ago instilled confidence in Lewis ahead of Friday’s race at Florence Motor Speedway. A clean, methodical drive around Florence’s abrasive surface translated into a second consecutive victory for Lewis, which further solidified his status as an LMSC Tour title favorite.

“We all needed this win as a group,” Lewis said. “[Anderson] was a good rebound from the weeks before that we had. We went back to the shop that next Monday morning and started working on it again. These guys don’t quit and I’m getting pretty emotional about it because I know how much this means to them and how much effort this takes.”

After earning back-to-back victories in May, Lewis has worked diligently to re-establish that consistency but has been met with frustration along the way. Two accidents at Caraway Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway were disconcerting for Lewis, but they only fueled his motivation to get back to Cook Out Victory Lane with Kevin Harvick Inc.

Lewis admitted he was initially unsure about prevailing at Florence, as he believed he was being too aggressive with his tires and that Connor Hall possessed a better car. The final competition caution of the evening gave Lewis an opportunity to move his car to the highest lane on track, enabling him to get past Hall for the win.

With Florence being his home track, Lewis was determined to fend off Hall by any means necessary to secure a sentimental victory that also had significant title implications. Recalling the issues Kevin Harvick faced in his PLM Tour start at Florence last year, Lewis was grateful his car could run any line once it obtained clean air.

“When Kevin [Harvick] raced here, he went to the top, but once he went up there, he made his bed and couldn’t get back down,” Lewis said. “I got back down as soon as possible to not make my bed and still had some room to run wherever I needed to. When [Hall] went to the top, we went up there and maintained to try and control the race.”

Keelan Harvick rebounds from poor start to win second PLM Tour race

The first lap of Friday’s CARS PLM Tour feature at Florence Motor Speedway is one Keelan Harvick would have loved to repeat.

A missed shift forced Harvick to relinquish the pole position he accumulated earlier in the day and settle into the middle of the field. The young prospect did not let the mishap deter him, as Harvick gradually worked his way back towards front before making the race-winning pass on Conner Jones shortly after the halfway point.

“I just completely messed up,” Harvick said about the initial start. “I knew I just had to get right back in it, but yeah, that was a really big mistake on my part.”

Florence was the rebound Harvick needed following a disappointing outing in his most recent PLM Tour appearance in the Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway, where he finished a lap behind winner Spencer Davis in 17th.

The summer has been busy but productive for Harvick. He scored his first PLM Tour victory at Hickory a month before the Throwback Classic before besting his father in 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick in a CARS Tour West Pro Late Model Series event at Colorado National Speedway back on Aug. 16.

Having won at Florence in a Limited Late Model during the track’s season-opening Icebreaker, Harvick had a baseline to utilize in the 100-lap Pro Late Model feature. The missed shift was an inauspicious beginning, but Harvick stayed composed and conserved enough tire to successfully pull away from the rest of the field.

“I knew I had to trust [my spotter] Robert [Arch],” Harvick said. “I knew I couldn’t burn all my stuff right away. I definitely wanted that clean air, but this wouldn’t be possible without Rackley W.A.R. They bring me a really fast car every time, so thank you to them.”

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