Gould, DeCaire Claim CARS Tour Throwback Classic Wins at Hickory

NEWTON, N.C. — Matthew Gould picked up the biggest victory of his young career while T.J. DeCaire survived a caution-filled night to earn a breakthrough win for LowCountry Motorsports as the zMAX CARS Tour brought the Spears Manufacturing Throwback Classic to Hickory Motor Speedway Saturday night.

The annual Throwback Classic featured both the 125-lap zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour race and a 100-lap zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour event. A lengthy night of racing stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning at the historic short track.

Gould entered the weekend with just four previous starts in CARS Late Model Stock competition, but used patience and familiarity with Hickory to work his way through the 29-car field and score his first career series victory.

Driving the No. 4G Late Model Stock prepared by Niece Motorsports, Gould stayed out of trouble as several of the race’s contenders encountered problems late in the event. Kaden Honeycutt, Lee Pulliam and Corey Heim were among those who failed to finish.

Treyten Lapcevich found himself in the lead following late contact involving Lapcevich, Honeycutt and Pulliam, but Gould took advantage on the ensuing restart to move to the front.

Gould credited patience and making the right decisions on restarts for putting him in position to win.

“I just had to be patient at the beginning,” Gould said. “We ran a mistake-free race and we put ourselves in the right position on restarts.”

The victory came in Gould’s first attempt at the Throwback Classic and only his fifth career CARS Late Model Stock Tour start. His previous best series finish was 10th at Dominion Raceway.

Gould also had plenty of experience behind him. His car was prepared by eight-time CARS Late Model Stock Tour winner Connor Hall, while Gould’s father, veteran crew chief Phil Gould, also played a role in his development.

“This is the biggest day of my career,” Gould said. “For our first attempt and win, it’s awesome.”

Lapcevich finished second, a result that also helped him close the gap on CARS Late Model Stock points leader Caden Kvapil. Landen Lewis finished third, followed by Ryan Millington and Ronnie Bassett Jr.

Conner Jones was sixth, Chase Burrow seventh and Kvapil eighth. Chad McCumbee and Mini Tyrrell completed the top 10.

DeCaire dominates Pro Late Model race

While Gould had to work his way through the field in the Late Model Stock feature, DeCaire’s route to victory in the Pro Late Model race came from the front.

DeCaire started on the pole and led the way through a 100-lap event interrupted by numerous cautions. Driving a No. 1 car carrying a throwback paint scheme honoring Mike Garvey’s 2001 ASA National Tour car, DeCaire held on to score his second career CARS Pro Late Model Tour victory.

It was also the first CARS Tour victory for LowCountry Motorsports.

“Hickory is such a special place to everybody,” DeCaire said after the win. “For our second race together, it’s been pretty impressive.”

DeCaire had come close to winning in his debut with LowCountry Motorsports at North Wilkesboro Speedway before traffic and the timing of cautions hurt his chances. This time, he stayed ahead of much of the trouble behind him.

The significance of the throwback scheme added to the victory. Garvey serves as DeCaire’s Super Late Model crew chief, making a trip to victory lane in a car honoring Garvey’s racing career especially meaningful.

DeCaire crossed the finish line 1.553 seconds ahead of Conner Jones, according to the unofficial scoring. Lapcevich finished third, 4.468 seconds behind the winner.

Kaden Honeycutt finished fourth and Evan McKnight rounded out the top five. Brody Monahan was sixth, followed by Keelan Harvick, James Seeright, Bayley Currey and Dylan Garner.

The Pro Late Model feature was especially attrition-heavy. Of the 24 cars listed in the unofficial results, only 12 completed all 100 laps. Rodney Dowless Jr., Brody Gunter, Vito Cancilla, Colton Hale, Palmer Haag, Jacob Bradley, Luke Baldwin and Case James were among the drivers who did not make it to the finish.

CARS Tour heads to Anderson

The Throwback Classic continued a busy late-season stretch for the CARS Tour.

Both the Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model divisions are scheduled to return to action Aug. 22 at Anderson Motor Speedway in Williamston, South Carolina. Racing is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Hickory Motor Speedway resumes the NASCAR Local Racing Series also on Saturday, August 25.

Unofficial Late Model Stock Top 10

Matthew Gould

Treyten Lapcevich

Landen Lewis

Ryan Millington

Ronnie Bassett Jr.

Conner Jones

Chase Burrow

Caden Kvapil

Chad McCumbee

Mini Tyrrell

Unofficial Pro Late Model Top 10