JACKSONVILLE, NC – Bobby McCarty picked up his first win since June 2023 in Saturday night’s sold-out National Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram 250 at New River All American Speedway, while Keelan Harvick outdueled Jacob Staten and Aiden McConnaughey in a riveting Legends showdown.
McCarty started from the outside of the second row in the 125-lap zMAX CARS Tour race, three positions behind Brenden “Butterbean” Queen. After managing his tires for the first two segments of the race, he finally raced his way to the lead on lap 90 – snapping a winless drought and returning back to form in a series he has won three championships in.
“This was a great night man,” McCarty said after the race. “We had a good strategy. We played the right strategy on each restart of being in the right position to be there when it was time to go. Then [Mini Tyrrell] and [Queen], from my viewpoint, it was just a racing deal. They came together at the wrong time and allowed me to take the lead and once we got the lead, we just had to maintain.”
Tyrrell and Queen tangled while racing for the lead on lap 87, resulting in Queen cutting down a tire which derailed his efforts to remain undefeated. He was able to rebound to finish 11th, but the Waffle House celebration was put on hold.
“We were talking about what we were going to do and we’re going to do beers with me podcast and then we’re headed to the Ale House,” McCarty joked. “I know Waffle House and yada yada yada, but we’re adults so we’re going to the bar. We’re going to set the trophy on top of the bar.”
Runner-up Mini Tyrrell is close friends with McCarty and was happy to see him win, but disappointed he could not come away with the first-place prize himself.
“It really stinks,” Tyrrell said. “Happy for Bobby. He had a really good car there at the end. I think our car was really good until I got together with Brenden in turn three. I’m not sure what exactly happened, whether it was my bad or not. If it was and it hurt those guys the rest of the night, I’m sorry to those Lee Pulliam guys. They work their tails off. I’m just really proud of this team. We’ve come a really long way from last year to this year.”
Connor Hall, who won the CARS Tour race at New River in 2022, finished third while Treyten Lapcevich and Carson Kvapil finished fourth and fifth. Chad McCumbee, Ryan Millington, Landen Lewis, Andrew Grady, and Isabella Robusto rounded out the top 10.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. rebounded from a mid-race entanglement with Landon Huffman to finish 14th.
“I had a great time,” Earnhardt told reporters after the race. “I made a few mistakes on the racetracks that cost us an opportunity at a good finish but just a great racetrack, great turnout, great crowd. I signed a lot of autographs and met a lot of folks and definitely want to come back and try to race again and do better than I did tonight. I can’t say enough about the facility and the people who run this place and the effort they put into it.”
Keelan Harvick, son of former NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick, won in an instant classic in the Legends division after swapping the lead back-and-forth with Jacob Staten on 11 different occasions in the 30 lap race. Harvick made the race winning pass with three laps to go to score the win while defending track Legends champion Aiden McConnaughey drove past Staten on the last lap to finish second.
“It was really hard,” Harvick said. “Good job to Jacob. He raced me clean. I just got loose up there off the last corner and just wasn’t letting that one go.”
Harvick also made his full-size stock car debut on Saturday night, finishing second to Tyler Smith while Steve Wells rounded out the podium. In the Grand National Super Series, Jason Kitzmiller picked up the victory over son Isaac Kitzmiller and Jeremy Mayfield. Reigning Bandolero champion Landon Burbage picked up the win in the division over Delaney Gray and Jay Hemenway.
Friday night’s Ronnie Hetu Memorial race was called off due to extreme weather. The race will be made up on Saturday, May 18, 2024. New River All American Speedway roars back to action on Saturday, April 27 with the Southern Ground Pounders headlining the Spring Thunder race.
New River All-American Speedway is Jacksonville’s Action Attraction featuring racing and other events. For more information about New River All-American Speedway, check out the speedway’s website, like/follow “New River Speedway” on Facebook and/or follow @newriverswy on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Unofficial Results
zMAX CARS Tour | 125 laps
1.) #6 – Bobby McCarty; 2.) #81 – Mini Tyrrell; 3.) #22 – Connor Hall; 4.) #77 – Treyten Lapcevich; 5.) #8 – Carson Kvapil; 6.) #16 – Chad McCumbee; 7.) #15 – Ryan Millington; 8.) #62 – Landen Lewis; 9.) #1 – Andrew Grady; 10.) #55 – Isabella Robusto; 11.) #03 – Brenden Queen; 12.) #23 – Kade Brown; 13.) #24 – Cody Dempster; 14.) #3 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr.; 15.) #45 – Bryce Applegate; 16.) #29 – Brent Crews; 17.) #11 – Buddy Isles, Jr.; 18.) #95 – Jacob Heafner; 19.) #2 – Brandon Pierce; 20.) #29W – Paul Williamson; 21.) #71 – Katie Hettinger; 22.) #15C – Logan Clark; 23.) #08 – Deac McCaskill; 24.) #37 – Landon Huffman; 25.) #04 – Ronnie Bassett, Jr.
Legends | 30 laps
1.) #62 – Keelan Harvick; 2.) #71 – Aiden McConnaughey; 3.) #39 – Jacob Staten; 4.) #19 – Dominic Chisholm; 5.) #97 – Isaac Kitzmiller; 6.) #9 – Brody Rhodes; 7.) #99G – Tyler Garretson; 8.) #2B – Brenton Irving; 9.) #37 – Anthony Freedie; 10.) #18 – Tony Arnold; 11.) #3 – Shane Irving; 12.) #6 – Austin Eckert; 13.) #G7 – Colby Gurganus; 14.) #99 – Carsyn Gillikin; 15.) #14 – Mike Ridenour
Bandolero | 15 laps
1.) #3 – Landon Burbage; 2.) #84 – Delaney Gray; 3.) #12 – Jay Hemenway; 4.) #45 – Rylan Speight; 5.) #88 – AC Waller; 6.) #15 – Benleigh Sandy; 7.) #1 – KrisAnna Sandy
Grand National Super Series | 75 laps
1.) #97 – Jason Kitzmiller; 2.) #10 – Isaac Kitzmiller; 3.) #21 – Jeremy Mayfield; 4.) #7 – Matt Bussa; 5.) #42 – Joe Wilder; 6.) #66 – Larry Wilcox; 7.) #79 – AJ Henriksen; 8.) #53 – Lauren Butler; 9.) #51 – Isaiah Hogan[9]
Street Stock | 35 laps
1.) #51 – Tyler Smith; 2.) #62 – Keelan Harvick; 3.) #73 – Steve Wells; 4.) #21 – James Horner, Jr.
