By Evan McCrory
LAVONIA, Ga. (Mar. 28, 2026) — The Carolina Sprint Tour presented by GSR Chassis made its lone appearance in the Peach State Saturday night, bringing 18 RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Cars to Lavonia Speedway for an action-packed program.
Ontario, Canada’s Josh Shantz and Floridan Robbie Smith—making just his second weekend start with the series—led the field to green. Smith wasted no time asserting himself, grabbing the lead in the opening corners and quickly establishing control out front.
A lap three incident involving George Loux and Dillan Baldwin brought out the first caution, though both drivers were able to continue. On the restart, Smith once again pulled away from Shantz and the rest of the field.
The race’s second caution came on lap 20 when Ben McCall spun in front of the leaders. Another stoppage with two laps remaining, involving Chris Humblet, set up a dramatic finish. On the ensuing restart, Trevor Gach went over the wheel of another car and flipped in turn four. Gach was uninjured.
On the final restart, Smith remained composed and in command, driving away to capture his first career Carolina Sprint Tour victory while leading all 25 laps in dominant fashion.
Shantz finished second, followed by Eddie Wagner III in third. Robert Tyler crossed the line fourth, while Troy Betts charged from 11th to complete the top five.
Kicking off the night, Pennsylvania’s Jacob Gamola set quick time in Radical Race Gear Hot Laps with a lap of 15.421 seconds.
Heat race wins went to Shantz, C.J. Miller—fresh off his victory the previous night at Travelers Rest Speedway—and Dillan Baldwin.
