By Evan McCrory
GASTONIA, N.C. (May 8, 2026) — A beautiful Carolina evening set the stage as 15 RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Cars signed in at Carolina Speedway for round two of six in the K-Town Pizza and Pub Mini Series for the Carolina Sprint Tour presented by GSR Chassis.
Tyler Lupton of Clarkston, Michigan, set the pace early in Radical Race Gear Hot Laps with a quick lap of 14.975 seconds around “The Action Track.”
Heat race victories went to Lupton and defending series champion George Loux. In the first heat race, rookie Aiden Snead took a tumble that ended his night early. Snead exited the car under his own power and was uninjured.
Following the redraw, Lupton and Dillan Baldwin of Taylorsville, Kentucky, led the field to green for the main event. Baldwin charged the high side at the drop of the green but lost momentum after catching the cushion, allowing Lupton to take the early lead.
A caution on lap two slowed the pace after Brooklyn Newman made contact with the outside wall in turn one. Newman was also uninjured.
Back under green, Lupton stretched his advantage over Baldwin and Steve Diamond Jr. of Brooksville, Florida. As lapped traffic came into play, Baldwin began to close the gap. After an earlier attempt fell short, Baldwin completed the winning pass on lap 19 to take control.
Shortly after, Diamond suffered a mechanical issue and made hard contact with the outside wall in turn two, bringing out another caution. He was not injured.
On the final restart, Baldwin was flawless, pulling away to secure his third career Carolina Sprint Tour victory—his first win of the season—and his first with the series since July of 2024 at Travelers Rest Speedway.
Lupton finished second, followed by Loux in third. Josh Shantz and Caleb Scarborough completed the top five.
