"A 0.455-mile Randolph County oval that hosted Dale Earnhardt in a NASCAR Busch Series race in 1982 — and in 2026 watched Landen Lewis charge from the back to win after an early penalty."
Location: Sophia, NC (near Asheboro) Track Type: Paved oval Length: 0.455 miles Surface: Asphalt Banking: 8°–12° Opened: 1966 (dirt) · Paved 1972 Owner: Russell Hackett (since 1977) Operators: Darren & Renee Hackett (since 2011)
Overview
Caraway Speedway is a 0.455-mile asphalt oval in the Randolph County community of Sophia, North Carolina, just outside Asheboro. With moderate banking in the 8-to-12-degree range across its four turns, it is a true short track that has been a fixture of Carolina Late Model Stock and modified racing for half a century. A partial repave over the 2025-26 offseason gave the track what the CARS Tour described as "two diverse sets of corners" — a wrinkle drivers had to manage at the 2026 race.
History
Caraway was built in 1966 as a dirt track and paved in 1972. Russell and Valastra Hackett owned and operated it from 1977 to 2010, and Russell turned the operation over to Darren and Renee Hackett for the 2011 season; the family runs it to this day.
The track's history reaches into NASCAR's national divisions. It hosted three NASCAR Busch Series races in 1982 and 1983 — Dale Earnhardt won the first of them on April 23, 1982 — along with NASCAR Southeast Series events and 60 races of the Whelen Southern Modified Tour from 2005 to 2016. Its weekly Late Model Stock track-champion roll includes Bobby Labonte (1987), three-time winner Dennis Setzer, and Justin Labonte (2003). The CARS Tour first visited in 1998 and returned for good in 2021.
The 2026 CARS Tour Race (Apr 25–26)
Caraway hosted a Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model doubleheader, the TCPS Plumbing & Septic 250, rain-delayed from Saturday to Sunday afternoon. In the Late Model Stock feature, Landen Lewis drove the Kevin Harvick Inc. No. 29 from the rear of the field — he had been sent back for running over the choose-cone on an early restart — and made the race-winning pass on three-time Caraway winner Jared Fryar with 25 laps to go, then held off Conner Jones, who led the most laps. It was Lewis's sixth career CARS Tour Late Model Stock win and his first of 2026. Caden Kvapil finished third.
In the Pro Late Model feature, Kaden Honeycutt — the 2024 Pro Late Model champion, who ran both divisions on the day — won for his 10th career CARS Tour victory across the two divisions, overcoming a restart violation to win on restart execution. Rodney Dowless Jr. finished second.