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Championship Banquet

TRI-COUNTY SPEEDWAY 2025 AWARDS BANQUET
On Saturday night, January 17, 2026, Tri-County Speedway held their fifth annual Championship Banquet at the Event Building of the Caldwell County Fairgrounds in Lenoir, NC.
This was an exciting night. Many race car drivers, their families, and friends were there to support their favorite drivers from the 2025 racing season.
Crate Payne was the master of ceremonies for the evening. He welcomed everyone to the Event Building. Payne also recognized all the Tri-County Speedway Staff and Workers. Payne thanked everyone who helped make Tri-County run smoothly each week. All of these people played a special part in making the 2025 racing season so successful. Everyone also enjoyed watching the Luke Combs video filmed at Tri-County “Back In the Saddle”.
Crate Payne introduced the keynote speaker, Kaden Honeycutt. Honeycutt is a NASCAR Truck Series Driver. He stressed the importance of a driver putting forth heart felt EFFORT, HARD WORK, and RELATIONSHIPS. The Key he felt was the EFFORT one puts forth in his/her journey to winning.
The track chaplain said grace before our meal. Wally Capps’ Catering out of Ashville catered the meal again this year. Everyone enjoyed the BBQ, smoked chicken, and all the trimmings. The smoked chicken along with the mac and cheese were my favorites. It was fantastic! Everything was delicious! On a special note, Wally Capps’ Back Woods BBQ provided help to many local people after Helene by providing free meals to their neighbors and free meals to all the workers.
Phil Combs introduced the 2025 Hall of Fame inductees. He explained the process of how to nominate a person to the Hall of Fame. Harley Hamby was the first inductee. Harley Hamby drove for Johnny Price. Hamby won the last race at Tri-County when it was dirt. He also won the 1st race on asphalt at Tri-County. Hamby retired in 1997. Wayne Auton was the second inductee. Auton got his start when Jan and Ken Greene owned the track. He used Tri-County as a stepping stone as Race Director. He became the youngest NASCAR director in 1995. He was over the NASCAR Truck Series from 1995-2012. In 2013 he became the race director of the Xfinity Series. He spent 13 years as the director and retired in 2024. Everyone loved him and his presence left an impact on many people. Garrett Lambert was the third inductee. He started at Tri-County in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He has put his whole life into racing. He has worked for many drivers for 10 years. He has had an opportunity to work for his heroes, along side his dad Gary Lambert. Gary Lambert is also in the Tri-County Hall of fame.
Crate Payne presented the South Atlantic Pro Series first. Third place went to Joshua Horniman, #43. Second place went to Kyle Campbell, #03 The Champion for the South Atlantic Pro Series was Mason Walters, #61. His Championship Crew Chief was Brandon Setzer.
Leap Frog sponsored the Crown Vic Division. Jacob Hickman, #22, took the third place trophy. Dominic Marlando, #13, took the second place trophy. Kyle Dubeau, #12, was the Champion of the Crown Vic Division. Todd Dubeau was the Championship Crew Chief.
The Vintage awards were next. Dee McCall, #42, took third place. Don Fenn, #72, took second place. Bob Hapeman, #8, was Champion for the Vintage Division. Jim Smith was the Championship Crew Chief.
The Pro 4 Series awards were next on the program. Dennis Trivett, #28, took the third place trophy. Jamison Whittington, #61, took the second place trophy. Allison Houston, #29, was the Champion for the Pro 4 Division. Curtis Pardue was the Championship Crew Chief for the Pro 4 Division.
Carolina Mini Stock was next on the agenda. David Kanupp, #00, took the third place trophy. Austin Shumate, #41, took the second place trophy in the division. Issac Harris, #9, was Champion for the Carolina Mini Stock Division. William Gagnon was the Championship Crew Chief.
The Front Wheel Drive Division was next on the program. Dana Maxwell, #1, took the third place trophy. Dalton Willard, #51, was second. Skylar Brown, #2, was the Champion for the Front Wheel Drive Division. Ricky Brown was the Championship Crew Chief.
The Renegade Division awards were next. Gary Aldrich, #34, took the third place trophy. Klint Townsend, #9, took the second place trophy. Gary Ledbetter, #28, was the Champion of the Renegade Division. Johnny Brewer was the Championship Crew Chief winner for the Renegade Division.
Heritage Finance sponsored the Street Stock Division. Kevin Eby, #03, captured the third place trophy. The second place winner was Mike Hatton, #12. Gary Ledbetter, #8, was the Champion in the Street Stock Division. Johnny Brewer won the Championship Crew Chief award for the Street Stock Division.
The Limited Late Model trophies were next on the program. Eric Wallace, #12, took third place for this division. Austin Harris, #59, was the second place in the Limited Late Model Division. Hudson Sharp, #15, was the first Champion for the Limited Late Model Division. Lee Faulk won the Championship Crew Chief award for the Limited Late Model Division.
The Late Model Division trophies were next. Thomas Beane, #01, took the third place trophy. The second place trophy went to Graham Hollar, #25. Landon Huffman, #75, was the Champion in the Late Model Division. Kenny Little won the Championship Crew Chief award for this division.
The Outlaw Division awards were next. The third place winner was Dakota Slagle, #3. David Messer, #26, was second place in the Outlaw Division. Martin Nesbitt, #92, was the Champion in the Outlaw Division. Zack Bruenger took home Championship Crew Chief award for the Outlaw Division.
Shad Higgins presented the last two awards of the evening. The 2025 Tri-County Speedway Barney Arnette Sportsmanship Award was given to Coleman Chapman. He has always loved racing!
The last award of the evening was the FAN award for 2025. This year two fans were recognized. John Wood and John Nichols took these awards. Please remember to pray for John Wood he has cancer.
Crate Payne also drew the winning tickets for door prizes in between each division winners. Many prizes were provided by Pepsi which included clocks, camping chairs, umbrellas, and towels. Corey Moore from Cork and Barrel provided a basket of goodies as a door prize as well. Tri-County Speedway also gave away some t-shirts. Many fans enjoyed the gifts of the night!
The fifth annual Championship Banquet for Tri-County Speedway was a lot of fun for everyone and also very touching for many inductees and winners. It was nice to see everyone dressed up for this special occasion!
Racing is just around the corner. Practice will start the first weekend in March. We hope to see you on Saturday night March 21st at 6:30 to start the 2026 racing season at Tri-County Speedway. Until then, we hope you and your family are blessed!

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