​ANDERSON, S.C. – Saturday’s Bennett Equipment & Supply 225 at Anderson Motor Speedway featured a whirlwind of emotions for Carson Loftin.After earning the pole for the 125-lap zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour feature, Loftin enjoyed a dominant but eventful evening out front as he fended off the pack behind him. A restart violation with 39 laps to go moved Loftin to the second row, forcing him to go on the attack in a bid to keep his hopes of a CARS LMSC Tour victory alive.Watch Replay2026 CARS Tour at Anderson Motor SpeedwayLoftin was unable to make much progress and found himself in a heated battle with Conner Jones during the closing laps. That duel ended up turning into a mad dash for the lead when Chase Burgeson, who inherited the top spot after Loftin’s penalty, suffered an apparent tire failure and rapidly lost pace.The chaos that unfolded saw Loftin pass both Burgeson and Jones on the final lap to bring home his maiden LMSC Tour checkered flag. Brody Monahan also formally added his name to the CARS Tour record books on Saturday as a Pro Late Model Tour, albeit in a slightly more conventional matter after leading every lap from the pole.Carson Loftin Breaks Through After Overcoming AdversityWith five laps remaining in Saturday’s CARS LMSC Tour race at Anderson Motor Speedway, Carson Loftin had already started mentally preparing to regroup from what he thought was going to be a night that got awayLoftin discovered how hard passing was after the restart penalty cost him the lead, as he spent nearly 20 laps trying to overtake Conner Jones for second. Instead of disappointment, Loftin found himself in Cook Out Victory Lane following Chase Burgeson’s late tire issue, a cathartic culmination to what had been an arduous journey in Late Model Stocks.”A lot of people gave up on me in my late model career,” Loftin said. “[Mike Darne] really gave me a good opportunity here and a really good ass race car wherever we go. Just had no results. I don’t really know how I jumped the start from the lead. It is what it is and I had to capitalize on it. You don’t really know how many shots you’ll get to win one of these CARS Tour races.”Possessing a background in Modifieds, Loftin formally broke into Late Model Stocks in 2024, where he drove Nelson Motorsports’ No. 22 to a fifth-place finish in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway. Loftin ultimately joined Nelson full-time for 2025 with the goal of delivering the organization another LMSC Tour title.There were a handful of positives for Loftin with Nelson’s team, which included winning the pole for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, but he was not satisfied with his overall performance. A mutual decision was made between Loftin and Nelson to part ways at the beginning of June, with the former finding his way to Mike Darne Racing.The change in scenery served to galvanize Loftin, who felt that Saturday’s Bennett Equipment & Supply 225 was his best showing on the CARS Tour over the past two