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CARS Tour Releases Late Model, Pro Late Schedules For 2022

Officials from the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour have announced the 2022 season schedule, which will mark the late model touring series’ eighth year of competition.

Once again, the Late Model Stock Cars will headline the dual division series, but in 2022, the Pro Late Models category replaces the Super Late Model division .

Late Models will run 15 events, and Pro Lates will run 12, across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. 

Both schedules open on March 12–13, at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, North Carolina, for the Old North State Nationals. Division champions will be crowned at Caraway Speedway as part of the North vs. South Shootout weekend on November 5. 

For the complete 2022 schedules, visit the CARS Tour announcement here . For more information, visit carsracingtour.com .

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To kick off its 10th season of competition, the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour is heading back to the track where it all began, Southern National Motorsports Park.

2024 CARS Tour at Southern National Motorsports Park

Over 30 Late Model Stock teams attempted the inaugural weekend for the CARS Tour back on March 28, 2015. In a thrilling finish, current NASCAR Cup Series competitor Todd Gilliland used a bump-and-run to overtake four-time Southern National track champion Deac McCaskill with 3 laps remaining to become the first CARS LMSC Tour winner.

A lot has changed since Gilliland took that checkered flag, but one constant has been the commitment of the LMSC Tour towards offering a home for both young competitors and seasoned veterans to prove themselves. That vision has remained stalwart under the current ownership of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Justin Marks.

With notable names from different disciplines joining the established core of drivers, the 10th season for the LMSC Tour is expected to be the most exhilarating yet, starting with Saturday’s 125-lap feature that wraps up the inaugural Speed Week at Southern National.

Event Notes:

Track: Southern National Motorsports Park

Location: Lucama, North Carolina

Length: .400 mile

CARS LMSC Tour races: 7

LMSC Southern National winners: Deac McCaskill (3), Todd Gilliland (1), Josh Berry (1), Brandon Pierce (1), Taylor Gray (1)

Brenden Queen Determined To Claim CARS LMSC Tour Title

Brenden Queen could not have asked for a better conclusion to his first season with Lee Pulliam Performance.

The Thanksgiving All-Star Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park saw Queen emerge victorious following an intense battle between him, Josh Berry and Kaden Honeycutt that encompassed the final 25 laps. Now that he is back at the same track, Queen sees Saturday as a perfect opportunity to kickstart a CARS LMSC Tour title run.

“It was icing on top of a great year,” Queen said. “That was a race I had wanted to win for a long time. We won three of the last four races at the end of the season, so we have a lot of confidence to chase this championship after coming up short.”

The synergy between Queen and Pulliam has propelled their operation to the top of the Late Model Stock ranks. Queen added he shares many similarities with Pulliam on and off the track, which allowed him to clean closely on the Late Model Stock veteran for advice on venues he was not familiar with prior 2023.

A handful of bad races, which included running out of fuel while leading the Old North State Nationals at Tri-County Motor Speedway, prevented Queen from winning the LMSC Tour championship. Queen tries not to harken too much on those results and is striving to be more efficient in his sophomore campaign.

While defending champion Carson Kvapil is not running the full schedule in 2024, there is still a plethora of talent Queen will have to contest with through all 17 races. Queen does not intend to deviate from what has made him so successful with Pulliam and is eager to open 2024 with another win at Southern National Motorsports Park.

“You’re going to have to be consistent,” Queen said. “You can’t have stupid mistakes and it’s going to take an average finish of third [to win the title]. There are a lot of bonus points available, so you need to get poles and lead laps. All those points matter, but I’ve got so much confidence in my Lee Pulliam team and we can be the guys to beat.”

Andrew Grady Confident About Winning At Home Track

The 2024 season will be a fresh start for Andrew Grady as he prepares for his third year with the CARS LMSC Tour.

Moving over from Mike Darne Racing to TORP Chassis, Grady has plenty of optimism about potentially competing for wins every week. The experience accumulated at Southern National Motorsports Park throughout his career is something Grady believes gives him an advantage for Saturday’s season opening KevinSaysYes.com 125.

“I’m beyond excited,” Grady said. “We had a very, very bad year across the board, but in most races, we were either just outside the Top 10 or inside the Top 10. I’ve always got Southern National circled on my calendar, and I know I’ve always got a shot to win there.”

Logging hundreds of laps at Southern National has taught Grady the importance of momentum around the facility. He said the track can be deceiving to those unfamiliar with its layout, adding that passing is always at a premium with how delicate drivers must be with building momentum to set up overtakes.

It took years for Grady to thoroughly understand racing at Southern National, but he believes he has all the necessary fundamentals to win a major race at the track. Combined with the chemistry he possesses with TORP Chassis owner Craig Oliver, Grady said everything is aligning for him to break through in the LMSC Tour this year.

Accumulating Top 5s is the first step Grady wants to take before accomplishing his goal of obtaining an LMSC Tour victory. Grady is keeping expectations in check with the competitive depth in the LMSC Tour this year, yet he can not help but think about how rewarding it would be to get his first win at a track that shaped him as a driver.

“I’d probably be speechless,” Grady said. “This is my third year back racing after I took two years off. A win would mean the world to me, my family, my team, and anybody that has supported me. Winning a CARS Tour race is enough in itself, but to do it on home soil is the way I want to do it.”

Five Years After First Win, Brandon Pierce Seeks To Break Long Drought

On March 9, 2019, Brandon Pierce permanently etched himself into the CARS Tour record books by picking up his first victory at Southern National Motorsports Park, which came after passing Josh Berry on the last lap.

Saturday’s KevinSaysYes.com 125 will serve as the exact five-year anniversary of what remains his lone triumph with the CARS LMSC Tour. Pierce has worked tirelessly trying to get back to victory lane since then, but he still reflects fondly on what he accomplished against an efficient competitor like Berry.

“That win changed my career in a lot of ways,” Pierce said. “I haven’t had a ton of CARS Tour success, but in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. Josh [Berry] is definitely among the top Late Model Stock drivers ever that I’ve raced against in my career, and it was really special just to get my first tour win.”

Pierce said the number of competitive teams that regularly populate the LMSC Tour highlights why it is so difficult to win in the series each year. The addition of drivers like Stephen Nasse and Treyten Lapcevich to the current roster has emphasized to Pierce the importance of consistency in practice, qualifying and on race day.

Joining Carroll Speedshop over the offseason is a move that Pierce hopes pays dividends during what he believes will be his toughest year on the LMSC Tour. Pierce had a quiet but solid first outing with Justin Carroll in the Icebreaker at Florence Motor Speedway, scoring a lead lap finish of 13th.

In many ways, Pierce finds it fitting he is with a new team five years on from his only win, as he was driving his first LMSC Tour event with Lee Pulliam Performance at the time. Pierce does not expect a second win to come easy at Southern National on Saturday, but he knows that goal is feasible with his experience and the speed in Carroll’s cars.

“Winning would be a huge weight off my shoulder,” Pierce said. “There’s been a lot of misfortune since that last win, but this is a small, family-run team that does a whole lot with very little. It’s going to be a lot harder this time for multiple reasons, but breaking that winless drought would be extremely special.”

Just like last week’s zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour feature, the KevinSaysYes.com 125 is placed in the middle of a full docket of competition on Saturday afternoon that includes Bandoleros, Legends, Chargers and Any Cars. The green flag for the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour race is set to wave at 4:45 p.m. ET, with FloRacing providing coverage.

For more information on the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com.

CARS Tour LMSC At Southern National Entry List

• North Carolina
• Pavement Late Models
• Southern National Motorsports Park

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Dale earnhardt jr., jeff burton among new owners of cars tour.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Justin Marks have acquired the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour, the Southeast asphalt late model series announced Monday.

“ This is a dream come true for me,” said Earnhardt, a NASCAR Hall of Famer and NBC Sports analyst, in a statement. “I’m a huge fan of the CARS Tour and local short-track racing. The competition, the tracks, and the drivers are some of the best around. These regional series are vital to the quality of racing you see at the top level. Jack (McNelly, CARS Tour founder) has done a tremendous job establishing the CARS Tour as a preeminent series, and I’m thrilled to be part of its future.”

The series will feature 19 race weekends this season. McNelly and his staff will continue to oversee operations and track events. Earnhardt, Burton, Harvick and Marks, along with their companies, will seek to bolster the series through brand management, business strategy and partnership acquisition and retention.

“I grew up racing Late Model stock cars on the West Coast,” said Harvick in a statement. “Late Model racing has always been a passion of mine, and I want to ensure short-track asphalt racing and the CARS Tour continue to grow and succeed. I look forward to sharing the responsibility with this like-minded group of racers.”

The CARS Tour, founded in 2014, features Pro Late Models and Late Model stock cars.

“The opportunity to work with a group of partners that I have so much respect for in the sport that I love is amazing,” added Burton, an analyst for NBC Sports, in a statement. “Collectively, I believe we can contribute to grassroots racing and the overall health of motorsports in the process. By building off the positive foundation Jack has built, I’m confident we can create a next-level experience for the competitors, partners and fans.”

Said Marks in a statement: “This is something I’m really excited about, not only for Trackhouse and the initiatives that we’re pursuing, but for short-track racing in general. Asphalt Late Model racing truly is the foundation of NASCAR and bringing a group like this together will serve the racer and fan. The CARS Tour is so important to the racing scene in the Southeast, and this group can bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and passion to the series that will ensure authentic and valuable growth in the years to come.”

The CARS Tour season begins March 11 at Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, North Carolina.

pic.twitter.com/COD1UASWVY — CARS Tour (@CARSTour) January 9, 2023

Late Model racing has always been a passion of mine as I grew up racing LMSC on the West Coast and I want to ensure short-track asphalt racing and the @CARSTour continue to grow and succeed!! pic.twitter.com/XxhrswoNyA — Kevin Harvick (@KevinHarvick) January 9, 2023

The secret is out.. To say I’m super excited about this is an understatement. These guys are super serious about making local short track racing more relevant and taking the @CARSTour to the next level. 👊🏼👊🏼 I can’t wait to see what’s ahead! https://t.co/4R5nLRI8zy — Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) January 9, 2023

CARS TOUR ANNOUNCES AGGRESSIVE 2022 SEASON SCHEDULE

Mooresville, NC 10/16/21 –As the 2021 season comes to a close, officials from the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour are proud to announce the 2022 season schedule. The upcoming 2022 season schedule will mark the late model touring series 8 th year of competition.

Once again the Late Model Stock Car division will headline the dual division series with Pro Late Models the all new division anchoring the touring series, replacing the Super Late Model division beginning in 2022.

The 8 th year of series sanctioning events throughout the Carolinas and Virginia will be most aggressive in tour’s history. Fifteen (15) Late Model Stock races will highlight the complete 2022 season.

For the first time in series history a track other than Orange County Speedway will host the biggest race of the season, the Old North State Nationals. Caraway Speedway located right in the heart of the Old North State will host the major event on season opening weekend on March 11-13 th .

One new track will make its mark on the series history books for the first time ever. Goodyear All American Speedway in Jacksonville, NC will host the Late Model Stocks in April 23 rd . Two events at Hickory, Ace, and Caraway will take place in 2022, with the tour crowning the series champion as part of the North vs. South Shootout with Tour Modifieds at Caraway November 5 th .

The inaugural Pro Late Model Tour will see the series host twelve (12) event beginning March 12-13 th as part of the Old North State Nationals at Caraway Speedway. From there the division will support the Late Model Stock Cars for a majority of the event before participating in stand-alone events Tri-County Motor Speedway (June 25) and Wake County (July 9).

Just was with the Late Model Stocks, the Pro Late Model division will crown its first ever series champion at Caraway Speedway as part of the North vs. South Shootout weekend November 5 th .

For additional information on the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the CARS Super Late Model Tour visit www.carsracingtour.com. Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on Twitter, and scrolling through photos on Instagram cars_tour. Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in Mooresville, NC, at 704.662.9212.

CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour

2022 Season Schedule

March 12-13    Caraway Speedway                             Sophia, NC             Old North State Nationals

March 26         Hickory Motor Speedway                     Hickory, NC

April 9              Greenville-Pickens Speedway             Easley, SC

April 23            Goodyear All American Speedway      Jacksonville, NC

May 6               Ace Speedway                                    Elon, NC

May 21             Franklin County Speedway                Callaway, VA

June 4              Langley Speedway                             Hampton, VA

June 18            Dominion Raceway                            Thornburg, VA

July 30             Hickory Motor Speedway                    Hickory, NC           Throwback 276

August 12        Ace Speedway                                    Elon, NC

August 27        Motor Mile Speedway                         Fairlawn, VA

September 10 Tri-County Motor Speedway               Granite Falls, NC

October 8        Dillion Motor Speedway                     Dillon, SC

October 22      South Boston Speedway                      South Boston, VA

November 5    Caraway Speedway                             Sophia, NC             North vs South Shootout

CARS Pro Late Model Tour

March 12-13   Caraway Speedway                              Sophia, NC             Old North State Nationals

March 26        Hickory Motor Speedway                      Hickory, NC

April 9             Greenville-Pickens Speedway              Easley, SC

May 21            Franklin County Speedway                  Callaway, VA

June 25           Tri-County Motor Speedway                Granite Falls, NC

July 9               Wake County Speedway                     Raleigh, NC

July 30             Hickory Motor Speedway                    Hickory, NC           Throwback 276

August 12        Ace Speedway                                    Elon, NC

October 22      South Boston Speedway                     South Boston, VA

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CARS Tour leader Connor Hall wins two more Late Model races at Langley Speedway

Since he’s on the CARS Tour, Hampton native Connor Hall doesn’t make Langley Speedway his top auto racing focus anymore. But when he does come back, the 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division 1 national champion remains dominant. For the second time in two weeks, Hall won a pair of Late Model 50-lap races at Langley, his favorite place to compete besides the CARS Tour, one of NASCAR’s top feeder series. He leads the CARS Tour standings early in the season. In the opener, Hall took just more...

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NASCAR All-Star Race Week: Star-Studded Battles at zMAX CARS Tour Series

NASCAR stars are set to compete with zMAX CARS Tour regulars in the Reverend 100 and Window World 125 races at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway, with prizes of $5,000 for the Reverend 100 winner and $10,000 for the Window World 125 winner.

• The Reverend 100 winner earns $5,000, while the Window World 125 winner gets $10,000.
• Josh Berry holds records in LMSC victories (22) and poles (15).

The competition features both NASCAR stars and rising young talent, making the races highly competitive.

• The races will be live-streamed on FloRacing, showcasing the two days of late model racing events.
• The schedule includes practice, qualifying, and main events for both the Reverend 100 and Window World 125.

The event is expected to be a challenging and exciting competition as NASCAR stars and young talent battle for victory.

The zMAX CARS Tour Series brings together NASCAR stars and emerging talent in a high-stakes competition at the iconic North Wilkesboro Speedway, promising thrilling races and intense rivalries.

Read more at Speedway Digest - Home for NASCAR News - NASCAR stars ready to battle zMAX CARS Tour regulars in Reverend 100 and Window World 125

The summary of the linked article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence technology from OpenAI

Speedway Digest - Home for NASCAR News - NASCAR stars ready to battle zMAX CARS Tour regulars in Reverend 100 and Window World 125 • @speedwaydigest

NASCAR stars ready to battle zMAX CARS Tour regulars in Reverend 100 and Window World 125 - Speedway Digest - Home for NASCAR News

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Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand

The porn star testified for eight hours at donald trump’s hush-money trial. this is how it went..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

It’s 6:41 AM. I’m feeling a little stressed because I’m running late. It’s the fourth week of Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial. It’s a white collar trial. Most of the witnesses we’ve heard from have been, I think, typical white collar witnesses in terms of their professions.

We’ve got a former publisher, a lawyer, accountants. The witness today, a little less typical, Stormy Daniels, porn star in a New York criminal courtroom in front of a jury more accustomed to the types of witnesses they’ve already seen. There’s a lot that could go wrong.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

Today, what happened when Stormy Daniels took the stand for eight hours in the first criminal trial of Donald J. Trump. As before, my colleague Jonah Bromwich was inside the courtroom.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

It’s Friday, May 10th.

So it’s now day 14 of this trial. And I think it’s worth having you briefly, and in broad strokes, catch listeners up on the biggest developments that have occurred since you were last on, which was the day that opening arguments were made by both the defense and the prosecution. So just give us that brief recap.

Sure. It’s all been the prosecution’s case so far. And prosecutors have a saying, which is that the evidence is coming in great. And I think for this prosecution, which is trying to show that Trump falsified business records to cover up a sex scandal, to ease his way into the White House in 2016, the evidence has been coming in pretty well. It’s come in well through David Pecker, former publisher of The National Enquirer, who testified that he entered into a secret plot with Trump and Michael Cohen, his fixer at the time, to suppress negative stories about Trump, the candidate.

It came in pretty well through Keith Davidson, who was a lawyer to Stormy Daniels in 2016 and negotiated the hush money payment. And we’ve seen all these little bits and pieces of evidence that tell the story that prosecutors want to tell. And the case makes sense so far. We can’t tell what the jury is thinking, as we always say.

But we can tell that there’s a narrative that’s coherent and that matches up with the prosecution’s opening statement. Then we come to Tuesday. And that day really marks the first time that the prosecution’s strategy seems a little bit risky because that’s the day that Stormy Daniels gets called to the witness stand.

OK, well, just explain why the prosecution putting Stormy Daniels on the stand would be so risky. And I guess it makes sense to answer that in the context of why the prosecution is calling her as a witness at all.

Well, you can see why it makes sense to have her. The hush money payment was to her. The cover-up of the hush money payment, in some ways, concerns her. And so she’s this character who’s very much at the center of this story. But according to prosecutors, she’s not at the center of the crime. The prosecution is telling a story, and they hope a compelling one. And arguably, that story starts with Stormy Daniels. It starts in 2006, when Stormy Daniels says that she and Trump had sex, which is something that Trump has always denied.

So if prosecutors were to not call Stormy Daniels to the stand, you would have this big hole in the case. It would be like, effect, effect, effect. But where is the cause? Where is the person who set off this chain reaction? But Stormy Daniels is a porn star. She’s there to testify about sex. Sex and pornography are things that the jurors were not asked about during jury selection. And those are subjects that bring up all kinds of different complex reactions in people.

And so, when the prosecutors bring Stormy Daniels to the courtroom, it’s very difficult to know how the jurors will take it, particularly given that she’s about to describe a sexual episode that she says she had with the former president. Will the jurors think that makes sense, as they sit here and try to decide a falsifying business records case, or will they ask themselves, why are we hearing this?

So the reason why this is the first time that the prosecution’s strategy is, for journalists like you, a little bit confusing, is because it’s the first time that the prosecution seems to be taking a genuine risk in what they’re putting before these jurors. Everything else has been kind of cut and dry and a little bit more mechanical. This is just a wild card.

This is like live ammunition, to some extent. Everything else is settled and controlled. And they know what’s going to happen. With Stormy Daniels, that’s not the case.

OK, so walk us through the testimony. When the prosecution brings her to the stand, what actually happens?

It starts, as every witness does, with what’s called direct examination, which is a fancy word for saying prosecutors question Stormy Daniels. And they have her tell her story. First, they have her tell the jury about her education and where she grew up and her professional experience. And because of Stormy Daniels’s biography, that quickly goes into stripping, and then goes into making adult films.

And I thought the prosecutor who questioned her, Susan Hoffinger, had this nice touch in talking about that, because not only did she ask Daniels about acting in adult films. But she asked her about writing and directing them, too, emphasizing the more professional aspects of that work and giving a little more credit to the witness, as if to say, well, you may think this or you may think that. But this is a person with dignity who took what she did seriously. Got it.

What’s your first impression of Daniels as a witness?

It’s very clear that she’s nervous. She’s speaking fast. She’s laughing to herself and making small jokes. But the tension in the room is so serious from the beginning, from the moment she enters, that those jokes aren’t landing. So it just feels, like, really heavy and still and almost oppressive in there. So Daniels talking quickly, seeming nervous, giving more answers than are being asked of her by the prosecution, even before we get to the sexual encounter that she’s about to describe, all of that presents a really discomfiting impression, I would say.

And how does this move towards the encounter that Daniels ultimately has?

It starts at a golf tournament in 2006, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Daniels meets Trump there. There are other celebrities there, too. They chatted very briefly. And then she received a dinner invitation from him. She thought it over, she says. And she goes to have dinner with Trump, not at a restaurant, by the way. But she’s invited to join him in the hotel suite.

So she gets to the hotel suite. And his bodyguard is there. And the hotel door is cracked open. And the bodyguard greets her and says she looks nice, this and that. And she goes in. And there’s Donald Trump, just as expected. But what’s not expected, she says, is that he’s not wearing what you would wear to a dinner with a stranger, but instead, she says, silk or satin pajamas. She asked him to change, she says. And he obliges.

He goes, and he puts on a dress shirt and dress pants. And they sit down at the hotel suite’s dining room table. And they have a kind of bizarre dinner. Trump is asking her very personal questions about pornography and safe sex. And she testifies that she teased him about vain and pompous he is. And then at some point, she goes to the bathroom. And she sees that he has got his toiletries in there, his Old Spice, his gold tweezers.

Very specific details.

Yeah, we’re getting a ton of detail in this scene. And the reason we’re getting those is because prosecutors are trying to elicit those details to establish that this is a credible person, that this thing did happen, despite what Donald Trump and his lawyers say. And the reason you can know it happened, prosecutors seem to be saying, is because, look at all these details she can still summon up.

She comes out of the bathroom. And she says that Donald Trump is on the hotel bed. And what stands out to me there is what she describes as a very intense physical reaction. She says that she blacked out. And she quickly clarifies, she doesn’t mean from drugs or alcohol. She means that, she says, that the intensity of this experience was such that, suddenly, she can’t remember every detail. The prosecution asks a question that cuts directly to the sex. Essentially, did you start having sex with him? And Daniels says that she did. And she continues to provide more details than even, I think, the prosecution wanted.

And I think we don’t want to go chapter and verse through this claimed sexual encounter. But I wonder what details stand out and which details feel important, given the prosecution’s strategy here.

All the details stand out because it’s a story about having had sex with a former president. And the more salacious and more private the details feel, the more you’re going to remember them. So we’ll remember that Stormy Daniels said what position they had sex in. We’ll remember that she said he didn’t use a condom. Whether that’s important to the prosecution’s case, now, that’s a much harder question to answer, as we’ve been saying.

But what I can tell you is, as she’s describing having had sex with Donald Trump, and Donald Trump is sitting right there, and Eric Trump, his son, is sitting behind him, seeming to turn a different color as he hears this embarrassment of his father being described to a courtroom full of reporters at this trial, it’s hard to even describe the energy in that room. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. And it was just Daniels’s testimony and, seemingly, the former President’s emotions. And you almost felt like you were trapped in there with both of them as this description was happening.

Well, I think it’s important to try to understand why the prosecution is getting these details, these salacious, carnal, pick your word, graphic details about sex with Donald Trump. What is the value, if other details are clearly making the point that she’s recollecting something?

Well, I think, at this point, we can only speculate. But one thing we can say is, this was uncomfortable. This felt bad. And remember, prosecutor’s story is not about the sex. It’s about trying to hide the sex. So if you’re trying to show a jury why it might be worthwhile to hide a story, it might be worth —

Providing lots of salacious details that a person would want to hide.

— exposing them to how bad that story feels and reminding them that if they had been voters and they had heard that story, and, in fact, they asked Daniels this very question, if you hadn’t accepted hush money, if you hadn’t signed that NDA, is this the story you would have told? And she said, yes. And so where I think they’re going with this, but we can’t really be sure yet, is that they’re going to tell the jurors, hey, that story, you can see why he wanted to cover that up, can’t you?

You mentioned the hush money payments. What testimony does Daniels offer about that? And how does it advance the prosecution’s case of business fraud related to the hush money payments?

So little evidence that it’s almost laughable. She says that she received the hush money. But we actually already heard another witness, her lawyer at the time, Keith Davidson, testify that he had received the hush money payment on her behalf. And she testified about feeling as if she had to sell this story because the election was fast approaching, almost as if her leverage was slipping away because she knew this would be bad for Trump.

That feels important. But just help me understand why it’s important.

Well, what the prosecution has been arguing is that Trump covered up this hush money payment in order to conceal a different crime. And that crime, they say, was to promote his election to the presidency by illegal means.

Right, we’ve talked about this in the past.

So when Daniels ties her side of the payment into the election, it just reminds the jurors maybe, oh, right, this is what they’re arguing.

So how does the prosecution end this very dramatic, and from everything you’re saying, very tense questioning of Stormy Daniels about this encounter?

Well, before they can even end, the defense lawyers go and they consult among themselves. And then, with the jury out of the room, one of them stands up. And he says that the defense is moving for a mistrial.

On what terms?

He says that the testimony offered by Daniels that morning is so prejudicial, so damning to Trump in the eyes of the jury, that the trial can no longer be fair. Like, how could these jurors have heard these details and still be fair when they render their verdict? And he says a memorable expression. He says, you can’t un-ring that bell, meaning they heard it. They can’t un-hear it. It’s over. Throw out this trial. It should be done.

Wow. And what is the response from the judge?

So the judge, Juan Merchan, he hears them out. And he really hears them out. But at the end of their arguments, he says, I do think she went a little too far. He says that. He said, there were things that were better left unsaid.

By Stormy Daniels?

By Stormy Daniels. And he acknowledges that she is a difficult witness. But, he says, the remedy for that is not a mistrial, is not stopping the whole thing right now. The remedy for that is cross-examination. If the defense feels that there are issues with her story, issues with her credibility, they can ask her whatever they want. They can try to win the jury back over. If they think this jury has been poisoned by this witness, well, this is their time to provide the antidote. The antidote is cross-examination. And soon enough, cross-examination starts. And it is exactly as intense and combative as we expected.

We’ll be right back.

So, Jonah, how would you characterize the defense’s overall strategy in this intense cross-examination of Stormy Daniels?

People know the word impeach from presidential impeachments. But it has a meaning in law, too. You impeach a witness, and, specifically, their credibility. And that’s what the defense is going for here. They are going to try to make Stormy Daniels look like a liar, a fraud, an extortionist, a money-grubbing opportunist who wanted to take advantage of Trump and sought to do so by any means necessary.

And what did that impeachment strategy look like in the courtroom?

The defense lawyer who questions Stormy Daniels is a woman named Susan Necheles. She’s defended Trump before. And she’s a bit of a cross-examination specialist. We even saw her during jury selection bring up these past details to confront jurors who had said nasty things about Trump on social media with. And she wants to do the same thing with Daniels. She wants to bring up old interviews and old tweets and things that Daniels has said in the past that don’t match what Daniels is saying from the stand.

What’s a specific example? And do they land?

Some of them land. And some of them don’t. One specific example is that Necheles confronts Daniels with this old tweet, where Daniels says that she’s going to dance down the street if Trump goes to jail. And what she’s trying to show there is that Daniels is out for revenge, that she hates Trump, and that she wants to see him go to jail. And that’s why she’s testifying against him.

And Daniels is very interesting during the cross-examination. It’s almost as if she’s a different person. She kind of squares her shoulders. And she sits up a little straighter. And she leans forward. Daniels is ready to fight. But it doesn’t quite land. The tweet actually says, I’ll dance down the street when he’s selected to go to jail.

And Daniels goes off on this digression about how she knows that people don’t get selected to go to jail. That’s not how it works. But she can’t really unseat this argument, that she’s a political enemy of Donald Trump. So that one kind of sticks, I would say. But there are other moves that Necheles tries to pull that don’t stick.

So unlike the prosecution, which typically used words like adult, adult film, Necheles seems to be taking every chance she can get to say porn, or pornography, or porn star, to make it sound base or dirty. And so when she starts to ask Daniels about actually being in pornography, writing, acting, and directing sex films, she tries to land a punch line, Necheles does. She says, so you have a lot of experience making phony stories about sex appear to be real, right?

As if to say, perhaps this story you have told about entering Trump’s suite in Lake Tahoe and having sex with him was made up.

Just another one of your fictional stories about sex. But Daniels comes back and says, the sex in the films, it’s very much real, just like what happened to me in that room. And so, when you have this kind of combat of a lawyer cross-examining very aggressively and the witness fighting back, you can feel the energy in the room shift as one lands a blow or the other does. But here, Daniels lands one back. And the other issue that I think Susan Necheles runs into is, she tries to draw out disparities from interviews that Daniels gave, particularly to N-TOUCH, very early on once the story was out.

It’s kind of like a tabloid magazine?

But some of the disparities don’t seem to be landing quite like Necheles would want. So she tries to do this complicated thing about where the bodyguard was in the room when Daniels walked into the room, as described in an interview in a magazine. But in that magazine interview, as it turns out, Daniels mentioned that Trump was wearing pajamas. And so, if I’m a juror, I don’t care where the bodyguard is. I’m thinking about, oh, yeah, I remember that Stormy Daniels said now in 2024 that Trump was wearing pajamas.

I’m curious if, as somebody in the room, you felt that the defense was effective in undermining Stormy Daniels’s credibility? Because what I took from the earlier part of our conversation was that Stormy Daniels is in this courtroom on behalf of the prosecution to tell a story that’s uncomfortable and has the kind of details that Donald Trump would be motivated to try to hide. And therefore, this defense strategy is to say, those details about what Trump might want to hide, you can’t trust them. So does this back and forth effectively hurt Stormy Daniels’s credibility, in your estimation?

I don’t think that Stormy Daniels came off as perfectly credible about everything she testified about. There are incidents that were unclear or confusing. There were things she talked about that I found hard to believe, when she, for instance, denied that she had attacked Trump in a tweet or talked about her motivations. But about what prosecutors need, that central story, the story of having had sex with him, we can’t know whether it happened.

But there weren’t that many disparities in these accounts over the years. In terms of things that would make me doubt the story that Daniels was telling, details that don’t add up, those weren’t present. And you don’t have to take my word for that, nor should you. But the judge is in the room. And he says something very, very similar.

What does he say? And why does he say it?

Well, he does it when the defense, again, at the end of the day on Thursday, calls for a mistrial.

With a similar argument as before?

Not only with a similar argument as before, but, like, almost the exact same argument. And I would say that I was astonished to see them do this. But I wasn’t because I’ve covered other trials where Trump is the client. And in those trials, the lawyers, again and again, called for a mistrial.

And what does Judge Marchan say in response to this second effort to seek a mistrial?

Let me say, to this one, he seems a little less patient. He says that after the first mistrial ruling, two days before, he went into his chambers. And he read every decision he had made about the case. He took this moment to reflect on the first decision. And he found that he had, in his own estimation, which is all he has, been fair and not allowed evidence that was prejudicial to Trump into this trial. It could continue. And so he said that again. And then he really almost turned on the defense. And he said that the things that the defense was objecting to were things that the defense had made happen.

He says that in their opening statement, the defense could have taken issue with many elements of the case, about whether there were falsified business records, about any of the other things that prosecutors are saying happened. But instead, he says, they focused their energy on denying that Trump ever had sex with Daniels.

And so that was essentially an invitation to the prosecution to call Stormy Daniels as a witness and have her say from the stand, yes, I had this sexual encounter. The upshot of it is that the judge not only takes the defense to task. But he also just says that he finds Stormy Daniels’s narrative credible. He doesn’t see it as having changed so much from year to year.

Interesting. So in thinking back to our original question here, Jonah, about the idea that putting Stormy Daniels on the stand was risky, I wonder if, by the end of this entire journey, you’re reevaluating that idea because it doesn’t sound like it ended up being super risky. It sounded like it ended up working reasonably well for the prosecution.

Well, let me just assert that it doesn’t really matter what I think. The jury is going to decide this. There’s 12 people. And we can’t know what they’re thinking. But my impression was that, while she was being questioned by the prosecution for the prosecution’s case, Stormy Daniels was a real liability. She was a difficult witness for them.

And the judge said as much. But when the defense cross-examined her, Stormy Daniels became a better witness, in part because their struggles to discredit her may have actually ended up making her story look more credible and stronger. And the reason that matters is because, remember, we said that prosecutors are trying to fill this hole in their case. Well, now, they have. The jury has met Stormy Daniels. They’ve heard her account. They’ve made of it what they will. And now, the sequence of events that prosecutors are trying to line up as they seek prison time for the former President really makes a lot of sense.

It starts with what Stormy Daniels says with sex in a hotel suite in 2006. It picks up years later, as Donald Trump is trying to win an election and, prosecutors say, suppressing negative stories, including Stormy Daniels’s very negative story. And the story that prosecutors are telling ends with Donald Trump orchestrating the falsification of business records to keep that story concealed.

Well, Jonah, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Of course, thanks for having me.

The prosecution’s next major witness will be Michael Cohen, the former Trump fixer who arranged for the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. Cohen is expected to take the stand on Monday.

Here’s what else you need to know today. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a defiant response to warnings from the United States that it would stop supplying weapons to Israel if Israel invades the Southern Gaza City of Rafah. So far, Israel has carried out a limited incursion into the city where a million civilians are sheltering, but has threatened a full invasion. In a statement, Netanyahu said, quote, “if we need to stand alone, we will stand alone.”

Meanwhile, high level ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been put on hold in part because of anger over Israel’s incursion into Rafah.

A reminder, tomorrow, we’ll be sharing the latest episode of our colleague’s new show, “The Interview” This week on “The Interview,” Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with radio host Charlamagne Tha God about his frustrations with how Americans talk about politics.

If me as a Black man, if I criticize Democrats, then I’m supporting MAGA. But if I criticize, you know, Donald Trump and Republicans, then I’m a Democratic shill. Why can’t I just be a person who deals in nuance?

Today’s episode was produced by Olivia Natt and Michael Simon Johnson. It was edited by Lexie Diao, with help from Paige Cowett, contains original music by Will Reid and Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you on Monday.

• May 14, 2024   •   35:20 Voters Want Change. In Our Poll, They See It in Trump.
• May 13, 2024   •   27:46 How Biden Adopted Trump’s Trade War With China
• May 10, 2024   •   27:42 Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand
• May 9, 2024   •   34:42 One Strongman, One Billion Voters, and the Future of India
• May 8, 2024   •   28:28 A Plan to Remake the Middle East
• May 7, 2024   •   27:43 How Changing Ocean Temperatures Could Upend Life on Earth
• May 6, 2024   •   29:23 R.F.K. Jr.’s Battle to Get on the Ballot
• May 3, 2024   •   25:33 The Protesters and the President
• May 2, 2024   •   29:13 Biden Loosens Up on Weed
• May 1, 2024   •   35:16 The New Abortion Fight Before the Supreme Court
• April 30, 2024   •   27:40 The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok
• April 29, 2024   •   47:53 Trump 2.0: What a Second Trump Presidency Would Bring

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Jonah E. Bromwich

Produced by Olivia Natt and Michael Simon Johnson

Edited by Lexie Diao

With Paige Cowett

Original music by Will Reid and Marion Lozano

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

This episode contains descriptions of an alleged sexual liaison.

What happened when Stormy Daniels took the stand for eight hours in the first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump?

Jonah Bromwich, one of the lead reporters covering the trial for The Times, was in the room.

On today’s episode

Jonah E. Bromwich , who covers criminal justice in New York for The New York Times.

Background reading

In a second day of cross-examination, Stormy Daniels resisted the implication she had tried to shake down Donald J. Trump by selling her story of a sexual liaison.

Here are six takeaways from Ms. Daniels’s earlier testimony.

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The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state criminal courts in Manhattan. More about Jonah E. Bromwich

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