Brandon Setzer claimed the pole for the Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) Super Late Model Tour championship finale at Hickory Motor Speedway, continuing his hot second half of the season in the ten-race touring series.

Setzer’s time of 14.571 set the Super Late Model track record at the historic North Carolina short track, beating the previous record time of 14.577 set by Ron Barfield, Jr. twenty years ago.

Setzer has won from the pole in his last two CARS Super Late Model Tour starts, at Orange County Speedway and Myrtle Beach Speedway. Setzer led all but one lap in the Orange County victory, but charged from eighth to first on a late-race restart to claim the Myrtle Beach victory.

Christian Eckes will start alongside Setzer in tonight’s 150-lap feature. Christopher Bell, attempting to claim the $40,000 Double Duty Dare bonus for winning both the Late Model Stock and Super Late Model races tonight, will roll off third, followed by William Byron and Matt Craig. Byron won the tour’s first event at Hickory earlier this season.

The two championship contenders on the CARS Super Late Model Tour will start within eyesight of one another. Kyle Grissom qualified seventh, while points leader Cole Timm was ninth-fastest. Timm holds a nine-point advantage over Grissom entering tonight’s Liberty University 300.

RESULTS

1. #6 Brandon Setzer – 14.571
2. #15 Christian Eckes – 14.586
3. #51 Christopher Bell – 14.645
4. #9 William Byron – 14.650
5. #54 Matt Craig – 14.666
6. #77 Zane Smith – 14.684
7. #31 Kyle Grissom – 14.697
8. #17 Quin Houff – 14.703
9. #57 Cole Timm – 14.714
10. #19 Riley Herbst – 14.729
11. #29 Spencer Davis – 14.752
12. #58 Tyler Ankrum – 14.763
13. #5 Josh Berry – 14.772
14. #8 Jake Crum – 14.790
15. #00 Lucas Ransone – 14.804
16. #7 Tyler Church – 14.810
17. #74 Preston Peltier – 14.832
18. #66 Steve Wallace – 14.833
19. #4 Bradley McCaskill – 14.899
20. #52 Kaz Grala – 14.907
21. #5 Dominique Van Wieringen – 14.908
22. #67 Clay Jones – 14.910
23. #48 Jeff Batten – 14.917
24. #45 Joey Mucciacciaro – 14.938
25. #83 Dale Shaw – 14.941
26. #16 Lucas Jones – 14.967
27. #75 AJ Frank – 14.975
28. #2 Clay Rogers – 14.987
29. #24 Mason Diaz – 15.031
30. #16 Vinnie Miller – 15.328