Cars lined up on the frontstretch for the start of the 2018 CARS Tour race at Carteret County Speedway. (Andy Marquis photo)

The 2019 calendar year will mark the fifth anniversary for the CARS Tour, and its second season with tour title sponsor Response Energy Drink on board. Over the four previous seasons the CARS Tour has hosted 85 different races between both the Super Late Model and Late Model Stock divisions. Throughout those events, 353 different drivers have made a start in CARS Tour competition, with over $2.1 million dollars in purse money being paid out during that period.

With the 2018 season championships still to be decided for both the Late Model Stock and the Super Late Model divisions at South Boston Speedway on November 3rd, the tour is proud to announce the 2019 season schedule.

The schedule consists of 11 points races and 1 non-points race for Late Model Stock Cars and 8 championship points races for Super Late Models. The CARS Response Energy Tour will once again host events in North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. For the first time in series history the tour will not visit the Palmetto State, however, the series will make much-anticipated returns to familiar tracks in Southern National, Motor Mile, and Dominion Raceway. Another stellar edition to the tour, will be the series debut at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, to go along with the previously announced non-points Late Model Stock Car race on the Dominion Raceway two-mile road course.

“We are proud of this schedule and we are happy to get it out early so our competitors, fans, and our partner tracks can plan appropriately for the 2019 season. While we are sad to see awesome events at tracks like Wake County and Myrtle Beach go away, there’s no doubt that they’ll be back with the CARS Tour in the future. We’ve always made it a priority to mix things up on our schedule to prevent it from becoming stale,” explained CARS Tour Series Director, Chris Ragle. “With that said I think we have great 2019 schedule at some phenomenal facilities. With the return of the Touring 12 program, the $500 bonus for running three races in a row, The Old North State Nationals for Late Model Stocks, 40% of the Super Late Model races paying $10,000 to win, two co-sanctioned Super Late Model events, and the 3rd Annual Mid Atlantic Classic we should have a great fifth anniversary season ahead of us.”

For additional information on the CARS Response Energy Late Model Stock Tour and the CARS Response Energy 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.

2019 Late Model Stock Car Schedule Highlights

-2019 season opener at Southern National Motorsports Park increased overall purse and paying $10,000 to the winner

-Inaugural “Old North State Nationals” at Orange County Speedway April 6-7, 2019 will be the largest paying LMSC race in history with a minimum of $30,000 going to the winner and a minimum of $1,250 awarded to start the six tire feature event. An announcement of a “Stimulus Program” for competitors to pay for their race expense via supporters and grow the race purse leading up to the event will be announced in the coming weeks.

-CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour debut at the beautiful Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia on June 8.

-The third annual Throwback 276 at Hickory Motor Speedway continues on its traditional date of August 3rd.

-For the third consecutive season the 2019 LMSC champion will be crowned at South Boston Speedway.

2019 Super Late Model Schedule Highlights

-2019 season opener at Southern National Motorsports Park paying $10,000 to the winner.

-The co-sanctioned race between the CARS Tour, Southern Super Series, and CRA at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee moves to May 4th.

-The 3rd Annual Mid Atlantic Classic at Orange County Speedway, that will once again pay $10,000 to win and an overall increased purse, moves to August 24th.

-The third annual Throwback 276 at Hickory Motor Speedway continues on its traditional date of August 3rd.

-The return of Super Late Models to the ultra-fast and beautiful Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Virginia happens on May 18th. This will be the first time SLM have graced the track since the 2015 inaugural season.

-Nearly 40% of the Super Late Model scheduled races in 2019 will pay $10,000 to win.

2019 CARS Response Energy Tour Schedule

March 9       Southern National Motorsport Park – Kenly, NC                                                 SLM-$10,000/LMSC-$10,000

March 23     Hickory Motor Speedway – Hickory, NC                                                               SLM/LMSC

April 6-7      Orange County Speedway (Old North State Nationals) – Rougemont, NC     LMSC-$30,000

May 3          Ace Speedway – Elon, NC                                                                                        LMSC

May 4          Fairgrounds Speedway – Nashville, TN                                                                 SLM*

May 18        Motor Mile Speedway – Radford, VA                                                                    SLM/LMSC

June 1          TBA                                                                                                                              SLM*

June 8          Langley Speedway – Hampton, VA                                                                        LMSC

June 22        Dominion Raceway – Thornburg, VA                                                                    LMSC

July 13         Carteret County Speedway – Swansboro, NC                                                      LMSC

August 2-3   Hickory Motor Speedway (Throwback 276) – Hickory, NC                               SLM/LMSC

August 24    Orange County Speedway (Mid Atlantic Classic) – Rougemont, NC                SLM-$10,000/LMSC

Nov. 2          South Boston Speedway – South Boston, VA                                                       SLM/LMSC

Nov. 16        Dominion Raceway Road Course – Thornburg, VA                                             LMSC**

*Co-sanctioned race with CRA, SSS, and CARS Tour

**Non-points race

***Additional $10,000 to win SLM race at already schedule event TBD