Having logged the first two events of the inaugural CARS Tour season in the history books, the landscape of what to expect on a regular basis is starting to take shape. An average of 33 Late Model Stock Cars and 31 Super Late Models have showed up to compete in the tours first two events, and with the tour’s next event hitting the famed Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday May 9th those numbers could very well climb.

Several new faces are expected to make their CARS Tour debut in the Catawba Valley 250. Super late model ace Preston Peltier, driving for chassis builder Robert Hamke, is making May 9th plans with the CARS Tour. Peltier knows his way around the .375 mile track having already won the 2015 version of the Easter Bunny 150. The man who finished second to Peltier in that race, Tyler Church, is also planning to make his official debut. Church, a native of Hickory, NC, was planning to compete in the season opening CARS Tour event but an emergency trip to the hospital the day before the event delayed his debut until now.

Hickory Motor Speedway regular Shane Lee is also expected to compete in the Late Model Stock division. The Newton, NC driver currently sits second in the speedway’s weekly points standings making him a threat to possibly steal a win from the tour regulars along with the $4,500 payday that comes with the victory.

While new faces may be the topic of discussion that will add to overall car count, its familiar ones that have had impressive starts this season putting them atop of the championship standings. Twenty-four drivers in both divisions thus far have competed in both races making it rather impressive to top the standings in your respective division on the CARS Tour circuit.

Tour regulars like Brayton Haws, Myatt Snider, Deac McCaskill, and Tommy Lemons Jr. have all had consistent runs through two events putting them all in the top five championship points hunt. On the Super Late Model side of things Cole Timm and Christopher Bell are tied for the championship points lead with Kyle Grissom, Bubba Pollard, and Trevor Noles on their heels as the Hickory event draws near.

One thing that fans and competitors alike must keep in mind, however; is that full field car counts make each and every championship point critical to either earn or lose depending on how your weekend goes at the track. A bad run could see you move from the top five in the standings to fifteenth in a hurry.