Ever since the CARS Tour inception, the series has traveled to Hickory Motor Speedway for a pair of events on the season schedule. This year is no different as we approach the first trip. The .363-mile track in Hickory is coming in March rather than its traditional date, the first weekend of May. Always attracting one of the larger car counts on the tour, this weekend’s MTP Tire 300 should continue the early season trend of large fields battling in both divisions.
Moving the event to March could produce a little different race than fans are used to seeing when the tour comes to town. Cooler temperatures than in May and the minimal track time competitors usually have at their disposal leading up to the CARS Tour race are out the window Saturday night. The team with the ability to adjust their ride to the historically rough surface, and gain grip on a cool night will be the team that not only walks away the victory but pushes to the top of the early championship standings!
MTP Tire 300 NOTES & QUOTES
NOTES:
Track/Location: Hickory Motor Speedway-Newton, NC
Track Size: .363 mile
Event Name: MTP Tire 300
Laps/Distance: 150L (LMSC)/150L (SLM)
Event Schedule: Practice: 1PM-3:15PM, Qualifying: 5:15PM, Green: 7:30PM LMSC/SLM
Twitter Handle/Event Hashtag: @CARSTour / @hickoryspeedway / #MTPTire300
CARS LMSC Tour Pre Entered Drivers:
#08 Deac McCaskill
#07 Bradley McCaskill
#01 Camden Guillie
#1 Craig Moore
#1P Brody Pope
#2 Brandon Pierce
#4 Jonathan Findley
#4H Leland Honeyman
#12 Austin McDaniel
#14 Vince Midas
#17 Taylor Gray
#17P Stacy Puryear
#18 Ty Gibbs
#19 Cameron Bowen
#19C Jessica Cann
#22 Bobby McCarty
#25 Zack St. Onge
#27 Tommy Lemons
#54 Tanner Gray
#57 Justin Carroll
#63 Tyler Matthews
#74 Ronald Hill
#77 Trevor Ward
#81 Mini Tyrrell
#88 Josh Berry
#95 Jacob Heafner
#98 Adam Lemke
#99 Layne Riggs
(28 total)
CARS SLM Tour Pre Entered Drivers:
#00 Anthony Cataldi
#6 Brandon Setzer
#8 Tate Fogleman
#14 Jared Fryar
#16 Molly Helmuth
#17 Mike Speeney
#21B Bronson Butcher
#22 Tim Hollis
#24 Colin Garrett
#27 Tyler Church
#34 Nolan Pope
#37 Dan Speeney
#45 Kodie Conner
#49 Jeff Batten #54 Matt Craig
#78 Corey Heim
#96 Wyatt Alexander
#97 Josh Berry
(18 total)
***Official Entry Deadline: Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at 4PM***
Media Coverage:
-Speed51 (speed51.com) will provide Trackside Now Live Coverage
-Race22 (race22.com) will provide Raceday Live Coverage
-CARS Tour TV (www.carstour.tv) – LIVE Broadcast Video Production Coverage
-CARS Tour Facebook (facebook.com/CARSTour) / CARS Tour Twitter (@CARSTour)
QUOTES:
Martinsville to Hickory:
Brandon Setzer is without question one of the Super Late Model drivers to keep an eye on each and every time the Newton, North Carolina driver takes the green flag at Hickory Motor Speedway. In nine CARS Tour races, Setzer has scored 2 wins, 5 poles, and 6 top ten finishes. This race, however; Setzer will rely on his father (Dennis Setzer), traffic-free highways, and his knowledge of the historic .363 track. Brandon will travel from the Martinsville Speedway NASCAR truck race (2pm start), where he will be working with the Kyle Busch Motorsports team, to Hickory as soon as the race is over, in order to make it back in time to hopefully take the green flag in his #6 Romeo Guest Construction Super Late Model.
“Hickory is going to be a lot different for us this weekend. I’ll be in Martinsville Friday and Saturday for the truck race working my normal job for Kyle Busch Motorsports. As soon as the race is over I’ll head to Hickory as fast as I can. More than likely I won’t get any laps until they drop the green flag, but we’ve got plenty of laps on the car there, so I’m confident it will be right. Pops (Dennis Setzer) will hop in and shake it down and tune on it for practice, so that will be really cool for him to be back behind the wheel. It’s going to be a big challenge coming from the rear, but I think it can be done! It’s going to be a blast this weekend, I can’t wait.” Brandon Setzer – #6 Romeo Guest Construction Chevrolet
Berry’s beginning to 2019:
There probably wasn’t a more disappointed Late Model Stock driver after Southern National than JR Motorsports driver, Josh Berry. The CARS Tour veteran and former series champion dominated the race before eventually finishing second to race winner Brandon Pierce. But, now with that in the past and his favorite track (Hickory) up next, the potential of a solid points start to the 2019 season is a very real possibility. It is no secret that Berry is one of the best behind the wheel at the .363 mile track. His talent has caught the eye of many, in fact, Berry has been tapped to replace Brandon Lynn behind the wheel of the #97 Solid Rock Carriers/DLP Motorsports Super Late Model owned by Buggy Pletcher, making him the only driver to be pulling double duty Saturday night.
“We had a great run in the opener at Southern National, but the finish has made me motived as ever for this weekend. Hickory has been a great track for me over the years, and as strong as our cars are, I know that we will be up front in our All Things Automotive Chevrolet. Hopefully, we can have another great race that will give us a great start to the season.” Josh Berry – #88 All Things Automotive Chevrolet
Historic Hickory and the CARS Tour:
Hickory Motor Speedway and the CARS Tour have a long history together. In fact Hickory Motor Speedway has hosted the most CARS Tour races with a total count of nine. No matter if it is the annual Spring race, like this weekend’s event, or the annual Throwback 276 race in August, the CARS Tour and Hickory Motor Speedway go well together to provide some of the best racing the track sees every year.
“Hickory Motor Speedway is looking forward to and is excited about this return of the CARS Tour this early in the season. The CARS Tour has evolved into one of the most premier series in this region, and I assure you the racing you will see will be exciting and something you don’t want to miss.” Kevin Piercy – General Manager of Hickory Motor Speedway
