CARS Super Late Model Tour field lined up for the green flag at Hickory Motor Speedway in May 2018. (Andy Marquis/Race22.com photo)

The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour is back in action for the first of two visits in 2020 to the historic Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday night, one week after a wild race at Ace Speedway.

Saturday’s Race Face Tel-Med 300 at Hickory Motor Speedway is the series’ 12th trip to the historic three-eighths-mile track – and through the years, Hickory has produced many highlights for both the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the CARS Super Late Model Tour.

In the CARS Super Late Model Tour, which returns to action for the first time since Southern National Motorsports Park back in March, eight different drivers have visited victory lane – including NASCAR stars William Byron and Christopher Bell. Last August, Matt Craig became the third repeat winner at Hickory when he held off Bubba Pollard in the Throwback 276.

Eight drivers have also won in CARS Late Model Stock Tour competition at Hickory. Both races at Hickory last year saw first-time winners, as Taylor Gray won in the spring and Ryan Repko took the Throwback 276. Last weekend at Ace Speedway, Ryan Millington became the 21st different winner in series history, edging out Layne Riggs in a photo finish.

Race Face Tel-Med 300 NEWS & QUOTES

NOTES:

Event Name: Race Face Tel-Med 300

Track and Location: Hickory Motor Speedway, Newton, North Carolina.
Length: 0.363 mi (0.584 km)
Laps / Distance: 150 laps / 54.45 mi / 87.6 km (LMSC & SLM)

Event Schedule: 

  1. Practice: LMSC 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., SLM 1:35 p.m. – 2:05pm, LMSC 2:10 p.m. – 2:40 p.m., SLM 2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

  2. Qualifying: LMSC 5:15 p.m. (single car), SLM 5:45 p.m. (single car)

  3. Green: 7:00 p.m., LMSC (150 laps) followed by SLM (150 laps)

Twitter Accounts / Event Hashtag: @CARSTour / @hickoryspeedway / #RaceFaceTelMed300

LMSC Entry List (25 total)

  1. #08 Deac McCaskill
  2. #1 Nolan Pope
  3. #1M Craig Moore
  4. #2 Brandon Pierce
  5. #4 Jonathan Findley
  6. #8 Connor Mosack
  7. #11 Doug Houser
  8. #12p Gage Painter
  9. #14 Jared Fryar
  10. #15 Ryan Millington
  11. #16 Chad McCumbee
  12. #2s Jonathan Shafer
  13. #19 Drew Dollar
  14. #19c Jessica Cann
  15. #22 Bobby McCarty
  16. #41 Adam Lemke
  17. #44 Justin Johnson
  18. #51 Matt Cox
  19. #63 Tyler Matthews
  20. #74 Ronald Hill
  21. #77 Trevor Ward
  22. #78 Corey Heim
  23. #81 Mini Tyrrell
  24. #81b Sam Butler
  25. #99 Layne Riggs

SLM entry list (16 total)

  1. #7 Jeremy Barclay
  2. #7C Tyler Church
  3. #7J Justin Crider
  4. #9 Hudson Halder
  5. #15 Mike Hopkins
  6. #17 Mike Speeney
  7. #20 Harrison Halder
  8. #22 Trevor Noles
  9. #26 Bubba Pollard
  10. #35 Jake Garcia
  11. #35k Carson Kvapil
  12. #45 Kodie Conner
  13. #49 Jeff Batten
  14. #51 Chandler Smith
  15. #51s Sammy Smith
  16. #54 Matt Craig

Josh Berry suspended for Ace Speedway incident

Former CARS Late Model Stock Tour champion Josh Berry, who has more wins in the series than any other driver, will be absent from Hickory Motor Speedway after being suspended for one race due to an incident with Bobby McCarty with five laps to go at Ace Speedway.

Rookie Connor Mosack hoping for rebound at Hickory

CARS Late Model Stock Tour rookie Connor Mosack had an impressive third-place finish in his first outing with JR Motorsports at Southern National Motorsports Park earlier this year, but had to settle for an 11th place finish at Ace Speedway on Saturday.   Mosack hopes he can rebound at Hickory Motor Speedway, a track he has run well at in Late Model Stock Car competition.

“I think we really need to focus on qualifying well,” Mosack said.  “I think, if we can start inside the top-10, we’ll have a good chance of finishing up front.  We have the speed.  We ran there a couple weekends ago and I think, if we start up front, we can stay up front and race our way forward.  It’s tough to come from the back.”

Mosack is a former champion in Legends competition, winning championships in 2018 at the Summer Shootout, Asphalt Nationals, and Road Course World Finals.  He also picked up a championship in the Winter Nationals in 2019 before making the move to Late Model Stock Cars.  Now running in the CARS Tour, Mosack believes he’s in the best place to learn and gain experience.

“Obviously I’m happy to be racing with these guys.  It’s tough competition so it’s the best place for me to be to continue learning and getting better in these cars.  I like racing with the same guys every week, traveling to different places.  There are going to be a lot of tracks I haven’t been to so I’m using this as a learning experience while obviously still trying to run well and have good results.”

Tyler Church chasing first CARS Tour win

Veteran Super Late Model competitor Tyler Church is a former winner at Hickory Motor Speedway, but not in the CARS Super Late Model Tour.  Church’s best career CARS Tour finish was a fifth-place finish at Tri-County Motor Speedway in 2017.  Church comes into Hickory with a ton of confidence after a solid test a while back and after helping Annabeth Barnes Crum score her first career Late Model Stock Car win at Hickory this past weekend.

“I’m so excited to get back in the car, especially here at home,” Church said.  “I’ve worked through the winter months trying to figure out the all-new setup for the car.  We tested a couple months back and I was really tickled with it.  The car had a ton of speed on old, worn out tires.  I’ve been anticipating this race for two months.  I’ve been helping Annabeth Barnes Crum this year at Hickory with whatever they may need and to go to victory lane this past Saturday was awesome.  I told them I would have to back that up this weekend.”

Winning in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour would mean a lot to Church.

“I want to get a win in the CARS Tour and do something my racing mentor, Preston Peltier, hasn’t done and that’s win in both the former PASS South Series and win in the CARS Tour.  I’d love to have that one over him.  He’s still a great friend and I miss him out here.  There are so many friends that have passed away in the last eight months and I more importantly want to win for them.”

CARS Tour Implements Guidelines to Prevent Spread of COVID-19

While most sports in the United States are still shut down due to the pandemic, the motorsports industry has been slowly ramping back up to normal operations. NASCAR, INDYCAR, MotoAmerica and Supercross are a few of the sanctioning bodies that have resumed within the past few weeks, albeit with a new set of operating procedures designed to keep all who are at the track healthy and safe. The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour implemented new safety procedures that were used at Ace Speedway last weekend and will continue to be in effect at Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday. Those policies include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • On Friday, all personnel will have their temperature screened before entering the race track.

  • Driver Intros will not be held amongst the crowd, per usual; instead, drivers will be introduced from their cars on the grid.

  • Trailers will be spread out across the infield to maintain proper social distancing.

  • Spotters will be required to wear masks during the race.

  • Masks will be strongly recommended for those who are in the infield and required for all Victory Lane celebrations.

About the CARS Tour

The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour is one of the premier short track series in the United States. Drivers compete in Late Model Stock Cars and Super Late Models at the best short tracks across the Carolinas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia. The CARS Tour can be found on Facebook at “CARS Tour”, on Twitter @CARSTour, and on Instagram as @CARS_Tour. For more information, visit www.carsracingtour.com or call their Mooresville, N.C. offices at 704.662.9212.

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