The much-anticipated return of the CARS Response Energy Tour to Myrtle Beach Speedway is finally here for fans and competitors alike.
After being forced to cancel the 2017 scheduled race, the series will make its return to the beachside track in its traditional dual division format of Super Late Models and Late Model Stock Cars. This weekend’s BakerDist.com 200 pres. by Honeywell will act as the season opener for Super Late Models, as they battle for the $10,000 to win top prize, much like Late Model Stocks did in their season opener at Tri-County, just two weeks ago. Defending race winner Raphael Lessard returns to defend his win from 2016 season, driving for a new team in Kyle Busch Motorsports. Several strong names like Preston Peltier, Matt Craig, and Jeff Fultz will be heavily favored contenders to deal with this weekend.
In addition, several tour newcomers like Taylor Stricklin, Ryan Moore, and 2018 CRA Speedfest winner Chandler Smith, should all be ones to watch as well. When it comes to Late Model Stocks at Myrtle Beach, this weekend’s race will have the “best at the beach” on hand. 2017 Myrtle Beach 400 winner Josh Berry, 2017 Myrtle Beach Speedway track champion Lee Pulliam, and 2015 CARS Myrtle Beach race winner Sam Yarbrough have all entered, in addition to twenty-three other drivers. It will be another stacked field of Late Model Stocks, vying to take home the Palmetto trophy in the Saturday afternoon matinee.
BakerDist.com 200 NOTES & QUOTES
NOTES:
Track/Location: Myrtle Beach Speedway-Myrtle Beach, SC
Track Size: .500-mile
Event Name: BakerDist.com 200 pres. by Honeywell
Laps/Distance: 100L/50 miles (each)
Event Schedule: Practice: 10:00AM-11:35AM, Qualifying: 2:00PM, Green: 3:30PM LMSC-SLM
Twitter Handle/Event Hashtag: @CARSTour / @MB_Speedway / #BakerDist200
CARS SLM Pre Entered Drivers:
#2 Darrell Gilchrist
#7 Taylor Stricklin
#8 Tate Fogleman
#14 Jared Fryar
#16 Molly Helmuth
#26 Chandler Smith
#33 Preston Peltier
#45 Kodie Connor
#47 Chris Fontaine
#49 Jeff Batten
#51 Raphael Lessard
#54 Matt Craig
#54F Jeff Fultz
#56 Gus Dean
#74 Ryan Moore
#78 Corey Heim
#98 Jody Measamer
(17 total)
CARS LMSC Tour Pre Entered Drivers:
#08 Deac McCaskill
#07 Bradley McCaskill
#1 Craig Moore
#2 Cody Haskins
#2P Brandon Pierce
#5 Lee Pulliam
#7 Justin Crider
#9 Sam Mayer
#9W Charlie Watson
#12J Joe Graff Jr.
#14 Ryan Repko
#16 Colby Howard
#17 Bryant Barnhill
#18 Ty Gibbs
#20 Sam Yarbrough
#22 Grayson Cullather
#22M Bobby McCarty
#27 Craig Stallard
#44 Justin Johnson
#51 Matt Cox
#57 Justin Carroll
#74 Ronald Hill
#77 Trevor Ward
#88 Josh Berry
#95 Jacob Heafner
#99 Layne Riggs
(26 total)
***Official Entry Deadline: Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at 4PM***
Media Coverage:
-Race22 (race22.com) will provide Raceday Live Coverage
-Speed51 (speed51.com) will provide Trackside Now Live Coverage
-CARS Tour TV (www.carstour.tv) – LIVE Broadcast Video Production Coverage
-CARS Tour Facebook (facebook.com/CARSTour) / CARS Tour Twitter (@CARSTour)
QUOTES:
No Track Prepares You for the Tour Like Myrtle Beach:
Conway, South Carolina driver Bryant Barnhill calls Myrtle Beach Speedway his home track. The young driver has raced in each of the two previous CARS Response Energy Tour Late Model Stock events that have come to the half-mile beachside track, and this weekend is no exception, as he and his team prepare for Saturday’s BakerDist.com 200. Since that first race, the track’s weekly Late Model Stock car count has soared to one of the best in the region. That strong car count, according to Barnhill, is one of the best things that can prepare you for the CARS Response Energy Tour when it comes to town.
“I think our weekly racing here at Myrtle Beach really prepares us for a big event like the CARS Tour. Every week is challenging to get top fives and wins because of the competition we are used to seeing down here at the beach on a regular basis. Myrtle Beach is already a challenging track, with the tires and the way you have to race the place; then the competition the CARS Tour brings comes in to factor, and you really have to step your game up to be competitive. I know for me personally, this will give me a good gage of where I am against some of the best in the region.” Bryant Barnhill – #17 Barnhill Realty Company Chevrolet
Getting Back to his Roots at the Beach:
Gus Dean, now a full time competitor with the ARCA Series, will get back to his South Carolina roots this weekend piloting the #56 Baker Distributing Super Late Model. The Bluffton, South Carolina driver’s best career CARS Response Energy Tour Super Late Model finish came at Myrtle Beach in 2016, the last time the series visited the track. This go around Dean is hoping that he can improve by one spot better and get his first series win in what may be his only series start this season.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun to get back to Super Late Model racing at my home track in Myrtle Beach. That’s the closest track to Bluffton, so we’ll have a lot of family and friends in the stands to cheer us on. We came really close to winning this race a few years ago, so we’ve got some pretty high expectations coming into the weekend. There will be a lot of people from Baker Distributing that will be on hand too, it’s just going to be a big weekend for us all together.” Gus Dean – #56 BakerDist.com/Gree Colling Products Chevrolet
For more information and to stay up with all the latest news and information about the CARS Response Energy Tour, featuring both Late Model Stock Car and Super Late Model divisions, visit www.carsracingtour.com or contact the tour’s office directly at 704-662-9212. Stay social with the tour by “liking” the CARS Tour Facebook page and following along on Twitter @CARSTour.
