The waiting has drawn to a close and the competitors of the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour are ready for the 2020 season, which begins on Saturday afternoon at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, N.C.

The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour enters its sixth season fresh off a successful 2019 campaign and the announcement of a new title sponsor.  This weekend, both the Late Model Stock Car and Super Late Model divisions will race for $10,000 in the Solid Rock Carriers 300 presented by SRI Performance at Southern National.

The two-time and defending LMSC champion Bobby McCarty enters Saturday’s Late Model Stock race after winning the postponed Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National on Sunday. He will face off against defending race winner Brandon Pierce, last year’s LMSC runner-up Josh Berry and four-time Southern National track champion Deac McCaskill. Matt Craig, a former Southern National winner and the 2019 CARS Tour SLM champion, will try to hold off the challenges from Stephen Nasse, Sammy Smith and Kodie Conner.

Solid Rock Carriers 300 NOTES & QUOTES

NOTES:

Track and Location: Southern National Motorsports Park, Lucama, N.C.
Length: 0.40 mi
Event Name: Solid Rock Carriers 300 pres. by SRI Performance
Laps / Distance: 150 laps / 60 mi (LMSC and SLM)
Event Schedule: 

  • Practice: 9:40 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
  • Qualifying: 1:30 p.m.
  • Green: 3 p.m. LMSC / SLM

Twitter Accounts / Event Hashtag: @CARSTour / @SNM_Park / #SolidRock300

CARS LMSC Tour pre-entered drivers:

LMSC entry list (23 total)

  • #08 Deac McCaskill
  • #1 Nolan Pope
  • #1M Craig Moore
  • #2 Brandon Pierce
  • #4 Jonathan Findley
  • #6 Mike Darne
  • #8 Connor Mosack
  • #12 Gage Painter
  • #14 Jared Fryar
  • #16 Chad McCumbee
  • #17 Taylor Gray
  • #18 Jonathan Shafer
  • #22 Bobby McCarty,
  • #27 Tommy Lemons Jr.
  • #51 Matt Cox
  • #51C Chris Chapman
  • #63 Tyler Matthew
  • #74 Ronald Hill
  • #77 Logan Jones
  • #78 Corey Heim
  • #81 Mini Tyrrell
  • #88 Josh Berry
  • #99 Layne Riggs

CARS SLM Tour pre-entered drivers:

SLM entry list (16 total)

  • #2 Jared Irvan
  • #6 Matt Wallace
  • #9 Hudson Halder
  • #13 Austin MacDonald
  • #15 Mike Hopkins
  • #15S Gabe Sommers
  • #17 Mike Speeney
  • #17B Jeremy Barclay
  • #22 Trevor Noles
  • #26 Bubba Pollard
  • #45 Kodie Connor
  • #49 Jeff Batten
  • #51 Stephen Nasse
  • #51S Sammy Smith,
  • #54 Matt Craig
  • #77 Travis Braden

Media Coverage:

QUOTES:

Tyler Matthews Comes Home

Tyler Matthews, the 2016 Southern National Motorsports Park track champion, is excited to be a part of the 2020 Lucas Oil Touring 12. Last year, Matthews competed in every Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car event, scoring seven top-10 finishes on the season while also racing part-time in NASCAR. This weekend, the Richlands, N.C. native returns to Southern National in search of his first CARS Tour win.

“I’m excited to be included in the Touring 12 this year,” said Matthews. “We ran the full season last year and I was really excited about everything they had going on and the level of competition. I’m excited to get back to the track this year as part of the Touring 12 and see if we can’t improve on results from last year.”

“It’s always nice to go back to Southern National Motorsports Park where I’ve had a lot of success in the past, winning the track championship back in 2016. I’m excited to go back somewhere where we’ve had good results.”

Batten Chasing His First Win at Home Track

Eastern North Carolina driver Jeff Batten is chasing his first Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour victory and hopes he can get it at his home track – Southern National Motorsports Park. Batten resides in nearby Nash County and has frequented Southern National throughout the years. He has not had great luck at Southern National in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour, but he hopes to have a strong performance and a steady season in 2020.

“Everyone always asks me if I’m looking forward to racing at Southern National because it’s considered my home track,” said Batten. “To be honest, I sort of dread going there. We’ve had nothing but terrible luck the last three or four times we’ve been.”

“It’s nice to be close to home, sleep in my own bed, and have family friends that normally don’t get to watch me race live at the track, but it sucks that we end up having such dismal performances there. We’ve changed a bunch of stuff in the offseason, hoping to turn our luck around, especially since we are running the full season this year.  It’s such a competitive series and you’ve got to have luck on your side, even with a decent car. It’s so competitive that everything has to align and fall into place.”

Solid Rock Carriers Expands Presence in 2020 as Title Sponsor

Solid Rock Carriers, which is owned and operated by Kirk Ipock, will be the primary entitlement sponsor of the CARS Tour for the next two seasons.  Ipock has been active in the sport in the past few years, sponsoring various drivers and racetracks – predominantly Carteret County Speedway and Southern National Motorsports Park in Eastern North Carolina. Both tracks, and many of the drivers he sponsors, have been part of the CARS Tour for multiple seasons.

“Solid Rock Carriers and the CARS Tour will be beneficial to drivers for the next two years.  Every bit of this is going back to the drivers,” said Ipock. “I just want to give back to the drivers. Ever since I got into racing, that’s all I’ve ever done is help people, and I feel like I can continue to help them in this way. This is going to help every driver that runs in the CARS Tour, whether they start 28th or finish 28th.”

Solid Rock Carriers, which is based out of LaGrange, N.C., is a trucking business that transports refrigerated products. The name is derived from the Hymn “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less,” which includes the verse “On Christ, the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

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.