In less than a month the CARS Tour will kick off its fifth anniversary season at Southern National Motorsports Park on March 9th. The event marks the return to the 4/10th-mile track, after a two-year hiatus away from the facility located in Kenly, North Carolina.
The tour will open the 2019 season in a big way, paying $10,000 to win for both 150 lap feature races for Super Late Models and Late Model Stock Cars. This will mark the first time in the series’ history that it will pay $10,000 to win for both divisions in the same event, making it the largest paying weekend in CARS Tour history to date.
In addition to the extreme purse, the CARS Tour will make both $10,000 to win feature events, four tire races. The theme of using the least amount of tires possible for major events in 2019 will be something the Mooresville, North Carolina based tour continues with all season.
The largest Late Model Stock Car race in history at Orange County on April 7th, will utilize six tires for the race, while the Short Track US Nationals at Bristol on June 1st and the Thrifty Tire-Puryear Tank Lines “Mid Atlantic Classic” on August 24th at Orange County Speedway, will both be four tire features paying $10,000 to win for Super Late Models.
“We are doing our best to keep the cost of tires down for our competitors. We feel like that tires are the biggest expense when it comes to late model racing. If we can’t get help from the industry manufacturers to bring the cost down, or at least keep the cost from going up, then we’ll focus on using fewer tires for our big races,” noted CARS Tour owner, Jack McNelly.
The decision to keep tire usage down for premier races is a move to make those major events on the series’ 2019 schedule more affordable for all competitors, no matter their budget level. Both division season openers from a year ago boasted $10,000 to win with increased purses but were six tire feature events. Now with the same purse being paid at Southern National as a year ago, and two fewer tires needed to race, the potential for a strong car count can be expected.
“We think by keeping our big races down to four and six tires will lead to more entries for both divisions. Yes, we are paying more purse at those races than others, so we still have to focus on getting in extra revenue to pay for the larger purse. But our philosophy is to charge a little more for entry fees this year, and work harder to get more fans in the stands,” explained Series Director, Chris Ragle.
The CARS Tour fifth anniversary season kicks off Saturday afternoon March 9th at Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, North Carolina. To date 16 Late Model Stocks and 2 Super Late Model entries have been filed for the season opener. Entry forms, event schedule, and information to purchase tickets for the Solid Rock Carriers 300 pres. by SRI Performance can all be accessed via the all-new www.carsracingtour.com.
