Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, South Carolina is hosting one of the premier Street Stock races in North America this weekend with the New Years Bash. Race22.com has also learned that Dillon Motor Speedway is likely to host the CARS Tour season opener on Saturday, March 6th in place of the rescheduled Rockingham Speedway event.

After the tire tests at Rockingham Speedway, or as most know it; “The Rock”, the CARS Tour made the decision to move the race from the first race of the 2021 season to the last race of the 2021 season, now on October 30th. Rockingham was found to be too abrasive for the tire compound that Hoosier provided and now with 60 days remaining until the opener, it appears the replacement venue will be close to home for fans in the Palmetto state and the Sandhills of North Carolina.

Ron Barfield, former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver and long time short track competitor and promoter hosts the New Years Bash, which is approaching its 11th year as an annual event.

“It’s a must-see event, last year it was so big that a guy tried to climb the fence to get in the infield,” Barfield joked. “The New Year’s Bash showcases a lot of your lower classes and the fact that they have MAVTV involved in it really makes it even better. The New Year’s bash is a heck of a race with cars coming from New York to Florida and even as far west as Texas.”

Barfield spoke with energy about his upcoming events and without saying that he was hosting the CARS Tour race, indicated that a touring Late Model series would be making an appearance on the first weekend of March.

“The weekend of February 20th we’ve got the Carolina Pro Late Model Series coming to open their season,” Barfield explained. “The first weekend of March we are all looking forward to having a big Late Model touring series coming. I think it’s going to be a good year and especially with these series coming in we’re really looking forward to putting on a show in the great state of South Carolina.”

Dillon Motor Speedway was built as a dirt oval in 1966 and Ron Barfield has been the “Mr. Oz” behind the track’s rebirth. The track was paved between the ‘06 and ‘07 seasons after a long hiatus from racing. Its climate and proximity to Interstate 95 attract race teams from all across the country. Being in the region’s coastal plain, Dillon’s geography makes it a year-round-weather venue. The location it provides in the middle of the Carolinas is central to many teams in the region.

After the closure of Myrtle Beach Speedway, the venues of the Pee Dee region of South Carolina have remained strong, despite a global pandemic. The many day to day challenges track owners faced have been alleviated by pro-business policies that have allowed patrons to make the decision to attend short track racing if they choose to do so. The lack of covid-related restrictions makes South Carolina a place of interest for any racing series trying to get an event together before Summer when restrictions are likely to be minimized following the vaccine rollout.

The event will be the first time the CARS Tour has ever hosted an event at the Dillon, SC facility. Dillon had previously held CARS Pro-Cup Series races but has never hosted one of the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car events.

Dillon Motor Speedway regularly hosts Limited Late Model races and rarely runs a true Late Model Stock Car class but has previously hosted UARA-STARS Late Model Series races before the series went defunct in 2014, one year before the CARS Tour re-launched as a Late Model Stock Car and Super Late Model touring series.

Race22.com will update you when plans have been made official but expectations are for the CARS Tour to open their season at Dillon Motor Speedway on March 6th.