Five drivers have already taken up the challenge of running double duty in the CARS Tour finale at Hickory Motor Speedway. The reason, $40,000.
Bradley McCaskill and Josh Berry, who both have wins in the Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) Late Model Stock Tour, will also run in the Super Late Model race at Hickory Motor Speedway in hopes of winning $40,000. Jake Crum, who won the Bobby Isaac Memorial at Hickory and has a top-five finish in the CARS Super Late Model Tour, will also join McCaskill and Berry.
Tyler Church, who won a Pro All Stars Series (PASS) championship in 2014, and former Snowball Derby champion Clay Rogers will also seek the $40,000 prize.
CARS Tour has called the challenge the “Double Duty Dare” and has hoped drivers would take the opportunity to run both the Late Model Stock Car and Super Late Model races. The series held its first race back in March with an unconventional format of running a Late Model Stock Car race and a Super Late Model race on the same night.
“I expected to get a couple more,” Chris Ragle, director of marketing and operations for CARS Tour, said. There are lots of possibilities I’ve heard. Guys like Jamey Caudill, Preston Peltier, Landon Huffman, Quinn Houff and Todd Gilliland just to name a few.”
Along with the $40,000 challenge, there is also a possibility that one lucky fan could walk away with $10,000 after the conclusion of the race at Hickory. While that is a lot of money up for grabs, Ragle said the series hopes someone does claim the bonus.
“It’s a unique situation but very achievable,” Ragle commented. “You add the lap money we are trying to pull together and the fact its still only a 4 tire and you have a very competitor friendly race we are putting together.”
When the series was announced, several drivers had expressed interest in running both divisions on the same night. However, to date, only Clay Rogers and Todd Gilliland have run double duty, Rogers on two occasions and Gilliland on one occasion.
Hickory Motor Speedway plays host to the final race of the inaugural season for the CARS Tour, a series that has pumped new life into Southeast Late Model racing. The unconventional approach achieved broad appeal with fans who got to see stars in both types of cars race on the same night.
Throughout the inaugural season, the series has had some growing pains but has learned from them. After a marathon affair in the second race of the season at Orange County Speedway, the series shortened the race distances for both divisions. Along with that change, the series also bumped up the purse in the Late Model Stock Car tour to be even with the Super Late Model tour prior to the series’ fifth race of the season which was held at Tri-County Speedway.
The racing itself has produced thrilling and unforgettable moments throughout the season with plenty more highlights to come when the series heads back to Hickory, a track that always produces thrilling racing action.
