What was supposed to be the 2016 season finale for the CARS Tour; this weekend’s Cloer Construction 300 at Hickory Motor Speedway, will be race nine on the 2016 schedule setting up the season finale on November 12th at Southern National Motorsports Park. The twin 150 lap races will see an increase in purse due to lap sponsorship being paid in both divisions.
Each sponsored lap will award $30 per lap to the leader and $20 to the tenth position respectively. The bonus money could see track favorites like Josh Berry, Stephen Leicht, Brandon Setzer, and Preston Peltier come to the front in a hurry and walk away with a bigger payday than normal. The battle for the tenth position should be just as intriguing. Meanwhile, championship contenders Deac McCaskill and Raphael Lessard must come away with solid finishes if they want to have some breathing room to clinch their first ever CARS Tour championship two weeks later.
Cloer Construction 300 NOTES & QUOTES
NOTES:
Track/Location: Hickory Motor Speedway-Hickory, NC Track Size: .363-mile
Event Name: Cloer Construction 300 Laps/Distance: 150/54.4 miles
Event Schedule: 12:30PM-2:45PM Practice, 4:30PM Qualifying, 6:15PM Fan Fest, 7:30PM Green: LMSC-SLM
Twitter Handle/Event Hashtag: @CARSTour / @hickoryspeedway / #CloerConst300
CARS SLM Tour Pre Entered Drivers: #2 Garrett Archer, #6 Brandon Setzer, #7 Tyler Church, #7S Taylor Stricklin, #8 Tate Fogleman, #16 Lucas Jones, #17 Zane Smith, #19 Riley Herbst, #25 Stephen Leicht, #26 Chandler Smith, #29 Spencer Davis, #33 Preston Peltier, #49 Jeff Batten, #54 Matt Craig, #74 Josh Berry, #81 Tristan Van Wieringen, #97 Chase Purdy, #98 Hannah Newhouse, #98M Jody Measamer, #99 Raphael Lessard (20 total)
CARS LMSC Tour Pre Entered Drivers: #08 Deac McCaskill, #1 Christian Eckes, #1M Craig Moores, #2D Christopher Denny, #5 Stephen Leicht, #5A Anthony Alfredo, #7 Justin Crider, #8 Trevor Rizzo, #12M Austin McDaniel, #16S RD Smith, #17 Ryan Millington, #18S Evan Swilling, #27 Tommy Lemons Jr, #28 Chris Hudspeth, #31 Thomas Beane, #42 Craig Stallard, #57 Justin Carroll, #74 Ronald Hill, #88 Chris Davis, #88B Josh Berry, #99 Layne Riggs (21 total)
***Official Entry Deadline: Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 4PM***
Media Coverage:
-Speed51 (speed51.com) will provide Trackside Now Live Updates
-CARS Tour TV (www.carstour.tv) – LIVE Pay per View Video Coverage
-CARS Tour Facebook (facebook.com/CARSTour) and Twitter (@CARSTour
QUOTES:
Berry Out of Hunt But Going for Bucks:
Josh Berry has had a successful CARS Tour season winning half the races he’s entered. Outside of the tour Berry has made several impressive NASCAR starts in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series this season as well. Doing so, however, forced the Jr Motorsports driver to give up his hopes of winning the CARS Late Model Stock Tour championship this season. Despite that, Berry will roll into Hickory this weekend with double duty intentions of winning both the Late Model and Super Late Model feature events.
“I’m obviously disappointed to not be in the Late Model Stock championship with the season we’ve had, but we knew the situation before the season started. Our goal now is to keep contending for wins and challenge for the owners championship for JRM. Hickory has been a track that’s been great for me over the years, so I’m excited to get back there. I’ll be doing double duty again this year, but this time in Robert Hamke’s iconic blue #74 ride. The 1st and 3rd place finishes we had last year will be tough to beat, but we are going to give it our best shot.” #88B Josh Berry – Speedco Chevy Late Model Stock Car
Up Front with the Best with One Less:
Matt Craig was on very few people’s radar this season when talking about who to watch on the CARS Super Late Model Tour circuit. However; with just two races remaining in the 2016 season, the Kannapolis, NC teenager has one win, one pole, and sits third in the championship point standings despite competing in one less race than the two drivers ahead of him. This weekend’s Cloer Construction 300 at Hickory Motor Speedway is just the type of racetrack he and his team need to gain points on those ahead of him.
“The setup we’ve developed early this season has been great on the low grip tracks like Greenville-Pickens and Myrtle Beach, both places we had really good runs at. I think some of that same success could transfer to Hickory this weekend. Hopefully we are up front to start the race. I always prefer to jump out early with a lead and be on the defense rather than riding around and waiting to go. With the extra lap money up for grabs this weekend, I’d love to make a little extra cash. With that said we are third in points, just nine out of second place, running one less race than everyone else. That’s a pretty big accomplishment for me and my race team.” – #54 Matt Craig – C&C Boiler Sales and Services Chevrolet Super Late Model
Constructing Success with Cloer:
This weekend’s 300 lap event at Hickory will feature local contractor Cloer Construction as the event partner and sponsor. The local Hickory, North Carolina, based company which specializes in vinyl siding, windows, and home remodeling will market their services to the masses at the track’s final event of the 2016 season. With a large majority of fans of both the CARS Tour and the Hickory Motor Speedway from nearby it couldn’t be a more perfect fit for Cloer Construction.
“We are proud to be able to be involved with the CARS Tour for what was supposed to be both Hickory Motor Speedway and the CARS Tour season finale. Despite them having one more race this is a great fit for our company because so much of our work is done in and around the Hickory Metro area. The CARS Tour puts on a quality show and this weekend at Hickory I wouldn’t expect anything less. We are just happy to be a part of it.” Phil Cloer – Owner of Cloer Construction
For more information and to stay up with all the latest news and information about the CARS 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.
