CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Next year’s Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour schedule was unveiled Thursday night, featuring 17 events and 16 dates between the super late model and late model stock divisions and a return to racing at historic Rockingham Speedway.
The two classes will share the billing on five occasions, including the second race of the year at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway on March 20 and the finale at South Boston (Va.) Speedway on Oct. 16.
Built around those two dates, a variety of tracks will test the CARS Tour’s late model stars, with several marquee events appearing on the calendar as well.
Perhaps the most shocking addition to the CARS Tour schedule was the season opener for the late model stock cars on March 6, paying $10,000 to win at Rockingham.
The 1.017-mile, D-shaped oval’s last major race was a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series event in 2013, won by Kyle Larson.
The highest-paying late model stock car event of the CARS Tour season will take place April 24-25 at Orange County Speedway, when the $30,000-to-win Old North State Nationals returns to the racy three-eighths-mile track in Rougemont, N.C.
This year’s Old North State Nationals was shifted to Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina, which returns to the 2021 calendar with a super late model-only date on April 10.
That race will be co-sanctioned with the Southern Super Series. Two other super late model dates – May 8 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville and June 5 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway – will be tri-sanctioned between CARS, the Southern Super Series and CRA.
Meanwhile, the super late models will contest their richest race on July 3 at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway, when a $20,000 payday is on the line at the half-mile oval. The ARCA/CRA Super Series will
The recently-reopened Tri-County Speedway in Granite Falls, N.C., makes its third appearance on the CARS Tour schedule with a Sept. 11 show, with Ace Speedway, Langley Speedway, Dominion Speedway, Wake County Speedway, Motor Mile Speedway and Florence Motor Speedway also all returning to the slate.
Hickory is the only track which will host the CARS Tour twice in 2021.
In addition to the track’s March 20 date, the venerable .363-mile oval will again be the site of the wildly-popular Throwback 276, which features both CARS Tour divisions and is regularly one of the most coveted victories on the schedule.
The Throwback 276 was not run this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Breaking down the numbers, the new CARS Tour schedule features seven confirmed super late model dates and 11 confirmed late model stock car dates.
One event, set for May 22, remains ‘to be decided’ and will be announced at a later date.
Matt Craig (super late model) and Jared Fryar (late model stock car) won this year’s CARS Tour championships in a pandemic-altered season that ultimately featured 10 races for the late model stocks and eight races for the super late models.
Every CARS Tour race can be watched live and on-demand through SPEED SPORT TV affiliate Pit Row TV.
2021 Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour Schedule
Date – Venue – Location (Classes)
March 6 – Rockingham Speedway – Rockingham, N.C. (LMSC)
March 20 – Hickory Motor Speedway – Newton, N.C. (SLM, LMSC)
April 10 – Greenville-Pickens Speedway – Easley, S.C. (SLM)
April 24-25 – Orange County Speedway – Rougemont, N.C. (LMSC)
May 7 – Ace Speedway – Altamahaw, N.C. (LMSC)
May 8 – Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville – Nashville, Tenn. (SLM)
May 22 – TBA – TBA (TBA)
June 5 – Langley Speedway – Hampton, Va. (LMSC)
June 5 – Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, Tenn. (SLM)
June 19 – Dominion Speedway – Thornburg, Va. (LMSC)
July 3 – Jennerstown Speedway – Jennerstown, Pa. (SLM)
July 31 – Hickory Motor Speedway – Newton, N.C. (SLM, LMSC)
Aug. 14 – Wake County Speedway – Raleigh, N.C. (LMSC)
Aug. 28 – Motor Mile Speedway – Radford, Va. (SLM, LMSC)
Sept. 11 – Tri-County Speedway – Granite Falls, N.C. (SLM, LMSC)
Oct. 2 – Florence Motor Speedway – Timmonsville, S.C. (LMSC)
Oct. 16 – South Boston Speedway – South Boston, Va. (SLM, LMSC)