Cra Nashville Pace Car
The Champion Racing Association pace car leads the field at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. (CRA photo)

North/South SLM Challenge Returns To Nashville Fairgrounds

The North/South Super Late Model Challenge will return to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on Saturday, July 13, with the ASA/CRA Super Series and ASA Southern Super Series joining forces for the event.

Now in its eighth edition of the event, the North/South Super Late Model Challenge acts as a tune-up for one of the biggest super late model races of the year — the All American 400 on Sunday, Nov. 3. 

The precursor will be held in July for the second year in a row.

The North/South Super Late Model Challenge was first contested in 2016 as twin 50-lap races for the ASA/CRA Super Series and ASA Southern Super Series on Friday night, followed by a combined 75-lap event on Saturday ahead of the ARCA Menards Series Music City 200.

Dalton Armstrong (CRA) and Donnie Wilson (SSS) won their respective 50-lap races before Wilson finished the weekend sweep by winning the 75-lap combined race the next day over Stephen Wallace and Bubba Pollard.

The North/South Super Late Model Challenge went to its current 100-lap combined race in 2017. Casey Roderick outlasted the likes of Augie Grill and Kyle Plott to win in 2017, then he beat NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen for his second-straight win one year later.  

Josh Brock started his ASA/CRA Super Series title defense with a wire-to-wire win in 2019. 

After the 2020 race was canceled due to COVID-19, the North/South Super Late Model Challenge returned in 2021, with Carson Kvapil taking the win over that year’s All American 400 winner Matt Craig.

William Byron made the trip to Nashville from Darlington Raceway after NASCAR Cup Series qualifying and proceeded to win the North/South Super Late Model Challenge after a fierce battle with Stephen Nasse in 2022.

Truck Series driver Jake Garcia is the defending winner of the event, inheriting the lead after former Nashville track champion Jackson Boone suffered a mechanical issue with eight laps to go while leading the race.