Jacklyn’s Word on the Street: St. Patty’s Day Edition
MOORESVILLE, NC 3.17.17 – The season opener at Concord Speedway was full of hayrides and cotton candy, no wait, that’s not right. It was full of late model rides and hot coffee. The weather was cold but the drivers were on full heat as they started off the 2017 race season. Here’s the beat on the street; from what my sources are saying…
CARS Super Late Model Tour powered by VP Race Fuels
Brandon Setzer emerged as the fans pick this year for the CARS Tour Super Late Model Championship as he is expected to run the entire schedule this season. Setzer also came onboard with Romeo Guest Construction as his primary sponsor.
Raphael Lessard was a popular face with unique accented interviews in Edelbrock Victory Lane last year. Lessard was absent from Concord and left fans searching for his signature red and white paint scheme. He is scheduled to race 5-7 different CARS Tour events with Dominion Raceway being his first of the season as well as debuting in the ARCA Series on April 8th. Shhhhh… don’t tell anyone. ;)
Christian Eckes didn’t bring any snowballs to Concord this past weekend (what’s up with that Eckes?) even though he won the Snowball Derby Championship in the off-season. However, he did finish 2nd in the Super Late Model feature on Saturday and is expected to run 5-7 CARS Tour events this season as well as 9 ARCA Races with Venturini Motorsports.
Nolan Pope had an unfortunate start to his rookie season with the CARS Tour when he got loose in turn four and found his brand new Fury chassis wheels side up in practice. The Fab Specialties team was able to roll the backup car out for the feature but had to completely tear down the week old Super Late Model on Monday morning to start re-building in time for Dominion Raceway on March 25th.
CARS Late Model Stock Tour
Myatt Snider has a mixed schedule this year as he attended Concord with Louisiana Hot Sauce wallpapered as his title sponsor. Snider will be running some races with the CARS Tour, a few big races in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and he has a few admissions in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as well.
Tommy Lemons Jr. was missing behind the driver’s seat at Concord, but he didn’t travel too far. Lemons is focusing on his team drivers; Craig Stallard and Justin Johnson who will both be competing for a CARS Tour Championship. Lemons still will suit up like spider man and jump into the driver’s seat for 5-6 CARS Tour events this year.
Brandon Grosso from Belle Mead, NJ decided he wanted warmer weather and is in the south for the summer! Jokes on you Brandon, it’s 23 degrees today. Grosso will be a teammate to Myatt Snider and veteran Late Model Stock driver Jamey Caudill is the Crew Chief. Grosso’s Late Model can easily be spotted, as his primary sponsor is the big bad Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear. I wonder how he “caught” that one.
In other words:
Dominion Duels will be a MUST see next weekend as the Super Late Model driver with the best average finish in both duels will receive an “automatic berth/straight to go/collect your $200 monopoly money” spot into the Bristol Motor Speedway feature for the Short Track Nationals on May 21! This will raise the bar to win the duels! The official entry list for the Short Track Nationals will be made public on March 27th right after we dig our roots into Dominion Raceway!
Ridin Dirty On April 22nd at Orange County Speedway, fans will be given the chance to participate in the first ever CARS Tour ride along! Yes, you read that correctly! More information on how to participate will be released in April.
For more information on the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the CARS Super Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com. Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on Twitter, and scrolling through photos on Instagram @car_tour. Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in Mooresville, N.C., at 704.662.9212.
Sources: Jacklyn Harris/CARS Tour PR