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CARS Tour

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zMAX CARS Tour
CategoryStock Cars
JurisdictionUnited States
Founded1997
HeadquartersMooresville, North Carolina
ChairmanJack McNelly
CEOKip Childress
Other key staffKeeley Dubensky
Karsyn Elledge
Danny Willard
Brandon Willard
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Jeff Burton
Kevin Harvick
Justin Marks
Official website
www.carsracingtour.com

The zMAX CARS Tour (formerly known as the USARacing Pro Cup Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, CARS Pro Cup Series, Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series, CARS X1-R Pro Cup Series) is a stock car auto racing series in the United States. It is sanctioned by the Championship Auto Racing Series and sponsored by zMAX. The series races throughout the United States on paved short tracks in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

History

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Chase Elliott and John Gibson in a 2010 Pro Cup race at North Wilkesboro Speedway

The sanctioning body was formed by Hooters owner Robert Brooks. Brooks created the organization to honor the memories of four people who died in an April 1, 1993 airplane crash: Brooks' son Mark Brooks, reigning NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki, Dan Duncan, and pilot Charlie Campbell.[1] The sanctioning body started as the Hooters Cup late model series in 1995. Brooks decided to stop sanctioning the late model series in favor of the Pro Cup series while at the September 1997 race at the Milwaukee Mile. Brooks wanted to move to steel-bodied racecars much like those raced in the NASCAR Busch Series (now NASCAR Xfinity Series) and ARCA Racing Series at the time. There were eleven races in 1997.[1] The series was expanded to twenty races in 1998.

In 2001, the series devised a "northern division" and a "southern division" that race separately. After the regular season, the top drivers from each division participate in a five-race playoff series called the Four Champions Challenge. Winners of the respective division are awarded a 25-point bonus for the playoff and a cash bonus as regular season champions. The driver who gets the most points in the Four Champions races, and the seeding points, (four races in 2001, five races from 2002 until 2005, six in 2006, 5 races in 2007) is declared the USAR champion.

At the end of the season, each of the top 30 teams that competes in at least half of the series' regular season races in their division is given entry points based on the number of points one competitor can earn for finishing in that respective position in a race. Beginning in 2006, the top 15 in each division automatically qualified. Each driver collects points for each race they participate in during the Championship Series, adding to their entry points collected from their regular season finish. A ten-point bonus is awarded for every driver who attempts to qualify at every race, although driver must race three of the six races to qualify for postseason bonus prizes. Cash bonuses are available for winning four, five, or all six postseason races. In 2003, Shane Huffman won a bonus for winning three of the five races. The success of this series led to NASCAR devising its own playoff system in 2004. The sanctioning body's owner, Robert Brooks, who also owned the Hooters restaurant chain, died in July 2006,[2] leading to the eventual sale of the series and the restaurant chain's disassociation. USAR officials combined the Northern and Southern divisions in 2009. Hooters dropped its sponsorship of the series the same season, and the series later re-branded itself as the USARacing Pro Cup Series.

On August 25, 2011, Series Director and Owner Jack McNelly announced that the series would be operating under the name "Championship Auto Racing Series" (CARS Pro Cup). The series picked up title sponsorship from Revolution Oil, renaming the series the Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series through the 2013 season.

After entries began dropping through the final years of the season, during the 2014 playoff (only ten cars were entered at some races during the season with a low of four cars at Coastal Plains Raceway in Jacksonville, NC), CARS began to transition the series into a Late Model Stock Car series. Late Model Stocks (which use perimeter chassis, not to be confused with offset chassis Super Late Models) were permitted in selected races. By the end of the 2014 season, with the demise of the UARA-STARS Tour after a year's suspension, CARS effectively transitioned the Pro Cup into the CARS Tour which effectively absorbed the former UARA tour by adding a division for Late Model Stocks (the perimeter style cars run at places like Martinsville and most tracks in the southeast) and Super Late Models (the types of cars run in the Snowball Derby, Winchester 400, Oxford 250, among other races nationally). The new two-division format started in the 2015 season, with car counts averaging 55 cars per stop in the ten-race tour combined.

The sanctioning body once again broke the mold in 2015 by becoming the first asphalt tour to carry its own streaming and broadcast service, CARS Tour TV, a division of Pit Row Media and their Pit Row TV brand. For the first time in asphalt late model history, an entire tour's schedule was broadcast online and has been since the tour's re-inception in 2015. Pit Row Media has a long-term agreement with the tour to produce and carry event broadcasts, including syndication agreements to REV TV in Canada, SPEED SPORT on MAVTV in the USA, and other networks and distribution partners.

The new format consisted of a 100-150 lap race in each division. The Super Late Model Tour has a working relationship with the United Super Late Model Rules Alliance, which consists of the ARCA/CRA Super Series, ARCA Midwest Tour, SRL Southwest Tour and the Southern Super Series for a common Super Late Model rules package to establish teams in any of the major tours can run all series with few changes.

After three seasons with the format, CARS split the two divisions on selected weekends beginning in 2018, in order to prevent conflicts with major Super Late Model and Late Model Stock races from a regional and national basis.

In 2021, the Late Model Stock Tour had plans to once again visit Rockingham Speedway, formerly known as "The Rock" during its NASCAR days, reviving the dormant track for a second time under new ownership and management.[3]

Starting in 2022, the CARS Tour will discontinue the Super Late Model Division and replace it with a Pro Late Model Division in an attempt to draw more competitors.

New Ownership

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On January 9, 2023, the CARS Tour was acquired by a consortium of four companies: DEJ Management, Jeff Burton Autosports, Inc., Kevin Harvick Incorporated, and Trackhouse Racing Team. All four are NASCAR-related, with two current national series team owners, a Cup Series champion, and a Cup Series veteran. [4][5] FloSports will have media rights in 2024, and the North Wilkesboro Speedway races (one on NASCAR All-Star Race week and one in September) will be two-day events while the others are one-day events. A new title sponsor deal with zMAX was revealed on November 27, 2023. In addition, the winner of the Cook Out 225 as part of the Prelude to the Southern 500 in Florence will determine pole position for the Charlie Powell Memorial 400 (a non-championship race) in November at the circuit.

On January 5, 2024, the CARS Tour announced that Pro Late Models will be split into an East and West Tours. Co-owner Kevin Harvick made the expansion of the tour part of his goals.[6] CARS West will use the same Pro Late Model rules but will be a separate series for West Coast drivers, with races in California and Nevada. The new West Tour races will be broadcast live on TrackVision TV, which is a partnership with local west coast racing broadcaster Low Budget TV and Speed Sport.

On November 4, 2024, the CARS Tour announced the 2025 East Tour schedule. The 15-race Late Model and 13-race Pro Late Model schedule will feature events with the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway and the Cook Out Southern 500 (the CARS Tour race is held at Florence Motor Speedway, 13 miles from Darlington Raceway). The winner of the Cook Out 225 feature at Florence will again earn pole position for the 33rd Charlie Powell Memorial 400 in November.[7]

On November 15, 2024, the CARS Tour announced the 2025 West Tour schedule. The current Pro Late Model division will be rebranded to the Limited Pro Late Model (LPL) running Hoosier 980 slicks. The new Pro Late Model divisions rules and regulations will be exactly like the East Tour's Pro Late Model division. The West Tour will also introduce a Super Late Model and Legends division.[8]

2025 CARS Tour Schedule

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Date Track Location LMSC Winner PLM Winner
March 1 New River All-American Speedway Jacksonville, North Carolina
March 29 Wake County Speedway Raleigh, North Carolina n/a
April 12 TBD TBD
April 6 Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory, North Carolina
April 26 Orange County Speedway Rougemont, North Carolina
May 2 Ace Speedway Altamahaw, North Carolina
May 13 North Wilkesboro Speedway Wilkesboro, North Carolina
June 1 Larry King Law's Langley Speedway Hampton, Virginia n/a
June 14 Dominion Raceway Thornburg, Virginia
July 2 Caraway Speedway Sophia, North Carolina
August 2 Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory, North Carolina
August 16 Anderson Motor Speedway Williamston, South Carolina
August 29 Florence Motor Speedway Timmonsville, South Carolina
September 13 South Boston Speedway South Boston, Virginia
October 4 Tri-County Speedway Granite Falls, North Carolina
October 18 North Wilkesboro Speedway Wilkesboro, North Carolina

2025 CARS Tour West Schedule

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Date Track Location SLM Winner PLM Winner LPL Winner Legends Winner
January 25 Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway Bakersfield, California n/a
February 8 Havasu 95 Speedway Lake Havasu City, Arizona n/a n/a
February 22 Tucson Speedway Tucson, Arizona n/a n/a
March 1 The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada n/a
March 22 The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada n/a
April 12 All American Speedway Roseville, California n/a
May 10 All American Speedway Roseville, California n/a
May 31 Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway Bakersfield, California n/a
June 7 Stockton 99 Speedway Stockton, California n/a
June 28 Madera Speedway Madera, California n/a
July 19 Colorado National Speedway Dacono, Colorado n/a n/a
August 16 Colorado National Speedway Dacono, Colorado n/a n/a n/a[9]
September 6 Orange Show Speedway San Bernardino, California n/a
September 27 Madera Speedway Madera, California n/a n/a
October TBA TBA TBA n/a TBA TBA TBA
November 14-16 Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway Bakersfield, California

2024 CARS Tour Schedule

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Date Track Location LMSC Winner PLM Winner
March 2-9 Southern National Motorsports Park Lucama, North Carolina Carson Kvapil (3/9) Kyle Campbell (3/2)
April 6 Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory, North Carolina Connor Zilisch Kyle Campbell
April 13[10] New River All-American Speedway Jacksonville, North Carolina Bobby McCarty n/a
April 20 Orange County Speedway Rougemont, North Carolina Brent Crews Kaden Honeycutt
May 3 Ace Speedway Altamahaw, North Carolina Carson Kvapil (2) Caden Kvapil
May 25 Tri-County Speedway Granite Falls, North Carolina Brenden Queen Jake Bollman
June 1 Langley Speedway Hampton, Virginia Connor Hall n/a
June 15 Dominion Raceway Thornburg, Virginia Brenden Queen (2) n/a
July 3 Caraway Speedway Sophia, North Carolina Brent Crews (2) Tristan McKee
July 27 Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory, North Carolina Ronnie Bassett Jr. Jimmy Renfrew, Jr.
August 3 [11] North Wilkesboro Speedway Wilkesboro, North Carolina Treyten Lapcevich Tristan McKee (2)
August 16 [12] Ace Speedway Altamahaw, North Carolina Brent Crews (3) Caden Kvapil (2)
August 24 Wake County Speedway Raleigh, North Carolina Landen Lewis n/a
August 30 Florence Motor Speedway Timmonsville, South Carolina Ryan Millington Spencer Davis
September 14 South Boston Speedway South Boston, Virginia Carson Kvapil (3) Spencer Davis (2)
October 12 Tri-County Speedway Granite Falls, North Carolina Conner Jones Kaden Honeycutt (2)
October 19 North Wilkesboro Speedway Wilkesboro, North Carolina Conner Jones (2) Kaden Honeycutt (3)

2024 CARS Tour West Schedule

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Date Track Location PLM Winner
March 16 [13] Kern Raceway Bakersfield, California Dylan Zampa
May 11 Irwindale Speedway Irwindale, California Joey Iest
May 25 Stockton 99 Speedway Stockton, California Henry Barton
June 15 The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada Jeffrey Peterson
July 3 The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada Jeffrey Peterson (2)
July 20 Stockton 99 Speedway Stockton, California Jeffrey Peterson (3)
August 31 Irwindale Speedway Irwindale, California Jeffrey Peterson (4)
October 5 All American Speedway Roseville, California Linny White
October 18 The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada Parker Malone
November 16 Kern Raceway Bakersfield, California Cody Kiemele

CARS Tour Champions (1997–present)

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Year Late Model Stock Super Late Model
2015 Brayton Haws Cole Timm
2016 Deac McCaskill Raphaël Lessard
2017 Josh Berry Cole Rouse
2018 Bobby McCarty Jared Fryar
2019 Bobby McCarty (2) Matt Craig
2020 Jared Fryar Matt Craig (2)
2021 Bobby McCarty (3) Carson Kvapil
Year Late Model Stock Pro Late Model
2022 Carson Kvapil Luke Fenhaus
2023 Carson Kvapil (2) Caden Kvapil
2024 Brenden Queen Kaden Honeycutt

Four Champions Playoff ProCup Champions (2001–2014)

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The following drivers won the Four Champions playoff series after the series was split into two divisions:

ProCup Series Champions (1997–2000)

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CARS Tour West Champions (2024–present)

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Year Super Late Model Pro Late Model Limited Pro Late Model[14] Legends
2024 n/a n/a Jeffrey Peterson n/a

CARS Tour Rookies of the Year (1996-present)

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CARS Tour Rookies of the Year

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Year Late Model Stock Super Late Model
2015 Myatt Snider Zane Smith
2016 Christian Eckes Raphaël Lessard
2017 Brandon Grosso Nolan Pope
2018 Sam Mayer Corey Heim
2019 Mini Tyrrell Carson Kvapil
2020 Connor Mosack Sammy Smith
2021 Kaden Honeycutt Garrett Hall
Year Late Model Stock Pro Late Model
2022 Chase Burrow Luke Fenhaus
2023 Cameron Bolin Katie Hettinger
2024 Brent Crews Jimmy Renfrew, Jr.

ProCup Rookies of the Year

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Notable alumni, competitors and graduates (1995–present)

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See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b "tricklefan.com". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
  2. ^ Martin, Douglas (2006-07-18). "Robert H. Brooks, 69, Owner of Hooters Restaurant Chain, Is Dead (Published 2006)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  3. ^ Austin, Langley. "Hansen, Stodder Partner to Reopen Rockingham for CARS Tour in March | race22.com". Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  4. ^ "CARS Tour Enters 2023 Season Under New Ownership Group". CARS Tour. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Justin Marks purchase CARS Tour". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media. January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  6. ^ "zMAX CARS Tour Adds West Coast Schedule for 2024". CARS Tour. CARS Tour. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  7. ^ "Familiar venues highlight 2025 zMAX CARS Tour schedule". CARS Tour. NASCAR Digital Network. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  8. ^ "CARS Tour West announces schedule and competition updates". CARS Tour West. MyRacePass Management. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  9. ^ Legends race is a INEX Legend Summer Nationals race and does not count towards the CARS Tour championship.
  10. ^ Race was postponed from March 23 due to weather
  11. ^ Races postponed from May 14-15 because of weather
  12. ^ Race postponed from August 9 because of weather.
  13. ^ Race was postponed from March 2 due to weather.
  14. ^ Ran as the Pro Late Model division in 2024
  15. ^ Matt Kenseth Biography at his official website Archived 2008-05-12 at the Wayback Machine; 2008; Retrieved April 30, 2008
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