The fourth race of the ASA STARS National Tour will be nothing like the third race. The North Wilkesboro (NC) event had a cast of characters that mostly had not seen or raced at the venue. That will not be the case at Tar Heel 250 at Hickory Motor Speedway (NC) on Thursday night.
Right out of the gates Cole Butcher should be a serious contender after having won both Pro All Stars Series (PASS) events at Hickory in March. Those twin-150’s were run on the same day and the distance of 300 laps is longer than the upcoming ASA event.
William Sawalich will be another one to watch after a pair of CARS Tour Pro Late Model wins at Hickory in 2022. He has also won there in Late Model Stock action in the NASCAR Weekly Series.
Twice a winner in the past, Bubba Pollard also knows his way around Hickory Motor Speedway. He’s got over 1200 laps there and has an average finish of 10.44.
It’s been a tough start to the season for Stephen Nasse, but Hickory Motor Speedway has seen some magic from the Florida born driver. Nasse won the Easter Bunny 150 in 2011. He hopes to walk out of Hickory with another win.
North Carolina driver Matt Craig is looking to add to his trophy case, as he has four wins at Hickory in the past. One note about Craig is that he has led the most laps this season on the ASA STARS National Tour. If he gets out front, he will add to that total.
On the back end of some of the standouts you have guys like Ty Majeski who has never raced at Hickory. Despite no starts at the venue, you would expect him to pick things up quickly. He knows the art of saving tires and that’s the key to Hickory.
The real wildcard is points leader Casey Roderick. He’s run Hickory twice, the last time in 2015 and he finished a lap down. The first time was with the ASA SAT Series back in 2008, where he was second. He was only 16 at the time.
The Tar Heel 250 is the fourth race for the ASA STARS National Tour and it’s also a combination event with the ASA Southern Super Series. Green Flag is slated for 7:30pm.
The ASA STARS National Tour opened the ten race, six-state schedule at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL on Saturday, March 11. Bubba Pollard is the most recent winner with the series, besting a field of 52 drivers at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
For more information regarding the Southern Super Series, visit the series website at www.southernsuperseries.com. Follow us on Facebook at Southern Super Series, on Twitter at @SoSuperSeries, and on Instagram at @officialsouthernsuperseries.
For the full ASA STARS National Tour schedule, plus Super Late Model rules and other information, please visit the series website at starsnationaltour.com, or be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: STARS National Series | Twitter: @racewithstars | IG: @starsnational).
ASA STARS National Tour
The ASA STARS National Tour debuted in March of 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America. Announced last October, many of the best drivers in America will compete in the ten-race national tour with a minimum $100,000 point fund. The championship team will be guaranteed $25,000.
The ASA STARS National Tour is made up of three races from each of the regional pavement Super Late Model Series under the Track Enterprises banner; the ASA CRA Super Series, the ASA Midwest Tour and the ASA Southern Super Series.
The Team Construction Winner’s Circle program has been announced as a part of the ASA STARS National Tour for licensed drivers/teams with perfect attendance. The program provides additional financial incentives to those teams who support the Series, thanks to Team Construction.
Track Enterprises, a Racing Promotions Company based in Illinois, will operate the ASA STARS National Tour. It announced the acquisition of the CRA sanctioning body in January and followed that up with the purchase of the Midwest Tour in July. In October, Track Enterprises President, Bob Sargent announced a partnership with the Southern Super Series which set the table for the formation of the ASA STARS National Tour.
