Former Cup, ASA Champ Named Grand Marshal for ASA STARS “Tar Heel 250”
Former NASCAR Cup Series and ASA National Series Champion Rusty Wallace has been named the Grand Marshal for the ASA STARS National Tour “Tar Heel 250” at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Wallace—the 1983 American Speed Association Champion, 1984 NASCAR CUP Series Rookie of the Year, 1989 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, and 55-time Cup Series race winner—will go into history as one of NASCAR’s finest drivers. For 16 straight seasons, Wallace won at least one race in NASCAR’s Cup Series, marking the third-longest such streak in history. At the time of his retirement in 2005, Wallace’s 55 victories marked the eighth-best all-time total and his nearly 20,000 laps led ranked seventh all-time.
Rusty’s accomplishments both on and off the track have been widely recognized. He is a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
For nearly 40 years, Wallace delighted racing fans not only with his hard-nosed and aggressive approach to racing, but also with a personality and charisma that are unmatched in the sport.
Yet, over all that time, and through countless races in different series, Rusty Wallace never raced at Hickory Motor Speedway.
“Never raced there,” Wallace confirmed. ”But I’ve been there many, many times. And I have run a lot of laps there in a Cup car…testing.”
Race fans know that Rusty is part of a very famous racing family. Russ Wallace competed on tracks in the Midwest, and his sons Rusty, Kenny and Mike followed his tire tracks.
In the 1970s, the sons were getting old enough to race the cars themselves. Rusty, the oldest, took over where his father left off. From 1974 to 1978, he was one of the most successful drivers in the Midwest, winning more than two hundred races before moving up the ranks of professional racing.
Kenny is still racing today. Kenny debuted on the NASCAR Cup circuit in 1990 but began racing the Busch Series in 1988. He competed with his brothers on numerous occasions and continues to have a great deal of success racing dirt modifieds.
Mike won four times in the Xfinity Series and five times in the Camping World Truck Series.
Both Kenny and Mike raced at Hickory, in what was then called the NASCAR Busch Series.
“I never raced at Hickory in the old Busch Series, because I went straight from ASA to Cup,” Rusty explained. “Now, in addition to all the testing we did there, I’ve been to the track many times with my son, Stephen. Stephen has had a reasonable amount of success at Hickory, in the Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series, and in the Cars Tour and in Super Late Models.”
The ASA STARS National Tour “Tar Heel 250” is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, May 22-23 at Hickory Motor Speedway. The event will serve as race #3 of the ASA Stars National Tour season. The Tar Heel 250 will be co-sanctioned by the ASA Southern Super Series.
The mid-week return of the ASA STARS National Tour will take place just prior to Charlotte Motor Speedways huge Memorial Day Weekend NASCAR events.
“I’m excited!” Wallace proclaimed. “Excited to come to Hickory representing ASA… and my time in ASA. I’m honored to have been asked to serve as Grand Marshall, and look forward to seeing this “new” ASA.”
Hauler parking, tech inspection and practice are scheduled for Wednesday, May 22. Go Fas Pole Qualifying is scheduled for 4:30 PM, and the 250 lap ASA STARS National Tour Main Event set for 7:30 PM Thursday, May 23.
To view the full Tar Heel 250 schedule, please click here. Tickets are available by visiting bit.ly/TarHeel250Tickets.
Fans unable to attend in person can catch all the action on TrackTV.com
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
Founded by Track Enterprises President Bob Sargent, The ASA STARS National Tour for pavement super-late model stock cars debuted in March 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America.
The ASA STARS National Tour is a ten-race championship series, offering a $100,000 point fund. The tour will visit ten different race tracks in 7 states in 2024, with the season beginning in February during Florida Speedweeks, and concluding in early November at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Track Enterprises (TE) is a racing Promotions Company based in Illinois, which owns and operates the ASA STARS National Tour. In addition to the STARS National Tour, Track Enterprises owns and operates Championship Racing Association (CRA) and the ASA Midwest Tour. TE also has a strategic alliance and controlling interest in the ASA Southern Super Series.
ASA Branded Tours
ASA Branded Tours encompasses four (4) pavement super late model racing series operating under the Track Enterprises banner, and under the ASA Brand via a licensing agreement for logo and IP Rights. ASA Branded Tours include the ASA STARS National Tour; the ASA CRA Super Series; The ASA Midwest Tour and the ASA Southern Super Series.
