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CARS Super Late Model Tour

Jeff Batten honors Mark Martin’s short track career in Throwback 276

Finally, a CARS Tour Throwback 276 paint scheme that pays tribute to a Late Model team instead of someone from NASCAR history.

That’s the case for Jeff Batten who will throw back to 1980 on August 3-4 for the second-ever throwback event held at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina. The 32-year-old will harken back to the design Mark Martin carried with him during a short track career that included four American Speed Association championships.

The wrap is identical to the orange and white No. 2 that the NASCAR Hall of Famer carried with him back in the day – specifically the 1980 version.

“I’ve always liked the ASA cars from back in the day,” Batten told Speed Sport in an exclusive press release-story post. “I’m basically from a dirt background, my family ran on dirt all the time, so we think of the dirt guys here. When I think back to asphalt racing on short tracks, I think about the guys in the Midwest like Mark and Rusty (Wallace) and Gary Balough.

“I’ve always liked that Mark Martin scheme. ”

READ MORE: 2018 CARS Tour Throwback 276 paint schemes

It’s worth noting that Martin actually built the first-ever straight-rail Super Late Model, fitting that Batten driver a Super Late Model and not a Late Model Stock.

Of course, Martin is more known for a NASCAR career that included 40 Cup victories and 49 Grand National victories. But he has always held an affinity for short track racing and still keeps up with races on social media.

“If you look back at his career, from the ’70s all the way up until 2013, that’s a span of like 40 years or something like that,” Batten said in the Speed Sport story-release. “To honor someone that has been in the sport that long and still dealing with the sport, that’s kind of a big deal.”

In addition to Hut Strickin, who will be honored by his son Taylor with a throwback scheme, Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Ron Hornaday Jr., Randy LaJoie and Robert Pressley will be on-hand to sign autographs and take part in a Q&A session before the race.

As is the case with all CARS Tour races, the Throwback 276 can be viewed live with a CARSTour.TV subscription package. The race will also air on MAVTV on September 6 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

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Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.

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