The most prestigious race on the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour calendar in the Old North State Nationals is set to take place at Orange County Speedway this weekend.
Now in its third year, the CARS Tour was forced to move the event to Greenville-Pickens Speedway last year after COVID-19 restrictions in North Carolina prevented Orange County from hosting the race.
The event is back in Orange County for 2021, where a full field consisting of series champions, Super Late Model veterans and Late Model Stock rookies will battle each other for 200 laps as they look to take home a $30,000 race-winning paycheck.
Here are some storylines to keep an eye on throughout the weekend.
JOSH BERRY’S BUSY WEEKEND
Entered as the defending winner of the Old North State Nationals, 2017 CARS LMSC Tour champion Josh Berry is also scheduled to compete for JR Motorsports in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
While the logistics are complicated yet feasible, one problem could potentially derail any hope Berry has of claiming a second straight victory.
The weather is expected to be an issue at Talladega all day on Saturday, with recent forecast models projecting a 90 percent chance of precipitation well into the evening.
Postponing the Xfinity race to Monday is a possibility but moving the event to before or after the Cup Series race on Sunday would force Berry to skip Orange County.
SUPER LATE MODEL INVADERS
A handful of Super Late Model veterans have filed an entry in a bid to claim $30,000 in the Old North State Nationals on Sunday.
Bubba Pollard will be driving a car fielded by Marcus Richmond in the 200-lap main event. The well-renowned racer has only competed in a handful of Late Model Stock events during his career, with his most recent race being at Ace Speedway on June 6, 2020.
The 2019 Winchester 400 winner in Stephen Nasse has also filed an entry. Nasse will be making his first career Late Model Stock start on Sunday afternoon and will be driving a car fielded by veteran Jamie Yelton.
Trevor Noles will be behind the wheel of a Lee Faulk Racing Chevrolet. Noles is no stranger to victory lane at Orange County, having won the prestigious CARS Super Late Model Tour Mid-Atlantic Classic back in 2019.
CAN A LEE PULLIAM DRIVER FIND VICTORY LANE?
The inaugural Old North State Nationals in 2019 saw four-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion Lee Pulliam hold off Josh Berry for the victory in an intense battle during the closing laps.
Pulliam will not be racing in this year’s edition of the Old North State Nationals but will be represented by his two drivers in veteran Brandon Pierce and relative newcomer Jonathan Shafer.
Pierce picked up his one and only CARS LMSC Tour victory at Southern National Motorsports Park in 2019 but has not one since that day, only registering four more Top 5s since that win.
Shafer moved over to Pulliam’s operation after spending his rookie season with Nelson Motorsports. The 15 year-old showed potential in 2020, with his best finish being a fourth at Dominion Raceway after he led 58 laps from the pole.
LAYNE RIGGS SEARCHING FOR GLORY AT HOME TRACK
Orange County has long been a special place for Layne Riggs, as his father Scott visited victory lane several times there before going on to have a decent career in NASCAR.
Layne has done everything possible to follow in his father’s footsteps towards NASCAR’s top divisions and has already obtained several accomplishments that include a CARS LMSC Tour win at Orange County in 2017.
Despite being 18 years old, Riggs is now in his fifth full-time CARS LMSC Tour season and is looking to finally generate enough momentum for his first series championship.
A win in the Old North State Nationals on Sunday could be the first step towards reaching that goal and potentially scoring an opportunity to race elsewhere starting in 2022.
THERE WILL LIKELY BE AN EXCITING FINISH
Over the past year and a half, a theme that has developed in the CARS LMSC Tour is the number of finishes that get decided on the very last lap.
The 2021 season opened up with veteran Justin Johnson picking up his first career victory in the series at Dillon Motor Speedway after passing Layne Riggs and beating him back to the start-finish line by .085 seconds.
Two weeks later, another CARS LMSC Tour race would come down to a photo finish. Tyler Matthews came .025 seconds short of edging two-time series champion Bobby McCarty for his first win after they both battled each other hard on the final restart.
If the 2019 finish between Josh Berry and Lee Pulliam is any indication, then fans are expected to be treated to an enthralling Old North State Nationals on Sunday with $30,000 on the line.
HOW TO WATCH
Fans will be allowed to attend the weekend’s activities at Orange County but only a 50 percent capacity is allowed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
For those who are unable to attend in person, CARSTour.TV will broadcast the four heat races along with Carolina Pro Late Model and Crate Modified Series on Saturday evening starting at 7 p.m. before resuming their coverage the following day at 2 p.m. for the 200-lap Late Model Stock feature.
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