One of the most cherished events in the CARS Tour is set to return this weekend following a one-year absence.
The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the series from running the Throwback 276 at Hickory Motor Speedway in 2020 but a healthy field of 39 cars split between the two divisions are set to do battle on Saturday evening.
Over half of the Late Model Stock field will have a throwback scheme of some kind for their 138-lap feature. Among the drivers being honored include 1983 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Allison, two-time Xfinity Series champion Jack Ingram and two-time Hickory track champion Tommy Houston.
Mixed in with all of the tribute schemes is an intense battle for the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour championship. Bobby McCarty, who won the most recent CARS Tour race at Hickory in a photo finish with Tyler Matthews, currently leads Kaden Honeycutt by two points with Justin Johnson and Jared Fryar also within striking distance.
The four contenders for the CARS Late Model Stock title will all have to deal with a competitive field featuring drivers like Bubba Pollard and Josh Berry, who is coming off a victory in the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway on July 24.
CARS Super Late Model Tour points leader Matt Craig also does not have much breathing room. He currently holds a one-point lead over Carson Kvapil at the halfway point of the 2021 season.
Craig has been winless through four races so far but nearly won the season-opener at Hickory, leading the entire race before an aggressive move from Kvapil in Turn 2 on the final lap gave him his first career CARS Super Late Model Tour victory.
The on-track action for Saturday’s Throwback 276 is set to begin at 8 p.m. and can be seen live on carstour.tv. Both entry lists can be found below.
Late Model Stock Entry List:
#01 Conner Jones
#07 Chase Dixon
#07m Bobby McCarty
#4 Bubba Pollard
#5 Connor Mosack
#6 Mike Darne
#6w Mitch Walker
#7 Mini Tyrrell
#8 Josh Berry
#8b Sam Butler
#8j Justin Johnson
#11 Layne Riggs
#11d Mason Diaz
#14 Jared Fryar
#14m Craig Moore
#15 Ryan Millington
#17 Joe Valento
#22 Timothy Peters
#25 Jonathan Shafer
#30 Danny Bohn
#40 Tyler Matthews
#41 Jonathan Findley
#49 Brandon Pierce
#49m Deac McCaskill
#75 Landon Huffman
#87 Mike Looney
#92 Kaden Honeycutt
#95 Sam Yarbrough
#97 Daniel Silvestri
Super Late Model Entry List:
#6 Brandon Setzer
#7 Justin Crider
#7c Tyler Church
#8 Daniel Webster
#11 Michael Ritch
#21 Zane Smith
#24 Chandler Smith
#35 Carson Kvapil
#49 Jeff Batten
#54 Matt Craig
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