Midwest Tour’s new owners put Wisconsin on unified national rule book

The first order of business for the new leadership group of what has been called the ASA for the past three seasons is a significant rules change for the series called the Midwest Tour since 2007.

As part of the merger between the leadership groups of ASA and CARS Tour West, the Midwest Tour has now been rebranded as CARS Midwest Tour and will utilize the same United Late Model Rules Alliance technical specifications as every other division under the MDM Promotions umbrella in 2027.

For racers who predominantly race in Wisconsin, that means the latest effort to move this region off two-barrel carburetors and onto the four-barrel package used in what has been called ASA STARS and races like the Snowball Derby of the Southern Super Series built around it.

Moving onto the four barrel package also means teams will be required to update brakes, drivelines, suspensions and the like. This is something that has been tried at least three times before and Wisconsin racers have rejected it each time.

However, none of those attempts were spearheaded by someone as notable as Kevin Harvick, who joined western promoter and business partner Tim Huddleston as new investors into MDM Promotions founder Marty Melo.

The new MDM leadership structure was announced last week and places seven different touring divisions under the ‘CARS Tour’ umbrella. As a refresher, those divisions and their rebranded names are as follows:

• The ASA STARS National Tour will now become the CARS National Tour
• The ASA Midwest Tour will become the CARS Midwest Tour
• The CRA Pro Series will become CARS Pro Tour Midwest
• A new CARS Pro Tour South
• CARS Pro Tour Southwest
• CARS Pro Tour Northwest
• CARS Tour West Super Late Model

Each of these divisions will now utilize the same rules package.

To provide incentive to Wisconsin racers, CARS Midwest Tour races will each pay a minimum of $10,000-to-win and $2000-to-start. The marquee races, will of course, continue to feature larger payouts.  

Harvick detailed his strategy in a press release statement.

“Our goal is to establish a uniformed rules package nationwide,” Harvick added. “This allows our competitors and officials the consistency we have seen work across the country. Greater alignment will create the simplicity, organization, and structure that benefits the entire industry. The goal in aligning all these regions is to eventually crown a national champion in both the Pro and Super divisions, with the Midwest region playing a significant role in achieving that objective.”

The press release announcing the rules package also ended with an acknowledgement that everyone will have to work together.

The CARS Midwest Tour recognizes that transitioning to a nationally aligned rules package requires communication and coordination with competitors, engine builders, chassis manufacturers and other industry stakeholders. Additional technical information, implementation details and any necessary clarifications will be communicated to teams in advance of the 2027 racing season.

Previous ASA STARS Tour owner Bob Sargent and Track Enterprises attempted to bring four barrels to Wisconsin back in 2024 and was met with friction and tension. At one point, national racer Bubba Pollard told Wisconsin racers prior to the Dixieland 250 that they ‘need to put on your big boy britches’ to race in a national series race.

That was not received well.

Gregg McKarns, whose parents founded the Midwestern based ARTGO series in the 1980s, attempted to align with the Indiana based Champion Racing Association in 2015 and teams did not support the four barrels.

The elder McKarns sold ARTGO to NASCAR, which then tried to get off the tried and true Wisconsin rules package, and the rebranded NASCAR Elite Division went away after 2006. This paved the way for Tim Olson and Steve Einhaus to create Midwest Tour in 2007, selling it to McKarns in 2015, who then sold to Sargent in 2023.

But again, Harvick intends to be difference maker here, hoping to use his NASCAR star power and industry goodwill to change the status quo in a positive manner.

So far, the reception to this direction has been mixed, and there is work to do yet to get others on board to prevent the region from backsliding into its familiar historical cheaper package alternative.

What they’re saying

“It’s probably more positive than negative for me. “I love Wisconsin racing, so we’ll just make sure we have a Wisconsin car for those races.”
-Dan Fredrickson, Ty Fredrickson’s car owner

“I’m most interested in the health of the sport. But would four barrels maybe suit me better and maybe a less grippy tire? Probably. But I look at it as more of the industry as a whole, not just looking off of my own agenda.”
-Ty Majeski

“Just ride the wave, see what happens. At the end of the day, we all just hope we have a good place to race, and they pay good money at the shows. At the end of the day, we all want to have fun wherever we go.”
-Paul Shafer Jr.

“I can see the racers embracing it and the Midwest Tour has great car counts everywhere they go and then it’s business as usual. Or I kind of see it as the racers don’t want to do it, and then the local tracks are going to benefit and have higher car counts. They’re not going to go do the Midwest Tour stuff and they’re going to stay close to home.

“No matter what the rules come out, no matter what happens, I don’t think they’re quitting. … The guys who are here now are here for a while. Hopefully at least.”
-Veteran racer, car owner and Slinger Speedway owner Travis Dassow to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“They ask the rich guys what’s best for the poor guy, and that’s not exactly how this stuff’s supposed to work. But I will say they’re bringing more money into it, not necessarily making racing cheaper by any means, but the pay will be there.”
-Midwest Tour champion Casey Johnson to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel