‘It was an outrage’ but CARS Tour drivers want nuanced talk about Cordele testing fee

While everyone in the CARS Tour has enjoyed their time at Cordele Motor Speedway in terms of the track and facility, the testing fee asked by the track on Thursday did elicit a degree of frustration amongst the racers.

The point was first made publicly by Lee Pulliam Performance driver Doug Barnes Jr. during the session window. It was supported by R&S Race Cars’ Tracy Richmond too.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., co-owner of the series and a participant this weekend wasn’t thrilled about the fee but didn’t want it to become a prevailing story while also publicly contemplating future policies.

Come Friday, veteran Tour racer Brandon Pierce felt Barnes was just drumming up controversy for his social media platforms and AirDoug YouTube channel, even as he conceded the fee was too high.

Pierce just would rather have a nuanced conversation about the topic.

“Do I think it’s a little steep for the testing fee, absolutely, I do,” Pierce said. “But at the same time, and I’m very vocal about this topic, in that everyone made a choice to come her yesterday. No one made you come down here and test from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“We practice the minimum three hours, which allowed us to get up to speed and have a feel for what we needed to do today in practice. No one made anyone spend all day here. It’s absolutely a steep testing fee but all of us felt like we needed to be here so it’s a choice that we made, right?

“At the end of the day, we all landed at the same choice, because look how many people are here.”

This is a new track for Late Model Stock Cars. Outside of the race on the Daytona International Speedway backstretch, this is the furthest south that this sub-discipline has raced.

CARS Tour teams valued the track time and Pierce conceded that the track saw a business opportunity.

“I think this circumstance was probably a little bit different because it’s the first time we’ve been here,” Pierce said. “I’m sure that their staff here saw it as an opportunity to make a financial gain on their end, and rightfully so, right?

“I mean, this place doesn’t look as good as it does for no reason, right? It takes money to keep these places up and if you want to run at prestigious race tracks, they’re going to have to put money into them.”

Fellow short track veteran Ryan Millington also didn’t like the price point but also echoed Pierce in expressing a nuanced response

“The testing fee was outrageous,” he said with a laugh. “That’s why everyone starting talking about it. Most of the tracks we go to is anywhere from $100 to $300 a day and we were a hundred and a quarter an hour for a minimum three hours, so it’s pricey.

“But, I guess that’s what you get to come here and have the cleanest bathrooms we’ve ever had at a track, a beautiful race track, where everything is spotless. I’ve enjoyed being here and we’ll come back and do it again next year if we have to.”

It’s worth noting that series co-owner Kevin Harvick took exception to the public discourse about it when everyone in the garage has his and Earnhardt’s cell phone numbers.

In various conversations with CARS Tour leadership, everyone recognizes that this particular price point probably wasn’t in the best interest of the series, especially after it undercut the starting money increase to entice teams to make the trip further south in the first place.

The likes of Harvick and series executive director Kip Childress says they are already exploring all manner of future policy from a week out testing ban or series enforced testing fee minimums, while also conceding that bans are hard to enforce.

Landon Huffman is pro testing ban and says he’s really enjoyed the one day shows offered by the SMART Modified Tour events he’s entered.

“It sucks but I only ran three hours and I think we have too much practice anyways, so in my opinion, I just did the minimum and I wasn’t going to buy a mock up set because it’s already too expensive,” Huffman said. “I made sure our car unloaded good and it is what it is.

“Hopefully the CARS Tour will look at some changes, and I have encouraged Dale and the series to look at a test ban of some sort, because I have been a strong advocate of how SMART Tour does everything — one day shows and a ban one week before the race.”

The issue with a policy like that as several CARS Tour decision makers have pointed out, is that they can’t stop teams from testing entirely, and a week before ban would just encourage some teams to make a trip two weeks before and thus make two trips down south instead of one.

At least for the Thursday test, everyone was here anyway and didn’t leave and come back a week later.

Huffman was undeterred.

“But at the end of the day, for the longevity of the series, I really feel like it’s important that something along those lines is implemented,” Huffman said. “Maybe not exactly like what the SMART Tour does but just some parameter to keep us from having to be here like we were yesterday.

“Like, three quarters of the Late Model Stock field was here yesterday, if not more than that. It’s important for us to get laps on a new track but at the same time, we have four freaking hours today so if you didn’t test, you’re already behind and that’s very frustrating.

“Hopefully something is done to make that better.”

Ultimately, Pierce says some of the younger drivers need the testing time so they aren’t liabilities on the track.

“There are positive things to come out of this too.”

Pierce said ‘sometimes we bicker and banter about the wrong things’ even if he didn’t like the fee.

“I’m not saying it wasn’t outrageous, because it was,” Pierce said. “But again, how long were you here? You made a choice to be here however long you were here and it’s the same opportunity for everyone and we’re all going to be here for four more hours today.”