CARS Tour heading to Georgia, Dale Jr to compete

For the first time since the zMAX CARS Tour was relaunched in 2015, the series is heading to the Peach State.

The zMAX CARS Tour will race at the Cordele Motor Speedway in Georgia on Saturday, April 12 and series co-owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will compete in the event.  Both the Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model tours will be in action in the first race in the Peach State.

The Late Model Stock portion will feature $2500 to start to incentivize travel.

“It’s exciting to have the chance to take the zMAX CARS Tour to Cordele,” Earnhardt, Jr. said in a series press release. “Fans in the area have expressed excitement about this race being added to the schedule. Our teams are looking forward to this new challenge. I’m thrilled to add it to the short list of events I’ll be racing in next year.”

Cordele Motor Speedway, formerly known as Watermelon Capital Speedway, was purchased by Greg Nolan in 2023.  Nolan and his staff have worked hard to restore the track to its former glory.

“I just bought the track at the end of last year,” Nolan said. “We’ve completely remodeled the track. It’s a lot nicer than it was prior and everyone says they love it. My son used to drive on [Cordele] all the time, so I wanted to keep [this place running], especially since its one of the last circle tracks in Georgia.”

Cordele Motor Speedway general manager Ricky Brooks, who also heads up the UARA National Super Late Model races, is equally excited to bring the CARS Tour to the south.

“It’s been all positive,” Brooks said. “The race track and area needs some energy the CARS Tour can bring. The pits have grown pretty fast, but we’re still working on the grandstands a little bit. I think the CARS Tour will bring more people [to Cordele] and hopefully they’ll stay as customers throughout the year.”

Nolan said he hopes to bring the series back each season.

The inaugural CARS Tour race at Cordele Motor Speedway will be broadcast on FloRacing, which is the exclusive streaming partner of the zMAX CARS Tour.