This hasn’t been the debut full-time CARS Tour season that Grayson Cullather wanted it to be, so he’s turning to Cole Trickle to change his luck next weekend in the Throwback 276 at Hickory Motor Speedway.
For the second-ever retro race at the Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars, Cullather will run the well-known Days of Thunder No. 51 that the fictional Trickle took to victory in the Daytona 500. It was designed by Bradley McCaskill and Grafix Unlimited.
“It’s such a classic paint scheme that everyone recognizes,” Cullather said. “You always quote that movie at the track when you’re around your buddies. Cole was this young guy came out of nowhere and went through a lot.
“We’ve had a crazy season so why not use the scheme that Cole uses when he finally breaks through?”
READ MORE: 2018 CARS Tour Throwback 276 paint schemes
After scoring two top-10s in his two starts at Dominion last season, Cullather had hoped for similar results in his first championship effort. Instead, a combination of bad luck and sub-par qualifying efforts has Cullather looking to a change of paint for a change of pace.
In Days of Thunder, Trickle got injured in a crash in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona. He eventually returns to Daytona the next spring and wins the Great American Race.
Now, Culather is hoping for a similar story of redemption at Hickory.
In addition to Hut Strickin, who will be honored by his son Taylor with a throwback scheme, Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Ron Hornaday Jr., Randy LaJoie and Robert Pressley will be on-hand to sign autographs and take part in a Q&A session before the race.
As is the case with all CARS Tour races, the Throwback 276 can be viewed live with a CARSTour.TV subscription package. A condensed version of the race will also air on MAVTV on September 6 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
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