After six consecutive years at Caraway Speedway, the 24th annual North-South Shootout will move to Southern National Motorsports Park for 2026. The annual end-of-year Tour-Type Modified showcase has previously been held at Caraway, Concord Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway, with Southern National marking the fourth track in the events history.
The two-day event will take place on November 6-7, with practice for both 602 and Tour-Type Modifieds taking place on Friday before racing on Saturday, which will be joined by Southern National’s ‘Road to the Classic’ program for local divisions. As of now, the agreement set in place by North-South Shootout owner Chad Kepley and Southern National track owner Michael Diaz is just for 2026 and is viewed as an opportunity by both parties to help grow the event in the short term, while also exploring opportunities for future collaboration.
“I’m really excited about bringing the North-South Shootout to Southern National,” said Kepley. “This race means a lot to me and to a lot of people who have been part of it over the years. I think the high banks are going to make for some great Modified racing. I’m grateful to Michael for believing in the Shootout and for working with me to respect its history while continuing to build for the future.”
The six consecutive year stint for the North-South Shootout at Caraway, which stretched from 2020 to 2025, was the second longest at one track in event history, only to the first eight year stretch of the event at Concord from 2003 to 2010. Caraway held the event from 2011 to 2014 before Concord hosted the event from 2015 to 2018. The lone running of the Shootout at Hickory was in 2019.
Meanwhile, the move to Southern National gives the Lucama, Nc track yet another marque event in the month of November, joining the Late Model Stock car Thanksgiving Classic set to run just three weeks later. Diaz is looking forward to the event being at his racetrack, and the fans and racers that come along with it.
“I’ve always enjoyed Modified racing, and I’m excited to have the North-South Shootout come to Southern National and continue the tradition of bringing northern and southern Modifieds together,” said Diaz. “There’s something special about these cars, the drivers, and the fans who follow them, and I think they’re going to put on an incredible show on this racetrack. I’d love to see the Shootout experience a resurgence and work with Chad to explore new opportunities for the event in the future.”
Matt Hirschman has won the past five events, bringing his total to 11-wins in 22 North-South Shootout starts. The last driver to win other than Hirschman was Max McLaughlin, who won the event in 2020.
