The CARS Solid Rock Carriers Tour (formerly known as the USARacing Pro Cup Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, CARS Pro Cup Series, Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series, CARS X1-R Pro Cup Series) is a

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

series in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is sanctioned by the

Championship Auto Racing Series In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

and sponsored by Solid Rock Carriers. The series races throughout the United States on paved short tracks in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

History

Chase Elliott and John Gibson North Wilkesboro 2010

The sanctioning body was formed by

Hooters Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with ...

owner

Robert Brooks Robert Darren Brooks (born June 23, 1970) is a former American football wide receiver who attended University of South Carolina and played for the Green Bay Packers (1992–1998) and the Denver Broncos. Biography Early life Brooks sta ...

. Brooks created the organization to honor the memories of four people who died in an April 1, 1993 airplane crash: Brooks' son Mark Brooks, reigning

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

champion

Alan Kulwicki Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional ...

, Dan Duncan, and pilot Charlie Campbell. The sanctioning body started as the Hooters Cup late model series in 1995. Brooks decided to stop sanctioning the late model series in favor of the Pro Cup series while at the September 1997 race at the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...

. Brooks wanted to move to steel-bodied racecars much like those raced in the NASCAR Busch Series (now NASCAR Xfinity Series) and ARCA Racing Series at the time. There were eleven races in 1997. The series was expanded to twenty races in 1998. In 2001, the series devised a "northern division" and a "southern division" that race separately. After the regular season, the top drivers from each division participate in a five-race playoff series called the Four Champions Challenge. Winners of the respective division are awarded a 25-point bonus for the playoff and a cash bonus as regular season champions. The driver who gets the most points in the Four Champions races, and the seeding points, (four races in 2001, five races from 2002 until 2005, six in 2006, 5 races in 2007) is declared the USAR champion. At the end of the season, each of the top 30 teams that competes in at least half of the series' regular season races in their division is given entry points based on the number of points one competitor can earn for finishing in that respective position in a race. Beginning in 2006, the top 15 in each division automatically qualified. Each driver collects points for each race they participate in during the Championship Series, adding to their entry points collected from their regular season finish. A ten-point bonus is awarded for every driver who attempts to qualify at every race, although driver must race three of the six races to qualify for postseason bonus prizes. Cash bonuses are available for winning four, five, or all six postseason races. In 2003, Shane Huffman won a bonus for winning three of the five races. The success of this series led to NASCAR devising its own playoff system in 2004. The sanctioning body's owner, Robert Brooks, who also owned the Hooters restaurant chain, died in July 2006, leading to the eventual sale of the series and the restaurant chain's disassociation. USAR officials combined the Northern and Southern divisions in 2009. Hooters dropped its sponsorship of the series the same season, and the series later re-branded itself as the USARacing Pro Cup Series. On August 25, 2011, Series Director and Owner Jack McNelly announced that the series would be operating under the name "Championship Auto Racing Series" (CARS Pro Cup). The series picked up title sponsorship from Revolution Oil, renaming the series the Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series through the 2013 season. After entries began dropping through the final years of the season, during the 2014 playoff (only ten cars were entered at some races during the season with a low of four cars at Coastal Plains Raceway in Jacksonville, NC), CARS began to transition the series into a Late Model Stock Car series. Late Model Stocks (which use perimeter chassis, not to be confused with offset chassis Super Late Models) were permitted in selected races. By the end of the 2014 season, with the demise of the UARA-STARS Tour after a year's suspension, CARS effectively transitioned the Pro Cup into the CARS Tour which effectively absorbed the former UARA tour by adding a division for Late Model Stocks (the perimeter style cars run at places like Martinsville and most tracks in the southeast) and Super Late Models (the types of cars run in the Snowball Derby, Winchester 400, Oxford 250, among other races nationally). The new two-division format started in the 2015 season, with car counts averaging 55 cars per stop in the ten-race tour combined. The sanctioning body once again broke the mold in 2015 by becoming the first asphalt tour to carry its own streaming and broadcast service, CARS Tour TV, a division of Pit Row Media and their Pit Row TV brand. For the first time in asphalt late model history, an entire tour's schedule was broadcast online and has been since the tour's re-inception in 2015. Pit Row Media has a long-term agreement with the tour to produce and carry event broadcasts, including syndication agreements to REV TV in Canada, SPEED SPORT on MAVTV in the USA, and other networks and distribution partners. The new format consisted of a 100-150 lap race in each division. The Super Late Model Tour has a working relationship with the United Super Late Model Rules Alliance, which consists of the ARCA/CRA Super Series, ARCA Midwest Tour,

SRL Southwest Tour The SRL Southwest Tour Series is a late model stock car racing league operating since 2001. The series is a continuation of the Tri-Track Challenge run in California between 1997 and 2000. The series is also connected to the former Supermodified Ra ...

and the Southern Super Series for a common Super Late Model rules package to establish teams in any of the major tours can run all series with few changes. After three seasons with the format, CARS split the two divisions on selected weekends beginning in 2018, in order to prevent conflicts with major Super Late Model and Late Model Stock races from a regional and national basis. In 2021, the Late Model Stock Tour had plans to once again visit Rockingham Speedway, formerly known as "The Rock" during its NASCAR days, reviving the dormant track for a second time under new ownership and management. Starting in 2022, the CARS Tour will discontinue the Super Late Model Division and replace it with a Pro Late Model Division in an attempt to draw more competitors.

2023 CARS TOUR Schedule

CARS Tour Champions (1997–present)

Late Model and Pro Late Model format (2022-present)

Late Model and Super Late Model format (2015-2021)

Four Champions Playoff ProCup Champions (2001-2014)

The following drivers won the Four Champions playoff series after the series was split into two divisions: * 2014 Caleb Holman * 2013 Clay Rogers * 2012 J.P. Morgan * 2011 Jeff Agnew * 2010 Clay Rogers * 2009 Clay Rogers * 2008 Benny Gordon * 2007

Bobby Gill Bobby Gill (born June 25, 1959) is an American former stock car racing driver. He raced for a number of years in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, earning four top-tens in 16 starts. Pre-NASCAR Career Prior to racing in NASCAR's national tour ...

* 2006 Clay Rogers * 2005 Benny Gordon * 2004 Clay Rogers * 2003

Shane Huffman Shane S. Huffman (born December 30, 1973) is a former American professional stock car racing driver and current crew chief for Bret Holmes' No. 23 team in the ARCA Menards Series. He drove the No. 40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado in the ...

* 2002 Jason Sarvis * 2001

ProCup Series Champions (1997-2000)

* 2000

* 1999

* 1998 Jeff Agnew * 1997 Mario Gosselin

CARS Tour Rookies of the Year (1996-present)

CARS Tour Rookies of the Year

ProCup Rookies of the Year

* 2014 Codie Rohrbaugh * 2013 Brady Boswell * 2012 Dalton Hopkins * 2011

Blake Jones Blake C. Jones (born January 12, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports. Racing career Monster ...

* 2010 Logan Ruffin * 2009 Lucas Ransone * 2008 Drew Herring * 2007 Brandon Ward * 2006 Derek Kale * 2005 Woody Howard * 2004 Matt Carter * 2003 Benny Gordon * 2002 Brian Ross * 2001 Toby Robertson * 2000

Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured ...

* 1999 Steven Christian * 1998 Jeff Agnew * 1997 Brad May * 1996 E. Shane Rice

Notable alumni, competitors and graduates (1995–present)

Anthony Alfredo Anthony Francis Alfredo (born March 31, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 23 Chevrolet Camaro for Our Motorsports. Racing career Early career After ...

* Benny Gordon *

Brian Scott Brian Joseph Scott (born January 12, 1988) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Beginnings Scott has been racing competitively since the age of 12. One of his early career highlights came at the 360 Nationals ...

* "Bubba" (Andrew) Pollard *

Buckshot Jones Roy Norris "Buckshot" Jones (born July 23, 1970) is an American racing driver who has competed in NASCAR and sprint cars. He most recently ran in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series. Life and career Jones earned the nickname "Buckshot" from his gr ...

* Cale Gale * Caleb Holman *

Carson Hocevar Carson S. Hocevar (born January 28, 2003) is an American professional dirt track and stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports. He has also ...

*Carson Kvapil *

Chad Chaffin Chad Chaffin (born July 20, 1968) is an American former stock car racing driver. Chaffin has raced in all three of NASCAR's major series. He was a two-time track champion at the historic Nashville Speedway USA, where he met his friend, Andy Ki ...

Chase Elliott William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2014 NASCA ...

Chase Purdy Chase R. Purdy (born November 11, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He has competed for MDM Mot ...

Christian Eckes Christian D. Eckes (pronounced "eck-iss"; born November 10, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado for McAnally-Hilgemann Raci ...

* Christopher Bell * Colby Howard * Cole Rouse *

Corey Heim Corey D. Heim (born July 5, 2002) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Tundra for TRICON Garage. He has previously competed ARCA Menards Ser ...

Corey LaJoie Corey Daniel LaJoie (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports. LaJoie is the son of two-time NASCAR ...

* Dakoda Armstrong *

Dalton Sargeant Daniel Dalton Sargeant (born March 25, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 25 Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing. He was the 2016 ARCA Racing ...

* Danny O'Quinn * Darrell "Bubba" Wallace *

Drew Dollar Andrew J. Dollar (born December 2, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, drivin ...

* Gus Dean * Gracie Trotter *

Hailie Deegan Hailie Rochelle Deegan (born July 18, 2001) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 13 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing. Deegan is currently a Ford Perfor ...

* Hannah Newhouse *

Harrison Burton Harrison Brian Burton (born October 9, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing. Racing career Early years Burton's rac ...

Jake Crum Christopher Jake Crum (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Through 2006, Crum captured multiple National Championships through the WKA, IKF, and INEX organizations. In 2007, Crum became th ...

James Buescher James H. Buescher (born March 26, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the 2012 Truck Series champion. After parting ways with NTS Motorsports in 2015, Buescher became a real estate agent. He owns and operates his ow ...

Jeb Burton John Edward "Jeb" Burton IV (born August 6, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro for Our Motorsports. He is the son of Ward Burton ...

* Joe Graf, Jr. *

Joey Coulter Joseph Coulter (born June 8, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Early career A native of Miami Springs, Florida, Coulter started his racing career in 1998, racing go-karts at West Coast Kart way in Naples, ...

Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Ser ...

John Hunter Nemechek John Hunter Nemechek (born June 11, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the son of NASCAR driver Joe ...

John Wes Townley John Wesley Townley (December 31, 1989 – October 2, 2021) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He competed in NASCAR's Xfinity and Truck Series from 2008 to 2016, winning a race in the latter in 2015. Townley's father Tony is a ...

Jon Wood Jonathan Wood (born October 25, 1981) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the grandson of Glen Wood, one of the famous Wood Brothers who founded what has become the NASCAR Cup Series' longest continuously active t ...

Josh Berry Joshua W. Berry (born October 22, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. Berry has also competed for JRM in late model ...

* Justin Haley *

Justin Labonte Justin Labonte (born February 5, 1981) is a former NASCAR Busch Series driver. He is the son of two-time Winston Cup Series champion Terry Labonte, and the nephew of 2000 champion Bobby Labonte. He currently races on short tracks in North Carolin ...

Kaz Grala Kaz Edward Grala ( ; born December 29, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. The Boston native is the youngest NASCAR ...

Kertus Davis Kertus Davis (born February 26, 1981) is a NASCAR driver. He is currently the competition director for JD Motorsports. Prior to NASCAR/USAR Davis began racing in go-karts at the age of eight, competing in his hometown of Gaffney around various ...

Landon Cassill Landon Douglas Cassill (born July 7, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Early career Cassill was born in Cedar R ...

* Landon Huffman *

Lee Pulliam Lee Pulliam (born April 5, 1988) is an American stock car racing driver and team owner. He is a four-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I national champion, and is the owner of late model racing team Lee Pulliam Performance. Racing ...

*Matt Craig *

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...

Matt Kenseth Biography at his official website
; 2008; Retrieved April 30, 2008 *

Mason Diaz Mason A. Diaz (born May 16, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes for Ferrier-McClure Racing, driving their No. 44 Toyota part-time in the ARCA Menards Series East and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series. Racing ...

Myatt Snider Gurney Myatt Snider (born December 30, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the son of '' NASCAR on NBC'' pit reporter Marty Snider. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 31 Chevrolet ...

* Nicole Behar *

Noah Gragson Noah Quinn Gragson (born July 15, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS Motorsports. He previously drove full-time in the N ...

* Peyton Sellers * Philip Morris * Quin Houff * Raphael Lessard * Regan Smith *

Riley Herbst Riley Dederick Kern Herbst (born February 24, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 98 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Campi ...

Rodney Childers Rodney S. Childers (born June 7, 1976) is an American NASCAR Cup Series crew chief and former professional stock car racing driver. He is currently employed at Stewart-Haas Racing as the crew chief for the No. 4 Ford Mustang, driven by Kevin Har ...

Ross Kenseth Ross Kenseth (born May 25, 1993) is an American stock car racing driver who currently competes part-time in the Blizzard Series. He is the son of 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth. He has competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity ...

Ryan Repko Ryan T. Repko (born October 1, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time at Millbridge Speedway in the Micro Sprint division driving the No. 71 Hyper Racing Chassis for Ryan Repko Racing. Racing career St ...

Sam Mayer Sam A. Mayer (born June 26, 2003) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, a team in which he is also a development driver for ...

*Sammy Smith *

Scott Riggs Russell Scott Riggs (born January 1, 1971) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the 92 for RBR Enterprises in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Racing career Early career Riggs was born in Bahama, Nort ...

Scott Wimmer Scott Allan Wimmer (born January 26, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He has a total of six wins in the Xfinity Series. His brother Chris Wimmer competed in the Busch Series. Wimmer co-owns State Park Speedway in Wausau ...

Spencer Davis Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and ...

*Stacy Puryear * Stefan Parsons *

Stephen Leicht Stephen Russell Leicht (born January 9, 1987) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He has over 150 feature event wins in quarter midgets and go-karts, and was the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year. He last competed ...

* Stephen Nasse * Steve Wallace * Tanner Gray * Tate Fogleman * Taylor Gray *

Timothy Peters Timothy J. Peters (born August 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 25 Chevrolet Silverado for Rackley WAR. He was a member of the Bob ...

Todd Gilliland Todd J. Gilliland (born May 15, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 38 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports. He is the son of NASCAR driver and team owner D ...

Todd Peck Todd Michael Peck (born January 29, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 96 Toyota Tundra for Peck Motorsports. He has also raced in the NASCAR ...

Trevor Bayne Trevor Mitchell Bayne (born February 19, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver, dirt racing driver, team owner, and businessman. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe ...

Ty Gibbs Tyler Randal Gibbs (born October 4, 2002) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 54 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs was the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion ...

Tyler Ankrum Tyler M. Ankrum (born March 6, 2001) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 16 Toyota Tundra for Hattori Racing Enterprises. Ankrum won the 2018 NASCAR ...

Tyler Matthews Tyler P. Matthews (born December 1, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports. Racing career Camping World Truck S ...

Vinnie Miller Vance Matthew "Vinnie" Miller (born August 16, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro/Toyota Supra for B. J. McLeod Motorsports. He ...

* William Byron * Zane Smith

Notes

References

External links

Official CARS Racing Tours WebsiteOfficial CARS Tour TV websiteCARS Tour Digest WebsiteCARS Pro Cup Series stats from 1997 to presentInsight to new Pro Cup owners
*https://web.archive.org/web/20120426085404/http://www.procuponline.com/trackback.php?id=20110825102747910 {{CARS Pro Cup racetracks Hooters Stock car racing series in the United States Auto racing organizations in the United States 1997 establishments in the United States