MOORESVILLE, N.C. – The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour is back in action for the first of two visits this year to Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday night, one week after a wild race at Ace Speedway.

Saturday’s Race Face Tel-Med 300 at Hickory Motor Speedway is the series’ 12th trip to the historic three-eighths mile track – and through the years, Hickory has produced many highlights for both the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the CARS Super Late Model Tour.

In the CARS Super Late Model Tour, which returns to action for the first time since Southern National Motorsports Park in March, eight different drivers have visited victory lane – including NASCAR stars William Byron and Christopher Bell. Last August, Matt Craig became the third repeat winner at Hickory when he held off Bubba Pollard during the Throwback 276.

Eight drivers have also won in CARS Late Model Stock Tour competition at Hickory. Both races at Hickory last year saw first-time winners, as Taylor Gray won in the spring and Ryan Repko took the Throwback 276.

Last weekend at Ace Speedway, Ryan Millington became the 21st different winner in series history, edging out Layne Riggs in a photo finish.

The big news heading into Saturday’s race will be the absence of 2017 CARS Late Model Stock Tour champion and JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry. Berry was suspended for one race due to an incident with race leader Bobby McCarty with five laps to go at Ace Speedway that saw Berry wreck McCarty on the frontstretch after an incident between the two earlier in the evening.

Berry was immediately parked by series officials and disqualified from the results of the Race at Ace 125 as a result. His suspension was announced a few days later.

However, JR Motorsports will still be represented Saturday at Hickory by CARS Late Model Stock Tour rookie Connor Mosack. The young gun finished an impressive third in his debut outing with the team in March at Southern National Motorsports Park, followed by an 11th-place finish last Saturday at Ace Speedway.

Mosack hopes he can rebound at Hickory Motor Speedway, a track where he has run well in late model stock car competition.

“I think we really need to focus on qualifying well,” Mosack said. “If we can start inside the top 10, we’ll have a good chance of finishing up front. We have the speed. We ran there a couple weekends ago, and I think if we start up front, we can stay up front and race our way forward. It’s tough to come from the back.”

Mosack is a former champion in Legend car competition, winning championships in 2018 at the Summer Shootout, Asphalt Nationals and Road Course World Finals. He also picked up a championship in the Winter Nationals in 2019 before making the move to late model stock cars. Now running in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour, Mosack believes he’s in the best place to learn and gain experience.

“Obviously I’m happy to be racing with these guys,” he said. “It’s tough competition so it’s the best place for me to continue learning and improving in these cars. I like racing with the same guys every week, traveling to different places. There are going to be a lot of tracks I haven’t been to so I’m using this as a learning experience while trying to run well and have solid finishes.”

The late model stock car field also features a number of high-profile entries, including two-time and defending series champion Bobby McCarty, 2016 series champion Deac McCaskill, Ace Speedway winner Millington, Layne Riggs, Corey Heim and Drew Dollar, among others.

In the super late model division, Tyler Church is hoping to turn past successful runs at Hickory Motor Speedway into his first victory with the CARS Tour.

Church’s best CARS Tour finish was fifth at Tri-County Motor Speedway in 2017, though he is a previous winner in super late model action at Hickory. He comes into Hickory with confidence after a strong test earlier this year. He also helped Annabeth Barnes-Crum score her first late model stock car win at Hickory this past weekend.

“I’m so excited to get back in the car, especially here at home,” Church said. “I’ve worked through the winter months trying to figure out the all-new setup for the car. We tested a couple months back and I was really happy with it. The car had a lot of speed on old, worn out tires. I’ve been anticipating this race for two months. I’ve been helping Annabeth Barnes Crum this year at Hickory with whatever they need and to go to victory lane this past Saturday was awesome. I told them I would have to back that up this weekend.”

Winning in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour would mean a lot to Church.

“I want to get a win in the CARS Tour and do something my racing mentor, Preston Peltier, hasn’t done — win in both the former PASS South Series and the CARS Tour,” Church said. “I’d love to have that one over him. He’s still a great friend and I miss him out here. There are so many friends that have passed away in the last eight months and I more importantly want to win for them.”

Other super late model competitors on the entry list include defending super late model champion and the tour’s most recent Hickory winner, Matt Craig, Georgia ace Bubba Pollard, Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers Chandler Smith and Sammy Smith, Kodie Conner and more.

The event will be closed to fans, but the series will be broadcasting the event live via SPEED SPORT TV partner Pit Row TV. Fans can watch the action by visiting www.pitrow.tv or carstour.tv.