JACKSONVILLE, NC – New River All American Speedway’s season opener, which was pushed back due to rain in March, will be the busiest and biggest race weekend in speedway history.
The Ronnie Hetu Memorial and the National Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram 250, which features the zMAX CARS Tour and Grand National Super Series, will now take place on the same weekend. The Ronnie Hetu Memorial, which is headlined by a $1,000-to-win, 50 lap Mini Stock race, will serve as a Friday night appetizer along with Bombers, Rumbles and the return of the Street Stock division.
Saturday, April 13, the CARS Tour and Grand National Super Series will be in action along with the Grand National Super Series, Legend Cars, and Bandoleros. The CARS Tour race already boasts an impressive entry list, featuring names such as Carson Kvapil, Brenden Queen, and Isabella Robusto, among others, with more entries expected.
MORE: Weekend Schedule
“I’ve been wanting to do a two-day race weekend for a while,” New River All American Speedway operator Anthony Goodyear said. “When the CARS Tour race got postponed to the same date as the Ronnie Hetu Memorial, we knew we had to shuffle things around, and figured it would be a good weekend to run a doubleheader.”
The Ronnie Hetu Memorial on Friday night, April 12, will go green at a later start time of 8:00pm with tickets available online and at the gate for $15. $5 from each ticket sold will go to help two-year-old Paisleigh Coronado’s fight with leukemia. Along with the four featured races, a Grand National Super Series practice will be held during the race.
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The National Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram 250 on Saturday, April 13, will have a 7:00pm start time and is the third consecutive year the CARS Tour has run at New River. Tickets for that race are $25 for adults and young adults, $12 for seniors (63+), active and retired military, and kids ages 6-12, while kids five (5) and under are admitted free.
In 2022, Connor Hall scored the victory in CARS Tour action while Brenden Queen picked up the victory in 2023 in a thriller.
Understanding the zMAX CARS Tour presented by Soundgear
Today, the zMAX CARS Tour is owned and operated by two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion and Fox Sports commentator Kevin Harvick, 21-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and NBC Sports commentator Jeff Burton, and Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks.
Before its current success, the tour previously existed in the 1990s and through the 2000s as the once-popular Hooters Pro Cup Series, prior to the death of Hooters CEO Robert Brooks in 2006. After his untimely passing, the series struggled for identity before it was purchased by Jack McNelly. In 2015, series owner and president, McNelly reshaped the series into the CARS Tour. The inaugural race was hosted at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, North Carolina when Todd Gilliland, now a full-time competitor in the NASCAR Cup Series, scored the victory.
Since 2015, the series has been a proving ground for racing stars. Previous competitors in the series include 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, 2024 Daytona 500 winner William Byron, multi-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Christopher Bell, NASCAR Cup Series rookie Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, and Harrison Burton, among numerous other drivers who now compete in NASCAR’s national series.
Past champions:
2015 – Brayton Haws; 2016 – Deac McCaskill; 2017 – Josh Berry; 2018 – Bobby McCarty; 2019 – Bobby McCarty; 2020 – Jared Fryar; 2021 – Bobby McCarty; 2022 – Carson Kvapil; 2023 – Carson Kvapil
Understanding the Grand National Super Series
The Grand National Super Series will also return to New River for the fourth time in series history to kick off their 2024 campaign.
The series was formed in 2022 by former ARCA Menards Series team owner and competitor Bob Schact. The full-body stock car series features former cars from the Gen-4 eras of the NASCAR Cup Series and ARCA Menards Series as well as old USAR Pro Cup Series cars.
A.J. Henriksen who has 91 starts in the ARCA Menards Series, has won the championship in both seasons of competition. 10-time ARCA Menards Series champion Frank Kimmel has won two races at New River in Grand National competition, and the series has also featured Jeremy Mayfield and Jason Kitzmiller – who are both expected to compete on Saturday.
Former New River All American Speedway GNSS winners:
Frank Kimmel – July 16, 2022; A.J. Henriksen – April 1, 2023; Mike Kirk – September 2, 2023; Kevin Kromer – September 2, 2023
For more information and a complete schedule of the opening weekend doubleheader, visit https://newriverspeedway.com/carstour.
New River All-American Speedway is Jacksonville’s Action Attraction featuring racing and other events. For more information about New River All-American Speedway, check out the speedway’s website, like/follow “New River Speedway” on Facebook and/or follow @newriverswy on X (formerly known as Twitter).
