Judging by the newly-released entry list for Saturday’s CARS Tour doubleheader at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway, the state of the series is the healthiest it has ever been. 68 cars are entered between the Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model divisions for the Tuff Shed 250.

The Late Model Stock division entry list is a massive 41 cars deep, resulting in a last-chance qualifier race being added to the schedule for the first time in division history. The starting field for the 150-lap feature is 32 cars with 26 locking in on qualifying time, another two cars receiving provisionals, while the final four starting positions will come out of the last-chance race.

Of course we already knew the big names of the CARS Tour would be there like Carson Kvapil, who leads the points early in his title defense season, and Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, and Mason Diaz, and Cale Gale, and the rest of the Touring 12. But there’s plenty of star power on this entry list beyond the full-time drivers this week.

We’ll start with the second-generation driver out of Bahama, North Carolina. That driver is Layne Riggs. Actually, let us be more accurate. That driver is 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion, Layne Riggs. Riggs has six CARS Tour victories and finished second in points in 2020, and also finished third in this race last season.

Now we’ll move on to another champion, this time from Claremont, North Carolina. We’re talking about Landon Huffman, the 2022 Late Model track champion at Hickory Motor Speedway. While he’s winless in his previous nine CARS Tour starts, it wouldn’t be a shock to anybody to see his No. 75 in victory lane on Saturday night as he tries to defend his home turf.

Then there’s the young phenom from Minnesota who has made a name for himself in Super Late Models, Pro Late Models, and now the ARCA Menards Series East. We’re talking about William Sawalich, from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Sawalich has gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Bubba Pollard and won. He scored six victories in the CARS Tour Pro Late Model division in 2022, including a trip to Hickory’s victory lane. He only made five CARS Tour LMSC starts in 2022, but he scored two top-five finishes. And both of those came at Hickory. He finished fourth in this race, and then second in the LMSC portion of the Throwback 276.

Kaden Honeycutt of Aledo, Texas has been making a name for himself with multiple CARS Tour wins dating back to 2021. Honeycutt also had a strong run at this year’s Chili Bowl on the dirt where he made the A-Main on his qualifying night in his debut. Honeycutt is strong at abrasive tracks like Hickory, with wins coming at Florence Motor Speedway, Ace Speedway, and Langley Speedway.

One driver we haven’t mentioned yet as one to watch for is one of the Touring 12 drivers, and that is Chad McCumbee from Supply, North Carolina. McCumbee dominated this race en route to the victory last season. He led 120 of the 150 laps run. The only other drivers to lead laps in this race last year were Carson Kvapil and Layne Riggs.

The Pro Late Model portion of the Tuff Shed 250 also boasts a large and deep entry list for their 100-lap feature with nearly 30 cars entered.

Young guns like Gavan Boschele and Brent Crews grab a lot of the attention, but the favorite for the win is Kannapolis, North Carolina’s Matt Craig. Craig has two CARS Tour Super Late Model championships on his resume, plus nine wins, four of which have come right here at Hickory.

Then there’s also Katie Hettinger, the 15-year-old from Michigan who lit Hickory on fire in 2022 in the Late Model Stock division. Hettinger won four times in 2022 to become the all-time wins leader among women drivers at Hickory Motor Speedway. She’s still just getting her feet wet in the Pro Late Model, but she already has a win this year under her belt. That win came at New Smyrna Speedway’s World Series of Asphalt back in February.

The CARS Tour Tuff Shed 250 will be broadcast live on FloRacing on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. ET as part of every FloRacing subscription. To subscribe to FloRacing, click here.

CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Entry List

CARS Tour Pro Late Model Entry List