The CARS Tour has issued its penalties following the multiple incidents that took place during and at the conclusion of the Pro Late Model portion of last Saturday’s Blue Ridge 250 at Tri-County Motor Speedway, one of which will have a tremendous effect on the championship battle.

Katie Hettinger has been suspended for one race, which will be served at the season finale on November 4 at Caraway Speedway for intentionally crashing Caden Kvapil, her championship rival, on a late-race restart on Saturday night. Hettinger, who drives for Anthony Campi Racing, was penalized under Section 1A of the CARS Tour rulebook, for actions deemed detrimental to automobile racing or to the CARS Tour.

Hettinger and Kvapil made contact while battling for the lead with 18 laps remaining. The contact resulted in Hettinger spinning hard into the outside wall and collected a few other cars as well. On the ensuing restart, Hettinger hooked Kvapil in the right-rear, sending him into the outside wall in turn one. That retaliation triggered a heated confrontation between Hettinger’s Anthony Campi Racing team and Kvapil’s Highland Motorsports team on pit road. 

Hettinger entered Saturday’s race just three points back of Kvapil. Kvapil ended up winning the race and heads to the finale up 18 points over Hettinger, who now will be barred from competition.

The second incident on Saturday night involved Gavan Boschele and Ashton Higgins and their respective teams as Boschele and Higgins got together off turn four while racing for the win. Higgins crashed hard while Boschele went on to take the checkered flag before being disqualified from the win for rough driving. That incident triggered a brawl on pit road between members of both teams.

As a result of that incident, the CARS Tour has issued the following penalties: 

1.    Driver Ashton Higgins (No. 9) of ALH Motorsports will receive probation for the remainder of the season and will be fined $500 for the unauthorized crossing of the racing surface to confront another competitor. The fine must be paid before returning to the series.

2.    Driver Gavan Boschele (No. 25) of Rackley W. A. R. will receive probation for the remainder of the season for rough driving.

For entering another competitor’s pit area to instigate a physical confrontation under Section 1F of the rulebook:

1.    Shad Higgins will receive a one-race suspension, effective at Caraway Speedway (Nov. 4), and will be fined $500. The fine must be paid before returning to the series.

2.    Shane Higgins will receive a one-race suspension, effective at Caraway Speedway (Nov. 4), and will be fined $500. The fine must be paid before returning to the series.

3.    Coleman Higgins will receive a one-race suspension, effective at Caraway Speedway (Nov. 4), and will be fined $500. The fine must be paid before returning to the series.

4.    Pierson Hensley will receive a one-race suspension, effective at Caraway Speedway (Nov. 4), and will be fined $500. The fine must be paid before returning to the series.

5.    Steve Deskins will receive a one-race suspension, effective at Caraway Speedway (Nov. 4).

“We are extremely disappointed in the actions of a few of our competitors at Tri-County Speedway,” said CARS Tour Executive Director Kip Childress. “The safety of all of our competitors, staff members and fans is of our utmost concern. We will not tolerate any retaliation on the track or fighting during our events.

“While we feel the penalties assessed today are both fair and consistent, we want to stress that penalties for these acts moving forward will continue to be more severe to ensure that everyone is fully aware of our stance on these issues.”

The season finale for the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour will take place on Nov. 4 at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, N.C. and will determine the outcomes of tight championship battles in both the Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model divisions live on FloRacing.