Ray Cook craves racing just like everyone else in a Dirt Late Model world that has been silenced for the past month-and-a-half by the coronavirus pandemic. As a racetrack promoter, though, he’s in a position to make it happen.

It’s not an easy endeavor, of course, with the country only beginning to emerge from lockdown and widespread bans on mass gatherings still in place to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. But Cook has found a way to bring back the sounds and excitement of competition Thursday at his Tri-County Racetrack in Brasstown, N.C., scheduling the Schaeffer Oil Tar Heel Invitational presented by PitStopUSA.com that will be the first live Dirt Late Model race contested since the sport — and all other large-scale sporting and entertainment events — were shut down in mid-March.

While spectators won't be allowed and the field will be restricted to 25 invited entries for the 40-lap Super Late Model event paying $4,000-to-win, the action will be streamed live starting at 7:30 p.m. EDT to all subscribers of DirtonDirt.com and FloRacing, putting a welcome touch of normalcy back into the homes of fans and industry types.

Watch the Schaeffer's Oil Tarheel Invitational presented by PitStopUSA.com LIVE on FloRacing!

“It’s gonna be a good opportunity for people to take a break for one evening and take their mind off some of this (coronavirus) stuff and enjoy a real race,” said Cook, an accomplished 48-year-old Dirt Late Model driver who promotes Tri-County and directs the Schaeffer's-sponsored Spring, Southern and Fall Nationals tours. “We’re not wanting to create some big controversy here (by racing). I could probably have the largest car count the track has ever had (with anxiousness for racing running so high) — I think 109 is the most I’ve ever had, which is huge for us — but that’s not what we’re trying to do. There’s a lot of people sitting at home who have a subscription to DirtonDirt and (the race will) give them something new to look at. I think it’ll be one evening where everybody can relax a little bit.”

Organizing this racing program, however, has been anything but relaxing for Cook. It’s taken plenty of phone calls and meetings to work out the logistics and financials of an event that can’t be run using the usual calculus. Cook can’t just throw up the gates, turn on the lights and operate like he has through all his years at the helm of the fifth-mile bullring in western North Carolina.

Cook made direct contact with the Clay County Commissioner, Health Commissioner and Sheriff’s office in order to clear his plan to open Tri-County for racing in a manner that follows all guidelines and recommendations amid the coronavirus crisis. The local authorities provided him their blessings to go forward with a spectator-free show that follows strict social-distancing measures; in fact, the Clay County Sheriff and deputies will be on the grounds Thursday night to ensure proper social distancing measures are enforced.

“We’ve tried to do everything right,” Cook said of his conversations with local officials. “I have tried to check every box that needed to be checked. We’ve tried to do everything possible.”

That starts with altering his typical pit-area parking system to put space between the 25 invited teams. (There won’t be any support divisions.)

“If I put my pit area in three zones and keep it less than 10 cars in each zone, they’ve agreed to let me attempt to do it,” Cook said of the local authorities. “We’ve got 16 acres of property here, so we can zone it off into three sections. I think at Lowe’s down here they’re allowing so many people per square foot in the building, and that equals like 500 people. Well, we’re gonna take 16 acres of land and just a little over a hundred (people).

“We’re gonna have the stalls all spread apart for everybody. Even the 10 cars (and haulers) in each zone will still be marked off 25 to 30 feet apart. Everybody will have their own little spaces and stay in ‘em. We’re gonna encourage them when they leave their shop not to stop anywhere in between there and here, just encourage ‘em to come straight here, get out, have a good time and go straight back home.

“Our plan is, the sheriff will be at the (pit) gate, we’ll be inviting everybody in that’s on the list, show ‘em where to park, and then everybody have a good time. There’s not gonna be no line at the (pit entrance) gate, no line at the registration box. I’m not even gonna worry about putting armbands on people. We’re just gonna allow the driver and two crew members (for each team to enter), and we’re not gonna be exchanging money at the gate … we’re probably just gonna deduct (the cost of) three pit passes and an entry (fee) out of their start money. I’m gonna get ‘em to sign the (insurance) waver, but I’m actually working on a way for them to do that online (before arriving at the track).

“We’re just doing everything that we can to where there’s absolutely no (close) interaction,” he added. “We’re not even gonna do a draw or registration (for teams). We’ve got everybody’s transponder numbers (for scoring) already for the most part and we’re going to reach out to anybody that we don’t have that information for.”

Cook won’t have his pit-area concession stand open. The restrooms will be unlocked and as usual stocked with soap for hand washing, but he noted that many teams will come in bathroom-equipped haulers. He also plans to promote social-distancing among attendees watching the on-track action by spreading people out among the the pit grandstands and portions of the main bleachers that will be closed to fans.

“I’m gonna put up some barriers, crime tape I call it, to zone off parts of the (main) stands,” said Cook, who plans to have protective masks available for free to those who need them to cover their face. “In the one section of pit area, I’m actually gonna send those people to the main grandstand because we’re not gonna have anybody in there anyhow and it seats 900 people, so 50 people in that section should be fine. The other people we can send to the pit grandstands.

“We should be really spread out, and the local officials are going to be there to help me keep eyes on it and make sure everybody’s doing what they’re supposed to.”

Cook estimates 100 or so people will be on hand, including competitors, officials, announcers (Chris Tilley and Michael Despain), Sheriff’s department officials, necessary workers (wrecker, fire and ambulance crew members), DirtonDirt.com’s broadcast team and media types. He pointed out that the small, compact size of the Tri-County facility and his own jack-of-all-trades nature allows him to present the event with far fewer officials and staff than bigger speedways would require for a similar program.

“That’s the reason I feel like we’ve been able to attempt to pull this off, because I am the director of the series and director of the racetrack and the motor grader operator (for track preparation) and the race director and the tech inspector,” Cook said. “I mean, I’m doing it all. We eliminate about 10 people, you know what I mean? We don’t have to rely on a lot of people.”

Cook said he will have Tilley, who operates the Schaeffer’s Iron-Man Series and does publicity for Cook’s events, on hand as an announcer but also a “second set of eyes” to help with officiating the action. His scorer, Carolyn McLeod, will be stationed in her usual tower spot to handle the transponder scoring, lineups and relaying running orders to Cook, who will oversee the program from the pits and infield as he normally does. (“I’ve never been in a tower in all my 15 years running races,” Cook said.) He will also have his chief starter in the flagstand throughout the night.

“We can use the P.A. system to call drivers to line up,” Cook said. “I can tell them on the Raceceiver (one-way radio) where to line up. I can work the scales (for post-race weigh-ins) and I can tech the cars (after the race) and send them on their way.”

Cook is confident that the Tar Heel Invitational “will be a great show” thanks to the “great list of drivers” are set to compete, including Shane Clanton, Tyler Erb, Brandon Overton, Hudson O’Neal, Casey Roberts, Ashton Winger, Donald McIntosh, Kyle Hardy, Shanon Buckingham and Michael Chilton. He’s unsure how successful no-fans/live-streaming Super Late Model events can be over the long term if government mandates preventing mass gatherings continue for months to come, but he knows that racers need their racing and he’s glad he can bring it to them.

“Here’s the thing,” Cook said. “I know a lot of people through this that love racing but they can’t race, so they’re fishing or they’re hunting — turkey season’s big down here right now — and they’re still doing things that keep their mind intact by getting out of the house a little bit. But there’s a lot of people that do nothing but race. They don’t hunt, they don’t fish — racing is their whole deal. And (racing) may not be listed as essential (business), but it’s essential to some of those people. It keeps a lot of people out of trouble, to be honest with you, you know what I mean? It gives them something to do.

“There’s certain things that keep people motivated, keeps ‘em from being depressed and keeps everybody going even though it ain’t the best of times. It’ll help ‘em make it through it, and I think racing is one of those things.

“I mean, I need it as much as anyone else. I’m one of those guys,” Cook continued. “So we’re just trying to make something happen as safe as we possibly can. We just want to find a way to give everybody who loves the sport a chance to see some racing and give them a break for a night from everything that’s going on. I hope at the end of the day that it works out. It ain’t for lack of effort if it don’t.”