Tri-County restarting action April 30
Veteran racer and promoter Ray Cook will bring Dirt Late Model competition back Thursday at his Tri-County Racetrack with the running of the Schaeffer Oil Tar Heel Invitational presented by PitStopUSA.com, a 40-lap Super Late Model event paying $4,000-to-win that will be streamed live on DirtonDirt.com and FloRacing.
The live video event will be available for subscribers of DirtonDirt.com and FloRacing. Coverage is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. EDT with Chris Tilley and Michael Despain calling the action.
Special precautions due to the Covid-19 pandemic will be in place during the night of competition with no race fans allowed to attend the event and track officials enforcing strict social-distancing measures for each of the 25 invited race teams. Each team will be permitted only two pit crew members and haulers will be required to park at least 25-30 feet away from each other to ensure space between attendees.
Cook (pictured) has been in 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 Clay County Sheriff will be on the grounds with deputies to ensure proper social distancing measures are enforced.
“We’re just trying to make something happen as safely as we possibly can,” Cook said of what will be the first Dirt Late Model action in the country since racing was shut down by the pandemic in mid-March. “We’ve called everybody I know to call, and I’ve called some of them I didn’t need to call. We’re not trying to hide anything. We’re trying to be above board on everything.
“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.”
The invite-only event will include a full program of qualifying, dash and heat races leading into the 40-lap feature. Among the drivers scheduled to compete at the third-mile oval are Shane Clanton, Tyler Erb, Brandon Overton, Hudson O’Neal, Casey Roberts, Ashton Winger, Donald McIntosh, Kyle Hardy, Shanon Buckingham and Michael Chilton.
