Throwback 276

[Blake Hylton]

In the spirit of South Carolina's Darlington Raceway's widely popular "throwback weekend" during the Southern 500, the CARS Late Model Tour has decided to honor stock-car history in its own unique way on Saturday, Aug. 5.

The "Throwback 276" at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina will feature special throwback paint schemes by competitors, traditionally priced concession items and will honor several NASCAR legends in attendance during a special pre-race presentation. The CARS Tour itself was born from the ashes of the Hooters Pro Cup Series that was widely popular during the 1990s and early 2000s.

 

[Blake Hylton]

In the 1960s, Harry Gant built a hobby class car with his friends to race at Hickory, taking turns behind the wheel before settling in as the team’s full-time driver. Gant won the track championship in 1969 and 1973, and would win over 300 Sportsman races across the United States before joining NASCAR full-time in 1979. Gant initially struggled to find success until he partnered with Hal Needham to driver the iconic #33 Skoal Bandit car. Gant acquired all 18 of his Cup Series victories with Needham, including four consecutive races in September of 1991, as well as scoring 21 Xfinity races before his career ended in 1996.