The biggest names in late model racing are set to battle for a major payday. Dale Earnhardt Jr., FloRacing, and the zMAX CARS Tour have joined forces to present the historic Throwback Classic.
Billed as "the single biggest night in pavement late model racing," the Throwback Classic will take place at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina on Aug. 2. This event, which streams exclusively on FloRacing, will deliver a record-breaking prize purse of $200,000.
The main event of the night will be the $50,000-to-win Late Model Stock race that also pays $2,500 to start. The prelim event will be the $30,000-to-win Pro Late Model race that pays $1,500 to start.
"This payout is simply incredible for the series, driver, and teams," said Earnhardt Jr., zMAX CARS Tour co-owner, in a statement. "Our goal is always to continue to grow the Series by putting as many eyes on it as possible.
"Our partnership with FloSports allows us to do just that. The Throwback Classic at Hickory has always been a special event for the CARS Tour, but with this announcement, it's now the biggest pavement short track event of the year, period."
Hickory Motor Speedway, which has undergone multiple reconfigurations, has hosted some of NASCAR's biggest names since it first opened. Ralph Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Harry Gant, Jack Ingram, Ned Jarrett, and Josh Berry are only some of the track champions.
With FloRacing and the CARS Tour joining forces for a high-paying night of racing, the expectation is that even more competitors will try to work out a deal to battle for the big payday.
"I haven't really ran that great at Hickory, but I always enjoy that racetrack," Layne Riggs said Friday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway. "We'll probably be making an appearance there for sure now to go for the big money."
A FloRacing subscription is required to watch the record-setting Throwback Classic on Aug. 2. This costs $39.99 per month. There is also an annual subscription, which amounts to $179.88 per year.
The FloSports Connected TV app is available on a variety of devices. This includes Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and devices with Android TV. The FloSports app is available on iOS and Android mobile devices.