Keen to improve your short-track oval racing technique with high-powered stockcars? Forget jumping into the lion’s den when the ARCA Menards Series heads to a short track and turn your attention towards the CARS Late Model Stock Tour instead.
The series utilises the still-powerful 400-bhp Late Model Stock machine to teach you the ropes of cut-and-thrust short track racing, with all 12 scheduled events taking place on courses less than half a mile in length. There is a fixed-setup championship as well as an open-setup version available, with the latter featuring races around a third longer.
This guide will help you get your head around the fixture, from the type of racing you’ll experience to the weapon you’ll have to tame to achieve supremacy.
The Car
The Late Model Stock vehicle uses a perimeter chassis made of thick steel tubing as its base before fiberglass body panels are applied to make it look like a typical stock car. These can be shaped in whatever fashion the owner wants.
Under the, well, body sits a meaty 350 ci V8, which can be built from an off-the-shelf crate motor or custom-made by an independent engine builder. Each engine is checked to ensure it runs to regulation by the real-life CARS Tour before each event.
Many NASCAR stars plyed their trade in the Late Model Stock series, such as 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Ty Gibbs and 2024 rookie Josh Berry. Weighing in at a hefty 3,100 pounds, these vehicles take some handling to get them around the tiny short-track ovals at a decent lap time.
Need Setups For The Series?
Get your professional setups for the Advanced Legends today, along with every other setup Coach Dave Academy offers as part of the Delta subscription.
Thanks to our partnership with Team 53, we bring you setups for 3 popular short oval series every week to include:
- Advanced Legends Series
- Super Late Models Series
- Cars Late Model Stocks
Gain seconds in lap time with our incredible iRacing setups developed by professional sim racers and qualified engineers.
Race Series Format
Both CARS Late Model Stock series are set up as single racer fixtures that run over a number of laps rather than time. The D-fixed races tend to last around 15 minutes. The C-open championship will last closer to 25 minutes but can end up longer depending on how many caution periods pause the action. Caution laps do count toward the final total, so you will have less time to attack once the race goes green.
A five-minute qualifying session, which allows each driver a total of two flying laps, follows a brief two-minute practice session before the race gets underway in each series.
Realistic weather is set for every event though, as ovals don’t run in the wet, this means only the cloud cover and temperatures affecting the real track will be represented virtually. You can check out the projected forecast by clicking the forecast tab on the sessions selection menu.
- Races last around 25 minutes in Open C, around 15 minutes in Fixed D
- Full course cautions are in force for Open C races, cautions are disabled in Fixed D
- Every session is set to a realistic weather forecast, without rain
- Lucky dog rule is in place in longer Open C fixtures, meaning the first driver a lap down when caution flies will cycle back onto the lead lap
What License Is Needed To Race?
The fixed-setup CARS Late Model Stock Tour requires a D-level oval license to enter, while the open-setup fixture demands a C-class license.
The path to reaching D is pretty straightforward, with the Rookie Advanced Legends series and the Street Stock fixtures providing plenty of opportunities to build up your safety rating to D. From there, clean races in the fixed setup CARS Tour will allow you to reach C-level, where the open setup series will become available.
It can be trickier to build SR here than in road racing due to the tight tracks, heavy cars, and aggressive driving standards, so allowing drivers through with the view of reaching the chequered flag is a good idea if you find yourself struggling to build SR.
Series Costing
With many of iRacing’s short tracks being included within the base subscription, every racer should already have access to many of the venues on the 12-round calendar. Six of the 12 tracks included in the 2024 Season 2 fixture are paid. Both the open and fixed setup series feature the same calendar.
This adds up to around $82 with VAT, though you’ll also need to purchase the Late Model Stock machine before you can take part. This increases the price to around 95$, though buying between three and five pieces of content also grants you a 10% discount. Therefore, the final cost would be around $80.75 to complete the full calendar.
iRacing credits are given out to any drivers that complete at least one race across eight of the 12 weeks, so this can be a good idea to recoup some of your cash while romping off to many victories.
What’s So Special?
The CARS Late Model Stock Tour is ideal to learn the basics of short-track racing with less power than some of the stock machinery found higher up the ladder. The ARCA vehicle, which is used in the D Class ARCA Menards Series, also visits some short tracks periodically, though its V8 produces 625 bhp. This can be overwhelming for newcomers, so the Late Model Stock allows less experienced racers to get used to a heavier vehicle while having to deal with less grunt trying to pitch the car into the barrier.
With the leaders coming up behind quickly due to the short length of the lap, your opponents will be keen to get a move on. Expect aggressive racing as a result. This also goes for the leader, as with no blue flag rules you’ll have to pass each backmarker like you’re racing for position.
Being decisive and committed is key when lapping other cars as, if you hesitate, your rapidly closing rivals will take full advantage. If you are lapped, ensure you are the first racer a lap down to profit from the lucky dog rule should a caution fly while competing in the Open C series.
- If you want to practice your racecraft at the forefront of any oval race you enter, why not bolt on a Team 53 setup worked on for the CARS late model stock through Coach Dave Academy and short-track experts Team 53’s expert engineers.
Babying The Right Front Tire Is The Difference Between Winning And Lapped
Due to every short track on the calendar being run anti-clockwise, the front right tire takes a pounding across the race distance. This provides a particularly big stumbling block in the heavyweight Late Model Stock car, as it tends to push on corner entry. Combined with the extra energy being put through the rubber by the vehicle’s weight, this is a recipe for the tire falling to pieces quickly.
Being able to achieve a strong lap speed while saving the front-right tire is the key to securing a strong result. Your craft may need some tweaking if you learned the oval ropes in the lighter Legends car, as the Late Model will eat the front right quicker and will feel much worse once it does.
- Aim to get rid of enough speed before turning in so that the front tires don’t slide through the corner, as this is a one-way street to wearing them out faster than your opponents
- Minimizing your steering angle will also help reduce pressure on the front tires, you’ll need to build up a feeling for the car to constantly adjust the steering angle to ensure you’re carrying speed while still looking after the front right
- Once the corner is completed, open the steering carefully and run the car out to the wall when possible. This helps relieve stress on the front right, as well as make it easier to get on the power earlier to carry more speed onto the straight
- Adjusting the brake bias rearward and applying a higher steering ratio (the latter to around 12:1 on short tracks, 14:1/16:1 on ovals over one mile in length) will also help to put less energy through the fronts
The CARS Late Model Stock Tour provides the ideal training arena for inexperienced oval competitors to learn the basics of competing in a short-track event behind the wheel of a heavy vehicle more akin to NASCAR-style machines.
The lessons learned piloting the Late Model Stock will be valuable when stepping up to vehicles like the NASCAR Truck and Xfinity cars, which have significantly more power.
- Also, remember to download the free Coach Dave Delta app today to access the full range of setups to fight for supremacy whenever you hit the track!
