North Carolina Swing Toughest on SUPRS Schedule

October 15, 2023 – Goshen, IN…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), North Carolina Swing is the toughest on the SUPRS schedule, featuring three nights of racing at five different tracks on two sim racing platforms.

The first two nights are for the qualifying races where drivers will be hoping to make it into the top 8 in points in the first four races so that they can be invited to the winner takes all “Hickory Hustle ” and be crowned the 2023 North Carolina Swing Champion on the final night of the swing.

Swing Kicks Off on Tuesday

The trek through the Tarheel State kicks off on Tuesday, October 17 at Dasera Speedway and Orange County Speedway for 40 lap features at each track. The first night the drivers will use the SUPRS W v6.0 mod for NASCAR Heat. The drivers then move to Southern National Raceway Park and Concord Motorsports Park on Wednesday, October 18 where the updated SUPRS W v8 mod for rFactor will be used, and they run 50 lap features at each track.

Format Makes NC Swing Tough

Not only are there five races in three nights, using two sim racing platforms, what makes the North Carolina Swing the toughest on the SUPRS schedule is the format. At each of the first four races, drivers will time trial, then the top eight, (SUPRS Elite 8), qualifiers are locked into the feature event. The Elite 8 are then inverted for the feature grid based on their North Carolina Swing handicap. The lower their handicap total, the further they start towards the front of the Elite 8, meaning the lowest handicap of the eight drivers takes the pole position for the feature.

For race one at Dasera Speedway, that North Carolina Swing handicap is based on each driver’s regular season handicap which takes the last three championship races run, adds up points for features, time trials, and heat races, and comes up with a handicap points total.

After race one is complete, points start tallying up for remaining three qualifying races to make up the NC Swing Handicap. The North Carolina Swing handicaps are based on a driver’s feature finish only. So if a driver wins race one, he goes into race two with an 80 handicap. If he wins race one and two, he’ll go into race three with a 160 handicap, whereas a driver that finishes second for race one and two, receives 75 points for each finish and would go into race three with a 150 point handicap, and would start in front of the driver with higher handicap points total.

If a driver doesn’t qualify in the Elite 8, he’ll start the feature straight up from where he time trialed. So, for example, any driver that time trials ninth,  will start ninth in the feature. This means there’s a premium on getting a good time trial run, and cracking into the Elite 8. Even so, the drivers that are having better feature finishes will start at the back of the handicapped inversion for each feature, making for a lot of racing action throughout the week.

After Four Races, Invitations Sent

Once the points are tallied from the first four races, invitations to the top eight, plus two alternates will be sent asking each driver to attend Hickory Motor Speedway on Thursday, October 19 for the “Hickory Hustle.” The winner of challenging “Hickory Hustle″ will be crowned the 2023-24 North Carolina Swing Champion. That winner will receive 20 bonus points added to their SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Supermodified Championship points total, and with it the honor of joining a prestigious list of former NC Swing champs.

Just Three Have Won North Carolina Swing More Than Once

To date, there has been just three drivers to win the North Carolina Swing Championship more than once. “Mighty” Myles Maxon was the first when he did it back to back in 2009 and 2010. Maxon then won his third in the 2014-15 season. Maxon is still the only driver to claim SUPRS toughest multi-race swing back to back.

“Rocket” Rob Warren was the next driver to become a multi-time North Carolina Swing Champion. He won his first during the 2015-16 season then skipped a year to claim his second title in the 2017-18 season, then joined Maxon as a three-time champ after skipping another season and taking his third in the 2019-20 campaign.

The third and most recent multi-time North Carolina Swing Champion is Brad Keysor. Keysor’s record is similar to Warren’s in that he skipped a season between his championships, winning his first the year after Warren’s last in the 2020-21 season. Then last year during the 2022-23 season, Keysor took his second North Carolina Swing crown, putting him in position to join Maxon as a back to back winner, and both Maxon and Warren if he can win the Hickory Hustle to claim his third NC Swing crown.

3 Nights

5 Tracks

2 Sims

ONE North Carolina Swing Champion!

Former Champions and Current Point Leader Expected

Other former North Carolina Swing Champions Gary Waldron, (2008), Car Becker, (2012-13), Bob Gangwer, 2013-14), and Keith Powell, (2018), are all expected to go for their second NC Swing Crown when the action begins on Tuesday. 2021-22 champion, Dave Ohh, has indicated he will not be contending for his second due to other commitments.

However, the hottest driver on the SUPRS circuit so far will be there. Zach Sears has won the first two races of the season so far, and has shown his prowess in NASCAR Heat as well as rFactor. Sears sits on top of the SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Supermodified Championship XX and brings a 52 point lead into the North Carolina Swing. Last year he won on the first night of the Swing at Orange County Speedway.

Times for North Carolina Swing

Hot Laps for the first four qualifying races begin at 7:30 with Time Trials to commence at 8:10pm and racing scheduled for 8:30pm ET each night. Then on Thursday Hot Laps for The Hickory Hustle at Hickory Motor Speedway begin at 8:00pm. The top eight in points from the first four qualifying races will then participate in a random draw for their starting position in rFactor feature event. The green flag for the 75 lap winner takes all Hickory Hustle is scheduled to fly at 8:30pm ET.

Watch The Hickory Hustle Live

Fans can enjoy The Hickory Hustle and see who will be crowned the 2023 SUPRS North Carolina Swing Champion with SUPRS LIVE! on the SUPRS Broadcasting Network. Featuring Live Streaming Video, up to the second Timing and Scoring, and insightful, fun commentary, SUPRS LIVE! is the perfect place to watch all the action while you join your friends to cheer on your favorite SUPRS racers.
Visit www.SUPRS.net/site/Live or watch on SUPRS Twitch Channel at Twitch.tv/SUPRSOnline.

Race Night Times and Schedule of Events

All Times Eastern & Approximate Other Than Drivers Meeting

Tuesday October 17, 2023 – Race 1 & 2

• Hot Laps: 7:30-8:00pm (15 min each track)
• Drivers’ Meeting: 8:00-8:10pm
• Time Trials Race 1: 8:10pm
• Time Trials Race 2: 8:20pm
• SUPRS LIVE! Stream: N/A
• Feature Race 1: 8:30pm
• Break: 8:50pm
• Feature Race 2: 9:00pm (Approximate)
• All Servers Closed: 10:00pm

Wednesday October 18, 2023 – Race 3 & 4

• Hot Laps: 7:30-8:00 (15 min each track)
• Drivers’ Meeting: 8:00-8:10pm
• Time Trials Race 1: 8:10pm
• Time Trials Race 2: 8:20pm
• SUPRS LIVE! Stream: N/A
• Feature Race 1: 8:30pm
• Commercial Break: 8:50pm
• Feature Race 2: 9:00pm (Approximate)
• All Servers Closed: 10:00pm

Thursday October 19, 2023 – The Hickory Hustle

• Sign-In: 7:45pm
• Hot Laps: 8:00pm
• Drivers’ Meeting: 8:20pm
• SUPRS LIVE! Stream: 8:30pm
• Feature Event: 8:35pm
• SUPRS LIVE! Post-Race: 8:50pm (Approximately)
• All Servers Closed: 10:00pm

• Race 1-Tuesday, 10/17/2023-Dasara Speedway-40 laps (SUPRS-HeatFinder Open);  Defending Winner: Ryan Cloonan
• Race 2-Tuesday, 10/17/2023-Orange County Speedway-40 laps (SUPRS-HeatFinder Open);  Defending Winner: Zach Sears
• Race 3-Wednesday, 10/18/2023-Southern National Raceway Park-50 laps; Defending Winner: Dave Ohh
• Race 4- Wednesday, 10/18/2023-Concord Motorsports Park-50 laps; Defending Winner: Dave Ohh
• Race 5- Thursday, 10/19/2023-Hickory Motor Speedway-75 laps; Defending Winner: Brad Keysor

“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons” since 2004