Lately, while everyone’s been throwing shade at the Truck series for turning into a demolition derby, it seems like folks have let slide the total mayhem that unfolded at Tri-County in CARS Tour last August. Undeniably, it was a barn burner of a late-model race. The next-to-last race of the series turned into a wild ride, packed with more hits and twists than a blockbuster movie, leading the folks in charge to hand out a bunch of penalties for pit road mishaps and on-track tangles. But it looked like the mishaps went slightly overboard. On how to keep a lid on this kind of chaos, Kip Childress, the executive director of the CARS Tour, recently spilled the beans on their game plan to keep the drivers on the straight and narrow.

Kip Childress says they’re not going to stop until drivers learn

Last year, the CARS Tour, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick, didn’t hold back on handing out penalties after a series of trackside and pit road dramas. Take Katie Hettinger, for example, who got benched for a race after she deliberately took out Caden Kvapil, her main competition for the championship, at Tri-County Motor Speedway. Racing for Anthony Campi, Hettinger found herself in hot water under Section 1A of the CARS Tour rules, basically for doing stuff that rubs racing the wrong way.

Then there was Gavan Boschele, who crossed the finish line first, only to get stripped of his victory for aggressive driving. Ashton Higgins from ALH Motorsports ended up on probation for the rest of the season and lighter by $500 for darting across the track when he shouldn’t have. Boschele also got put on probation for his driving antics. To add to that, Shad Higgins was also sidelined for a race with Pierson Hensley. It’s safe to say that the list goes on.

On the back of so many penalties, Kip Childress hinted that they’re not about to ease up. In fact, things could get even tighter. Childress pointed out, “We were very aggressive with some of our penalties, and the one thing that we did make an effort to do was stay consistent with the penalties that it had got us to that point. But I said very clearly in the release that went out, that this would be the last time we were gonna be consistent from this point forward. If behavior like that continued to happen, we would just ramp the penalties up until we found out what that threshold was to make them not want to do it. So hopefully as we kick off our season, hopefully, we don’t have to go down that avenue, but we’re ready if we are.”

Actually, after dishing out a bunch of penalties for pit crew dramas last year, Childress, who’s got a ton of experience in the K&N Pro-late model Series, made it crystal clear, saying, “There can’t be any room for these types of activities at our level of racing or any level for that matter.” He then laid down the law to the drivers, telling them to watch themselves out there on the track.

But keeping these penalties and suspensions aside, who’s looking like the one to beat this season in the CARS Tour?

The title favorites for the 2024 CARS Tour season

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Last season, the battle for the 2023 crown was a nail-biter, ending with just a five-point gap between the top dog Carson Kvapil, and the close second, Brenden Queen. Kvapil clinched his second series championship in a row. Heading into 2024 with a loaded roster, these two are the guys to beat unless someone steps up big time.

And who’s waiting in the wings for that big break? None other than Brenden “Butterbean” Queen. Last season, Queen killed it on the CARS tour, hitting the winner’s circle four times and racking up 12 top fives and 15 top 10s out of 16 races.

Read More: Cars Tour Official Reveals Dale Jr & Kevin Harvick’s Detrimental Approach to Unwarranted Chaos in Their Racing Series

While Queen and Kvapil are sticking to their guns, there’s a whole lineup of racers itching to throw their hats into the ring for the championship, thanks to some team switches. Connor Hall, Deac McCaskill, Landon Huffman, and others are part of the off-season shuffle that’s setting the stage for an epic 2024 showdown.

So, who’s your pick to steal the spotlight in the CARS Tour this year?