Different rulebooks can force a Super Late Model team to change equipment or pass on races outside its region. Kevin Harvick’s first major move as part of the new CARS STARS leadership is aimed at removing some of those barriers and bringing separate corners of short-track racing closer together.

In a tweet shared by Matt Weaver on X, Harvick has opened discussions with UARA National director Ricky Brooks to find common ground on a unified rulebook for pavement Super Late Model racing. Their first tangible step is already set: CARS STARS National, formerly the ASA STARS National Tour, and UARA will co-promote the 2027 Tekton Battle at Berlin.

The announcement followed a meeting between the groups earlier in October. The technical discussions are still ongoing, so a common rulebook has not been finalized. But the joint event gives their broader effort a practical starting point, as Short Track Scene reported.

Those who have been alive long enough will know that the UARA and the former ASA STARS National Tour have not always enjoyed an easy relationship. The tensions were particularly pronounced during the years when ASA was operated by Track Enterprises president Bob Sargent. This is why the announcement matters.

Brooks launched what eventually became UARA National after he and Sargent could not reach an agreement to work together. The organizations developed separate identities and schedules, making collaboration difficult even though they operated in the same Super Late Model landscape.

Harvick’s approach has been to reopen the conversation rather than carry those disagreements forward. He offered a clean slate, while Brooks praised his directness. Harvick, in turn, described Brooks as a smart person who understands what the discipline needs.

That reset matters because a unified rulebook cannot be achieved by promoters alone. Teams, officials, engine builders, and chassis manufacturers all have a stake in the technical direction. Any lasting agreement will require input from the people who build and race the cars.

Technical differences between regional Super Late Model tours are more than administrative details. They can determine whether a team can take the same car to another series, which components it needs and how much preparation is required.

The CARS Midwest Tour offers a recent example. The former ASA Midwest Tour will adopt the United Late Model Rules Alliance package for 2027, bringing it into line with other divisions under the MDM Promotions umbrella. For Wisconsin teams, that means moving away from the two-barrel carburetor package toward the four-barrel specification used in other major Super Late Model competition.

The transition involves more than changing a carburetor. The rule change also affects brakes, driveline, and suspension components, requiring teams to prepare their equipment for the new specifications. Earlier attempts to make a similar change in Wisconsin met resistance, showing why communication with racers will be essential.

Harvick has described the larger objective as establishing a nationwide standard. “Our goal is to establish a uniform rules package nationwide,” he said in comments reported by Short Track Scene. He believes greater consistency can bring simplicity and structure to the sport, with the longer-term ambition of eventually crowning national champions in both Pro and Super Late Model divisions.

The Battle at Berlin announcement came less than three weeks after Harvick, Tim Huddleston and Marty Melo brought several short-track operations under a common ownership structure through MDM Promotions.

The October alignment brought seven touring divisions under the CARS Tour branding, including the former ASA STARS National Tour, ASA Midwest Tour, CRA Pro Series and CARS Tour West, alongside new regional divisions. The group also includes TrackTV, which is set to stream races across the organization.

The rebranding takes effect on January 1, 2027. The former ASA STARS National Tour becomes the CARS National Tour, while the Midwest operation will compete as the CARS Midwest Tour. This CARS-branded Super Late Model structure is separate from the North Carolina-based CARS Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model tours, despite sharing the CARS name. The broader ownership arrangement was detailed in Short Track Scene’s report.

The Tekton Battle at Berlin is a useful place to start because UARA already has a strong connection with Berlin Raceway. The event has featured on its schedule, while races at the track were also fixtures on the old CRA calendar. Short Track Scene noted that UARA has built a following with solid car counts and strong purses.

For Harvick and CARS STARS, co-promoting the event brings the national tour into a marquee Super Late Model weekend. For UARA, it creates an opportunity to work with an organization that had previously operated separately. Both groups have a reason to make the arrangement succeed.

One joint event will not resolve every disagreement between touring organizations, and the unified rulebook still needs technical detail and buy-in. But it shows that the groups are prepared to work together where they once struggled to find common ground.

Harvick’s first major move is about more than adding the Battle at Berlin to a schedule. It is an attempt to make the Super Late Model landscape easier for racers and promoters to navigate. If the rulebook talks advance and the 2027 event delivers, the partnership could become a model for cooperation well beyond one race weekend.