Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s and Kevin Harvick’s late model racing series looking to expand on 'unrealized' potential

The zMAX CARS Tour racing series received a rejuvenation in late 2022 when it was acquired by the consortium of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, and Justin Marks.

The CARS Tour has come far since then. Earlier this week, more than a year later, the same group of Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Burton, and Marks was present at the Charlotte Motor Speedway to announce the series' plans for 2024.

In addition to revealing the schedule for the 2024 season, the group also announced the partnership with zMAX as the series' new entitlement sponsor. Additionally, it was also confirmed that FloRacing would continue as zMAX CARS Tour's official streaming partner.

Following the announcement, Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflected on the untapped potential of the series. He said (via NASCAR.com):

"As someone involved in the series ownership group, it’s never enough. We’re ambitious, and the value of the series is still unrealized. We’ve got a lot of potential with good, quality racing and a lot of great storylines. I’m pretty bullish, but there’s not enough days in the year to accomplish all your tasks."

Earnhardt Jr. added:

“I wish I could wake up in the morning and work on the CARS Tour until I went to bed every single day of the year.”

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a newfound appreciation for series owners and promoters

According to Earnhardt Jr., one of the major objectives for the series is a streamlined race-day schedule for the CARS Tour events. The ownership group has made efforts to reach out to the team owners in order to make this happen.

For Dale Earnhardt Jr., running a racing series has granted him a newfound appreciation for those who have been doing this for ages. Drawing a parallel between his previous perspective as a NASCAR driver and his current role as a series owner, the 49-year-old said (via NASCAR.com):

“I used to go the track and everything was about me, but [the CARS Tour] has really opened up my perspective to seeing the challenges of a series owner, the promoters and team owners that are trying to make a living doing this."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. concluded:

“It is a whole lot to get this series up and down the road and makes me appreciate the France family and what they’ve done.”