'Hardcore' auto racing show this weekend

Ever wonder what it would take to get into stock car racing? Maybe you are already a local driver just looking to improve your race car before the new season?

Or are you just a fan interested in the ins and outs of racing?

The answer to those questions could very well be at the Carolina Auto Racing Show (CARS) inaugural event at the Hickory Metro Convention Center on Friday and Saturday.

“This show has taken three years to plan.,” said Clint Elkins, the event promoter. “There are a couple of trade shows that are similar to this around the country with the closest being on Orlando, Fla. or Indianapolis, Ind.

“But for the racers in our area, it’s a pretty good haul to get to one of those shows and some of those shows aren’t even open to a regional or local racer, so that eliminates the racers in our area from being able to see the latest in performance and safety gear.”

Elkins says those are the reasons the CARS event was put together, simply to benefit the racers in Western North Carolina.

“Within a 200-mile radius of Hickory, there are over 5,500 racers,” Elkins said. “So we wanted to create a show that the racers that support Hickory Motor Speedway or Carolina Speedway in Gastonia or the racers that support Concord Speedway (can) actually come to and be a part of.”

The event will feature about 100 exhibitors with everything from engine building to safety equipment and even a driver’s racing gear.

Exhibitors and event planners began setting up for the event Wednesday afternoon. They will continue to prepare for the two-day event during the day today.

The show will be open Friday and Saturday, from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. and admission is $10 per day. The ticket includes admission to all the seminars and the ticket stub will make you eligible for a door prize.

Along with the two-day show, there will be 15 seminars at the event, headlined on Saturday by one with famed racing promoter H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler.

Wheeler, a former Charlotte Motor Speedway promoter, will conduct a promoters’ roundtable from 2 to 4 p.m. and also will be on hand at 11 a.m. Saturday to autograph his new book “Growing up NASCAR.”

On Friday, Robert Yates, widely regarded as one of the greatest engine builders in stock car racing history, will attend.

Yates, the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion car owner, will sign autographs at 11 a.m. at the Roush-Yates Performance Products display.

Elkins estimates about 5,000 people will attend the show. With the exhibitors and out-of-town attendees staying in motels and eating in the Greater Hickory area, the event should be beneficial to the area’s economy, as well.

“About 80 percent of our exhibitors are coming from out of town,” Elkins said. “So naturally they will be staying over and going out to eat.

“We’ve set up a couple of shuttle services to go back and forth to the Hickory Tavern and places like that, so I would say that it will easily bring $25,000 to $30,000 to the area.”

Elkins said he chose the Hickory Metro Convention Center for the show for several reasons.

“One being that the location is ideal to the Charlotte, Mooresville and Huntersville area, and the convention center is such a great venue and a nice place,” he said.

“It’s not any kind of collectibles show. You’re not going to find some inserts for your shoes to keep your feet from hurting.

“It’s strictly a hardcore racing industry show. It’s not an auction and not a swap meet; it’s a full-blown regional industry racing trade show.”

In conjunction with the event, the Southeast Limited Late Models and the National Dirt Racing Association have scheduled awards banquets on Saturday night.