The Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams (SMART) Tour is a modified stock car racing series held in the Southeastern region of the United States. The series began in 1989, NASCAR took over the series in 2005. During its time as a NASCAR sanctioned series it followed identical regulations to the Northern NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
The series merged with the Northern Modified Tour in 2017 bringing an end to the series after almost 30 years.
The series came back in late 2020 without NASCAR sanction under the SMART Tour name and ran its first full season since 2004, in 2021 with the likes of Bobby Labonte and Ryan Preece competing, after only 4 events in 2020.
All races are broadcast live on FloRacing.
History
NASCAR itself has a long tradition of Modified racing in the Southeastern U.S., prior to the formation of today's Northeast-based Whelen Modified Tour in 1985. The evolution of Modified racing began in the late 1940s with the first NASCAR sanctioned race taking place at the Daytona Beach course in February, 1948. Coupes and sedans were the vehicles of choice and provided a new form of entertainment as tracks began to spring up all over the country. NASCAR Modified teams competed in championship events up and down the east coast, including stops at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, North Wilkesboro Speedway and Martinsville Speedway. Top drivers from North Carolina and Virginia, such as Ralph Brinkley, Ray Hendrick and Satch Worley, were regular NASCAR Modified competitors.
In the late 1980s, while modified racing was maintaining its popularity in the Northeast, Late Model Stock cars moved into the spotlight throughout the South. The downward slide suffered by the Southern Modifieds made many people feel that the division was fading, and quite possibly disappearing altogether from the region.
The S.M.A.R.T. TOUR Era In September 1988, after a rain-out in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a group of dedicated car owners and drivers banded together and formed the Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams, or S.M.A.R.T., as they became known to race fans throughout the region. The group set as its goal to strive to return Modifieds to their previous state of popularity in the South. For the next 16 years, Modified racing through the S.M.A.R.T. Tour raced at tracks throughout the Carolinas and Virginia.
1989 season
The inaugural season included a total of six races. The schedule had two races each at North Wilkesboro and Pulaski County, and one race each at Langley and Myrtle Beach. The first race in series history was on April 9, 1989, at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia. Eighteen modifieds entered the inaugural event. Frank Fleming's pole-winning lap of 15.990 seconds (89.660 mph) for the event was the quickest in Langley's history. Robert Jeffreys earned the honor of being the first race winner by holding off Philip Smith. At the Lowes 150 on April 15 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, driver Don Smith had to be cut from his car after crashing on the second lap. Smith had a broken left shoulder from the crash. Northern Modified superstar Jimmy Spencer won in his only career S.M.A.R.T. start after recovering from a mid-race crash to finish two car-lengths ahead of Gary Myers. The season concluded at Pulaski County Speedway on October 15. Johnny Bush grabbed his only career series victory while Philip Smith was crowned the tour's inaugural champion. In the first season there were six different winners, with no driver winning more than one event.
#EventDateTrackPole-winnerWinner 1 Modified 150 April 9, 1989 Langley Speedway (Hampton, VA) Frank Fleming Robert Jeffreys 2 Lowe's 150 April 15, 1989 North Wilkesboro Speedway (North Wilkesboro, NC) Jimmy Spencer 3 July 1, 1989 Pulaski County Speedway (Radford, VA) Tony Jankowiak 4 September 9, 1989 Myrtle Beach Speedway (Myrtle Beach, SC) Frank Fleming 5 September 17, 1989 North Wilkesboro Speedway (North Wilkesboro, NC) Philip Smith Philip Smith 6 October 15, 1989 Pulaski County Speedway (Radford, VA) Johnny Bush
1990 season
The second season grew to eight races. The season began at Hickory Motor Speedway on March 31, and ended on September 29 at Caraway Speedway. North Wilkesboro was the only track to hold more than one event (two races were held there). This was the first season that had a race held at Caraway Speedway, which would later hold the most races in series history. Junior Miller won his first career series win at the season opener at Hickory Motor Speedway. It wasn't until April 21 at North Wilkesboro Speedway (the third race of the year and the ninth race in series history) that a driver became a repeat winner in the series. Robert Jeffreys held off Jimmy Spencer to win his second career SMART race. Jay Hedgecock became the first repeat winner of the 1990 season at Pulaski County, holding off Johnny Bryant and Frank Fleming. The race was stopped on lap 73 because of an accident with the cleanup truck. After a blown engine, the track safety truck lost the Stay-Dry spreader, dumping the chemical all over the second turn and causing a red flag for 17 minutes. Jay Hedgecock ended the year at Caraway Speedway with his third consecutive victory and fifth triumph in the eight-race season. There were only three winners during the season: Jay Hedgecock, Junior Miller and Robert Jeffreys. Hedgecock dominated the season and won the season championship.
# Event DateTrackPole-winnerWinner 1 March 31, 1990 Hickory Motor Speedway (Hickory, NC) Junior Miller 2 April 13, 1990 Tri-County Motor Speedway (Hudson, NC) Jay Hedgecock Jay Hedgecock 3 Lowe's 150 April 21, 1990 North Wilkesboro Speedway (North Wilkesboro, NC) Robert Jeffreys 4 July 7, 1990 Pulaski County Speedway (Radford, VA) Jay Hedgecock 5 August 26, 1990 Lonesome Pine International Raceway (Coeburn, VA) Junior Miller 6 September 1, 1990 Myrtle Beach Speedway (Myrtle Beach, SC) Jay Hedgecock 7 September 16, 1990 North Wilkesboro Speedway (North Wilkesboro, NC) Billy Middleton Jay Hedgecock 8 September 29, 1990 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Jay Hedgecock
1991 season
The third season held seven races, starting off with the season opener on April 13 at Concord Motorsport Park, and ending on October 5 at Lanier Speedway. The event at Lanier Speedway, in Braselton, GA, was the first event held outside of Virginia and the Carolinas. Junior Miller dominated the Motor Mile Speedway event, leading all but 25 laps of the race and holding off pole winner Jay Hedgecock. Hedgecock had to be treated for exhaustion after driving the entire race without power steering. Philip Smith dominated the race at North Wilkesboro, leading the last 91 laps en route to his only 1991 victory. The only other leader of the race, pole sitter Gary Myers (son of late NASCAR driver Billy Myers and better known as the father of Jason Myers and Burt Myers), fell out with mechanical issues. Junior Miller claimed both his third victory of the season and his first S.M.A.R.T. season title at the season finale at Lanier Speedway. There were five winners during the season. Miller won the most races during the season with three wins.
# Event DateTrackPole-winnerWinner 1 April 13, 1991 Concord Motorsport Park (Concord, NC) Gary Myers 2 April 20, 1991 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Junior Miller 3 July 6, 1991 Motor Mile Speedway (Radford, VA) Jay Hedgecock Junior Miller 4 August 31, 1991 Myrtle Beach Speedway (Myrtle Beach, SC) Billy Middleton 5 September 8, 1991 Tri-County Motor Speedway (Hudson, NC) Jay Hedgecock 6 September 15, 1991 North Wilkesboro Speedway (North Wilkesboro, NC) Gary Myers Philip Smith 7 October 5, 1991 Lanier Speedway (Braselton, GA) Junior Miller
1992 season
The 1992 season held thirteen races, nearly twice as many as any previous season. The season began on April 11 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, and ended on November 3 at Caraway Speedway. Tour races were held at Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time. In the season opener, Paul Spencer, brother of NASCAR's Jimmy Spencer, claimed his only series victory by holding off Jay Hedgecock. Bobby Hutchens was the pole winner for the race but fell out on the 13th lap due to a mechanical failure. There were six winners during the season. Frank Fleming won the most races during the season with four wins, but Jay Hedgecock would claim his second series championship at the end of the season, becoming the first multiple time championship winner of the series.
# Event DateTrackPole-winnerWinner 1 Lowe's 150 April 11, 1992 North Wilkesboro Speedway (North Wilkesboro, NC) Bobby Hutchens Paul Spencer 2 April 18, 1992 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Frank Fleming 3 May 2, 1992 Bowman Gray Stadium (Winston-Salem, NC) Junior Miller Ralph Brinkley 4 July 3, 1992 Tri-County Motor Speedway (Hudson, NC) Jay Hedgecock 5 July 4, 1992 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Junior Miller 6 August 1, 1992 Bowman Gray Stadium (Winston-Salem, NC) Gary Myers 7 September 7, 1992 Myrtle Beach Speedway (Myrtle Beach, SC) Jay Hedgecock 8 September 14, 1992 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Gary Myers 9 September 18, 1992 Tri-County Motor Speedway (Hudson, NC) Gary Myers 10 September 20, 1992 North Wilkesboro Speedway (North Wilkesboro, NC) Frank Fleming 11 September 26, 1992 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Frank Fleming 12 October 3, 1992 South Boston Speedway (South Boston, VA) Frank Fleming 13 November 3, 1992 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Jay Hedgecock
1993 season
The 1993 season held ten races. The season began at Caraway Speedway on March 13, and also ended at Caraway Speedway on October 30. There were seven winners during the season, the most in a season for the series. Junior Miller won three races, the most wins by any driver during the season, and claimed his second series championship, beating Philip Smith by just 17 points.
# Event DateTrackPole-winnerWinner 1 March 13, 1993 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Gary Myers Junior Miller 2 March 27, 1993 Summerville Speedway (Summerville, SC) Al Hill Robert Jeffreys 3 July 2, 1993 Tri-County Motor Speedway (Hudson, NC) Billy Middleton 4 September 4, 1993 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Philip Smith 5 September 18, 1993 Myrtle Beach Speedway (Myrtle Beach, SC) Gary Myers Philip Smith 6 September 25, 1993 Southern National Motorsports Park (Kenly, NC) Al Hill 7 October 2, 1993 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Junior Miller Gary Myers 8 October 16, 1993 Tri-County Motor Speedway (Hudson, NC) Frank Fleming Junior Miller 9 October 23, 1993 South Boston Speedway (South Boston, VA) Frank Fleming Frank Fleming 10 October 30, 1993 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Philip Smith Junior Miller
1994 season
The 1994 season held nine races. The seasoneason began at Caraway Speedway on April 2, and again ended at Caraway Speedway on October 30. At the season opener, Tim Arre began his ascension, holding off early race leader Frank Fleming for his first S.M.A.R.T. victory. There were six winners during the season, with Tim Arre scoring the most wins with three. Arre would win the 1994 season championship.
# Event DateTrackPole-winnerWinner 1 April 2, 1994 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Tim Arre 2 April 23, 1994 Summerville Speedway (Summerville, SC) Frank Fleming 3 July 1, 1994 Tri-County Motor Speedway (Hudson, NC) Philip Smith 4 July 2, 1994 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Bobby Hutchens 5 September 3, 1994 Myrtle Beach Speedway (Myrtle Beach, SC) Tim Arre 6 September 10, 1994 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Frank Fleming 7 September 24, 1994 Ace Speedway (Altamahaw, NC) Tim Arre 8 October 8, 1994 Southern National Motorsports Park (Kenly, NC) Roger Hill 9 October 30, 1994 Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, NC) Junior Miller
1995 season