HSR launches NASCAR Classic historic series

Historic Sportscar Racing has launched HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Petty’s Garage, a new historic series for stock cars from NASCAR‘s past. It will make its début at Virginia International Raceway on 23/24 August in support of IMSA’s Michelin GT Challenge followed by joining NASCAR at Watkins Glen International on 13/14 September and the Charlotte Mtoor Speedway Roval on 11/12 October.

To oversee the programme, HSR will collaborate with the Historic Stock Car Racing Association. The HSCRA has supported NASCAR and IMSA race weekends as well as the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association, and will also be present at the VIR and WGI race weekends.

Title sponsor Petty’s Garage is an aftermarket parts distributor run by the legendary Petty family and its patriarch Richard Petty. Fittingly, HSR’s announcement took place on Petty’s 87th birthday.

“The across-the-board support for and the rapid growth of the HSR Classic Stock Cars category made starting a dedicated series around the division an easy decision,” said HSR president Chris Ward. “NASCAR stock cars of all generations are perhaps the most identifiable category of race cars in the U.S. to motorsports enthusiasts, competitors and even mainstream audiences. We have experienced this incredible growth and popularity with several HSR Historic Stock Cars showcase events in the last few years, particularly in partnership with the HSCRA.

“We can’t thank enough HSCRA founders Chris Evans and Carlus Gannand all of the HSR Group 8 competitors, and we look we forward to continuing to race with them in the HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Petty’s Garage series for many more years to come.”

HSR’s stock car policies forbid the use of current-generation NASCAR vehicles, meaning the Cup Series’ Next Gen car is off limits. The previous Gen-6 car, which raced from 2013 to 2021, still has the caveat of being limited to specifications prior to 2017. Otherwise, every car before that can take part.

Vehicles are split into seven categories: SC/A (Stock Car/A) for Cup cars after 2006 like the Car of Tomorrow and Gen-6, SC/B for Cup cars between 1996 and 2006, SC/C for those from 1980 to 1995, SC/D for those that comply with rulebooks outside of NASCAR’s three national divisions like the ARCA Menards Series and American Speed Association, SC/E for “legacy HSR stock cars that are built beyond series specifications”, SC/T for Craftsman Truck Series competitors, and SC/GN for the Cup Series’ original Grand National Series identity (1979 at the latest).

Each car must comply with the rulebook of the period that it competed in; for example, a 1997 Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) car must follow the regulations that NASCAR outlined that season. D and E class vehicles are accepted on a “case-by-case basis when deemed appropriate” by HSR.

The cars are also required to retain their “authentic original sponsor” liveries. In other words, a vintage racer who purchased Jeff Gordon’s #24 DuPont Rainbow Warrior from 1999 cannot replace it with his flames-based paint scheme or change the sponsor to Axalta.

The grid will consist of thirty cars per race.