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SAPS is Rising

Out of devastation, a new Pro Late Model series emerges

By Dan Hodgdon

On the last weekend in September 2024, Hurricane Helene devastated the mountains of Western North Carolina, Upstate South Carolina and East Tennessee. Keeley Dubensky watched helplessly from the Charlotte area, particularly worried about the racers and track owners she worked with as zMAX CARS Tour operations director.

“It was just super heavy on my heart; I remembered that the Higgins family [owners of Tri-County Speedway in Granite Falls, North Carolina] live up there,” she says.

After several phone calls, she was finally able to get in touch and learned the extent of the storm’s impact on the area around the Higgins’ home near Asheville.

With the CARS Tour’s stop at Tri-County Speedway in the region coming up, the series put on a benefit race, giving away tickets and taking donations from fans.

Keeley Dubensky (second from left) is among the South Atlantic Pro Series founders. She and the SAPS team stand together during the invocation before the series' inaugural event at Tri-County Speedway on April 5, 2025. (SAPS photo)

But soon, Dubensky got involved on a personal level. She visited Western North Carolina throughout the fall to help with cleanup efforts. She did so alongside Tri-County co-owners and twin brothers Shane and Shad Higgins, racer and Shane Higgins’ son Ashton, fellow racer Jacob Heafner and his wife Morgan, and a third racer, Spencer Davis and his girlfriend Kristen.

At one point, they found a litter of puppies trapped in chemical mud. They rescued the dogs, and Dubensky believes the experience firmly locked the group together. She also adopted two of the puppies.

Along the way, ideas for a new Pro Late Model series emerged.

“When I was working with the Higgins, we just all clicked,” Dubensky says. “We got to talking about our ideas in the industry and where we wanted to see development, and I got to share with them my passion for growing the short tracks themselves. I’ve always loved the growth of all of it. I’ve never wanted to just pull into a racetrack with our series and do a decent job. We want the grandstands packed. We want these racetracks to be able to continue to flourish.

“One thing led to another, and I’ve had some blueprints for a few years now that I've been working on, just an idea of a plan. It turns out that it aligned very similarly to theirs. We put our heads together and we developed the South Atlantic Pro Series.”

Dubensky and the CARS Tour ultimately parted ways and on New Year’s Eve, a press release announced the new series known as SAPS, with the Higgins brothers and Dubensky at the helm. Shane Higgins’ wife Rhonda has also been instrumental behind the scenes.

Mason Walters in SAPS victory lane during the inaugural event at Tri-County Speedway in Hudson, North Carolina.

Throughout the winter and spring, the team created a schedule, with the inaugural SAPS slate featuring seven confirmed dates and one to be announced in North Carolina and Tennessee. The one-day shows take place approximately once a month from April to October. Tri-County serves as the tour’s home base, with additional dates at Orange County Speedway in North Carolina, and at Newport Speedway and Kingsport Speedway in Tennessee. Each race pays $3,000 to win and $500 to start, with the champion getting $10,000.

Five engine options are available, and the rules package mimics many of those found in the crate-based, straight-rail Pro Late Model class at other tracks and series in the Southeast. An experienced technical team oversees rules and procedures.

Thanks to Dubensky’s reputation and resume – which includes serving as a race director and learning under former CARS Tour owner Jack McNelly – many sponsors and staff approached her and her team about being part of the project.

The first race was held at Tri-County on the first Saturday in April, a 75-lap affair won by young competitor Mason Walters. Twenty cars competed in the show, ranging from young upstarts to NASCAR-affiliated operations and cagey veterans.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Kaden Honeycutt before the first SAPS race at Tri-County.

Among those on hand was Kaden Honeycutt, driving for Hettinger Racing. The 2024 CARS Tour Pro Late Model champion and Snowball Derby winner is competing full-time for Niece Motorsports in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. But his schedule includes everything from Dirt Late Models to Legend cars. Pro Late Models offer one more opportunity to keep his skills sharp.

“They're just really fun cars and every time I race this stuff, I always learn something new,” he says. “I'm always trying to get better and stay in the seat every week when we have off weeks.”

Honeycutt represents part of the broad cross-section of competitors that spur Dubensky’s interest in the Pro Late Model world. For one, she hopes to provide opportunities for young racers to get extra seat time to develop their skills before moving to other classes. Unlike the Deep South or Midwest, Late Model Stocks dominate the headline class in weekly programs in the Southeast. As a result, Pro Late Model racers in the area don't have a weekly home base. But she also hopes to create a low-pressure, fun place for veteran racers to compete, which will in turn benefit the younger drivers.

The CARS Tour and Carolina Pro Late Model Series offer touring series options for Pro Late Models in the region as well, and Dubensky admits scheduling to avoid conflicts was difficult. But she’s adamant there is room for everyone.

“It’s not to take away from anything with the CARS Tour or any of these other series, because essentially mine’s for the people that just can't afford that budget to travel around the country,” she says. “So, get your footing here and get your name out there. Get well-known, and then you can move to things like that if you want. If not, you’ve got a home with me forever.”

Ryan Moore is a veteran driver looking to have fun with the South Atlantic Pro Series.

One of the veteran racers taking advantage of the SAPS design is Ryan Moore. The son of Maine legend Kelly Moore, Ryan made a name for himself in the early 2000s as he won major races across the Northeast. He earned a development deal with Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, and in many ways, was in a similar position to where Honeycutt is now.

But over the years, Moore’s career took a different path and today he owns Finish Line Floor Coatings in Mooresville, North Carolina. The passion for racing remains, but with his family and business, his perspective has changed.

“The biggest thing for me with where I’m at in my life is I just want to go somewhere and have fun and not kill myself doing it,” he says. “I’m just looking for tours that are economical and laid-back and friendly like this. Keeley and everyone that puts this together have always been so easy to work with and have done a great job. I knew this was going to be a great option for guys like me and I’m excited to see how it plays out.”

Moore has raced in a wide variety of series and seen the motorsports landscape shift dramatically in the last 20 years. He notes there will be inevitable hiccups and a learning curve for the series, but he appreciates the value of putting racers’ needs first.

“Hell, I’m getting old now compared to the guys that do this,” he says. “It’s far from how I make my living, so I just need to make sure I do it just enough where I enjoy it and not wear myself out with it.”

For low-budget racers like Joshua Horniman, SAPS provides an economical touring series.

Pit passes for each race cost $35 and the SAPS crew has taken strides to integrate itself into the race night at each facility. Teams buy fuel from the track for instance. The series has also asked to be early on the card each night, allowing teams to enjoy the rest of their evening. The concept may also serve as a boon for fans who come specifically to see the South Atlantic Pro Series, or those with young children who don’t want to miss the headline division. On the television side, Pit Row TV is serving as SAPS’ streaming partner.

On race day, a test session is available for an extra fee in the early afternoon. Then there are some short practices, qualifying and the race.

The compact, one-day program benefits drivers like Joshua Horniman, whose small family-run team picks and chooses its races based on cost and available sponsorship.

“We are such a low-budget team we don't get to test as much as some of the other teams,” Horniman says. “Being a one-day show, we don't have to try to be there the day before and spend a lot more money than we want. So that's definitely a good thing.”

Pit Row TV produces SAPS events for streaming.

Dubensky's not quite ready to reveal all her long-term goals, but she does have hopes for when the first-year series concludes in October.

“We just want to be able to put out a fair and competitive product,” she says. “As long as [the racers] can say to me at the end of the season, ‘Y'all did a nice job and we felt like we were treated fairly and we felt like we were wanted there,’ that means the most to me.”

More information on the South Atlantic Pro Series is at www.sapstour.com.

The series next hits the track at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina, on Saturday, May 17.

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