Trevor Catalano had mild expectations for the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.
At just 17, he was embarking upon his first full season within NASCAR’s oldest division, joined by his older brothers Tommy and Tyler as the Catalano Motorsports team took on the challenge of fielding three full-time entries.
“To be honest with you, I thought about just kind of waiting a year and not doing the tour this year just so we could kind of get back into the groove of running more than one car,” Trevor Catalano said. “We got down to the science of running one car and being more consistent with Tommy the last three years.
“We were just trying to get our feet wet and have a solid rookie year.”
The driver from Ontario, New York far exceeded his own expectations.
He won a race at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway and posted three top-five and four top-10 finishes on his way to eighth in the final championship standings.
As a result of his solid season, Catalano was named the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
Trevor Catalano scored a win at Monadnock Speedway on his way to the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
“I wanted to come in and be a top-15 car,” he said. “I wanted to run in between that top 10 and top 15 area, maybe sneak into the top 10 every once in a while. That was my goal coming in; just get laps and figure out how this whole tour thing rolls and kind of get consistent.
“I think we exceeded a lot. We had speed at almost every single race we showed up to (so we could) run inside the top 10. I think that’s amazing. Yeah, we blew a couple motors, and I made many mistakes throughout the year and put us behind the game.
“But that was part of the learning. Trying to get better and not make as many mistakes.”
The season was a bit of a whirlwind for Catalano, who started the year in February at New Smyrna Speedway with a fifth-place finish. He backed that up by racing with the leaders and finishing third in the second race of the year at Richmond Raceway in March.
Catalano immediately found himself near the top of the Modified Tour standings with drivers like defending series champion Ron Silk and multi-time champion Justin Bonsignore.
“The fifth place at New Smyrna, we were happy. We were up late hanging out laughing. That was awesome,” Catalano said. “After that, we said, ‘OK, let’s regroup for Richmond. Let’s try and be consistent here. A top 15 would be amazing.’
“Then we were like ninth in practice. I was like, ‘Oh, we have a really good car here.’ We drove up to third during a long run, ran the leaders down. I was like, ‘Man, this thing is really good.’
“I messed up on one of the restarts and got into Justin (Bonsignore) a little bit and then got sideways. I messed up the car, but we still finished third. That was huge.”
After Richmond, though, Catalano experienced a bit of a drought. An engine issue at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park relegated him to a 19th-place finish, which he followed with a 17th-place effort at Monadnock and a 24th-place run at Riverhead Raceway following suspension problems.
Those results could have snapped Catalano back to reality, but all they did was motivate him.
Fast-forward to July 20 at Monadnock and the Duel at the Dog 250. Utilizing a daring strategy call, Trevor held off Silk to capture his first Modified Tour victory and the first for the Catalano Motorsports team.
The gamble, which saw Catalano stay on track when most of the leaders hit the pits for a fresh tire during a caution with 71 laps left, was a perfectly timed strategic masterpiece. He took the lead on Lap 195 and led the final 56 en route to the victory.
Trevor Catalano celebrates after winning the Duel at the Dog 250 at Monadnock Speedway on July 20, 2024. (Photo: Jaiden Tripi/NASCAR)
“We got like 100 laps into the race and the car was really good, but I was struggling to pass people,” he said. “We came in during the caution (on Lap 131), and we said we’re going to pit right now and we’re not pitting again. Then everybody went to go pit the second caution, and I said (on the radio), ‘Are you sure dad?’ He said, ‘Yep, we’re sticking with it. We’re staying out, and we’re going to gamble.’”
Silk filled Catalano’s mirror throughout most of the final run. The rookie somehow found a way to keep the reigning champion behind him, a feat that even now seems improbable.
“Fifty to go, and Ron Silk is up to third and Justin is fourth and then they both get to second and third and all you can think is, ‘Yup, this is over.’ You’ve got two champions behind you, and you’re not going to be able to hold them both off. That’s all I could think about.
“Mom was on the radio and just kept telling me, ‘Just don’t mess up, and you’ll be fine. Just don’t miss your marks.’ It was awesome. To have my mom spotting and my dad crew chiefing … it was really awesome to have the first win come with mom on the radio.”
Trevor joins an impressive list of drivers to win the Modified Tour Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award.
They include men like four-time series champion Bonsignore, two-time champion Donny Lia, 2003 series champion Todd Szegedy and other familiar names like Eric Goodale, Patrick Emerling, Timmy Solomito, Chase Dowling, Jake Johnson, Austin Beers and Catalano’s older brother, Tommy.
“When we won the Rookie of the Year with Tommy, that was kind of one of the things I set aside and said, ‘I want to win the Rookie of the Year,’” said Trevor, now 18. “You’ve got to start somewhere, and I feel like that’s a really good starting spot.
“You just add your name to an awesome list. Hopefully we can try and go win somewhere and maybe try to win a championship before we’re done.”
The 2023 Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award winner in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series finds herself in a top-tier Late Model Stock Car for the crown-jewel event. She is teaming up with four-time Weekly Series champion Lee Pulliam to pilot his No. 55 Toyota, which pairs her with 2022 South Carolina 400 winner Brenden “Butterbean” Queen.
Buice has never been more confident ahead of a race. With her own experience at Florence along with the combined knowledge of Pulliam and Queen at her disposal, Buice believes she can be competitive through all 250 laps Saturday evening.
“This is a great opportunity,” Buice said. “It’s one-of-a-kind, honestly. I’m super excited to work with the Lee Pulliam guys and be teammates with Brenden. Everyone knows he’s a great driver, and he’s going to be doing some great things next year, as well. I’m excited to work up close with these guys and see what I can do.”
Lanie Buice’s determination on the track has already garnered her accolades, including the 2023 Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award. (Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Lanie Buice’s performance in last year’s South Carolina 400 against drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Josh Berry and others caught the attention of many in the Late Model Stock industry. After methodically saving her tires, Buice proceeded to work her way through the field during the second half of the race, positioning herself in third behind eventual race-winner Kade Brown. The charge proved to be slightly premature, as Buice exhausted her tires and ended up falling outside of the top five.
Finishing a stellar South Carolina 400 run in 13th was disappointing for Buice, but she used the momentum from that night to curate a solid first year in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program. Buice’s success in a Rev Racing Late Model Stock includes top fives at tracks like Hickory Motor Speedway and Southern National Motorsports Park in North Carolina.
Eager to showcase her refined skills on a national stage, Buice reached out to Pulliam to inquire about a seat for the South Carolina 400. After a couple conversations, both sides came to an agreement that would see Buice pilot Pulliam’s second car in the event.
On every occasion he has seen Buice compete, Pulliam has noticed how methodical and patient she is behind the wheel. Those qualities, combined with her ability to keep a car in one piece, is why Pulliam believes Buice is an ideal fit within his program.
“When I got the chance to meet Lanie Buice, it was pretty evident her determination to be successful matches the determination we have here to be successful,” Pulliam said. “Her attitude is in the right direction, and I feel real positive about this.”
Pulliam is no stranger to guiding female competitors to success in racing. Julia Landauer won a track championship at Virginia’s Pulaski County Motorsports Park driving one of Pulliam’s cars. Amber Balcaen and Jessica Dana have also found Victory Lane under the Pulliam banner.
Buice took Pulliam’s entire history with Late Model Stocks into consideration when she first contacted him. Being able to lean on one of the discipline’s greatest competitors even for just one race is something Buice knows will only be beneficial for her career in the long term.
“A lot of females have shined being a part of the Lee Pulliam team, along with other drivers that he has had come along with him,” Buice said. “It’s definitely an inspiration, but I’m super excited to see what I can learn. It’s a great opportunity to develop myself, so I’m super excited to see where this can go.”
Lanie Buice joins a long list of female drivers that have competed for Lee Pulliam such as Julia Landauer and Isabella Robusto. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Buice got her first glimpse into the passion and commitment permeating at Lee Pulliam Performance when she first visited the shop a few weeks ago to get her seat fitted. When speaking with Pulliam, Buice was encouraged to stay focused and capitalize on everything she already knows about competing at Florence.
Pulliam sees a lot of potential in Buice as a competitor and wants to give her a car capable of winning the South Carolina 400. With how determined Buice is to absorb information, Pulliam is confident Buice can execute a flawless tire conservation strategy that can put her up front with the rest of the contenders.
“The thing about Lanie is that she is willing to listen, learn and do whatever you tell her to do behind the wheel,” Pulliam said. “Hopefully I can be key in helping her conserve tires and note when she needs to ride. I feel like she’s already done a good job [at Florence] since she ran top five for most of [the South Carolina 400 last year] before she lost tire at the end.
“We’re going to try and be on the opposite [side] this year so we can be going forward during those final laps.”
Buice’s own observations with tire management during the 2023 South Carolina 400 provided her a blueprint on how to approach this year’s endurance event at Florence that has only been bolstered by Pulliam’s influence.
A key component of Buice’s plan involved studying Queen’s conservative strategy, particularly when he won the South Carolina 400 in 2022.
“[Brenden] actually laid back earlier in the race and didn’t quite have the track position,” Buice said. “By the end of the race, he had saved so much, he was able to drive past everybody. I think that’s something I might look for this time, or I might do something similar to last year. I guess we’ll have to stay tuned.”
To prepare for the South Carolina 400, Lanie Buice (21) has been carefully studying how 2022 winner Brenden Queen (03) navigates Florence Motor Speedway. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
Saving tires is only one aspect of success in the South Carolina 400. An entry list consisting of more than 50 cars puts additional emphasis on Buice locking her way into the field with a top-20 qualifying performance, a goal that will only be made tougher by the presence of Earnhardt Jr., Berry and many other Late Model Stock stalwarts.
Going up against so many strong drivers with varying years of experience is not intimidating to Buice in the slightest. Instead, she is motivated by the challenge the South Carolina 400 is providing and intends to stay composed as the strategy evolves throughout the night.
Pulliam saw how close Buice was to shocking the Late Model Stock world during the South Carolina 400 last year. If he and his team can be perfect on every front, Pulliam envisions Buice earning a milestone victory for herself, his operation and short-track racing in general.
“[Lanie Buice winning] would be huge,” Pulliam said. “I think that would be an incredible accomplishment for her and for me. It’s very much doable, so we’ve both got to work very hard. A great team is going to be behind her, and we’re all going to give 100 percent. I feel like she’s going to give 100 percent, too.”
Buice knows Pulliam will provide a great car for her second South Carolina 400 start, but she is also staying pragmatic before the green flag. The field for Saturday’s race will be one of the toughest Buice has faced in her career, which is why she is focused on avoiding trouble and improving upon her 13th place run last year.
“I’m just focused on doing the very best that I can,” Buice said. “A win is definitely something I think everyone wants to achieve, and it’s definitely doable. The opportunities are endless at Lee Pulliam, but at the same time, I’ve got to do my job. That’s the most important thing.”
A daunting weekend awaits Buice at Florence, but she has everything needed to put together another strong South Carolina 400 run and keep building a reputation as one of the most promising female competitors in the southeast.
Voting officially opened for the 2024 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Most Popular Driver Award on Oct. 28, and fans should continue to wear their voting caps and cast their ballots before the polls close Thursday, Nov. 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Fans will be able to vote for their favorite driver five times per day (per unique address) on NASCAR.com or the mobile app.
After more than three weeks of voting, here are the current top five vote-getters in each series (alphabetical order):
Cup Series
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson
Martin Truex Jr.
Xfinity Series
Justin Allgaier
AJ Allmendinger
Shane van Gisbergen
Parker Kligerman
Jesse Love
Truck Series
Rajah Caruth
Christian Eckes
Grant Enfinger
Corey Heim
Ty Majeski
The winner of the 2024 NMPA Most Popular Driver Award will be announced during the NASCAR Awards banquet on Friday, Nov. 22, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott has won the Most Popular Driver Award for six consecutive seasons (2018-23). Justin Allgaier is the defending victor in the Xfinity Series, while Hailie Deegan won the award in Trucks last season.
Additional information about the NMPA can be found at nmpaonline.com.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 19, 2024) — Todd Gilliland will enter the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with new yet familiar colors. Gilliland will pilot the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Front Row Motorsports (FRM). Todd will follow in his father, David’s footsteps in representing Love’s colors at FRM.
As Love’s enters its 13th consecutive season with FRM, it was David Gilliland who first raced the Love’s livery in the 2013 Daytona 500. David went on to race for the company in 2014 and 2015, giving the FRM partner their first pole and top-five finish.
Todd first began racing for Love’s under the Speedco banner in the Craftsman Truck Series beginning in 2020 and again in 2021. Heading into the 2025 season, the 24-year-old driver now steps into the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford and is FRM’s longest-tenured driver.
“It is really humbling to race the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang beginning next season,” Gilliland said. “It’s just another cool moment in my career to race for a company that represented my father at FRM. The No. 34 Ford is what started FRM in the Cup Series, and there is a lot of history with Love’s, FRM and my family. I still remember watching my dad race the Love’s Ford.
“I did not take this next step lightly. I have seen the rise of the team and the new level of expectations. It is an honor that Love’s is putting their trust in me to continue to grow the team and compete for wins and get into the playoffs. I am gracious for this opportunity and look forward to 2025.”
Love’s will once again be the premier partner of the team and will adorn the No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for more than half of the season, beginning with the Daytona 500.
The crew chief and other partners will be announced before the start of the 2025 season.
Ryan Preece is set to join RFK Racing for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the organization announced Tuesday. Preece will join the operation behind the wheel of the No. 60 Ford, giving the team three full-time vehicles next year.
Kroger will additionally move its sponsorship to RFK Racing. Kroger will join nearly 20 brands across the RFK Racing Ford of Preece, Keselowski and Buescher throughout the season. Kroger has been a primary sponsor in the Cup Series dating back to 2010 when it joined JTG Daugherty Racing’s ranks.
“Having a third team gives us another shot at the win on any given weekend,” RFK co-owner and driver Brad Keselowski said in a Zoom teleconference. “It’s a great opportunity for us at RFK. Our goal is to be an elite organization, I would say a world-class organization, and to do that in NASCAR, you’ve got to win races. The more teams you have, the better that opportunity is to elevate all the programs.”
Preece, 34, joins the organization in what will be his fifth full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series, departing Stewart-Haas Racing, which closed its operations following the conclusion of the 2024 Cup campaign. The No. 60 Ford made its Cup debut with RFK Racing last season as part of the organization’s #Stage60 program, with drivers David Ragan, Cameron Waters and Joey Hand piloting the machine in 2024. As driver of the No. 41 SHR Ford, Preece tallied one top five and five top-10 finishes in 2024. In 187 career Cup Series starts dating back to 2015, Preece has compiled four top fives, 16 top 10s and 176 laps led.
“It’s [an opportunity] that I’m really eager and excited for,” Preece said. “It’s somewhere that these guys had speed last year. I mean, you look at how many weeks in a row that Brad and Chris [Buescher] finished top two or top three and had some extremely good stats and found Victory Lane. So for me, it’s a great opportunity, one that’s filled with pressure. But I think if you’ve looked at my career in those pressure-type situations, I’ve succeeded. I’m grateful for the opportunity.” In 62 career Xfinity Series races, the Berlin, Connecticut native has found Victory Lane twice; in 12 Truck Series starts, Preece has additionally tallied two wins to his resume. The 2025 move will see Preece join RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski and 2023 Cup Series Playoffs driver Chris Buescher as the organization enters its fourth year since its rebranding with Roush Fenway Racing.
MORE: All of RFK Racing’s wins by driver Since Jack Roush ventured into ownership with the team in 1988, the new-look RFK Racing operation has won 143 Cup Series races spanning across 11 drivers, including NASCAR Hall of Famers Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin. With Preece’s full-time entry, RFK Racing will look to 2025 as another opportunity to not only make the playoffs but put more than one RFK Racing driver in the 16-driver postseason field. Buescher advanced to the Round of 8 in 2023, while Keselowski was eliminated in the Round of 16 in 2024.
“My commitment is taking someone like Ryan and putting him in that spot where he can win in and with the right resources, with the right team around him and the right support structure, and that’s what I see out of Ryan,” Keselowski said. “He’s got the talent, he’s got the work ethic, and that’s our commitment back to him is to put him in the right situation with the right equipment, the right people and the right infrastructure to be successful. And I think we can do just that.”
Crew-chief pairings for Keselowski and Preece will be revealed at a later date.
Another busy year of racing across the United States and Canada for more than 45 NASCAR-sanctioned short tracks has resulted in celebrations for drivers who have claimed track championships in 2024.
From Alaska Raceway Park in Palmer, Alaska, to Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, drivers from across the continent worked endlessly toward the goal of becoming NASCAR track champions this year. For a select few, that dream was realized.
They include Burt Myers, who captured his 11th track championship at North Carolina’s Bowman Gray Stadium on his way to a runner-up finish in the 2024 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I national standings. Also among the list of track champions is Brian Campbell, who claimed his second consecutive title at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway.
Peyton Sellers won his seventh track championship at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway, tying the all-time record previously set by David Blankenship. Jeff Strunk secured the track championship at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway a decade after his last championship at the historic dirt track.
Below is a list of NASCAR-sanctioned division champions from all of the tracks that are part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
2024 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series track champions
Brian Campbell raced to his second consecutive NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series track champion at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway this year. (Photo: Eric Bronson/NASCAR)
Jeff Strunk captured his first Grandview Speedway in a decade this year. It was his 11th track championship overall. (Photo: Rich Kepner/Grandview Speedway)
Peyton Sellers (26) leads Jacob Borst (25) at South Boston Speedway. Sellers captured his record-tying seventh track title in 2024. (Photo: Joe Chandler/South Boston Speedway)
Change has been a common companion to Trackhouse Racing in its brief but rapidly evolving existence in the NASCAR world the last four years. The 2025 season has more growth in store for the Justin Marks-founded organization, which will expand from two to three Cup Series teams next year.
New Zealand import Shane van Gisbergen makes his move to NASCAR’s top series next season in the No. 88 Chevrolet, joining returning drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez on Trackhouse’s full-time roster. SVG was tapped for the role in August, when Trackhouse announced the acquisition of a third charter for Cup Series competition.
Van Gisbergen set his course toward stock-car racing after a dazzling Cup Series debut in winning the 2023 Chicago Street Race inaugural. That one-off victory opened the door for more races with Trackhouse and a full-season campaign in the Xfinity Series, where he won three times as a rookie in 2024.
Both Chastain and Suárez say they see the positives in Trackhouse’s expansion, both from the influx of personnel and resources needed to operate the third team and from gaining a trusted teammate.
“I view it as glass half-full,” Chastain said Nov. 9, during NASCAR’s season-ending weekend at Phoenix Raceway. “From the team side, engineering and crew chief stuff, the guys and girls that are going to be coming in, I’m excited to get them in the shop full-time soon and start working with our group after we all take a break and kind of reset. It’s something that I just see a lot of potential there, and Shane from the driving side and the preparation side, we’ve already been leaning on each other in something as simple as going for runs together, and then as complicated as DIL (driver-in-the-loop simulator) time together, we’re learning how we’re going to structure that for next year.”
Suárez indicated that SVG’s addition should bolster Trackhouse’s road-course program, drawing on his background from the Australian-based Supercars Championship tour. Conversely, van Gisbergen can lean on his two established teammates as he builds experience on oval tracks. His first race on a NASCAR oval was just 15 months ago, at Indianapolis Raceway Park in a Craftsman Truck Series event.
“Already in road-course races, he’s going to bring a lot to the table,” Suárez said in Phoenix. “He’s extremely experienced in road-course stuff, the most experienced of probably the entire field, and we’re super excited to work more closely together for road-course stuff. For ovals, I think it’s going to be a learning process for him. He’s still already learning a lot. He’s still in that process of trying to figure out what he needs, and it’s going to be a long process because obviously the Xfinity Series, we all know that is one thing and the Cup Series is a completely different level. So it’s going to be a process, and he’s going to have to be patient when it comes to the ovals in the Cup Series, but he knows. He’s a very experienced and good race car driver, so he’s going to figure it out.”
Both of Trackhouse’s returning drivers have designs on rebuilding in 2025. Chastain did not qualify for the Cup Series Playoffs for the first time in three years, missing the 16-driver field by 33 points. He scratched the win column in late September at Kansas Speedway, but lamented how he and his No. 1 Chevy team missed out at converting its late-race chances during the regular season.
That said, Chastain said he had no intentions of switching to a more conservative approach.
“We did it at Kansas, but we didn’t do it earlier in the year when we had the opportunity,” Chastain said. “So, lost a lot of points in overtime throughout the year. High risk, high reward. I went for wins throughout the summer, late spring or the springtime. Went for wins, and if I had just laid up and went a little further back, I’d have had a lot better finish and would have made the playoffs. But I’ll go for those wins every time.”
Suárez reached the postseason with an early clinching victory in a nail-biter at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February, but the No. 99 team’s performance lagged through the springtime months. He reached the playoffs’ Round of 12 and had glimmers of improvement in the second half of the season.
The year was a noteworthy one on the personal side as Suárez became a United States citizen on June 18 and married Julia Piquet on July 30. He enters 2025 in the final year of his contract after signing a one-year extension in August.
“I felt like it was a good year. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t amazing, either,” Suárez said. “We had our ups and downs. There were a couple months in the middle of the year that were very, very bad, and there were also a couple months, I would say, lately that we were actually pretty strong. So I feel like a lot to build on, a good year to build on. We know our strengths and our weaknesses, and already we’re looking forward to build from there, and hopefully we can make our group even stronger for next year.”
Joe Gibbs Racing is set to lift a team restriction that previously disallowed its NASCAR Cup Series drivers to compete in extracurricular racing on dirt and other disciplines.
The decision was first reported Monday by The Athletic and later confirmed to NASCAR.com by a team spokesperson, who indicated that the organization now has a process for drivers to request to compete in other forms of motorsports. The new policy comes after the Huntersville, North Carolina-based racing team added dirt star and former Stewart-Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe to its Cup Series roster for 2025 and beyond.
The Indiana native Briscoe and now-teammate Christopher Bell are two of the top superstars of the dirt racing world, set to sling some mud in the season ahead. No. 54 JGR Toyota driver Ty Gibbs has also expressed interest in expanding his racing horizons as well, with some dirt action expected to be in his future.
“We sort of talked things over to come up with a process by which they can request to run certain races,” Joe Gibbs told The Athletic. “If they get approval from everyone they need on our competition side, then they are free to run the race. That includes dirt, but also potentially other forms of racing.”
The change is a welcomed but surprising one to Bell, readying for a fifth Cup season with JGR and eyeing a return to the Championship 4. The Oklahoma native is one of the most accomplished active dirt racers, one of just three drivers to win the famed Chili Bowl Nationals midget race at least three times.
“I was definitely caught off guard by the change of policy,” Bell told The Athletic. “I was super shocked, but with Chase coming on board and Ty growing an interest in dirt racing, it’s nice we have the majority of our team aligned with it now.”
Briscoe is set to replace Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Toyota Camry after the longtime veteran retired from full-time competition at the end of the 2024 season. As the new guy in the building, the policy change is one Briscoe wasn’t pushing for, but will gladly accept.
“I could tell it wasn’t a hard ‘no,’ but it wasn’t something at the time they were super thrilled about,” Briscoe told The Athletic. “It didn’t feel like the door was shut completely; there was definitely a crack. But I didn’t know in my first year getting there, I would still be able to go do stuff if I wanted to.”
Briscoe and Bell have yet to announce any upcoming participation in dirt events, but are relieved to know they now can.
“It’s refreshing knowing I’ll be able to do whatever I want to do,” Bell said. “I’m super excited to reconnect with my dirt fan base and see everybody at a dirt track soon.”
Earnhardt has made a habit of competing at Florence since 2022, when he returned to the Timmonsville, South Carolina track for the fist time since his formative years racing Late Model Stocks around the Southeast. He has South Carolina 400 finishes of ninth (2022) and eighth (2023). The 50-year-old NASCAR Hall of Famer has already competed at Florence twice this year, finishing fourth in February’s IceBreaker and 10th in a CARS Tour race on Aug. 30.
On Saturday, he’ll be up against a stacked entry list that includes Late Model Stock Car racing’s best competitors, including Earnhardt’s former JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry, 2022 South Carolina 400 winner Brenden “Butterbean” Queen and defending event winner Kade Brown.
Earnhardt will race a familiar car, as his No. 8 Late Model Stock will feature the same Budweiser scheme he made famous during his years driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Thanks to his victory in the CARS Tour event at Florence in August, Ryan Millington will start Saturday’s South Carolina 400 from the pole.
Below is everything else to know about the 2024 South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway, including the entry list and how to watch.
South Carolina 400: TV channel, live stream
The 2024 South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway will be shown exclusively on FloRacing, the streaming home of all NASCAR Regional properties.
The race will not broadcast on a traditional TV channel/network.
FloRacing’s coverage of Saturday’s action is scheduled to start at 4:15 p.m. ET. That’s when qualifying will begin for all three divisions (Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, Late Models).
Pre-race ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, immediately followed by feature racing. Twin Late Model heat races will begin the feature action, followed by the Street Stock and Mini Stock races.
The 250-lap Late Model feature will close the night.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. pictured before the 2024 IceBreaker at Florence Motor Speedway on Feb. 10, 2024. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
Entry list
Earnhardt headlines the entry list for Saturday’s $10,000-to-win South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway, marking the third consecutive season he has entered the prestigious Late Model Stock Car event.
The NASCAR Hall of Famer will be racing against the best Late Model Stock Car competitors in the Southeast. Included among them is Berry, who captured the 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national championship while driving for Earnhardt.
Brown, the defending South Carolina 400 winner, will be back in the field, but this time he’ll be driving the No. 4 for R&S Race Cars rather than the No. 23 he drove last year for Matt Piercy.
Other notable entries include Queen, Carson Loftin, Jared Fryar, Millington, Brent Crews, Caden Kvapil, Mason Diaz, Landon Huffman, Landon S. Huffman, Treyten Lapcevich, Doug Barnes Jr., Sam Yarbrough and Michael Bumgarner, among others.
The complete Late Model Stock Car entry list is below.
(As of Nov. 18)
Car No.
Driver
1
Jamie York
2
Brandon Pierce
2
Ryan Wilson
4
Kade Brown
4
Jake Crum
5
Dexter Canipe III
5
Jake Vuncannon
5
Bryant Barnhill
7
Tristan McKee
8
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13
Cody Kelley
14
Jared Fryar
14
Vicente Salas
15
Ryan Millington
15
Jonathan Shafer
16
Casey Kelley
17
Josh Berry
18
Alex Meggs
18
Truett Miranda
18
Anthony Adams
18
Max Reaves
18
David Roberts
19
Adam Congrove
22
Carson Loftin
27
Matt Gould
28
Ryan Glenski
28
Landon Rapp
28
Landon S. Huffman
29
Brent Crews
32
Zack Miracle
32
Caden Kvapil
44
Conner Jones
45
Mason Diaz
47
Ryley Music
51
Matt Cox
51
Donovan Strauss
55
Mark Wertz
55
Lanie Buice
57
Landon Huffman
61
Justin Hicks
70
Stuart Ricks
71
Aaron Donnelly
77
Treyten Lapcevich
77
Darren Krantz Jr.
88
Doug Barnes Jr.
88
Duncan Grant
92
Bradley Means
95
Jacob Heafner
95
Sam Yarbrough
97
Michael Bumgarner
99
Austin Somero
00
Chase Burrow
00
Jamie Weatherford
03
Brenden Queen
04
Ronnie Bassett Jr.
09
Riley Gentry
Kade Brown (23) and Brenden “Butterbean” Queen (03) during the 2023 South Carolina 400 on Nov. 18, 2023. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
Race-day schedule
Saturday at Florence Motor Speedway will mark the second full day of racing action in what makes up the South Carolina 400 weekend.
For Street Stocks, Mini Stocks and Late Models on Saturday, there will be two practice sessions ahead of qualifying. For the Late Models, those who don’t log a top-20 time in qualifying will compete in the heat races later in the evening to try to secure their starting positions. The top six finishers of those heat races will advance to the main event.
Below is the complete race-day schedule for Saturday at Florence.
Saturday, Nov. 23
(All Times ET)
Time
Event
7:30 a.m.
Trailer Parking
8 a.m.
RV/Campground Parking
8 a.m.
Pit Gates Open
8:30 a.m.
Late Model Tire Area Opens / Late Model Tech Line Opens
10 a.m.
Support Division Tire Area Opens
11:15 a.m.
Driver’s Meeting
11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Rotating Practice
1:40 – 2:50 p.m.
Rotating Practice
3:15 p.m.
Late Model Pre-Qualifying Tech
3:30 p.m.
Grandstands Open
4:15 p.m.
Qualifying
6 p.m.
Pre-Race Ceremonies
Followed by…
Late Model Heat Race No. 1 (25 Laps)
Followed by…
Late Model Heat Race No. 2 (25 Laps)
Followed by…
Street Stock Race (50 Laps)
Followed by…
Mini Stock Race (50 Laps)
Followed by…
South Carolina 400 (250 Laps)
South Carolina 400 race format
Below is the race format for the South Carolina 400, via Florence Motor Speedway.
ALL TEAMS QUALIFY WITH THE TOP 20 LOCKING IN FROM QUALIFYING. THE POLE POSITION IS RESERVED FOR THE NO. 15 OF RYAN MILLINGTON WITH HIS WIN IN THE CARS TOUR EVENT ON AUG. 30.
AFTER QUALIFYING, THE TOP 20 WILL LOCK INTO THE 250 LAP FEATURE.
ALL OTHER CARS WILL BE RELEGATED TO TWO 25 LAP HEAT RACES WITH THE TOP 6 FINISHERS ADVANCING.
THE TRACK HAS THE OPTION TO ADD 3-4 PROVISIONALS IF DESIRED, TO CAP THE STARTING FIELD TO 36 CARS.
THE FEATURE WILL BE 250 LAPS WITH A 10-MIN BREAK AT LAP 125. CAUTION LAPS WILL COUNT UNTIL LAP 200.
Kade Brown celebrates winning the 2024 South Carolina 400 on Nov. 18, 2023. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
South Carolina 400 results
Although the Myrtle Beach 400 no longer exists, the tradition that started back in 1993 remains alive and well in the South Carolina 400.
For 26 years, Late Model Stock competitors across the southeast had the Myrtle Beach 400 circled on their calendar. The driver who found the most success during that timeframe was Frank Deiny Jr.; he tallied three consecutive Myrtle Beach 400 victories from 2003-05 before adding one more checkered flag in the prestigious race back in 2010, which he accomplished by passing Steve Grissom’s son Kyle Grissom with 20 laps remaining.
Other notable drivers who have scored a Myrtle Beach 400 victory include Berry, Christian Eckes, Myatt Snider, Timothy Peters and Scott Riggs. Will Burns claimed the final Myrtle Beach 400 in 2019.
Below is the complete list of Myrtle Beach 400 and South Carolina 400 winners.
Myrtle Beach 400
Year
Winner
1993
Jody Ridley
1994
Gary St. Amant
1995
Freddie Query
1996
Jay Fogleman
1997
David Blankenship
1998
Stephen Grimes
1999
Scott Riggs
2000
Greg Edwards
2001
Robert Powell
2002
Robert Powell
2003
Timothy Peters
2004
Frank Deiny Jr.
2005
Frank Deiny Jr.
2006
Frank Deiny Jr.
2007
Sam Yarbrough
2008
Jamey Caudill
2009
Lucas Ransone
2010
Frank Deiny Jr.
2011
Garrett Campbell
2012
Anthony Anders
2013
Lee Pulliam
2014
Travis Swaim
2015
Myatt Snider
2016
Christian Eckes
2017
Josh Berry
2018
Chad McCumbee
2019
Will Burns
South Carolina 400
Year
Winner
2020
Ty Majeski
2021
Ty Majeski
2022
Brenden Queen
2023
Kade Brown
(Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
Florence Motor Speedway track profile
Even casual race fans know about South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway, one of the most iconic venues the NASCAR Cup Series visits on an annual basis.
Those same fans may or may not know about a NASCAR Home Track located just 15 miles south of Darlington known as the Diamond of the Southeast. Florence Motor Speedway, nestled in the town of Timmonsville, is indeed a gem of a short track.
Florence Motor Speedway, now a NASCAR-sanctioned venue and part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, has been hosting local short track racing since 1982. It has been operated on the watch of owner and promotor Steve Zacharias since 2020.
Zacharias is the reason Florence’s racing season begins with the IceBreaker, an event that features late-model stocks in addition to super trucks, limited late models and mini stocks. He brought the IceBreaker to Florence from nearby Myrtle Beach Speedway upon that track’s closing.
The track itself is unique in its layout. The 0.4-mile paved oval features progressive banking in the corners, a combination that’s prone to producing side-by-side racing.
Perhaps the most unique attribute of Florence Motor Speedway is that fact that, with the exception of the frontstretch in front of the grandstands, it has no outside wall.
“It’s unusual the first time you go there and experience it,” 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion Josh Berry told NASCAR.com. “But after a while, it’s no big deal.
“It’s a really fun track.”
Watch the complete Florence Motor Speedway track profile below.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s South Carolina 400 history at Florence Motor Speedway
(Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a significant return to his roots in 2022 when he competed in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway.
In what was the 30th edition of the race, Earnhardt drove a car sporting a throwback scheme to the Bass Pro Shops car his father Dale Earnhardt Sr. drove in the 1998 NASCAR All-Star Race.
He qualified 26th and methodically worked his way into contention ahead of the final 50-lap run. With 13 laps to go, Earnhardt made contact with Matt Cox down the backstretch while the two were racing for third.
The contact sent Cox into the inside wall, and event officials penalized Earnhardt by sending him to the tail of the field for causing the crash.
Earnhardt marched back through the field a second time, but an incident with Landon Pembelton with fewer than five laps left saw Earnhardt penalized a second time, resulting in a ninth-place finish.
The race was Earnhardt‘s first at Florence Motor Speedway since his formative years in the 1990s.
He returned for the 2023 edition of the South Carolina 400. He qualified 26th and methodically worked his way through the pack to ultimately finished eighth in the 250-lap event.
The 2024 edition of the South Carolina 400 will be his third start in the prestigious race; he ran 23rd in the 1996 Myrtle Beach 400, the South Carolina 400’s predecessor.
Earnhardt also raced in Florence’s Icebreaker in February; he finished fourth. He finished 10th in a CARS Tour event at Florence in August.
TNT Sports and Amazon Prime announced Monday that Adam Alexander and Steve Letarte will join Dale Earnhardt Jr. for their NASCAR Cup Series broadcasts in 2025.
Alexander will lead play-by-play duties for both networks and former crew chief Letarte will serve as an analyst. Earnhardt was announced as the first member of the coverage team for both networks back in May.
Prime Video, a newcomer to the list of NASCAR broadcast networks, and returning partner TNT will each air five Cup Series in the midsection of the season. Prime will begin its coverage with the May 25 Coca-Cola 600 and its run will include the Cup Series’ first event in Mexico City on June 15. TNT’s coverage will begin June 28 at Atlanta and will feature the circuit’s first in-season tournament, with a $1 million prize to the winner.
Alexander joins Prime and TNT after a 19-year run at FOX Sports, where he anchored play-by-play coverage from the broadcast booth for multiple NASCAR series. He also served as a pit reporter and studio host during his time with FOX.
Letarte will be reunited with Earnhardt Jr. in the Prime and TNT booth, and he will continue to be an analyst with NBC Sports. He shifted to broadcasting for the 2015 season after scoring 15 Cup Series wins as a crew chief with Hendrick Motorsports, including five with Earnhardt at the wheel.
Earnhardt began his broadcasting career as an analyst with NBC Sports in 2018, one year after his driving career ended. TNT indicated that the NASCAR Hall of Famer is also scheduled to contribute to Bleacher Report’s social and digital outlets through an agreement with his Dirty Mo Media productions group.
Prime Video and TNT Sports join FOX and NBC as broadcast partners for the Cup Series starting next year through 2031 as part of a seven-year media rights package announced at the end of the 2023 season.
For a complete list of compatible devices to stream NASCAR on Prime Video in 2025, visit amazon.com/howtostream.
