HICKORY, N.C. — For years, Ray Alfalla dreamed of the day he would make his debut behind the wheel of a race car.
That day arrived Saturday at Hickory Motor Speedway, where the four-time eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series champion competed in the 100-lap Limited Late Model race held during the 25th annual Fall Brawl.
It was a moment years in the making for Alfalla, who traveled from Florida to North Carolina to take part in Saturday’s event.
“It was hard enough just getting up here,” said Alfalla, who was born in Cuba but moved to the United States when he was 6. “We had to go through a tropical storm, flew in, and then had to drive through a tropical storm to the hotel. The whole travel day was hectic enough.
“It’s been a lot to get here, just to get to this race. It still feels surreal.”
The chance for Alfalla to live his dream started a few months ago when he tested a limited late model at Hickory under the guidance of 2022 track champion Landon Huffman and the Jason Smith Racing team.
Ray Alfalla (51) battles Bub Haney (28) during the Limited Late Model feature as part of the Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway on Nov. 12, 2022. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Alfalla said he quickly realized there were some things he needed to improve, including his physical fitness.
“I did a test and figured out I needed to get in better shape,” Alfalla said. “I lost 20 pounds over the summer. I worked a lot on my neck, and it showed [Saturday]. I’m very comfortable physically in the car. Made a few adjustments to the steering wheel and the seating position from the last time.
“After the test, it was just about getting funding together and finding a race to do.”
The funding came from iRacing, the Virtual Racing School and Interstate Batteries. After a few false starts, Alfalla settled on the Fall Brawl and Hickory as the time and place to make his racing debut.
In order to prepare for Saturday’s race, Alfalla did what came natural by turning laps at Hickory on iRacing. The 0.363-mile asphalt oval was added to the iRacing service last year.
“Obviously I know the track perfectly; I have no issues with that,” Alfalla said. “I got out there in a practice session with a bunch of cars, and I felt comfortable. It was my first time ever with a bunch of other cars, and it didn’t feel any different than I would expect. I feel as comfortable as I think you can feel getting into a car for the first time.
“I’m really just focused on finding speed and not making any mistakes. iRacing has really helped flatten that learning curve a lot.”
Ray Alfalla during practice for the Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway on Nov. 12, 2022. (Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Entering race day, the 33-year-old said his biggest concern had nothing to do with his on-track ability. Instead, he was more concerned about how to navigate pit road or how to get in the race car.
These are all factors with which the iRacer had never dealt.
“I was almost more concerned with the logistics of where to go and what to do,” Alfalla said. “Where to maneuver on pit road and getting in and out of the car, all that stuff. Obviously on iRacing you just sit on the sim and you just drive. You don’t have to deal with everything else.”
Alfalla qualified 17th for the 100-lap race, roughly half a second off the pole speed of eventual race winner Michael Bumgarner. During the race, Aflalla battled mechanical gremlins and ultimately retired from the event early, registering an 18th-place finish following a fuel pump failure.
P18 in the Fall Brawl. Fuel pump failure ended our race, but overall an amazing experience! Learned a ton and showed some good pace. Thank you iRacing, VRS, and Interstate Batteries for making this happen, as well as my friends and family for their support. We’ll be back 🤙 pic.twitter.com/9dJbZnNRYR
While it wasn’t the type of debut for which Alfalla hoped, he was still grateful for the opportunity and is working toward adding more races to his schedule in 2023 in his home state of Florida.
“I’ve always been a big believer in sim racers,” Alfalla said. “There are a lot of drivers who are really good on iRacing but don’t have the funds to go race in real life. Now we’re seeing more and more of it. I’m happy to be another one of those.
“Thanks to NASCAR and iRacing for putting sim racers on the map and putting eNASCAR on the map and helping us really showcase that we can do this. The simulation is close enough to real life that guys get into a real car and they can get up to speed fairly quickly.”
More than 50 late model stock teams have filed entries for the 200-lap feature set to take place Nov. 19, with NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. headlining a talented group of competitors that includes Florence track regulars, young prospects and veterans with decades of experience.
Interest in the race has never been an issue for Florence general manager Steve Zacharias, who grew accustomed to dealing with massive late model stock fields in November back when the event took place at the now-defunct Myrtle Beach Speedway.
Although he considers the closure of Myrtle Beach a huge loss for short track racing, Zacharias could not be happier with how the South Carolina 400 has prospered at Florence over the last two years.
“This is the third time we’ve run this race at Florence, but I consider it the 30th overall,” Zacharias said. “With Myrtle Beach falling, we were fortunate to continue the tradition of the 400 at Florence. Otherwise it would have just gone away.
“I’m excited to still be a part of it, and we’re very excited about everything taking place this year.”
For more than 30 years, many of the best short track drivers have flocked to South Carolina in November to participate in what was then known as the Myrtle Beach 400, which formally began in 1993 as the NASCAR All Pro Series season finale.
The half-mile facility tested competitors on both strategy and patience for 400 laps before changes to race-day procedures cut the distance down to 250 laps. As the surface gradually aged over the years, tire conservation became a more pressing issue and forced drivers to race at a reduced pace during the opening laps, which often resulted in pack racing.
No one mastered the grueling nature of the Myrtle Beach 400 like Frank Deiny Jr., who won the prestigious event four times, including a three-year win streak from 2003-05. Other notable names that visited Victory Lane in the Myrtle Beach 400 include Josh Berry, Chad McCumbee, Timothy Peters, Scott Riggs, Christian Eckes and Lee Pulliam.
The South Carolina 400 took place at Myrtle Beach Speedway for 26 years. Frank Deiny Jr. holds the most wins in the race with four. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
When Will Burns took the checkered flag in a curfew-shortened Myrtle Beach 400 in 2019, Zacharias had every reason to believe the year-end tradition would continue despite ongoing challenges that included dealing with a neighborhood that had sprung up behind the track.
That mindset changed in January of 2020, when track owner Bob Lutz informed Zacharias he would be selling Myrtle Beach to make room for more land development, citing financial issues as the reason behind his decision.
For Sam Yarbrough, a six-time Myrtle Beach champion who won the 400 in 2007, he knew the track was on borrowed time despite the efforts of Lutz and Zacharias. But the foresight did not minimize the impact of the facility’s demise.
“Living in the area, seeing all the development and the car counts go down over the years, it was only a matter of time,” Yarbrough said. “I wasn’t shocked, but I was disappointed that we lost a really good race track where you could race and come up with great strategies. We all saw the writing on the wall, so none of us were shocked when it happened.”
With Myrtle Beach’s final race scheduled for Aug. 15, 2020, Zacharias knew he had to act quick to ensure the track’s employees and its competitors had a place to race before the last checkered flag was displayed.
Salvation came just a month before the finale when Zacharias and long-time Florence owner Charlie Powell came to terms on an agreement that would see Myrtle Beach’s staff take over day-to-day operations at Florence. They would also continue Myrtle Beach’s crown jewel event as the rebranded South Carolina 400.
The timing of the agreement could not have been more perfect for Zacharias.
“Things work out in mysterious ways,” Zacharias said. “Myrtle Beach falls in 2020, and Charlie [Powell] and I sign our deal on July 6. Charlie then unfortunately passes away on Aug. 1, so if I didn’t work something out with him prior to Myrtle Beach closing, two tracks in this area could have gone away at the exact same time.”
Steve Zacharias took over as the general manager at Florence Motor Speedway shortly before long-time owner Charlie Powell passed away. (Photo:NASCAR)
As Zacharias prepares to wrap up his second full year at Florence, he believes everyone from Myrtle Beach has seamlessly transitioned into their new environment.
Along with being easier to manage from a logistical standpoint, Zacharias added that Florence produces high-quality racing. The track shares many similarities with Myrtle Beach, particularly the abrasive surface, but Zacharias said the progressive banking at Florence enables drivers to consistently run multiple lanes.
Yarbrough, who never turned a lap at Florence prior to Myrtle Beach’s closure, was one of the first to get acclimated to competing at Florence on a regular basis. After winning the last race at Myrtle Beach, Yarbrough won the first late model stock event at Florence under Zacharias’ management on Sept. 4, 2020.
Like Myrtle Beach, Yarbrough compares races at Florence to a chess match when it comes to tire conservation. He expects that trend to continue as Florence’s surface keeps aging, especially with a race as long as the South Carolina 400.
“The track surface is pretty similar,” Yarbrough said. “It’s not quite as abrasive as Myrtle Beach, but it’s getting pretty close. You have to take the same approach at both tracks by being conscious of tire wear and always thinking about the next three steps. As different as [Florence] is with no back wall and a smaller infield, this track races very similar to Myrtle Beach.”
As the only past winner currently entered in the South Carolina 400, Yarbrough is confident he can hold his own against the stacked field and come away as the first driver to win the prestigious race at both Myrtle Beach and Florence.
Yarbrough wants to see Florence flourish as a focal point for asphalt short-track competitors in South Carolina, adding that bringing in Earnhardt for the state’s most prestigious grassroots event is an ideal way to bring more positive attention to the track.
While many challenges face Florence in both the short and long term, Yarbrough believes Zacharias’ ability to appeal to both fans and competitors will be crucial in making the track thrive in the 2020s and beyond.
“Steve has a good rapport with a lot of racers,” Yarbrough said. “As long as he keeps treating people the way he’s been treating them by doing everything he can to provide an affordable place to race, I really think he’ll have a chance to make something good [at Florence] in the long run.”
A stacked field of competitors will descend onto Florence Motor Speedway as it hosts the South Carolina 400 for the third time. (Photo:NASCAR)
Zacharias envisions Yarbrough being one of the favorites to win the South Carolina 400 alongside other regulars like Matt Cox and 2022 Florence champion Kade Brown, though he believes JR Motorsports will set the benchmark with Earnhardt and Carson Kvapil.
Despite this, Zacharias does not see a single driver on the massive entry list that is not capable of contending for the South Carolina 400. He’s confident fans who either attend or tune into the event on FloRacing will be in for one of the best short-track races of the year.
Zacharias is taking all the buildup to the South Carolina 400 as a sign that Florence has a bright future in a constantly evolving industry.
“I’m fighting the good fight right now trying to keep this place going,” Zacharias said. “The support of my drivers and the fans all year long is what keeps us going. My wife loves it, my kids love it and my parents love it, so it’s going to take a lot to get [Florence] out of my hands.
“I’ll keep fighting to make this place work.”
The past few years have tested the resolve of Zacharias and his staff in multiple ways, yet their commitment has remained sturdy as they put the finishing touches on a highly anticipated South Carolina 400 race weekend.
It was months ago when the dual personnel shake-ups that altered Richard Childress Racing’s direction for 2023 came to light. Tyler Reddick’s momentous decision to join 23XI Racing was revealed in July. Kyle Busch’s blockbuster shift from Joe Gibbs Racing to RCR came almost exactly two months later in September.
Now, with the curtain closed on the NASCAR Cup Series season, those transitions are starting to take hold at Childress’ shop in Welcome, N.C. It’s a new sense of rejuvenation for the organization, which gained momentum with four Cup Series wins this year – three for Reddick and one with Austin Dillon – and has a renewed energy with the arrival of Busch, one of the sport’s biggest stars and a 60-time winner at NASCAR’s top level.
“He is already wearing everybody out about, ‘hey, we’ve got to be ready to go,’ ” Dillon said during the season-ending race weekend at Phoenix Raceway. “So that fire is definitely there, and that’s what you want to see.”
Dillon enters his 10th season as a Cup Series regular with a transition in teammates. Reddick had been Dillon’s partner in the No. 8 Chevrolet the last three seasons. In 2021, Reddick edged out Dillon for the final spot in the Cup Series Playoffs; this year, Reddick provided a definitive aerodynamic push that helped Dillon to victory in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, ensuring both RCR cars would make the postseason cut.
Though Reddick’s move caused some initial acrimony with Childress, the 26-year-old driver’s commitment to winning even as his term was drawing to a close helped to soothe some of the bitterness. On the eve of their last race together, Dillon spoke with appreciation for Reddick’s efforts, both personally and professionally.
“For me, it’s one of the best things that could’ve happened,” Dillon said. “I mean, he was a great teammate throughout, brought speed instantly, a new mentality to the track for RCR. I feel like it was big. He’s just got a lot of good things that came with having him as a teammate. We worked well together. Obviously, this year, I think any time on the track, we had each other’s back and we pushed each other to be better. So yeah, he was a great part of our organization for the time he’s been here, and we’ve got a good friendship and hopefully he has a good career ahead of him where he’s going, and I’m happy for him.”
RCR now charts a new course with Dillon alongside Busch, who jumps on board after a successful 15-year tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota. He’ll be driving a Chevrolet for the first time since 2004-07, his stint with Hendrick Motorsports.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Busch has already been involved on a preliminary level, visiting the shop and encouraging Dillon to log more simulator time to validate his on-track performance.
“We’ve already started a little bit,” Busch said post-race at Phoenix. “My duties say JGR and Toyota — one of them continues through the (awards) banquet, the other one continues through December 31. So we’ll see what happens in the month of December.”
The more casual initiation may come sooner than later. Dillon says he received a text from Busch expressing an interest in a hunting trip – a pastime long associated with the Childress family, but perhaps not with Busch, who said he’d likely need to renew his license.
“I had one once upon a time. I’ve been before. Don’t let things completely shock you,” Busch said with a grin. “Actually, (crew chief) Jason Ratcliff and I, when we were really close and racing for a championship in ’09, him and I went together. So it was fun. I’ve done it before, I’d enjoy doing it again. I’ve just never really I guess had any invites to go.”
Those opportunities might be more frequent as the two new teammates get to know each other better in the offseason. The team in general will be getting more acquainted, with new driver-crew chief pairings introduced for both cars.
Randall Burnett, atop the pit box for Reddick’s three wins this year, will remain with the No. 8 Chevrolet team to partner with Busch next season. Dillon will work hand-in-hand with veteran Keith Rodden, who replaces the outgoing Justin Alexander and returns to a regular crew chief role for the first time since 2017.
Rodden remained with Hendrick Motorsports as a project manager after stepping off the pit box. This year, he’s served as executive general manager for General Motors’ motorsports competition NASCAR strategy group, where he worked on developing Chevrolet’s approach to maximizing track time with the Next Gen racer that debuted this past season. Rodden also served as crew chief and project lead for Chevy’s wheel-force testing program, where he first clicked with Dillon at a two-day test at Richmond Raceway last offseason.
“He’s a racer, and you want that, and he’s fired up. He’s wanting to be here every Sunday and give it his all,” Dillon said. “So I think we’re building. We’ve got a good team already, nothing’s really changed on that front. Just some small minor tweaks. So he just kind of gets to come in there and take what he’s learned from the war room at Chevy this year, and doing the wheel-force testing and kind of the bird’s-eye view from all the Chevy teams and their approach and try and put — in his mind — what the best setup for me is each and every week.”
Dillon will also likely benefit from insight from Busch, whose diligence and devotion to studying and improving his craft has long ranked among the sport’s elite. It also doesn’t hurt matters that when Busch is fitted for his new RCR fire suit, his uniform will say “Champion 2X” beneath the Cup Series logo below his right shoulder.
“I think, as a sports fan, there’s no champion out there that doesn’t give maximum effort to all parts of the game,” Dillon says. “You know, there’s some very talented people that do pretty well, but they’re not always a champion. Kyle created himself to be a two-time Cup champion, I feel like, so the commitment he has to this sport is unmatched. When you’re a champion, it’s unmatched. So I feel like knowing that going in, you just can’t put an amount on that that it brings to our organization. It’s going to step everybody’s game up.”
Editor’s note: Tune in live or set your DVRs for the final episode tonight at 11 ET on USA Network. The previous 10 episodes are currently available for streaming on Peacock.
The final Season 1 episode of USA Network’s unscripted series “Race for the Championship” airs tonight at 11 ET, and it provides an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway with some additional moments from the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway.
The episode will then be expanded with even more exclusive footage the following day when it hits Peacock for streaming.
The “Race for the Championship” docuseries debuted Sept. 1 with an episode dedicated to the beginning of the NASCAR season. As the series and season have both evolved, it caught up to real-time with the episode right before the season finale at Phoenix.
NBC Universal previously announced that the entire season of “Race for the Championship” is now available on Peacock.
So after watching tonight’s episode, be sure to stream previous episodes or any you may have missed on Peacock.
Nestled in the small town of Timmonsville, South Carolina lies one of NASCAR’s most unique short tracks in Florence Motor Speedway, home of the prestigious South Carolina 400.
Constructed in 1982 as a dirt track before being paved in 1988, Florence has seen plenty of talented drivers visit Victory Lane throughout its proud history. That list includes Joe and John Hunter Nemechek, along with Matt Hirschman, Robert Huffman and Dave Mader III, among others.
Since 2020, Florence’s most prestigious race has been the South Carolina 400 held every November in honor of former track owner Charlie Powell. The event serves as a spiritual successor to the Myrtle Beach 400, which took place at the now-defunct Myrtle Beach Speedway from 1993 through 2019.
The South Carolina 400 has challenged the best late model stock drivers during its brief existence. Along with an abrasive surface that will put a heavy emphasis on tire conservation, Florence has no walls on the backstretch or in the turns. One mistake could send a driver into a massive run-off area that extends into the adjacent forest.
Now in its third year, the South Carolina 400 has quickly become one of the proudest end-of-year traditions in late model stock racing, with more history set to be added when the green flag flies on Nov. 19.
Below is everything you need to know about the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway.
Florence Motor Speedway (Photo: William Chilton/NASCAR)
What TV Channel is the 2022 South Carolina 400 on?
All the on-track action for the South Carolina 400 can be viewed live on FloRacing, the official streaming home for all NASCAR Roots properties.
The event will not be shown on a television network.
Below is the complete schedule for FloRacing’s coverage of the South Carolina 400.
A full weekend of racing is in store for the South Carolina 400, with practice starting Thursday, Nov. 17. That will lead into the feature events on Friday, Nov. 18 and Saturday, Nov. 19.
Five different divisions will be in action over the weekend at Florence. Limited Late Models, Street Stocks and Mini Stocks are set to race on Friday, and the 200-lap Late Model Stock event will be preceded on Saturday by Bandolero, Legend and Super Truck features.
With a big field of cars expected for the Late Model Stock race, the top 20 in group qualifying Saturday will be locked into the main event. Two separate rounds come afterwards, in which the top 10 from each session will round out the 40-car grid.
Below is the complete schedule for all of the weekend action at Florence Motor Speedway (all times ET).
Thursday, Nov. 17
Time
Event
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Pit Gates Open/Park Trailers
2 – 5 p.m.
Rotating practice between Late Model Stocks and Limited Late Models
Friday, Nov. 18
Time
Event
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Late Model Stock Practice
2:05 – 3:50 p.m.
Support Division Practice
4 – 4:25 p.m.
Support Division Driver’s Meeting
4:35 – 5 p.m.
Limited Late Model Group Qualifying
5:30 – 6 p.m.
Mini Stock Feature (50 laps or 30 minutes)
6 – 6:30 p.m.
Street Stock Feature (50 laps or 30 minutes)
6:30 p.m.
Limited Late Model Feature (100 laps or 1 hour)
Saturday, Nov. 19
Time
Event
8:30 a.m.
Driver’s Meeting
9 a.m. – 3:35 p.m.
Rotating Practice between Late Model Stocks, Legends, Super Trucks and Bandoleros
4:10 – 4:45 p.m.
Late Model Stock Group Qualifying (Top 20 advance)
4:55 – 5:05 p.m.
2nd Round of Late Model Stock Qualifying (Top 10 advance)
5:10 – 5:20 p.m.
3rd Round of Late Model Stock Qualifying (Top 10 advance)
5:30 – 5:50 p.m.
Bandolero Feature (30 laps or 20 minutes)
6 – 6:20 p.m.
Legends Feature (40 laps or 20 minutes)
6:30 – 7: 15 p.m.
Super Truck Feature (75 laps or 45 minutes)
7:30 p.m.
Late Model Stock Driver Introductions
7:45 p.m.
South Carolina 400 (200 laps)
Entry list
Entries continue to pile in for the South Carolina 400, and every driver who enters will be looking to join Ty Majeski as a winner of the prestigious event.
Headlining the early entrants is NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. A two-time Daytona 500 champion, Earnhardt developed his skills at tracks like Florence during the 1990s and is set to return to his roots by running the South Carolina 400 for the first time in his long career.
Earnhardt’s car will be one of two Late Model Stocks fielded by JR Motorsports in the South Carolina 400, with the other being piloted by Carson Kvapil. The son of 2003 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil will be behind the wheel of a JR Motorsports car as he looks to continue a stellar season in late model stock competition.
Joining Earnhardt, Jr. and Kvapil on the preliminary entry list is three-time Langley Speedway track champion Brenden Queen, who will drive a car fielded by four-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion Lee Pulliam. Queen and Pulliam recently announced plans to contest the entire 2023 season together.
Denver, North Carolina native Kade Brown is also set to compete in the South Carolina 400. The 16-year-old just wrapped up a stellar season at Florence that saw him win the track championship.
More entries are expected for the South Carolina 400 over the next few weeks. Below is the current entry list for the race.
Car No.
Driver
Hometown
Owner
00
Bobbie Tumbleston III
Cameron, SC
N/A
02
Justin Milliken
Shallote, NC
Milliken Racing
03
Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen
Chesapeake, VA
Lee Pulliam Performance
07
Averitt Lucas
Manning, SC
Lucas Racing
09
Riley Gentry
Easley, SC
Riley Gentry Racing
0
Landon Pembelton
Amelia, VA
Landon Pembelton Racing
1
Trent Barnes
Forest Hill, MD
Barnes Racing
1
Andrew Grady
Youngsville, NC
Mike Darne Racing
1
Jamie York
Reidsville, NC
N/A
2
Brandon Pierce
Oak Ridge, NC
Lee Pulliam Performance
3
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Mooresville, NC
JR Motorsports
4
Adam Resnick
Surf City, NC
Yeoman Racing
5
Bryant Barnhill
Conway, SC
Barnhill Motorsports
5
Dexter Canipe Jr.
Conover, NC
3D Motorsports
5
Casey Kelley
Hartsville, SC
Kelley Racing
7
Jason Kitzmiller
Claremont, NC
3D Motorsports
7
Tristan McKee
Williamsburg, VA
International Trading Racing
8
Carson Kvapil
Mooresville, NC
JR Motorsports
9
Ashton Higgins
Weaverville, NC
ALH Motorsports
10
Kaden Honeycutt
Troutman, NC
R&S Race Cars
11
Blaise Brinkley
Sanford, NC
Brad Brinkley Racing
13
Bobby June
Darlington, SC
June Motorsports
15
Ryan Millington
Statesville, NC
Leisure Tyme Racing Team
16
Kade Brown
Denver, NC
AK Performance
18
Anthony Adams
Simpsonville, SC
Adams Racing
18
David Roberts
Simpsonsville, SC
N/A
19
Kyle Wood
Moseley, VA
Ramco Motorsports
21
Tim Allensworth
Bladenboro, NC
Allensworth Racing
21
Matt Linker
Mt. Pleasant, NC
AK Performance
21
Jimmy Wallace
Lexington, NC
Tutterow Racing
28
Ryan Glenski
Mooresville, NC
RG Racing
32
Zack Miracle
Indian Trail, NC
Miracle Motorsports
41
Whitney Meggs
Riegelwood, NC
Hawk McCall Motorsports
44
Conner Jones
Fredericksburg, VA
R&S Race Cars
44
Justin Whitaker
Burlington, NC
Be Aggressive Racing
47
Ryley Music
Norfolk, VA
Ryley Music Racing
50
‘Boo Boo’ Dalton
Greensboro, NC
Ross Dalton Racing
51
Matt Cox
Longs, SC
McCumbee Elliott Racing
52
Jordan Stillwell
Kannapolis, NC
Stillwell Racing
54
Matt Craig
Concord, NC
R&S Race Cars
55
Isabella Robusto
Mooresville, NC
Lee Faulk Racing
55
Mark Wertz
Chesapeake, VA
Mark Wertz Racing
59
Heath Causey
Snow Camp, NC
N/A
60
R.A. Brown
Chapin, SC
Brown Racing
61
Justin Hicks
Thomasville, NC
Hicks Motorsports, MDR
63
Chris Throckmorton
Myrtle Beach, SC
Throckstar Motorsports
70
Jeremy McDowell
Conway, SC
Ricks-McDowell Racing
71
Katie Hettinger
Conniver, NC
Matt Piercy Racing
75
Landon Huffman
Claremont, NC
Jason Smith Racing
77
Mason Diaz
Vale, NC
Chad Bryant Racing
88
Doug Barnes Jr.
Forest Hill, MD
Barnes Racing
94
Jamie Weatherford
Darlington, SC
JWR
95
Jacob Heafner
Dallas, NC
Carroll Speedshop
95
Sam Yarbrough
Myrtle Beach, SC
McCumbee Elliott Racing
98
Cody Kelley
Hartsville, SC
AK Performance
99
Austin Somero
Landrum, SC
Somero Motorsports
170
Dylan ‘Mamba’ Smith
Huntersville, NC
Lee Faulk Racing
T2
Travis Truett
Conway, SC
Truett Racing
Late model racing at Florence Motor Speedway (Photo: William CHilton/NASCAR)
South Carolina 400 race format
The 200-lap South Carolina 400 will be divided into three stages.
Each of the first two stages will run 75 laps, and a 50-lap shootout will determine the winner of the event. The final stage is named in honor of former Myrtle Beach competitor Terry Evans, who tragically passed away from injuries sustained in a car accident in 2017.
Additional information surrounding the total purse and payouts for each stage in the South Carolina 400 will be announced in the coming weeks.
Cars in action during the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway on Nov. 21, 2021. (Photo: William Chilton/NASCAR)
South Carolina 400/Myrtle Beach 400 list of winners
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 current NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contender Josh Berry, Christian Eckes, Myatt Snider, Timothy Peters and Scott Riggs. Will Burns claimed the final Myrtle Beach 400 in 2019.
Since becoming the South Carolina 400 at Florence, no driver has been able to match the pace of Ty Majeski. His win in 2020 came in his first late model stock appearance, and the 2021 race saw Majeski grind his way to a victory after starting 32nd.
Although the Myrtle Beach 400 no longer exists, the tradition that started back in 1993 remains alive and well, as an even mix of veterans and newcomers are set to descend upon the track in November for its crown jewel event.
Below is the complete list of winners between the Myrtle Beach 400 and the South Carolina 400.
Greg Ives is known publicly as one of the quiet leaders among the sport’s top-level crew chiefs.
Get him talking about family, though, and it’s a different story.
In his final season atop the pit box of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, Ives spoke at length with NASCAR.com about — well, everything: from family to future grandchildren to why he’s leaving an established job as crew chief at NASCAR’s winningest team on his own volition.
Ives, a Hendrick employee since 2004, marched through his 16th season in NASCAR in 2022, a year that challenged him and driver Alex Bowman despite a March victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The year was a success overall, qualifying for the playoffs together for the fifth consecutive season and winning for the fourth straight year.
But as the season progressed, Ives knew the time was coming to step away from being on the road 38 weeks of the year. He’ll be sticking around Hendrick Motorsports from 2023 forward, but his weekends will more often be spent locally instead.
“Ultimately, it comes down to timing,” Ives said. “My kids got a couple more years older. My daughter Payton’s 16. My daughter, Taylor, she’s … 10 this year, and my son (is) 8 this year. And you know, a lot of different activities from softball, football, go-kart racing, and, you know, my daughter becoming an adult and going to college soon, it was starting to weigh on me, kind of having to leave home. And then I feel like going through the COVID shutdown there for a while kind of made me realize how much maybe I was missing.”
Rainier Ehrhardt | Getty Images
Ives broke into the sport more than 18 years ago, hired by HMS as a mechanic on Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet. The dream opportunity kept evolving, joining the No. 48 team with Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus as an engineer ahead of the program’s record streak of five consecutive championships. In 2013, he took his first crew chief role in NASCAR as the leader of JR Motorsports’ No. 7 team, piloted by driver Regan Smith, who won two races that season.
Then came a championship run in 2014 with Chase Elliott at JRM, where the duo took the No. 9 Chevrolet to three wins and 26 top 10s in 33 races. That propelled Ives back to Cup in 2015, replacing Steve Letarte atop the pit box of the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Since the start of 2015, Ives has crew chiefed for Earnhardt, Bowman, Gordon and Noah Gragson with a combined 10 victories.
In the hustle to work through the rest of the 2022 season, Ives had little time to reflect on his journey and career. But gratitude never escaped the native Michigander, who entered stock-car racing’s national level with a powerhouse team and managed to stay there and advance through the company.
“I’ve been so, so blessed and fortunate to be at the right point of my life, on the right day in the right hour, to meet the proper people to have those doors open for me …,” Ives said. “I did what I needed to continuously open those doors and, you know, hard work got me on the setup plate. Hard work got me noticed by Chad and wanted me to be his engineer. So yeah, I’ve been blessed to be part of Hendrick Motorsports since really my inception of racing.”
Family unity is a staple of Ives’ upbringing. He’s one of eight children – six sisters, one older brother – and grew up taking care of his nieces and nephews as a child himself. As a husband to wife Jessica and father to Payton, Taylor and son Parker, that love for those at home only strengthened as he grew older.
“I love being around family,” Ives said. “I love having kids around, enjoy that honest and just true love of life that they tend to bring into any situation, not the stress in the environment that we try to put ourselves in that we think is so important.”
In a 2011 lightning-round biography of Ives posted to Hendrick Motorsports’ website, the then-32-year-old had one answer that leaped off the page: “If I could meet anyone, I’d meet: My grandkids.”
Eleven years later, he can still recall why that answer came to mind.
“Ultimately, maybe I was foreshadowing the fact that, you know, the crew chief life is a tough life,” Ives said. “You’re traveling a lot, and you hear a lot of stories where crew chiefs are like, ‘Man, I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with my kids.’ …
“I love being around family. I love having kids around, enjoy that honest and just true love of life that they tend to bring into any situation, not the stress in the environment that we try to put ourselves in that we think is so important. So ultimately, I feel like the day that I start seeing my grandkids are the days that I kind of maybe got it together, you know? Maybe realize that it’s God, family, racing – not just racing all the time.”
If anything, he said, that highlights how much he’s thinking about his future rather than what’s best in the present.
That’s why even though he and driver Bowman had been relishing their sustained success, he decided it was time for a new role. Plans are undetermined yet for what that role fully entails – “I’m pretty much gonna rule the world,” he laughed – but he knows he’ll be working closely with Knaus, who now serves as Hendrick Motorsports’ Vice President of Competition.
There may also be opportunities to work more closely with the GM Charlotte Technical Center in Concord, right outside the Hendrick campus, as Chevrolet continues to find innovative ways to improve its on-track performance. It’s also not out of the question that Ives gets involved with the Garage 56 entry – a partnership between Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR that will see a modified Next Gen car partake in the storied 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2023.
Before that, though, came Phoenix, which was an important weekend both for Ives and for Bowman. Bowman missed five of the last six races of 2022 due to a concussion suffered in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sept. 25. At his home track, Bowman was able to return at Phoenix for one final race with Ives calling the shots.
“A lot of emotion to come back with Greg,” Bowman said Nov. 5 at Phoenix. “Definitely a lot of different emotions. We’re obviously caught up in trying to run the best we can but just trying to enjoy it and really happy for him and the next step in his career.”
The return of Ives actually proved to be a strong motivator for Bowman as he worked to return to competition.
“I think having a goal to come back this year kept me working really hard and really accountable for what I was doing,” Bowman said. “I think if we would’ve said, ‘ah, we’re going to take the rest of the year off, it would’ve been way easier to sit on my butt and not work as hard. So I think that was good for me.”
While Ives’ future plans remain open, what’s certain is his belief in the future of the No. 48 team.
Blake Harris transitions from crew chief of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford and driver Michael McDowell to take the reins of Hendrick Motorsports’ famed No. 48 Chevrolet. Ives felt responsible to ensure Bowman had a crew chief who could “take him to the next level” if Ives wouldn’t be atop the box himself. So what did the search for the next crew chief entail?
“There’s a lot of things that you can look at, whether it’s experience, whether it’s an engineer, whether they’ve got a great personality or a leader,” Ives explained. “Ultimately, I think that all gets wrapped up in one word, and that’s called a racer. Anybody who eats sleeps, breathes, grows up in this sport … most of them have those qualities. And the determination to get to the Cup level as a crew chief is a hard feat in itself.
“That’s kind of what I saw in Blake. He’s a racer. Ultimately, names are just there. It’s character that’s usually what you see and those types of qualities. So, for me, it came down to those, right? Being a racer, being somebody who can put the time, energy, the work that it requires to be successful in this sport.”
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Ives is and forever will be a racer. He won his first race on a Big Wheel in Michigan back at age 5 and eventually worked his way up to late models. His late model paint scheme was honored on the No. 48 Chevrolet at Darlington in 2021 as part of ‘Throwback Weekend.’ By age 16, he knew he wanted to work at Hendrick Motorsports. He achieved that by age 25.
For all of it, he credits his family.
“I feel like every day, I reflect on the opportunities that I’ve been given,” Ives said. “And so, (I’ve) been part of a great family. Mom and Dad, we had a big family. Had six sisters, one older brother, and when you’re put in that environment of living in the country and living off the land and having to cut wood and sell wood, and then grow your own food and sometimes hunt for it, you feel like everybody’s that way.
“And then when you start to realize that the hard work and the life that you were given, you know, you tend to be a little bit more grateful for the things that are easy. You know, hard work is not something … you can’t go learn it anywhere. It’s just something that’s instilled in you. So I always knew hard work was going to be part of my life.”
The hard work paid off. A new chapter awaits Ives in 2023.
STATESVILLE, N.C. – On Nov. 11th, 2022, Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation (BKCFF) awarded their fifth service canine to a deserving service member during a special Veterans Day “A Hero’s Homecoming” celebration.BKCFF gives back to heroes through various initiatives that focus on supporting servicemen and servicewomen in their transition to civilian life, investing in their overall mental health, and providing resources to the families who make sacrifices for our freedoms as well.
An ongoing initiative for BKCFF is sponsoring the certified training of service canines to be awarded to deserving veterans, free of cost, through their Service Dog Fund. To date, CFF has awarded five service dogs during ‘A Hero’s Homecoming’ ceremonies which represent the dog’s graduation and their handoff to the selected veteran.
During this special Veterans Day “A Hero’s Homecoming” celebration, service canine Kala was awarded to her new owner and handler, U.S. Navy Corpsman Kelli Carter. This moment marked the beginning of Kelli and Kala’s new journey together. Learn more about the heroes and how they will make an impact below.
Meet the Heroes:
United States Navy Corpsman Kelli Carter: Meet the Recipient of K9 Kala, Kelli Carter. Kelli Carter is a Navy Corpsman who joined the Navy in 2016 where she holds the rank of Petty Officer Second Class. Kelli recently converted to the Navy Reserves so she can attend Watts College of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina. Once finished, she intends to return to active duty by commissioning as a Naval Officer where she can help others in the military with her nursing skills. In her free time, Kelli competes as a bodybuilder using the gym as an outlet to refocus her anxiety.
Certified Service Dog Kala: Introducing the honorary pup, K9 Kala! Kala is an 11-month-old Dutch shepherd with training tailored to Kelli’s specific needs. Kala is trained in obedience, alerts on command, and to recognize and alert Kelli when people are too close. Kala’s high-energy personality makes her the perfect companion for Kelli.
With his best friend and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano calling the race from the spotter stand, Pressley won the 25th anniversary edition of Hickory’s Fall Brawl in his return to late model stock car racing.
“I don’t even know how to do restarts anymore or any of that stuff,” an elated Pressley said after climbing from his race car in Victory Lane. “It’s pretty freaking cool.”
Pressley, who works as Logano’s spotter at Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series, is just the second driver in Fall Brawl history to win the race more than once. The other is NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry, who has won the Fall Brawl four times.
“It’s so cool to see how good Coleman is,” Logano said as he watched the Victory Lane celebration. “I know he is a great spotter, but how much he’s watched what we do and the studying what we do together and how it’s transformed him into a better driver even though he hasn’t driven in seven years.
“It’s pretty cool.”
Coleman Pressley in action during the Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway on November 12, 2022. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
While he hadn’t driven a race car in seven years, Pressley did not forgot how to race at Hickory. He spent several years racing at the NASCAR-sanctioned, 0.363-mile oval during his youth, and knew that if he was going to drive a race car again, it was going to happen at Hickory.
That opportunity arrived when Hickory officials opted to postpone the Fall Brawl from its traditional October date to Saturday night. Pressley said he was standing on the spotter stand at Talladega Superspeedway when he saw the news on Twitter.
He instantly knew he wanted to compete.
“If there is a place I feel like I can get comfortable quick, it’s Hickory,” said Pressley, who won the Fall Brawl in 2009. “It made sense. Can’t say I had the bug to be a professional race car driver again. More than anything, I just wanted my kids to see me drive a race car one time, and I figured Hickory was the right place to do it.”
Pressley had his work cut out for him during Saturday’s 200-lap late model stock car main event. He qualified deep in the 23-car field in a car prepared by Byrd Brothers Racing, but he spent the first portion of the race cruising and saving his tires.
It was during the second half when Pressley found his groove, and it wasn’t long before he was racing inside the top five.
However, as the laps clicked away, it appeared the battle for the win was going to be between polesitter Doug Barnes Jr. and Connor Hall.
Joey Logano (left) greets Coleman Pressley in Victory Lane after Pressley won the Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway on Nov. 12, 2022. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Things took a drastic turn when Barnes and Hall made contact while battling for the lead. Both cars were severely damaged and fell out of contention, a development that elevated Pressley to second behind new leader Charlie Watson
Pressley spent nearly 20 laps chasing Watson, but with five laps to go, he made the pass for lead. A caution just as the field took the white flag forced a green-white-checkered restart, but Pressley held on to win.
The victory put a bow on an incredible week for Pressley and Logano. One week prior, Pressley helped guide Logano to the NASCAR Cup Series championship with a victory at Phoenix Raceway. Saturday at Hickory, Logano returned the favor.
“Coleman and I have been best friends for a long, long time,” Logano said. “To see him jump back in and start 16th and just kind of chill out and save his tires and methodically pass a couple here and there and then run down the six (Watson) and pass him clean and dealt with the pressure afterwards during the green-white-checkered … it was pretty awesome.”
Coleman Pressley is joined by his family in Victory Lane after winning the Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway on Nov. 12, 2022. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Amidst the jubilation in Victory Lane, Pressley scooped his children up and gave each of them a bear hug. For him, Saturday wasn’t about winning a race; it was about giving his children a memory that will last a lifetime. He said as much before the event.
“The best thing would be if I could win a race and get a picture with them,” Pressley said a few hours before the green flag waved Saturday. “That would be a story told, and I could just retire on the spot and not have to do it anymore. It’s going to be special no matter what.”
Petty GMS Motorsports announced its partnership with Jimmie Johnson last weekend at Phoenix Raceway with an understated fanfare. When two seven-time NASCAR champions walk into the same room, not much more pyro or pulsing music is necessary.
Now that the deal is officially official with Johnson signing on as a part-owner and part-time driver, plotting the road map for the team’s rapidly evolving growth is already underway. What that looks like for Johnson’s first step into team ownership waters and the Petty GMS organization’s jump to a third part-time entry is still in fast-tracked development.
“I think overwhelming. I think that’s a perfect word for the way we do it,” said team president Mike Beam. “Like it never stays the same. We’re always striving to get better. It’s a great challenge. Some days I question it. It’s great. But it is great. I think, like I said, we’re very blessed.”
Johnson documented his “first official day at the office” Monday on social media. But his first visit to the Petty GMS shop came Sept. 12, says Joey Cohen, the team’s Cup Series competition director. Johnson’s interest in the team was still in the negotiation phase then, and the date’s timing — just one week after Erik Jones’ first win for Petty GMS in the Southern 500 — was coincidental. The trip came one day after Johnson wrapped up his full-time duties in IndyCar, and Cohen spelled out how far the team had come and how far it had yet to go.
“Here’s what we’ve done in nine months. If you give us another nine months, we’ll double or triple this,” Cohen recalled telling Johnson. “We’ll force-multiply this effort that we’ve put in, and it’s going to be another level that we’re going to be at in nine months. Now, if you come on board, I mean, we weren’t planning for you to come on board, now it’s gonna happen even faster with you as a part of it.”
The team has already grown exponentially in that nine-month timetable since the former Richard Petty Motorsports group merged with GMS Racing’s expansion effort to create a two-car Cup Series operation. Since the season’s midpoint, Petty GMS has sought to solidify the next nine months, re-signing Jones to a long-term contract in the No. 43 Chevrolet, and bringing in the driver-crew chief pairing of Noah Gragson and Luke Lambert to the No. 42 team after their successful pairing this year in the Xfinity Series.
Cohen says even with those pieces locked in, Petty GMS still had a working list of plans. Then Johnson told Cohen the morning of the Phoenix announcement that he had his own list.
“We’re going to get together and look at two lists and what’s going to accelerate us through those next nine months,” Cohen said, adding that he felt their individual goals would match up. “Now we’ve got two sets of things that we’re going to go after.”
Joe Skibinski | Penske Entertainment
Among those aspirations is Johnson’s return to Cup Series competition for the first time since 2020, competing in a select set of eight to 10 races in a third Petty GMS Chevy. The team – still without an announced car number – will compete as an open, non-chartered entry.
Cohen says extra care will be taken so that the expansion does not come at the expense of the organization’s two established teams. Still, there’s plenty to accomplish before the season opens next February. “Everything — haulers, pit boxes, all the infrastructure — that comes with another team,” Cohen says, “we’ve got to go create that again.”
As for races where Johnson isn’t competing, Cohen said other drivers could fill the seat, almost as a parallel to the Project 91 program that Trackhouse Racing introduced this year for all-stars and global figures from other motorsports disciplines. That outfit produced a much-ballyhooed Cup Series debut for former F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen in August.
Cohen says there’s already buzz around the possibilities at Petty GMS.
“Kind of through the rumbling of the circles, I think a lot of people knew that an open car was coming on our end, and it generated more interest, and there’s people out there that are looking to run races next year,” Cohen said. “The road-course stuff always interests people, there’s people lining up to do those from other series. We have partners that have asked us about drivers that they could go in in our organization that they would be interested in supporting. So I think it’s gonna be a really interesting year.
“We looked at the (Daytona) 500, and I’m sure we’re just the very beginning of a multiple amount of teams considering running an open car. I would say that that car will have an opportunity to run more races with other drivers in it next year as well.”
As for the 2023 edition of the Great American Race on Feb. 19 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM), Johnson confirmed that he’ll be the third Petty GMS driver of record, striving to qualify or race his way onto the grid without a guaranteed starting spot. Johnson said he was eager to “do everything that I can” to make the Daytona 500 field, at which point principal team owner Maury Gallagher interjected.
“You go back and look at the GMS super track record, we’re as good as anybody in the business,” Gallagher said. “I’m breaking my arm patting us on the back, but …”
“I can testify personally to that,” Beam threw in. “We build damn good (superspeedway) cars.”
“He’ll have an advantage, we believe,” Gallagher added, “in the quality of car that he’s going to be in.”
