Florence Motor Speedway is set to host the South Carolina 400; NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr joins the field
Florence Motor Speedway is set to host the Charlie Powell Memorial South Carolina 400 on Nov 18-19, 2022. It’s the 30th anniversary of the event. The track is a 0.4-mile asphalt oval located in Timmonsville, SC and aims to become a premier facility.
With additional funding from FloRacing as well as track and event sponsors, $30,000 has been added to the purse. The bottom 20 finishers will now receive double the prize money of last year’s event.
The event will be shown live via FloRacing.com
This event was formerly called the Myrtle Beach 400 and hosted at Myrtle Beach Speedway. That track has since been torn down. Steve Zacharias served as the general manager of Myrtle Beach Speedway but he now owns Florence Motor Speedway.
“We are extremely grateful for the commitment from NASCAR and FloRacing to make the South Carolina 400 even bigger and better than ever,” Zacharias said. “Florence Motor Speedway is a premier destination for short track racing, and we can’t wait to showcase it to the world on FloRacing and to the fans in attendance on Nov. 18-19.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr recently made his return to the late model stock division. He ran at North Wilkesboro Speedway back in August. Now, he back for another race after “having a blast” as he said.
Results from Dale Earnhardt Jr’s race at North Wilkesboro Speedway
Dale Earnhardt Jr comments on racing at Florence Motor Speedway
“I always said I was going to go back and race late models once I got done driving full-time in the Cup Series. So, here we are, I’m really happy. Took my sweet ass time getting there, but I’m excited about it,” Dale Earnhardt Jr stated via the Dale Jr Download.
“I said, ‘If I didn’t have fun, I wouldn’t ever do it again.’ I had a great time. So, I’m going to do it again,” Jr said of his experience at North Wilkesboro.
Between the years of 1994-96, Dale Earnhardt was a regular in the late model stock division. At one time, he raced every Friday night at Florence Motor Speedway.
“I’ll be there, trying to qualify for it. I think they’ll try to start around 40 cars. It will be a big field. They’ll be some heavy hitters there, I’ve already seen some of the entries.”
Two years ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr ran a test session at Florence Motor Speedway.
“I thought about going to Southern National Speedway and running the race there. But, my family wants me to go do other things, so I can’t make that event. This one [at Florence] is the week before and this one works great for me.”
“I just want to see the checkered flag. Give me the laps,” Dale Earnhardt Jr said of his plans for the race.
“If you’re going to drive a car, across the country. You just hope that you don’t have any issues, right. That’s all I’m saying. I want to get to the finish line without any drama.”
“I know I’m going to have a blast and I expect to run relatively competitively because I’m driving one of the best race cars in the field.”
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South Carolina 400 purse increased
$30,000 in additional money has been added to the purse. A bulk of it is spread throughout the field with only a small portion of the increase going to the race winner.
Earnhardt explained, “I called Zacharias, NASCAR, I talked to everybody that I could, to try to figure out a way to take advantage of this opportunity. To try to bring some more funding to the payout.”
“When a set of tires is $600-800. I should know what it is. It’s going to be probably around a 10-tire race. To be able to double was 40th place is going to get, I think is a great thing.”
When they came up with the funding, Steve asked Earnhardt what he thought they should do with it. Earnhardt responded, “I would love to see it go to the back half of the field.”
“I said, “I don’t think you’ll get more entries going from $10,000 to $15,000 for the winner. But, if a guy knows he’s going to get $1,600 instead of $800, for last then he’s more likely to buy the tires, fuel and hotel.”
“Trying to make a better economical model for these racers. The late model stock is a blue collar race car. I wouldn’t say it’s affordable.”
“And, I want this race track to survive. Hopefully this is a great way for them to end the season strong.”
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“There is no back door fee coming to me. This is basically just to go have some fun and try to do something great for Florence.”
“Grassroots racing is a huge passion of mine and I’m honored to support the South Carolina 400,” said Earnhardt Jr. “I grew up competing at Florence and have been looking forward to taking the wheel there again against some of the best short-track racers in the world.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr is a former winner at Florence Motor Speedway.
Florence Motor Speedway
South Carolina 400
Late Model Stock
Entry List
34 cars are already entered in the event with many more expected:
#00
Bobbie Tumbelston III
#02
Justin Milliken
#03
Brendan Queen
#07
Averitt Lucas
#1
Trent Barnes
#11
Blaise Brinkley
#15
Ryan Millington
#16
Kade Brown
#18
Anthony Adams
#18
Davis Roberts
#19w
Kyle Wood
#2
Brandon Pierce
#21
Matt Linker
#28
Ryan Glenski
#3
Dale Earnhardt Jr
#4
Travis Truett
#44
Justin Whitaker
#5
Bryant Barnhill
#5
Casey Kelley
#51
Matt Cox
#55
Mark Werz
#63
Chris Thockmorton
#7
Jason Kitzmiller
#7
Tristan McKee
#70
Jeremy McDowell
#8
Carson Kvapil
#88
Doug Barnes
#94
Jamie Weatherford
#95
Jacob Heafner
#98
Cody Kelley
Car # Unknown
Team: Rev Racing
Car # Unknown
Team: Rev Racing
Car # Unknown
Team: Lee Faulk Racing
Car # Unknown
Team: Lee Faulk Racing
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