The Late Model Stock Car world is about to descend upon South Carolina’s Florence Motor Speedway this weekend for the South Carolina 400, the biggest race of the year in the Palmetto State. And when we say the world, we mean it, with more than 40 of the best Late Model teams having filed entries for this year’s 250-lap showdown.

To be exact, there’s 44 entries as of Monday this week, and the entry list is headlined by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt will be piloting a No. 3 car sponsored by Bass Pro Shops for the second year in a row in this event. 

Saturday will be Earnhardt’s fourth race at Florence in the last calendar year. Earnhardt ran in the top five for much of last year’s South Carolina 400 before two late penalties caused him to have to settle for ninth. He then ran the Icebreaker back in February and the inaugural Locked In 150 back in August in a surprise entry.

Earnhardt Jr. isn’t the only driver with NASCAR Cup Series ties to be racing this Saturday in Florence. His longtime driver in Late Models and in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Josh Berry, will also be in competition, but under the Kevin Harvick Inc. banner. 

Berry, who will be competing in the Cup Series in 2024 for Stewart-Haas Racing, made his KHI Late Model debut last weekend with a third-place finish at Hickory Motor Speedway in the Fall Brawl. While Berry has yet to win the South Carolina 400, he knows how to get around Florence with success. Berry won the 2022 Icebreaker at Florence while still in JR Motorsports equipment.

Speaking of that JR Motorsports equipment, two-time and defending CARS Tour champion Carson Kvapil will be Earnhardt’s teammate this weekend in Florence. Kvapil finished second to Brenden Queen in last year’s race, but got the win when the CARS Tour made its trip to Florence earlier this year in a reversal of the South Carolina 400. This time, Kvapil finished one spot better than Queen instead of one spot behind.

And that brings us to Queen as the next driver we’ll spotlight as it was this race one year ago that put the driver known as “Butterbean” on the map. The three-time track champion at Langley Speedway was tabbed by Lee Pulliam to drive one of his race cars on the CARS Tour in 2023, and last year’s South Carolina 400 was their first race together. Queen went out and led nine of the 200 laps on his way to the victory. That kicked off a successful first year together that saw them win four CARS Tour races and the Hampton Heat 200 this season.

While we’ve been going through some of these drivers, did you forget that we already know who will be leading the field to the green flag on Saturday night? Well, we didn’t, because it’s Sam Yarbrough who will bring the field to the start of the 250-lap feature. Yarbrough, who has been one of the best Late Model racers in South Carolina in the last decade, won August’s inaugural Locked In 150. The Locked In 150 not only “locked in” whichever driver won the race for the South Carolina 400, but it also guaranteed them the pole position for the race as well. Yarbrough dominated much of the Locked In 150 to secure the pole position.

Yarbrough explained after the race that winning the pole position wasn’t the most important aspect of the Locked In 150 due to the nature of racing at Florence, but being guaranteed to start the race was a big deal with such a large field expected. 

Saturday’s South Carolina 400 will be streamed live on FloRacing for the second year in a row. Fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.

2023 South Carolina 400 Entry List