The 2024 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway is officially less than three weeks away, and entries have been pouring into the New Smyrna Speedway track offices. More than 140 entries have been received across 12 divisions with many more still expected. 

With that in mind, we figured now is a great time to take a look at where things stand, and see what names have already declared their intentions to race at the historic Florida half-mile speed plant.

We’ll start with the Tour-type Modified division, which currently sits at 27 entries. This division has seen more than 40 entries the last handful of years, so there’s plenty more names still expected to join the entry list.

Matt Hirschman, now a four-time champion at New Smyrna’s World Series, will make the trip south from Northampton, Pennsylvania once again. Hirschman swept every Modified feature run (and one that didn’t run thanks to his pole win before Friday’s rain-out) with the exception of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event last year. Even though he had some run-ins with Patrick Emerling, 2023’s World Series was still one of the best of Hirschman’s illustrious career.

But before Hirschman’s dominance began there was another driver who dominated the World Series. That driver is Ryan Preece of the NASCAR Cup Series. Preece won three World Series championships in a row from 2015-2017. The Berlin, Connecticut driver has 11 victories in Tour-type Modified competition dating back to 2008. Preece, who is full-time once again with Stewart-Haas Racing this year, is expected to miss at least two nights this year when he is at Daytona International Speedway for Daytona 500 qualifying on Wednesday and the Duels on Thursday.

Ron Silk kicked off his 2023 season in style by winning the season-opener for the NASCAR Whelen Modifed Tour at New Smyrna Speedway after a thrilling battle between he and Justin Bonsignore. Silk ran every race during the World Series in 2023 before going on to win four more NWMT races and his second NWMT championship in 2023. If Silk picks up right where he left off, the rest of the field should be worried.

Watch: Ron Silk Becomes A Two-Time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion

Three stars from the Carolinas will be in action as well as Bobby Measmer Jr. returns to the World Series of Asphalt. His fellow SMART Modified Tour competitor, Joey Coulter, will also be in action at the World Series for the second year in a row. They are joined by a driver who is used to having fenders on his car in Claremont, North Carolina’s Landon Huffman. Huffman is making his Tour-type Modified debut at New Smyrna Speedway for Shamrock Motorsports.

The Tour-type Modified division will get started at the World Series of Asphalt on Monday, February 12, and conclude with the running of the Richie Evans Memorial 100 on Friday, February 16.

It's worth noting here that the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will kick off its season at New Smyrna Speedway for the third year in a row on Saturday, February 10. That entry list is still to be released.

On a similar note, the ASA STARS National Tour will kick off its season on Tuesday, February 13 with the Clyde Hart Memorial. That event is the first time that the ASA STARS National Tour will run an event at New Smyrna Speedway. The entry list for that race is also still to be released.

But since we’re talking about Super Late Models, let’s take a quick dive into their entry list before they kick off the World Series on Friday, February 9 with a 35-lap showdown.

With more entries still expected, the Super Late Model competitor list is closing in on 20 names and is headlined by New Hampshire’s Derek Griffith. Griffith has been coming to the World Series of Asphalt since 2013 and finally won the championship in 2020.

Roscoe, Illinois’ Austin Nason is returning to the World Series of Asphalt for the first time since 2017, according to TheThirdTurn.com. Nason scored a win in Pro Late Model competition during the 2015 World Series, but he’s still searching for his first Super Late Model win at New Smyrna Speedway.

Though they have not filed entries yet, it would not surprise anybody if drivers like Bubba Pollard, Ty Majeski, Stephen Nasse, and NASCAR Cup Series star William Byron make appearances throughout the week as well.

In the lesser powered Pro Late Model division, already more than 18 names have filed entries headlined by teenager, Katie Hettinger. In 2023, Hettinger scored a Pro Late Model victory for Anthony Campi Racing, which made her the first woman to take a PLM victory in World Series competition. This year, Hettinger returns to New Smyrna with her family owned-and-operated race team.

Watch: Katie Hettinger Breaks Down Historic Victory At New Smyrna.

Looking to join Hettinger on that short list of women winners in PLM competition is ARCA Menards Series regular, Toni Breidinger. Breidinger has raced the last two years at New Smyrna Speedway with mixed results as she still looks for that first victory.

Now let’s take a look at the massive entry list for the 602 Modifieds division where racing is clearly a family affair. This division has multiple father-son combinations and multiple sets of siblings all competing with (or against, depending on how you look at it) each other throughout the week.

The list is headlined by the Baldwin Brothers of Jack and Luke. The sons of Tommy Baldwin Jr. and grandsons of “Tiger” Tom Baldwin had mixed results in 2023 at New Smyrna. Jack had mechanical issues last year, but Luke won a race and the championship and some bragging rights over his brother.

Jackson, New Jersey’s DiGiantomasso Brothers of Carsten and Jarrett are returning to New Smyrna Speedway for the fourth year in a row. Both drivers are still looking for their first victory during the World Series.

Then there’s the father-son duos of the Hattons and the Hartwigs. Chris Hatton Sr. and Christopher Hatton will both be in competition this year in the 602 Modified division. Christopher will be pulling double-duty as he is also on the Tour-type Modified entry list. Meanwhile the Hartwig’s will be travelling down from Galloway, New Jersey to New Smyrna where they’ve competed annually since 2021.

Beginning on Friday, February 9, all nine nights of racing action from the World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway, including the season openers for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the ASA STARS National Tour, will be streamed live on FloRacing. Fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.

2024 World Series of Asphalt Entry Lists (As of January 18):

Tour-type Modifieds:

Super Late Models

Pro Late Models

602 Modifieds

Florida Modifieds

Pro Trucks

Sportsman

E-Mods

Super Stocks

Bomber A

Bomber B

Ground Pounders