With the news that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be competing in the South Carolina 400, the race at South Carolina’s Florence Motor Speedway has become one of the most anticipated Late Model Stock Car races of the 2022 season. But Earnhardt isn’t the only driver heading down for that race weekend on November 18 and 19. There’s a lot of Late Model star power looking to take home the trophy with already more than 50 drivers and teams filing entries for the race.

Headlining the entry list is one of Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports drivers, the 2022 CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car champion, Carson Kvapil. The second-generation racer is about to complete his first full season in this type of car, and it’s definitely been a successful one. In addition to the CARS Tour title, Kvapil scored a massive $30,000 victory in front of a capacity crowd at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in August. Kvapil then finished second to Peyton Sellers in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway in September in his first attempt at that historic race.

Lee Pulliam Performance will be bringing two cars to Florence in a couple of weeks. Brandon Pierce will be behind the wheel of Pulliam’s No. 2 machine, and the man known as “Butterbean” Brenden Queen will be piloting his familiar No. 03 car under the Lee Pulliam Performance banner. Queen and Pulliam will be teamed together for all of the 2023 season. 

Queen isn’t the only Langley Speedway driver headed south on I-95 to Florence. Multi-time track champion Mark Wertz, of Chesapeake, Virginia, will also be making the trip south in his familiar No. 55.

Sam Yarbrough has been a fixture in South Carolina Late Model racing for quite a few years at this point. The three-time Myrtle Beach Speedway track champion has one victory in the Myrtle Beach 400, which preceded the South Carolina 400 before Myrtle Beach closed. Yarbrough finished third in the 2020 edition of the South Carolina 400.

Katie Hettinger had a breakout season at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway this year with the 15-year-old Michigan native scoring multiple wins at “The birthplace of the NASCAR Stars.” Hettinger will look to end her 2022 season on a high note with a strong run at the South Carolina 400. 

Troutman, North Carolina’s Kaden Honeycutt is another driver looking to end his season with another strong run. Honeycutt led laps en route to a fifth-place finish in this year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway. Honeycutt has also been making his name known on the bigger stage, making multiple NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series starts this season.

South Carolina 400 Entry List