Dale Earnhardt Jr. will race the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet.
Yes, the year is 2024. No, this is not a drill.
JR Motorsports has announced that Earnhardt, 50, will use the iconic Bud King of Beers livery in a limited series of Late Model Stock Car races this year and next, starting with the November 23 running of the South Carolina 400 at the Florence Motor Speedway. The car will feature the stylized No. 8 Earnhardt, who rose to fame in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1999 through 2007.
“It is an incredible opportunity for me to be able to reunite with Budweiser and the No. 8 brand,” Earnhardt said via his team’s press release. “Budweiser and I had great memories of that iconic schedule and song. We have always supported each other over the years.
“It will be very special for me to be able to represent that brand on the track again.”
PHOTOS: Dale Jr. races late models
Tickets are already on sale for the South Carolina 400, a race Earnhardt has competed in for the past two years. The NASCAR Hall of Famer is now familiar with Florence, having been a regular Late Model Stock competitor at the facility in recent seasons after retiring from NASCAR’s national series.
Below, find out more about the South Carolina 400 and how to watch Earnhardt’s triumphant return to the iconic No. 8.
How to Tell Dale Earnhardt Jr. can see the No. 8 Budweiser Late Model racing at Florence Motor Speedway
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Race: South Carolina 400
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Date: Saturday November 23
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How to watch: FloRacing
The South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway, one of the most prestigious Late Model Stock Car races in the country, annually attracts some of the Southeast’s top racers, including Earnhardt.
Located in Timmonsville, South Carolina, Florence Motor Speedway is a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series track that notoriously lacks an outside wall from Turn 1 through Turn 4. Earnhardt enjoys racing at Florence in part because the track’s abrasive surface is extreme tire wear and falls. -off, which puts a tire-saving strategy first.
The South Carolina 400 will stream on November 23 exclusively on FloRacing, the streaming home of all regional NASCAR properties. The race will not be shown on a traditional TV channel/network.
For those who want to experience Earnhardt’s return to the No. 8 Budweiser Chevy in person, South Carolina 400 tickets can be ordered.
The South Carolina 400 is a two-day show featuring Late Model Stocks, Limited Late Models, Super Trucks, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, Legend Cars and Bandoleros. The on-track action starts Friday and culminates Saturday night with the Late Model Stock main event.
The South Carolina 400 is a $10,000-to-win race.
Teams can also participate in a test day on Thursday, November 21 if they choose.
Earnhardt returned to his roots in a significant way in 2022 when he competed in the South Carolina 400. In what was the 30th running of the race, he drove a car with a throwback scheme to the Bass Pro Shops car that his father Dale Earnhardt Sr. drove. drove. in the 1998 NASCAR All-Star Race.
He finished ninth that year and improved on that performance last season with an eighth-place finish.
Track profile of the Florence Motor Speedway
Even casual racing fans are familiar with South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway, one of the most iconic locations the NASCAR Cup Series visits annually.
Those same fans may or may not know of a NASCAR Home Track just 15 miles south of Darlington known as the Diamond of the Southeast. Located in the city of Timmonsville, Florence Motor Speedway is indeed a gem of a short track.
Florence Motor Speedway, now a NASCAR sanctioned venue and part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, has been hosting local short track races since 1982. Since 2020, the location has been operated under the supervision of owner and promoter Steve Zacharias.
Zacharias is the reason Florence’s racing season kicks off with the IceBreaker, an event that features super trucks as well as new models, a limited number of late models and mini stocks. He brought the IceBreaker to Florence from nearby Myrtle Beach Speedway when that track closed.
The course itself is unique in terms of layout. The 0.6 kilometer paved oval features progressive lean angles in the corners, a combination sensitive to side-by-side racing.
Perhaps the most unique feature of the Florence Motor Speedway is the fact that, with the exception of the front strip in front of the grandstands, it has no exterior wall.
“It’s unusual the first time you go out there and experience it,” Josh Berry, 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion, told NASCAR.com. “But after a while that is no longer a problem.
“It’s a really nice song.”
View the full course profile of Florence Motor Speedway below.
