Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to race the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet.
Yes, the year is 2024. No, this is not a drill.
JR Motorsports announced Earnhardt, 50, will run the iconic Bud King of Beers paint scheme in a limited series of Late Model Stock Car races this year and next, starting with the Nov. 23 running of the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway. The car will feature the stylized No. 8 Earnhardt made famous from 1999 through 2007 in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“It is an incredible opportunity for me to be able to reunite with Budweiser, and the No. 8,” Earnhardt said via his team’s release. “Budweiser and I had some great memories with that iconic scheme and number. We’ve always supported each other over the years.
“It’s going to be really special for me to be able to represent that brand on the race track again.”
PHOTOS: Dale Jr. racing late models
Tickets are already on sale for the South Carolina 400, a race in which Earnhardt competed the last two years. The NASCAR Hall of Famer is familiar with Florence by now, as he’s been a frequent Late Model Stock competitor at the facility over the past few seasons in his retirement from NASCAR’s national series.
Below is more about the South Carolina 400 and how to watch Earnhardt’s triumphant return to the iconic No. 8.
How to watch Dale Earnhardt Jr. race the No. 8 Budweiser Late Model at Florence Motor Speedway
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Race: South Carolina 400
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Date: Saturday, Nov. 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 best racers in the Southeast — Earnhardt included.
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 creates extreme tire wear and fall-off, making tire-saving strategy paramount.
The South Carolina 400 on Nov. 23 will stream exclusively on FloRacing, the streaming home of all NASCAR Regional properties. The race will not be shown on a traditional TV channel/network.
For those who wish to witness Earnhardt’s return to the No. 8 Budweiser Chevy in person, South Carolina 400 tickets are available to order.
The South Carolina 400 is a two-day show that features Late Model Stocks, Limited Late Models, Super Trucks, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, Legend Cars and Bandoleros. The on-track action begins Friday and culminates Saturday night with the Late Model Stock main event.
The South Carolina 400 is a $10,000-to-win race.
Teams are also able to participate in a test day Thursday, Nov. 21 should they choose to do so.
Earnhardt in 2022 made a significant return to his roots when he competed in the South Carolina 400. In what was the 30th edition of the race, he drove a car sporting a throwback scheme to the Bass Pro Shops car his father Dale Earnhardt Sr. drove in the 1998 NASCAR All-Star Race.
He finished ninth that year, and last season, he improved upon that showing with an eighth-place run.
Florence Motor Speedway track profile
Even casual race fans know about South Carolina‘s Darlington Raceway, one of the most iconic venues the NASCAR Cup Series visits on an annual basis.
Those same fans may or may not know about a NASCAR Home Track located just 15 miles south of Darlington known as the Diamond of the Southeast. Florence Motor Speedway, nestled in the town of Timmonsville, 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 racing since 1982. It has been operated on the watch of owner and promotor Steve Zacharias since 2020.
Zacharias is the reason Florence‘s racing season begins with the IceBreaker, an event that features late-model stocks in addition to super trucks, limited late models and mini stocks. He brought the IceBreaker to Florence from nearby Myrtle Beach Speedway upon that track‘s closing.
The track itself is unique in its layout. The 0.4-mile paved oval features progressive banking in the corners, a combination that‘s prone to producing side-by-side racing.
Perhaps the most unique attribute of Florence Motor Speedway is that fact that, with the exception of the frontstretch in front of the grandstands, it has no outside wall.
“It‘s unusual the first time you go there and experience it,” 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion Josh Berry told NASCAR.com. “But after a while, it‘s no big deal.
“It‘s a really fun track.”
Watch the complete Florence Motor Speedway track profile below.
