TIMMONSVILLE, S.C.- It was a cold night at Florence Motor Speedway for Saturday’s (Nov. 23) 32nd running of the South Carolina 400. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the Budweiser No. 8 were back in action at a track sold out above capacity for the first time in track history.
The capacity crowd was given a strong introduction to Treyten Lapcevich.
The 20-year old Treyten Lapcevich scored his first crown jewel Late Model Stock car win in dominant fashion on Saturday. Lapcevich put on a clinic in the 250-lapper, taking the lead just before the halfway break and never looking back. The Canadian led the entirety of the final 125 laps, only ever being challenged by Earnhardt Jr. at the front.
In the end, Lapcevich crossed under the checkered on cruise control with nearly a four-second gap back to Barnes in runner-up Doug Barnes Jr.
“I don’t really think it has sunk in yet,” Lapcevich said. “I can’t believe these Chad Bryant Racing guys. They’ll tell you I wasn’t too confident in our car Thursday, Friday, this morning, after practice, still didn’t quite know. We were four shocks and four springs after practice just wrenching on it.
“It definitely hasn’t sunk in to win a crown jewel like this and get Chad’s third (South Carolina 400 Victory), just an awesome racecar truthfully.”
Lapcevich and team took part in the new tradition at Florence of planting the winners Palm Tree out in front of the racetrack, and was awarded a Golden Shovel along with the race winning trophy. However, Lapcevich also lost an interesting bet with the Chad Bryant Racing team.
“Well, I guess Chad went shopping today,” Lapcevich said. “I guess he got some pickled pigs feet and was trying to see if he could pay someone $200 bucks to eat one. I told the guys, I think It was after qualifying, I said you know what, If I win the race I’ll eat one. At that time, I wasn’t really feeling that great about our chances honestly. … I was about to put it in my mouth and I was already gagging about to throw up. … It was disgusting honestly, definitely got to be a little bit more wise in the future making bets like that.”
Barnes and Sam Yarborough filled out the podium, with Jacob Heafner and Carson Loftin rounding out the top five.
The other story of the night was Earnhardt, who started dead last with a provisional. Despite the deep starting spot, Earnhardt rallied to contend for the win in the late stages before fuel pump issues took him out of the race.
“Honestly, after qualifying I just hoped to have something to be happy about,” Earnhardt said. “I was thinking man, If we could just finish in the top 10, I’d be pretty happy about that. … Then ended up driving up to second there before halfway and I was thinking shoot, this has turned into something else. This ain’t about just trying to salvage a good run, we had a good enough car to win the race, I think.”
There was a sea of red at Florence, all there to see the Bud No. 8 back in action for the first time since 2007. Although it didn’t end with the deserved result, Earnhardt had the sold out crowd on their feet for much of the night.
Barnes was a surprise at the front of the field having not raced for most of the 2024 season. He set fast time in qualifying and hung in the top five for the entirety of the race. But in the end, he just didn’t have the car to hold pace with Lapcevich.
“It’s so hard to hang your head when you bust 99% of people’s ass,” Barnes said. “(Lapcevich) just had a good night man. We had a great night, they had a slightly better night, that was all we needed.”
We definitely just need the top to come in, or some better short run speed, because that’s ultimately what lost it.”
Yarborough was comparably pedestrian in the first half, but came on strong in the second. Yarborough is one of the few drivers who also has a Myrtle Beach 400 win. However like Barnes, Yarborough didn’t have enough for Lapcevich in his search for a South Carolina 400 triumph.
“I don’t know, the grace of god maybe,” Yarborough said when asked what he’d need to catch Lapcevich. “That thing was hooked up. We were struggling, mid-corner speed was down, which effected forward drive so I was just fighting for my life there to get to the checkered flag.
“Struggled today, we were pretty good Thursday and Friday. Made a lot of changes today that none of us were sure about, and we kept doing it through the race and at the halfway break and after the heat race.
“We fought hard for a third-place finish tonight.”
Heafner and Loftin rounded out the top five, both having quiet runs and surviving the early chaos to be in contention late.
“Truthfully, the car was really good,” Heafner said. “I think I went too hard at the beginning, I’ve always kind of been in a position where I’ve really had to ride to make something work here, and AK Performance really brought me a really good racecar. I might’ve got a little too happy at the beginning of that last run and used too much right front tire.
“I’m just blessed to be able to come out here and put on a good showing.”
Loftin’s top five came in his first Late Model start. The young prospect will race full-time for Nelson Motorsports in the CARS Tour next season. This race served as a warm up for the pair.
“Going in to the night, we barely made the show,” Loftin said. “I was really worried about qualifying, that was my biggest struggle all throughout the weekend. But made the show, I knew we had a really good race run car.
“Top five in my first ever Late Model Stock start is really big,” he later added. “I think we’re going to try and carry this momentum into next year and hope for a good year.”
South Carolina 400 Results
- Treyten Lapcevich
- Doug Barnes Jr.
- Sam Yarborough
- Jacob Heafner
- Carson Loftin
- Brent Crews
- Kade Brown
- Darren Krantz Jr.
- Casey Kelley
- Riley Gentry
- Brenden Queen
- Cody Kelley
- Jared Fryar
- Leland Honeyman Jr.
- Bryant Barnhill
- Zach Miracle
- Caden Kvapil
- Justin Hicks
- Chase Burrow (-1)
- Vicente Salas (-1)
- Ryan Millington (-1)
- Landon Huffman (-1)
- Ryley Music (-1)
- Adam Congrove (-1)
- Josh Berry (-1)
- Jake Crum (-1)
- Donovan Strauss (-11)
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-31)
- Jamie Weatherford (-31)
- Conner Jones (-39)
- Alex Meggs (-55)
- Matt Cox (-71)
- Ryan Glenski (-145)
- Austin Green (-164)
- Ronnie Bassett Jr. (-164)
- Mason Diaz (-164)
- Jonathan Shafer (-164)
- Landon S. Huffman (-173)
- Matt Gould (-178)
- Truett Miranda (-179)
- Ryan Wilson (-197)
About the author
Chase began working with Frontstretch in the spring of 2023 as a news writer, while also helping fill in for other columns as needed. Chase is now the main writer and reporter for Frontstretch.com's CARS Tour coverage, a role which began late in 2023. Aside from racing, some of Chase's other hobbies include time in the outdoors hunting and fishing, and keeping up with all things Philadelphia sports related.
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Treyton Lapcevich impressed the right guy that being DJ hopefully this talented young driver attracts more sponsorship after his great rookie season All of Canadian motorsports fans are proud to see him shine on a bigger stage