Shane van Gisbergen set to make CARS Late Model debut; Connor Zilisch racing as well

This weekend’s CARS Late Model Tour event at Florence Motor Speedway in South Carolina is going to have some very notable entrants. The race takes place on Friday, September 4. The NASCAR Cup Series is racing at Darlington Raceway this weekend, just a few miles down the road from Florence.

Shane van Gisbergen will make his CARS Late Model stock car debut, driving the No. 51 Hettinger Racing car with sponsorship from Red Bull. It will be Van Gisbergen’s first race after a tough defeat in the Daytona Cup race, as he won his first oval stage only to be later booted from the Chase by Ryan Preece’s dramatic win.

This year, Van Gisbergen has shown a lot of improvement on ovals, earning a top five at both North Wilkesboro and Nashville in the Cup Series. In Trucks, he earned his first oval pole at Richmond, finishing fourth in that race.

Florence is the 11th of 14 rounds on the 2026 CARS Tour schedule. Landen Lewis won the CARS Late Model Stock Tour event at the track, one year ago.

Van Gisbergen’s NASCAR Cup Series teammate Connor Zilisch will also be racing in the Florence CARS Tour event, driving the No. 8 JR Motorsports car — also with sponsorship from Red Bull.

This will be Van Gisbergen’s first appearance racing a stock car on the CARS Late Model Tour, while Zilisch has 14 previous starts with a 2024 victory at Hickory.

The CARS Tour is owned by a group that includes Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Justin Marks, and Speedway Motorsports Inc.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will also be racing this weekend, but in the Pro Late Model Tour division.