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STORY/VIDEO: Brenden “Butterbean” Queen Wins South Carolina 400 At Florence Motor Speedway

by Hunter Thomas November 20, 2022 1 comment

TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. – In his first race with Lee Pulliam Performance, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen outran Carson Kvapil and the field to win his first-ever South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway.

Hear Queen’s post-race reaction by clicking the YouTube link below:

Queen started the 200-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series race in the 17th position, and throughout the first two stages, he methodically made his way through the field while also conserving tires. The abrasive surface at Florence Motor Speedway will reap havoc on driver’s tires if they run too hard too early.

By the time the field had made it to the final stage, Queen was battling up front in the top-five. The door really really opened for Queen to take control of the race when Sam Yarborugh and Mason Diaz got into each other late in the race while battling for the lead.

Diaz pushed Yarbrough off the track as they exited Turn 2. On the restart, Yarbrough got his revenge as he turned Diaz in Turn 4. The retaliation send Yarbrough to the back, and then it was Queen and JR Motorsports’ Carson Kvapil who were dueling it out for the win.

“Just know that you’ve got to be perfect,” Queen said about racing for the win on the late-race restart. “No mistakes. That’s the money restart, so you know that’s when it’s all on the line, and you’ve got to hit your marks perfect and not mess up, because if you mess up, it’s over.”

With just three laps to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun Landon Pembelton, and the field lined up once again for anther restart. Queen was clutch on the high-pressure restart, and he and Kvpail raced each other respectively. In the end, it was Queen taking the checkered flag and earning his first Florence victory.

“It’s crazy man,” Queen said. “It had to be exciting for the fans. I can’t wait to go back and watch it. Myself and the 8 car (Carson Kvapil) were driving the wheels off of it. I hit him a little bit just because were were sideways; we were racing hard. It wasn’t intentional or nothing like that. LLP brought a bad-to-the-bone car. I can’t thank them enough.”

Kvapil finished second, followed by Isabella Robusto, Cody Kelley and Matthew Craig. Rounding out the top-10 was Bryant Barnhill, Doug Barnes, Boo Boo Dalton, Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Kelley.

Queen will be back in action Thanksgiving weekend as he will compete in the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park. The purse is paying an incredible $50,000.