The excitement is already building for December's Gateway Dirt Nationals inside The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis. On Sunday evening, event officials released the preliminary night rosters for the Dirt Late Model portion of the event. 

This year's field of drivers of 146 drivers have been split into two nights of preliminary racing on Thursday, December 1 and Friday, December 2. Each preliminary night will feature hot laps, qualifying, heat races, b-mains and a $5,000-to-win feature. 

Two nights of preliminary racing will set the stage for last chance qualifiers and the $30,000-to-win main event on Saturday, December 3. 

With a field of 73 drivers battling during each night of preliminary action, it goes without saying that fans will be able to watch some of the sport's biggest stars both Thursday and Friday night. 

Thursday's preliminary field is highlighted by two-time Gateway Dirt Nationals winner Bobby Pierce, who won both the 2017 and 2018 versions of the event. He'll be joined by national stars Brandon Sheppard and Ricky Thornton, Jr., as well as regional standouts like Shannon Babb, Gordy Gundaker, Ryan Unzciker and Jason Feger. 

Friday's field will be just as competitive with two-time defending race winner Tyler Carpenter leading the way in his bid for a third straight win inside the dome. A host of national stars will once again be in action with Devin Moran, Hudson O'Neal, Scott Bloomquist and Tyler Erb all on Friday night's roster. NASCAR Truck Series competitor Carson Hocevar, UMP Modified standout Mike Harrison and Pennsylvania standout Mason Ziegler will also be in action on the second preliminary night. 

Fans can find the full rosters for Thursday and Friday's preliminary nights below.

Tyler Carpenter and Shannon Babb have each won a pair of preliminary features over the course of the five previous editions of the race. Hudson O'Neal, Gordy Gundaker, Bobby Pierce and Myles Moos have also collected prelim wins. 

Fans unable to make it to St. Louis to watch the excitement at "The Dome" will be able to watch all three nights of racing live on FloRacing. If you're not already a FloRacing subscriber, click here to sign up today.

Gateway Dirt Nationals Preliminary Night Rosters