Race Recap: Ward Takes Late Model Stock Car Win, Crews Sweeps Limited Sportsman Twinbill
- Joe Chandler
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
By Joe Chandler
Director, Public Relations
South Boston Speedway
SOUTH BOSTON, VA (April 26, 2025) – Trevor Ward had plenty to be concerned about in the 100-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division race that headlined Saturday’s Advance Auto Parts Day at the Races presented by Bojangles at South Boston Speedway.
The Winston-Salem, North Carolina resident was leading two-time NASCAR national champion and seven-time South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia and appeared to be on the way to winning the race – that is until rain stopped the race 15 laps from the end.
After a one hour and 22-minute rain delay, Ward had to prepare himself to not only fend off Sellers, but also hard-charging teenager Darren Krantz Jr. of Huntington, New York.
A good restart allowed Ward to forge ahead, and he managed to stay in front while Sellers and Krantz battled for second place. At the end, Ward crossed the finish line 1.401- seconds ahead of Sellers with Krantz finishing third in his best performance of the young season at South Boston Speedway.
“I was really anxious,” Ward remarked afterward. “I was more nervous right there for a 15-lap shootout than I have been for a 100-lap shootout. I was worried about how I was going to fire off with the track having been dragged with tires and the new rubber being taken off of it.”
The win was Ward’s second of the season at South Boston Speedway, tying him with Sellers who also has two wins at the .4-mile oval this season. It was also Ward’s second career win at South Boston Speedway.
“All in all, we had a phenomenal racecar all weekend,” Ward noted.
Ward and Sellers swapped the lead three times in the race, with Ward surging past Sellers on the 36th circuit and leading the rest of the way. The tally between the two drivers showed Ward leading twice for a total of 76 laps and Sellers leading twice for a total of 24 laps.
Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia finished fourth behind Ward, Sellers and Krantz with Blake Stallings of Danville, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina, Toby Layne of Farmville, Virginia, Raymond Pittman III of Amelia, Virginia, Jessica Cann of Kernersville, North Carolina and Jeff Sparks of Ackworth, Georgia completed the top 10 finishers.
Nathan Crews Sweeps Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division Twinbill
It’s not often that a driver sweeps a twin-race event in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston Speedway but Nathan Crews of Long Island, Virginia pulled it off in the twin 30-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division races that were part of Saturday’s Advance Auto Parts Day at the Races presented by Bojangles at South Boston Speedway.
The pair of wins on Saturday gives Crews three wins in his three starts at South Boston Speedway this season.
Crews battled his way up from his fourth starting position, darted past pole winner Zach Peregoy of Clarksville, Virginia on the ninth lap, one lap after the restart of the race’s only caution period, and edged Peregoy by 1.125-second to earn the win in the first 30-lap race.
Lane Woods of Moneta, Virginia, defending division champion Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia and Bob Davis of Thaxton, Virginia completed the top five finishers.
Crews’ win in the second 30-lap race came in an unlikely fashion. He started ninth in the inverted start of the second race and occupied third place behind Karl Budzevski of Montvale, Virginia and Justin Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia, who had battled for the lead the entire race after the fourth caution flag of the race came out on lap 21 for a mishap.
Race officials declared after the fourth caution period that once the race restarted the race would end with the next flag, be it a caution flag or the checkered flag at the end of the 30-lap race.
Budzevski and Dawson spun ahead of the field coming off of the fourth turn one lap later. Crews darted to the bottom of track, with Myers right behind him, and both missed the multi-car incident. With the caution flag ending the race, Crews was awarded the win and Myers was listed as the runner-up.
“Sometimes I impress myself,” Crews remarked afterward. “I don’t know how I do some of the stuff I do. I would have been happy with an eighth or ninth-place finish and not tearing the car up. To survive all that carnage and win the race is pretty remarkable.”
“If they (Budzevski and Dawson) hadn’t gotten into one another, one or the other would have won the race by an inch or two,” Crews added. “I saw it coming about two laps before it happened.”
Cory Dunn of Salem, Virginia finished third, Dawson finished fourth and Jason Pittman of Chester, VA. completed the unofficial top five finishers.
There were four lead changes among the three drivers, with Crews leading only one lap. Dawson led twice for a total of 17 laps and Budzevski led twice for a total of four laps.
B.J. Reaves Drives To Victory In 25-Lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division Race
B.J. Reaves of South Boston, Virginia took the lead from pole winner Zach Reaves of Danville, Virginia on the opening lap and drove to a 1.006-second win over Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia in the 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race Saturday afternoon at South Boston Speedway.
The win gives Reaves two wins in three starts this season at South Boston Speedway.
Zach Reaves finished third with Colby Pool of South Boston, Virginia recovering from an early-race spin to finish fourth and Jacob Sanford of South Boston, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers.
Cameron Goble Earns Tough Win In The 20-Lap Dollar General Hornets Division Race
Cameron Goble fought off a handful of challengers to win the 20-lap Dollar General Hornets Division race Saturday afternoon at South Boston Speedway. The win was his first in the division this season.
While Goble led every lap, his task wasn’t easy as he consistently had three, and sometimes four drivers challenging him for the top spot. He edged Jason DeCarlo of Chase City, Virginia by just over three tenths of a second to earn the win with Dustin Davis of Nathalie, Virginia, Cameron Moss of Danville, Virginia and defending division champion, Jordaine Penick of Meherrin, Virginia completing the top five finishers in the 14-car field.
Freeman And Houghtaling Are Winners In 25-Lap East Coast Flathead Ford Racing Association Race
Mike Houghtaling of Christiansburg, Virginia won the Modified Division and Donovan Freeman of Axton, Virginia topped the Sportsman Division in the 25-lap race for the East Coast Flathead Ford Racing Association that was part of Saturday’s six-race card at South Boston Speedway.
Freeman was the overall winner of the race, with fellow Sportsman Division competitor Wayne Lawson finishing second overall. Houghtaling finished third overall with fellow Modified Division competitor Johnny Johnson finishing second in the division, and fourth overall.
Unofficial Race Results
Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car
Finish No. Competitor
1 77W Ward, Trevor
2 26 Sellers, Peyton
3 77K Krantz, Darren Jr.
4 0 Pembelton, Landon
5 77S Stallings, Blake
6 25 Borst, Jacob
7 51 Layne, Toby
8 50 Pittman, Raymond
9 19 Cann, Jessica
10 7 SPARKS, JEFF
11 3 Williams, Trey
12 73 Mulllins, Jimmy
Budweiser Limited Sportsman Race 1
Finish No. Competitor
1 3 Crews, Nathan
2 12 Peregoy, Zachary
3 92 Woods, Lane
4 17 Myers, Jason
5 19 Davis, Bob
6 7 Budzevski, Karl
7 18 Brunelli, Tristan
8 0 Palumbo, Gennaro
9 88 Dawson, Justin
10 2 Daniel, Trace III
11 1 Dawson, Jared
12 18G Goble, Cameron
13 51 Pittman, Jason
14 8 Dawson, Drew
15 45 Towler, Justin
16 5 Peregoy, Beverly
17 75 Dunn, Cory
Budweiser Limited Sportsman Race 2
Finish No. Competitor
1 3 Crews, Nathan
2 17 Myers, Jason
3 75 Dunn, Cory
4 88 Dawson, Justin
5 51 Pittman, Jason
6 18 Brunelli, Tristan
7 5 Peregoy, Beverly
8 12 Peregoy, Zachary
9 19 Davis, Bob
10 7 Budzevski, Karl
11 92 Woods, Lane
12 0 Palumbo, Gennaro
13 1 Dawson, Jared
14 2 Daniel, Trace III
15 18G Goble, Cameron
16 8 Dawson, Drew
17 45 Towler, Justin
Dollar General Hornets
Finish No. Competitor
1 18 Goble, Cameron
2 54 Decarlo, Jason
3 51 Davis, Dustin
4 29 Moss, Cameron
5 7 Penick, Jordaine
6 12 Ruotolo, Andrea
7 83 Milam, Landon
8 76 Armstead, Kristian
9 42 Byrd, Daniel
10 33 Sangillo, Christian
11 88 Milam, Kendall
12 2 Moore, Colton
13 14 McCauley, Mark
DNS 24 Penick, Chris
Southside Disposal Pure Stocks
Finish No. Competitor
1 11 Reaves, BJ
2 63 Davis, Dillon
3 77 Reaves, Zach
4 29 Pool, Colby
5 31 Sanford, Jacob
7 76 Turner, Andrew
8 1 Phillips, Scott
9 28 Milam, Jarrett
Next Race At South Boston Speedway
South Boston Speedway will host its first night racing event of the 2025 season on Saturday night, May 10, when NASCAR racing returns to the .4-mile oval with the Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night. Race time is 7 p.m.
Six races are slated for the event with twin 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division headlining the action. A 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Dollar General Hornets Division are also on the event schedule. In addition, there will be a 25-lap race for the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club, which will be making the first of its two scheduled visits to South Boston Speedway this season.
Advance adult tickets for the Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night event are priced at $12. Tickets at the gate on race day will be $15 each. Suite tickets are available for $40 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate only on the day of the event.
The latest news and updates about the Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night and all of South Boston Speedway events can be found on the speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours, and through the track’s social media channels.