By Joe Chandler
Director, Public Relations
South Boston Speedway
SOUTH BOSTON, VA (March 12, 2024) – Two-time NASCAR national champion and six-time South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers swept the double 65-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races that highlighted the ABC 13, WSET-TV Race Night presented by Bojangles event Saturday night at South Boston Speedway and became the fifth different winner in the division this season.
Sellers passed Kyle Dudley of Roanoke, Virginia for the lead with 10 laps remaining in the first 65-lap race and edged Dudley by .725-second to take the win in the opener.
“It was very sweet to me to get this win,” Sellers remarked. “I could see Kyle getting really loose. I had been working really well on the bottom, and I hadn’t really moved up top. H.C. (H.C. Sellers, his brother and crew chief) came on the radio and said “you know what, you’re not going to pass him on the bottom. He said to try to think outside the box. I rolled the car off into the corner and stuck it on the high side. Kyle got a little free back to the gas, and it kept it where I could get to his outside. He raced me clean, and I found a little grip up there.”
Last year’s South Boston Speedway Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division champion Carter Langley of Zebulon, North Carolina finished third in his first visit to the track this season. Former Virginia state champion Mike Looney of Catawba, Virginia finished fourth and Davey Calihan of Elkwood, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers in the caution-free race.
Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina, Miami, Florida native Josh Dickens, Blake Stallings of Danville, Virginia, Austin Thaxton of South Boston, Virginia and Stacy Puryear of South Boston, Virginia completed the top 10 finishers.
Sellers started eighth in the second race as the result of an inverted start among the top eight finishers of the first race and took advantage of a late-race restart that followed the race’s only caution period to make a bid for the lead.
Sellers moved past Borst with 11 laps to go to take the lead and held on to edge Dickens by .896-second to complete the sweep.
The sweep gave Sellers his first victories of the season at the .4-mile oval.
“They’ve had four different winners in four races here at South Boston Speedway and we won two tonight,” Sellers noted. “I was just at the right place at the right time in the second race. I had a fifth-place car and won with it. Lady Luck will go your way sometimes. (Mike) Looney and Carter (Langley) spun and those guys (Borst and Dickens) didn’t get an excellent restart up front. We snuck one in tonight.”
The mishap involving Langley and Looney occurred on the 52nd circuit. Borst, Dickens and Sellers battled hard for three laps on the ensuing restart with Sellers, who restarted third, slipping past Borst with 11 laps to go to grab the lead. Once in front, Sellers managed to hold the lead the rest of the way.
Borst finished third behind Sellers and Dickens with Dudley rallying from the rear of the field to finish fourth and Stallings rounding out the top five finishers.
Puryear, Thaxton, Toby Layne of Farmville, Virginia, Looney, and North Carolinian Jessica Cann rounded out the top 10 finishers in the second race.
The first race had one lead change among two drivers. There were three lead changes among four drivers in the second race.
Drew Dawson, Nathan Crews Split Double 30-Lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division Races
Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia and Nathan Crews of Long Island, Virginia split wins in the double 30-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division races that were part of Saturday night’s ABC 13, WSET-TV Race Night presented by Bojangles event at South Boston Speedway.
The wins by Dawson and Crews were their first wins of the season, giving the division four different winners in the season’s first five races.
Dawson, from Nathalie, Virginia, started second in the first race, slipped past pole winner Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia on the initial start, and led flag-to-flag to record his first win in two years. He edged his brother, Justin Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia by .213-second to earn the win.
Myers finished third with Karl Budzevskli of Montvale, Virginia and Bob Davis of Thaxton, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
With the top eight finishers of the first race inverted for the start of the second race, Crews started on the pole for the nightcap and led flag-to-flag to earn the win in the race that was slowed by four caution periods and stopped twice under the red flag.
Crews beat Myers to the checkered flag by .904-seond to earn the win with Budzevski, Eric Winslow of Pelham, North Carolina and Cory Dunn of Salem, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
Zach Reaves Wins Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division Race
Zach Reaves of Danville, Virginia captured the victory in Saturday night’s 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race at South Boston Speedway, earning his first win of the season.
Reaves took the lead from his brother, B.J. Reaves of South Boston, Virginia with 12 laps left and narrowly edged Kenny Mills of South Boston, Virginia for the win.
As a result of having won the previous two races in the division, Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia had to start midfield under the speedway’s handicapping system. Layne battled his way forward from the sixth starting position to finish third.
Andrew Turner of Sutherlin, Virginia and former division champion Scott Phillips of Halifax, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers.
Cameron Goble Earns Win In Shortened VSP HEAT Hornets Division Race
Cameron Goble of Ringgold, Virginia started on the pole and earned a flag-to-flag win in Saturday night’s Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division race at South Boston Speedway, which was shortened to 17 laps due to an unusually large number of mishaps.
The win was Goble’s third win of the season.
The race was slowed by four cautions and was stopped twice, with the race taking an hour and six minutes to complete.
Dustin Davis of Nathalie, Virginia finished second with Jason DeCarlo of Chase City, Virginia charging from his seventh-place starting position to finish third. Max Sangillo of Farmville, Virginia finished fourth and Cameron Moss of Danville, Virginia finished fifth.
Josh Roberts, Mack Tatum Take Wins In The 25-Lap Race For The Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club
Josh Roberts of Carson, Virginia was the overall winner and the Sportsman Division winner in the 25-lap race for the regional touring Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club that was part of Saturday night’s ABC 13, WSET-TV Race Night presented by Bojangles event.
Mack Tatum of Midlothian, Virginia won the Modified Division and finished second overall in the race.
Next Race At South Boston Speedway
NASCAR racing will return to South Boston Speedway on Saturday night, June 8, with the Oak River Realty Race Night event. The first race will start at 7 p.m.
The six-race card will be highlighted by double 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division. A 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and double 15-lap races for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division will round out the night’s racing action.
The Saturday, June 8 Oak River Realty Race Night event schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m. Practice will run from 3:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 3:30 p.m. Qualifying is set for 6 p.m., pre-race ceremonies are scheduled for 6:45 p.m. and the first race of the night will start at 7 p.m.
Advance tickets for the June 8 Oak River Realty Race Night event are priced at $12 each. Advance tickets may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com or by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
Tickets at the gate on race day will be $15 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate on race day.
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