Ward Wins Late Model Feature Backwards After Dominating Day

Three Drivers Earn First Career South Boston Speedway Wins

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON VA (April 18, 2026) – Trevor Ward made fans gasp as he slid backwards across the finish line while taking the checkered flag on Saturday.

Ward was so good, and his lead was so big on the final lap, that he wanted to give the fans a thrill as he took the win. He sure did.

Ward made a mistake, which turned the car sideways as he won Saturday’s 125-lap Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division race in dominating fashion – the race headlined a wild Bojangles Race Day at South Boston Speedway.

“The driver just ran out of talent,” Ward remarked with a smile. “I was trying to show off to the fans a little bit. I knocked it out of gear and obviously couldn’t drive it straight to the line and I turned it around backwards and won the race backwards. That was definitely something different I will never forget.”

Trevor Ward slides backwards across the finish line, winning the 125-lap Hitachi Energy Late Model feature on Saturday, April 18, 2026 at South Boston Speedway.

The Winston-Salem, North Carolina resident dominated the race, winning the pole in qualifying and leading all 125 laps enroute to his first win of the season at the .4-mile oval and his seventh career win at South Boston Speedway.

His margin of victory over runner-up Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia was 1.137 seconds.

“We knew we had worked hard on the car this week to get everything dialed in as much as possible,” Ward noted. “We were able to hit on some stuff that I think carried us farther than what we were expecting. I was really glad it paid off for us.”

Ward had virtually walked away from the rest of the field when a mishap on lap 102 brought out the race’s only caution period. That gave Pembelton and two-time NASCAR national champion and eight-time South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia an opportunity to make a run at Ward on the restart.

One lap was all Ward needed to separate himself from his challengers. Ward rebuilt a good lead, and while he had the mishap speeding to the checkered flag, he had plenty of margin to leave no doubt about the outcome of the race.

“I was prepared for a caution,” Ward said. “I didn’t think we would run 125 green laps. I was very conservative, waited for that restart to happen, and was able to capitalize when it did.”

Sellers finished third behind Ward and Pembelton with Tyler Matthews of Richlands, North Carolina and Carson Brown of New London, North Carolina rounding out the top five finishers.

Bobby McCarty of Madison, North Carolina, Blake Stallings of Danville, Virginia, Andrew Grady of Youngsville, North Carolina, Tyler Garretson of Danville, Virginia and Devin George of Chesterfield, Virginia rounded out the top 10 finishers in the 16-car field.

Drew Dawson and Brian Rundstrom Jr. Split Limited Sportsman Twinbill

Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia and Brian Rundstrom Jr. of Green Bay, Virginia split wins in the twin 30-lap races for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division that were part of Saturday afternoon’s Bojangles Race Day event at South Boston Speedway.

Dawson started on the outside pole and led every lap enroute to winning the first of the two races. The win was Dawson’s first of the season at South Boston Speedway and was his fifth career win in the division.

Rundstrom inherited the lead after an incident on lap 15 involving Trace Daniel and Eric Winslow who were battling for the lead and led the final 15 laps to earn his first career South Boston Speedway win and his sixth career victory in the division.

Jacob Derrick of Hampton, Virginia finished third behind Dawson and Rundstrom in the first race with Pelham, North Carolina resident Winslow and Dennis Holdren of Salem, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.

Dawson finished as the runner-up to Rundstrom in the second race with Cameron Goble of Ringgold, Virginia, Dan Rogers of Powhatan, Virginia and Jared Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers in the first race.

Both races were punctuated with multiple mishaps. There were three caution periods and two red flags in the first race. Two cautions and one red flag dotted the second race.

Twenty cars started the first 30-lap race.

Jarrett Johnson Earns First Career Win In 25-Lap Pure Stock Race

Jarrett Johnson of Danville, Virginia surged past Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia with two laps to go and won the 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race Saturday afternoon at South Boston Speedway to earn his first career win.

Johnson led only three laps of the race but led the two most important laps at the end to capture his first win.

Layne finished second, a half a second behind Johnson, with Jay Hemenway of Wake Forest, North Carolina, defending division champion B.J. Reaves of South Boston, Virginia and Andrew Turner of Sutherlin, Virginia completing the top five finishers.

Cameron Moss Earns His First Career Win In The 20-Lap Hornets Division Race

Cameron Moss of Danville, Virginia took the lead from Landon Milam and drove to his first career win in the 20-lap race for the Dollar General Hornets Division. Moss led 19 laps of the 20-lap race.

Defending division champion Jason DeCarlo of Nelson, Virginia finished second 1.112 seconds behind Moss with Max Sangillo of Farmville, Virginia, Chris Penick of Rustburg, Virginia and Kristian Armstead of Martinsville, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.

Donovan Freeman And Johnny Johnson Earn Wins In Flathead Fords Race

Sixty-five-year-old Donovan Freeman of Axton, Virginia took the overall race win and the Sportsman Division win in the 25-lap race for the regional touring East Coast Flathead Ford Racing Association Saturday afternoon at South Boston Speedway.

Eighty-five-year-old Johnny Johnson of Tobaccoville, North Carolina finished third overall and took the Modified Division win.

Wayne Lawson of Indian Valley, Virginia finished second overall in the race and was the runner-up in the Sportsman Division.

UNOFFICIAL Results - April 18, 2026 Bojangles Race Day

Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock - 125-Lap Feature

1 77W Trevor Ward

2 0 Landon Pembelton

3 26 Peyton Sellers

4 63 Tyler Matthews

5 5 Carson Brown

6 6 Bobby McCarty

7 77S Blake Stallings

8 1G Andrew Grady

9 99 Tyler Garretson

10 25 Devin George

11 17 Jason Myers

12 12 Zach Peregoy

13 57 Chase Johnson

14 22C Chase Burgeson

15 8W Conner Weddell

16 22W Eric Winslow

Budweiser Limited Sportsman - Feature 1

1 8D Drew Dawson

2 88R Brian Rundstrom Jr.

3 88D Jacob Derrick

4 22W Eric Winslow

5 1 Dennis Holdren

6 33 Dan Rogers

7 18G Cameron Goble

8 2 Trace Daniel

9 5 Bev Peregoy

10 01 Jared Dawson

11 88 Justin Dawson

12 18B Tristan Brunelli

13 05 Collin Hilton

14 51 Jason Pittman

15 45 Justin Towler

16 62 Ross Mountcasel

17 15 Tony Housman

18 8M Landon McGowan

19 39 Chris Hopkins

20 00 Gennaro Palumbo

Budweiser Limited Sportsman - Feature 2

1 88R Brian Rundstrom Jr.

2 8D Drew Dawson

3 18G Cameron Goble

4 33 Dan Rogers

5 01 Jared Dawson

6 51 Jason Pittman

7 2 Trace Daniel

8 62 Ross Mountcasel

9 05 Collin Hilton

10 8M Landon McGowan

11 5 Bev Peregoy

12 22W Eric Winslow

13 18B Tristan Brunelli

14 88 Justin Dawson

15 88D Jacob Derrick

16 15 Tony Housman

17 1 Dennis Holdren

Southside Disposal Pure Stock Feature

1 88 Jarrett Johnson

2 9 Johnny Layne

3 12 Jay Hemenway

4 11 Barry Reaves

5 76 Andrew Turner

6 63 Dillon Davis

7 28 Kendall Milam

8 9 Jacob Sanford

9 77 Zach Reaves

10 10 Anna Mayo

11 31 Caleb Sanford

Dollar General Hornets Feature

1 29 Cameron Moss

2 54 Jason Decarlo

3 33 Christian Sangillo

4 24 Chris Penick

5 76 Kristian Armstead

6 12 Andrea Ruotolo

7 83 Landon Milam

8 0 Mack Tatum

9 7 WJ Altizer

10 88 Jarrett Milam

11 14 Mark McCauley

12 42B Daniel Byrd

Next Event At South Boston Speedway

NASCAR Local Racing Series powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts action returns to South Boston Speedway on Saturday night, May 2 with the track’s first night racing event of the 2026 season.

The Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night event will be headlined by twin 75-lap races for the Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division. Also included on the six-race card are a 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and twin 15-lap races for the Dollar General Hornets Division.

The May 2 race day schedule has practice starting at 3:25 p.m., frontstretch grandstand gates opening at 3:30 p.m., trackside parking gates opening at 5:30 p.m., qualifying at 6 p.m., pre-race ceremonies starting at 6:45 p.m. and the first race of the night starting at 7 p.m.

Adult advance tickets are priced at $12 each. Adult admission at the gate on race day is $15. Suite passes are $40 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, veterans and miliary personnel, first responders, healthcare workers and students with ID may purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate on race day. Kids ages 12 and under are admitted free.