Aug. 9 Event Preview: Sellers Sees South Boston Speedway Late Model Championship Battle Coming Down to the Wire in Season’s Final

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, VA (August 6, 2025) – “It’s going to come down to the last lap of the last race.” That’s how Peyton Sellers pictures the battle for the South Boston Speedway Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division championship.

The battle for the track championship renews Saturday night, August 9 with twin 75-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races headlining the six-race Davenport Energy Race Night event at South Boston Speedway.

The back-and-forth battle between Sellers and Trevor Ward of Winston-Salem, North Carolina took a new twist as Sellers, with a win and a runner-up finish, emerged from the July 26 twin-race event as the division points leader. Ward, who had entered the July 26 event with a four-point lead over Sellers, came away facing a two-point deficit after finishes of third and fifth.

While Ward and Sellers are locked into that close battle neither driver can overlook Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia who is just nine points behind Ward and 11 points out of the lead. One major mistake, one bad race on the part of either or both drivers, could vault Pembelton closer to the heart of the championship picture. Pembelton has had three Top-3 finishes in his last five starts including two second-place finishes.

Sellers, who is seeking a record eighth South Boston Speedway title, appears to have momentum in his favor heading into the Saturday night, August 9 Davenport Energy Race Night event at South Boston Speedway. The Danville, Virginia resident has four Top-5 finishes in his last five starts including two wins and two second-place finishes and has a total of six wins for the season.

“Our car is pretty solid right now,” Sellers remarked. “We’re fine-adjustments away from being really good every night and that’s where we need to be right now.”

“We’ve had a fair amount of wins this year,” Sellers continued. “We’ve had a lot of luck. We’ve had some good things happening. We don’t take any of it for granted. We’ve got to keep our nose down and keep trying to get better.”

Sellers says at this point, he and his team simply need to keep digging.

“We’re just going to keep racing and doing all we can,” he remarked. “Nobody is going to break away. We’ve had some bad luck, some unfortunate events and different things. Trevor has had some bad luck too. We’ve all been working hard at it and Trevor’s been working hard at it. He’s not giving up either.”

Six races are slated for the Saturday night, August 9 Davenport Energy Race Night event at South Boston Speedway. Along with the twin 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division, fans will see 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, all of which will have an impact on the division championship chases.

Zach Peregoy of Clarksville, Virginia, who has two wins and a second-place finish in his last four starts, leads the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division point standings by 18 points over 14-year-old Tristan Brunelli of Powhatan, Virginia. B.J. Reaves of South Boston, Virginia holds a 20-point lead over Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia entering Saturday’s 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race.

The twin 15-lap races for the Dollar General Hornets Division marks the third twin-race event in the division’s history. Jason DeCarlo of Chase City, Virginia leads Landon Milam of Keeling, Virginia by 10 points entering Saturday night’s twinbill. Milam, a four-time winner this season, swept the division’s first-ever twin-race event last season. He and DeCarlo split wins in a twin-race event held on June 7.

Advance adult tickets for the Saturday night, August 9 Davenport Energy 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, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate only on the day of the event.

The tentative race-day schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m. and practice starting at 3:25 p.m. Frontstretch grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. and backstretch and Turn 4 trackside parking gates open at 5:30 p.m. Qualifying starts at 6 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

The latest news and updates about the August 9 Davenport Energy Race Night event and all 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.