B.J. Reaves is on an Upward Spiral Heading into Boone Tractor Race Night on Saturday, July 26 at South Boston Speedway

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, VA (July 22, 2025) – When you look at drivers that are on an upward spiral heading into the Boone Tractor Race Night presented by New Holland and Gravely on Saturday night, July 26 at South Boston Speedway one of the first drivers you notice is Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division competitor B.J. Reaves.

Reaves, who is seeking a second straight Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division title this season, is on track toward the best season of his racing career at South Boston Speedway. With four nights of racing and a total of five races remaining for the division this season, Reaves has four wins, double the amount of wins he earned last season, has won his first career pole award in the division, and has seven Top-5 finishes, just one shy of the total he tallied last season.

The South Boston, Virginia resident has won two of his last three starts entering the twin 15-lap races for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division that are slated as part of the Saturday night, July 26 Boone Tractor Race Night presented by New Holland and Gravely event at South Boston Speedway. In his last 13 starts dating back into last season, Reaves has recorded six wins and has finished either won or finished second in those 13 races.

Reaves was humbled by the statistics.

“I don’t get to see a lot of the stats or at least I don’t pay attention to it,” Reaves remarked. “As much as I would like to pat myself on the back, some of the more dominant racers, Johnny (Layne), and my brother (Zach Reaves), have had problems. I would argue that my brother had the fastest car at the start of the season. He won the first three poles in a row at the start of the season. Then, he had a wreck in qualifying that seriously damaged the car. We had a hard time getting the car back to where it was. Then, he had another wreck, and that put us even further behind with his car.

“Johnny Layne has always been a very strong competitor,” Reaves added, “and him losing the motor in his car before the first race set him back. To be fair, I don’t know how good some of these stats would be if Johnny had not had motor problems and had raced regularly and if my brother hadn’t had trouble.”

Reaves’ lofty stats reveal a high level of consistency on the track and his attention to detail in preparing his car.

“It’s about staying on top of maintenance on the car, and not overdriving the car and getting into trouble,” Reaves pointed out. “Once you get in trouble and damage a car it’s hard to get it back to where it was before. I may be a little OCD about it but between races I go over the car down to the fuses, to the nuts and bolts, axles, driveshaft and the wiring.”

One other aspect to Reaves’ success is he never stops trying to get better.

“I haven’t stopped trying to experiment with the car during practice,” Reaves pointed out, “trying to find out what works and what doesn’t work. On the practice day on Friday before the Fourth of July race, I was trying something new, and it didn’t work. We had to change the car back to the way it was before. Even if you’re doing well, you still need to try to get better.”

Reaves went on to win that race in front of the largest crowd of the season to date, adding another accomplishment he had wanted to achieve in his career.

“We all know it’s a big Late Model race,” Reaves said, “but it’s also a big night for us in the support divisions because that’s when all of the people are there. One of things I wanted to do at some point was to win the Fourth of July race and win it with everybody that is fast there. If you win, you want to beat the best guys. It was good to see Johnny back that night, and everybody had a pretty good car.”

Entering the July 26 Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division twinbill, the last scheduled twin-race event for the division this season, Reaves holds a 17-point lead over Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia and a 26-point lead over former division champion Scott Phillips of Halifax, Virginia, who is in third place in the division point standings.

While he holds a good edge in the point standings, Reaves says he is not going to change the way he races over the course of the last four events of the season.

“I’m going to race the way I have been,” Reaves pointed out. “When you show up, you want to take a trophy home. I am a somewhat conservative driver. If I’ve got to fight somebody enough that I’m risking both of us tearing the cars up, I won’t do that because I know how far it sets you back and how hard it is to get these cars back right if they are damaged.”

Six races are scheduled on Saturday night, July 26 for the Boone Tractor Race Night presented by Gravely and New Holland event with twin 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division headlining the night’s racing action. Trevor Ward of Winston-Salem, North Carolina leads seven-time track champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia by four points entering the event with Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia occupying third place, just 11 points out of the lead. Blake Stallings of Danville. Virginia stands in fourth place, 27 points behind Ward.

A 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, the twin 15-lap races for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Dollar General Hornets Division will round out the night’s racing action.

Advance adult tickets for the July 26 Boone Tractor Race Night presented by Gravely and New Holland 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 Saturday 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 July 26 Boone Tractor Race Night presented by Gravely and New Holland 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.