Event Preview: McCarty, Sellers, Ready to Face Challenge of 125-Lap Late Model Race This Saturday

Late Model Feature on April 18 Bojangles Race Day is Second-Longest Race of the 2026 Season at South Boston Speedway

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, VA (April 16, 2026) – The longest early-season race for Late Models. A close Late Model points battle. The first twin-race Limited Sportsman event of the season. The last of three early-season daytime events. It’s all part of the Bojangles Race Day event on Saturday afternoon, April 18 at South Boston Speedway.

The 125-lap Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division race that headlines Saturday’s Bojangles Race Day event is the second-longest single race of the season at South Boston Speedway and the first of two 125-lap races included in South Boston Speedway’s 2026 points season.

Bobby McCarty, who earned his first win in almost two years and earned his first win at South Boston Speedway in almost five years when he won the second race of a twin-race event on April 4, is looking forward to Saturday’s race.

“Longer races – bring it on, I’m ready,” McCarty remarked. “This car really likes long runs. It’s perfect for this race. In the second race (on April 4) we ran our fastest lap on lap 54. My fastest laps were from lap 50 and up.”

The Kernersville, North Carolina resident noted his key to success will be to not over-adjust the car.

“The key for me is not beating myself before the race,” he pointed out. “I’m very bad about that because I expect perfection every lap. At the same time, I’ve got to stay in check.”

The win in the second race of the twin-race event on April 4 was a milestone for McCarty as it was his first win since forming his own team, McCarty Motorsports, in November of 2024. He finished fourth in the day’s opening race.

“It’s special, very special,” McCarty said of the win. “It was a really cool moment for us as a team and the family. It’s a feeling you never forget. When I left the big teams, I really didn’t know if this would be possible again. I knew I was capable and I knew the people I wanted is half of my Nelson Motorsports guys from back in the day. I knew once we got all the pieces of the puzzle we had to start fitting everything up.

“We still have some work to do,” he added. “The car can still be better. I’m hoping the win is just the start.”

Two-time NASCAR national champion and eight-time South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia won the first race of the twin-race event on April 4 and finished third in the second race. He pointed out longer races suit his driving style.

“Being patient and saving some tire suits my style of racing a little better,” he pointed out. “We’ll work on the balance of the car and get our balance where it’s not abusing the tires. Making the tires last is going to be on everybody’s mind.”

Sellers said drivers will need to be smart in the 125-lap chase.

“Everybody is going to have to use their head,” he noted. “You’ve got to be smart. It will play in the guys’ favor that have had to save tires in the past.”

The early-season points chase in the Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division is very close. Trevor Ward of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on the strength of a pair of second-place finishes and a third-place finish, leads the division point standings and holds a slim three-point lead over Sellers and McCarty entering Saturday’s race. Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia sits in fourth place seven points back and Californian Chase Burgeson stands in fifth place, five points behind Pembelton and 12 points out of the lead.

A highly competitive field of drivers is expected to be on hand for the season’s first twin-race event for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division. Jacob Derrick of Hampton, Virginia won the division’s season-opener on April 4 and is expected to return for Saturday’s twin 30-lap races.

Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia won his first career pole award in the division and led the first 39 laps of the 50-lap race before having to settle for a second-place finish in the division’s opener.

Saturday’s slate for the Bojangles Race Day event also includes a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Dollar General Hornets Division. In addition, there will be a 25-lap race for the regional touring East Coast Flathead Ford Racing Association which will be making its only visit to South Boston Speedway this season.

Saturday’s race day schedule has practice beginning at 10:25 a.m. and frontstretch spectator gates opening at 10:30 a.m. Qualifying starts at 1 p.m., pre-race ceremonies will start at 1:45 p.m. and the first race of the day will get the green flag at 2 p.m.

To add to Saturday’s event Bojangles representatives will be handing out gift cards at the gate starting at 10:30 a.m. and continuing while supplies last.

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.