Event Preview: High Stakes, Legendary Drivers, Hotly Contested Battles Highlight South Boston Speedway Opener March 21

Elliott Sadler, Lee Pulliam Headline Stacked Modified, Late Model Fields as SBS Kicks Off Season

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, VA (March 18, 2026) – High stakes, legendary drivers, ground-pounding thunder and the beginning of a championship chase – they’ll all be a part of the season opener at South Boston Speedway on March 21.

URW Community Federal Credit Union Race Day will feature a trio of races sure to thrill the fans and challenge the competitors. The Third Annual 125-lap SMART Modified Tour King of the Modifieds, a 100-lap race for the Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division and a 35-lap Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club race are all on the docket.

That Late Model feature will kick off the 43rd season of NASCAR-sanctioned Late Model Stock Car Division racing at South Boston Speedway and begin the run toward its lucrative 2026 track championship.

When it comes to the stakes, they couldn’t be higher.

A $20,000 payday awaits the driver who claims victory in the King of the Modifieds feature event. It is one of the biggest prizes for a Tour-Type Modified race in the nation.

“I can’t even begin to describe it,” said Luke Baldwin, who won the inaugural King of the Modifieds feature in 2024. “It’s still the biggest win of my career to date.”

Get Your Tickets to URW Race Day & the King of the Modifieds

Baldwin will do battle with a formidable field of drivers including former Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman, Bowman Gray Champions Burt Myers and Brandon Ward and one legend making his return to the driver’s seat for the first time in more than six years.

Former NASCAR Cup Series standout and South Boston Speedway champion Elliott Sadler of Emporia, Virginia will pilot the No. 16VA Modified co-owned by his brother, Hermie Sadler, in the King of the Modifieds feature. It’ll be the first time he has ever raced a tour-type Modified and the first time he has been to South Boston Speedway as a driver in 30 years. He last drove a race car competitively in 2019 when he raced two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series events for Kaulig Racing.

He recently tested the Modified at South Boston Speedway.

“It’s fun,” Sadler said of driving the Modified. “That’s what Ryan Newman told me, it’s what Bobby Labonte told me, it’s what Connor Hall told me. The Modified is so low to the ground that it’s almost like a go-kart. South Boston is one of the fastest tracks that the Modifieds race on. There is not a lot of falloff. You’ve got to get down and go.”

Sadler said his intent is to compete at a high level in the 125-lap race.

“I’m here to race but I’m also going to have fun with it,” Sadler pointed out. “I have a lot of respect for the guys that do this week-in and week-out. There are a lot of good drivers that race these Modifieds every week and they put on such a good show, have great side-by-side racing, and know how to manage tires. There will be a lot of talent on the track in this race. I’m just glad to be a part of it and I’m going to make the most of it.”

On the Late Model side, things will be just as intense.

A $20,000 award will go to the top eligible driver in the Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division through the speedway’s lucrative Championship Loyalty Bonus program sponsored by Hitachi Energy South Boston and EMPOWER Broadband.

A fantastic field of drivers are expected to vie for the Late Model title this year, and all will be gunning for defending champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia.

For Sellers the 100-lap race for the Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division marks the start of his quest for a record ninth South Boston Speedway NASCAR track championship and a third straight title.

Sellers says he is ready to get the season underway.

“It’s been a long winter, and everybody has been working hard at the shop, so it’s time to showcase and put it all out there and see what we’ve got,” Sellers said.

The eight-time South Boston Speedway champion noted that with drivers like Trevor Ward, Landon Pembelton, Bobby McCarty, Deac McCaskill, Andrew Grady and others competing for the track championship and elevating the level of the competition winning the 2026 title will be a tough chore.

“To get out there and win races is going to be just as tough as it has always been,” Sellers pointed out. “The margin for error will be much smaller. It’s going to be harder to run in the top 10. Instead of four cars that can win there are going to be nine or 10 cars that can win. If you have a little bad luck or falter you will fall further back. Where some nights if you missed it pretty bad and ran fifth or sixth, this year it will be tenth.”

While not planning to race for another South Boston championship, Lee Pulliam of Alton, Virginia, will be back behind the wheel at South Boston Speedway, as well.

Pulliam says he is excited to race again at his hometown track.

“I couldn’t be any more excited,” he remarked. “It’s the place that started it all for me. As a kid I fell in love with short track racing at South Boston Speedway. It’s been almost seven years since I’ve gone to Victory Lane. I went five years without driving anything. Six-and-a-half years is a long time. It will be one heck of a celebration if we get it done.”

Pulliam hadn’t raced competitively for the better part of five years when he returned to run the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 Late Model event at Martinsville Speedway in 2024. He raced the ValleyStar 300 again in 2025 coming within inches of winning it.

More than $75,000 in season-end bonuses are on the line this season for competitors at South Boston Speedway.

Advance tickets are priced at $20 each. Tickets at the gate on race day will be $25 each. Seniors age 65 and older, military, healthcare workers and students (with ID) can purchase tickets at the advance ticket price at the gate only on the day of the event.

The race day event schedule has grandstand gates opening at 9 a.m., practice starting at 9 a.m., Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division qualifying beginning at 11 a.m., a trackside driver autograph session starting at 11:45 a.m. and the first race of the day getting the green flag at 2 p.m.