Event Preview: Trevor Ward Excited for Saturday after Huge ‘Turnaround’ to Start Season

Twin Late Model, Hornets Races Featured Saturday In Season’s First Night Race At South Boston Speedway on May 2

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, VA (April 30, 2026) – Trevor Ward’s stunning ‘turnaround’ on April 18 at South Boston Speedway created a swarm of fan buzz on social media.

While attempting to do something to excite the fans as he sped down the frontstretch toward the checkered flag, Ward’s car got sideways, spun, and tagged the inside wall. Ward earned his first win of the season after leading every lap of the 125-lap Late Model Stock Car feature.

Fans gasped. Others leaped onto their feet and applauded. Social media buzzed over the surprising end of the race. Many fans were excited, others were concerned about the condition of Ward’s car in the aftermath.

“It was a good solid week of working on the car and buffing everything back out from the chaos I created for my guys,” Ward said this week.

Ward and his Trevor Ward Motorsports team will look to extend their points lead this Saturday night, May 2, on Viny’s Italian Restaurant and Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night. Twin 75-lap Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car features are on tap, and Ward will try to leave his snafu in the rearview mirror.

SEE TREVOR KEEP IT STRAIGHT MAY 2 - EVENT INFO & TICKETS

“I hated doing that and creating ourselves more work – like we needed more. I’m very picky about my equipment and I make sure it’s right every week and it looks pristine and looks like top-notch equipment. Next time I’ll try to keep the early Polish Victory Lap started after we cross the (finish) line.”

Ward added his next attempt at doing something unique for fans won’t be like the one on April 18.

“It’s definitely going to be the first time and the last time,” Ward remarked of the attempt. “I’ll try to keep the car going in the right direction across the line and maybe still do something for the fans every now and again. I’m going to make sure we bring her across the (finish) line in one piece.”

Ward is off to a great start in South Boston Speedway’s points season and is ahead of where he was at this point in the 2025 season. He has a win, two pole wins, a pair of second-place finishes and has finished no worse than third through the season’s first four races. He leads defending division champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia by six points and leads Bobby McCarty and Landon Pembelton, who are tied for third place, by nine points.

“It’s been a super cool and super successful season so far,” Ward noted. “We’ve been able to capitalize early, put good runs together and get all we can out of our equipment. It’s like I had said before. I had to figure out how to lose a championship) before I could win one. I had to check all the boxes. We know what went wrong the previous year in my first time running for a championship and have seen all of the odds and ends we needed to make better to make the car picture-perfect.”

South Boston Speedway’s first night racing event of the season is set for Saturday night when NASCAR Local Racing Series powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts action returns to the .4-mile oval.

Along with twin 75-lap Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division races, twin 15-lap races for the Dollar General Hornets Division are headlining the card. A 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division and a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division are also slated.

Ward is looking forward to South Boston Speedway’s first night race of the season.

“I’m pretty excited about going back to the night races,” he pointed out. “We had a lot of success last year in the night races. Just going off of what the car felt like the last race when we were getting some cloud cover, it really felt like it was coming together for us.

“The track will be gripped up,” he added. “It’s going to make for a really good show, especially with the rain we’re getting cleaning the track up from when the Modifieds and the sealer had been on it. I think it’s going to bring back some of that old character to the racetrack that we’ve been missing.”

Andrea Ruotolo, the owner of Italian Delight Family Restaurant and co-sponsor of the race, is excited about the event. He has a dual role in the May 2 event, one as event sponsor, and another as a competitor in the twin races for the Dollar General Hornets Division.

“I’ve raced before on a night we were sponsoring the event,” said Ruotolo. “Actually, I feel better than I ever have and I feel more relaxed. Being a sponsor and a driver at the same time is really important to me and I don’t take anything for granted.”

Andrea and brother Viny Ruotolo, owner of Viny’s Italian Restaurant are longtime supporters of the speedway.

“It’s really important that both myself and my brother Viny support South Boston Speedway,” Andrea continued. “We think South Boston Speedway should be the main entertainment in this town. It’s been here a very long time, and we believe supporting the speedway helps the town as a whole.”

The event schedule for the Saturday night, May 2 Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night event at South Boston Speedway 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 military 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.