Event Preview: Trio of South Boston Speedway Drivers in Top Five of NASCAR National Standings Entering Saturday Night’s Late Model Twinbill

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, VA (May 22, 2025) – Drivers up and down the point standings in South Boston Speedway’s Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division tout how tough the competition is at the .4-mile oval.

So, how tough is the competition?

The field of competitors at South Boston Speedway is so stout that three of South Boston Speedway’s “regulars” are among the top five drivers in this week’s NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I national standings.

As of Thursday, May 22, South Boston Speedway points leader Trevor Ward of Winston-Salem, North Carolina leads the national standings by a 12-point margin over Greg Edwards of Poquoson, Virginia. Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia occupies fourth place in the national standings, 22 points behind Ward. Blake Stallings of Danville, Virginia sits in fifth place in the national standings, 34 points behind Ward.

The championship chase in the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division at South Boston Speedway continues to be intense. Entering the twin 75-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races that headline the Oak River Realty Race Night event on Saturday night, May 24 at South Boston Speedway, Ward holds a slim two-point lead over Sellers.

“It (South Boston Speedway) is one of the toughest competitions in Late Model Stock Car racing right now,” said Ward who has two wins and eight Top-5 finishes in a total of eight races this season, six of them at South Boston Speedway. “We haven’t been out of the top five all year. It’s an awesome opportunity to be able to do that.”

Sellers enters Saturday night’s twin 75-lap races after having swept the May 10 twinbill at South Boston Speedway. The pair of wins, coupled with fourth-place and second-place finishes by Ward, allowed Sellers, who now has four wins in his six starts at South Boston Speedway, to claw his way to within two points of Ward in the track point standings.

“I told everybody in the stands I was more excited winning those two races because it’s hard to have a car that good,” said Sellers after overcoming an invert to ninth place for the start of the second race to win the race.

“You dream of having cars this good. A lot of things have to go right. You don’t get inverted back to ninth and get the lead on lap 10 or whatever very often. It’s very hard to do. A lot of holes have to open up and a lot of things have to go your way.”

As far as the chase for the track championship goes, Ward is retaining the low-key approach he has held since the season started.

“There are so many races left,” Ward pointed out. “Obviously, the “200” (the June 28 Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200) is going to be a game-changer for all of us. We’ve got a lot of racing to do, so we’ve just got to stay humble and keep pushing to be better.”

“Nobody is giving up,” Sellers pointed out. “It will be a dogfight to the end of the year.”

Stallings, who sits in fourth place in the South Boston Speedway point standings nine points down to third-place driver Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia and 24 points behind Ward, is also in solid contention in the track points chase entering Saturday night’s twin-race event.

Pembelton is in 16th place in the national point standings, 58 points out of the lead, making it four South Boston Speedway “regulars” that are in the top 20 in the national standings.

Six races are slated for the Oak River Realty Race Night event on Saturday night, May 24 at South Boston Speedway. Along with the twin 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division, there will be twin 30-lap races for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Dollar General Hornets Division.

During the May 24 Oak River Realty Race Night event, South Boston Speedway will be Racing In Remembrance: Honoring Fallen Heroes, Veterans, and Active-Duty Personnel. All active-duty military and veterans will get in free when purchasing tickets at the gate.

The event will also feature a special pre-race ceremony in honor of Memorial Day. Among the participants are the South Boston American Legion Post 8 Honor Guard which will perform a rifle salute, and the Halifax County High School JROTC Color Guard which will conduct the Presentation of the Colors.

Advance adult tickets for the Oak River Realty 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, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate only on the day of the event.

The latest news and updates about the Oak River Realty Race Night event and all of 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.