Pembelton, Ward Split Saturday’s Late Model Twinbill At South Boston Speedway

Trio Of Close Finishes and New 2026 Winners Highlight Track’s First Night Event of Season

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON VA (May 2, 2026) – Landon Pembelton and Trevor Ward traded blows at the head of the field, racing inches apart.

The duo has done this a time or two over the past few years at South Boston Speedway.

On Saturday, it was Pembelton on the high side, Ward on the bottom, as the No. 0 of Pembelton narrowly held him off for the win in the first of two Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock features.

Ward would get his revenge, though, as he nabbed the checkered flag in the second race on Viny’s Italian Restaurant and Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night at South Boston Speedway.

Three drivers earned their first win of the season during the night’s six-race card. Pembelton won the first race of the night’s Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division twinbill to earn his first victory of the season. Nathan Crews took the win in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, earning his first victory of the season, and Landon Milam earned wins number one and two on the season as he swept the twin-race event for the Dollar General Hornets Division.

The first race of the twin 75-lap Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division races that headlined South Boston Speedway’s first night racing event of the season was a barnburner throughout with Pembelton edging Ward in a thrilling two-lap dash to the finish that followed the last of the race’s two caution periods.

“I knew Trevor was going to be tough because he’s extremely good on restarts,” Pembelton pointed out after having led all 75 laps enroute to the win. “I knew he was going to take me down in there and we were going to drive deep into the corner to see who could get an edge. I had about a half car length on him going into turn one and I was able to walk away from him a little bit. The 8 car (Conner Weddell) got to his inside and broke his momentum, and that really helped me a ton.

“It was going to be a dogfight either way, the Amelia, Virginia resident added. “I’ll be honest, it was absolute war. We raced hard, raced clean and rubbed a little bit. That’s just good short-track racing.”

“That’s definitely going to be one for the (record) books,” Ward pointed out. “I wish I could have gotten by Pembelton a little earlier, but he was so strong on the top. It was a hard-fought battle but a well-deserved win for him. I knew his time was coming and he would execute that.”

Weddell, from Centerville, Maryland, finished third behind Pembelton and Ward with two-time NASCAR national champion and eight-time South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia finishing fourth and Californian Chase Burgeson rounding out the top five finishers in the 18-car field.

Ward won the second race but had to fight his way through the field after starting ninth as a result of an inversion of the top 10 finishers of the first race. A late-race caution on lap 67 gave Ward an opportunity to challenge Tyler Matthews of Richlands, North Carolina for the lead.

Another caution, that one with three laps to go created a late-race restart. Ward was able to grab the lead, hold it for the last three laps and fend off Matthews to earn his second win of the season.

“I started pretty far back,” Ward noted. “When I got to second, I was like “I think I’m out of the running, I can’t get anymore.’ We happened to get two cautions late and I was able to regroup and get the edge. It was a real heated battle. It’s awesome to come out here to South Boston Speedway with this great competition and these great competitors. We always put on great shows. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

A special note for Ward was that his win allowed him to tie his father, Dean Ward for the number of wins on South Boston Speedway’s all-time Late Model Stock Car win list. Both have eight wins.

“He’s always told me I have big shoes to fill,” Ward said. “It was awesome to be able to execute that deal and be able to say I tied my dad in all-time wins. Hopefully I can keep on climbing.”

Weddell finished third, Pembelton rallied from his 10th-place starting position to finish fourth and Sellers rounded out the top five finishers.

Nathan Crews Takes Win In 50-Lap Limited Sportsman Race

Nathan Crews of Long Island, Virginia earned his first win of the season in the 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division that was part of Saturday night’s Viny’s Italian Restaurant and Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night event at South Boston Speedway.

Crews survived a tense battle with Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia to earn the win in the race that saw the lead swap hands twice among the two drivers.

Tristan Brunelli of Powhatan, Virginia finished third behind Crews and Dawson with Adam Murray of Bailey, North Carolina finishing fourth and Eden, North Carolina resident Collin Hilton rounding out the top five finishers.

Johnny Layne Earns Win In 25-Lap Pure Stock Race

Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia took the lead from pole winner Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia on the fifth lap and held off Davis to win the 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race Saturday night at South Boston Speedway.

The win was Layne’s second of the season. He led 21 laps of the 25-lap race.

B.J. Reaves of South Boston, Virginia finished third, Jarrett Johnson of Danville, Virginia finished fourth and Kendall Milam of Keeling, Virginia completed the top five finishers.

Landon Milam Sweeps Hornets Division Twinbill

The first twin-race event of the season for the Dollar General Hornets Division was an exciting one with Landon Milam of Keeling, Virginia winning both twin 15-lap races for his first triumphs of the season.

Milam started on the pole and led all 15 laps in winning the first race. Chris Penick of Rustburg, Virginia finished second with Cameron Moss of Danville, Virginia, Kristian Armstead of Martinsville, Virginia and Max Sangillo of Farmville, Virginia completing the top five finishers.

Milam started fifth in the second race, passed Penick for the lead with three laps to go and completed the sweep of the two races. Moss finished second, Mack Tatum took third place, Jarrett Milam of Keeling, Virginia finished fourth and Jason DeCarlo of Nelson, Virginia finished fifth.

Unofficial Results

Hitachi Energy Late Models - Feature 1

1 0 Pembelton, Landon

2 77W Ward, Trevor

3 8W Weddell, Conner

4 26 Sellers, Peyton

5 22C Burgeson, Chase

6 77 Stallings, Blake

7 00 Burrow, Chase

8 1 Grady, Andrew

9 92 Woods, Lane

10 63 Matthews, Tyler

11 47 Music, Ryley

12 6 McCarty, Bobby

13 17 Myers, Jason

14 12 Peregoy, Zach

15 57 Johnson, Chase

16 77C Crews, Trey III

17 01 Gullie, Camden

18 22 Winslow, Eric

Hitachi Energy Late Models - Feature 2

1 77W Ward, Trevor

2 63 Matthews, Tyler

3 8W Weddell, Conner

4 0 Pembelton, Landon

5 26 Sellers, Peyton

6 77 Stallings, Blake

7 6 McCarty, Bobby

8 1 Grady, Andrew

9 00 Burrow, Chase

10 77C Crews, Trey III

11 47 Music, Ryley

12 17 Myers, Jason

13 57 Johnson, Chase

14 12 Peregoy, Zach

15 92 Woods, Lane

16 22C Burgeson, Chase

17 22 Winslow, Eric

Budweiser Limited Sportsman Feature

1 3 Crews, Nathan

2 8 Dawson, Drew

3 18 Brunelli, Tristan

4 81 Murray, Adam

5 05 Hilton, Collin

6 08 Dettor, Austin

7 5 Slagle, Eddie

8 51 Pittman, Jason

9 5 Peregoy, Bev

10 33 Rogers, Dan

11 2 Daniel, Trace

12 22 Winslow, Eric

13 8 McGowan, Landon

14 88 Dawson, Justin

15 62 Mountcase, Ross

16 1 Holdren, Dennis

17 88 Rundstrom Jr., Brian

Southside Disposal Pure Stocks Feature

1 9 Layne, Johnny

2 63 Davis, Dillon

3 11 Reaves, Barry

4 88 Johnson, Jarrett

5 28 Milam, Kendall

6 12 Hemenway, Jay

7 9 Sanford, Jacob

8 17 Allred, Joe III

9 76 Turner, Andrew

10 10 Mayo, Anna

11 31 Sanford, Caleb

12 77 Reaves, Zach

Dollar General Hornets - Feature 1

1 83 Milam, Landon

2 24 Penick, Chris

3 29 Moss, Cameron

4 76 Armstead, Kristian

5 33 Sangillo, Christian

6 0 Tatum, Mack

7 12 Ruotolo, Andrea

8 88 Milam, Jarrett

9 51 Davis, Dustin

10 54 Decarlo, Jason

11 69 Matthews, Breyer

Dollar General Hornets - Feature 2

1 83 Milam, Landon

2 29 Moss, Cameron

3 0 Tatum, Mack

4 88 Milam, Jarrett

5 54 Decarlo, Jason

6 33 Sangillo, Christian

7 12 Ruotolo, Andrea

8 24 Penick, Chris

9 76 Armstead, Kristian

Next Event At South Boston Speedway

NASCAR Local Racing Series powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts action returns to South Boston Speedway on Saturday night, May 16 with the Feed Halifax Driving to End Hunger Race Night event featuring twin races for three of track’s four NASCAR-sanctioned racing divisions.

The Feed Halifax Driving to End Hunger Race Night event will be headlined by twin 75-lap races for the Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division. The seven-race card will also feature twin 30-lap races for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, twin 15-lap races for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Dollar General Hornets Division.

The Saturday, May 16 event schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m., 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 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.