June 7 Event Preview: Pembelton Surging as Midpoint of SBS Late Model Race Slate Looms Ahead with Saturday Twinbill

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, VA (June 5, 2025) – Landon Pembelton is surging as the midway point of South Boston Speedway’s slate of Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races looms ahead with the God’s Pit Crew Race Night event on Saturday night, June 7.

With a win and a runner-up finish in the twin-race event on May 24, the Amelia, Virginia resident moved to within 12 points of division points leader Trevor Ward of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and to within two points of second-place driver Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia entering the twin 75-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races that headline Saturday night’s seven-race card.

“We’re on fire,” Pembelton remarked after his win and second-place finish in twin 75-lap races on May 24. “It feels good to get another win. It’s definitely a monkey off of our back. We’ve been working very hard at this thing, trying to get better each week.”

Pembelton has three Top-3 finishes in his last four starts including the win that marked his first win on the .4-mile oval since early August, 2023 entering the twin 75-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races that headline Saturday night’s God’s Pit Crew Race Night event. He now has six Top-5 finishes in his eight starts and has finished no worse than fourth in his last five starts.

“I think we’re hitting on something,” Pembelton pointed out. “We’re moving in the right direction.”

Pembelton’s recent race results have been much more productive than those earlier in the season.

“Getting the win was huge,” he said. “It was a big confidence boost for our whole group. We struggled at the beginning of the year and have been getting better each race. It’s been a work in progress. We’ve been digging after it. Realistically, I feel like we’ve come from being a third-place to fifth-place car to challenging for wins.”

“Peyton is obviously on fire right now, and Trevor is as well,” Pembelton continued. “We’re working at it, and I think we’re making gains every week. The goal is to make gains every week and get the car as best we can.”

Pembelton noted that qualifying is an area he and the team need to work on as track position has become paramount.

“We still need to be better in qualifying,” he pointed out. “Track position is what we fight more than anything. If we can qualify just two or three positions ahead of where we have been it will show up in the race. If we get our qualifying down, it will be pretty big.”

With a new wave of momentum behind him Pembelton is looking forward to Saturday night’s twinbill and is looking forward to the hotter weather that comes with summer.

“When it starts getting hotter outside, I think we’re going to come on fire,” Pembelton remarked. “These guys have a lot of grip in the cars right now. We almost have too much grip in it. We have to be on the edge to make a bunch of speed. When you hit the middle of June to September it’s going to be hot and the track’s going to be slick. I’m really looking forward to that. I think we’re going to be good once we get to the hotter months.

Three sets of twin races are set for Saturday night’s God’s Pit Crew Race Night event at South Boston Speedway. Along with the twin 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division, fans will see twin 30-lap races for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division and twin 15-lap races for the Dollar General Hornets Division. The twin-race event for the Dollar General Hornets Division will be only the second twin-race event for the division in the division’s history. A 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division will round out the night’s racing action.

South Boston Speedway will observe First Responders Appreciation Night with Saturday night’s God’s Pit Crew Race Night event with first responders including police, fire, EMS, 911 dispatch, and healthcare workers being admitted free at the gate on race night with valid ID. A pre-race parade lap featuring police, fire and EMS vehicles will be held as part of the night’s pre-race ceremonies.

Advance adult tickets for Saturday night’s God’s Pit Crew 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, military personnel, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate only on the day of the event.

The tentative race-day schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m. and practice starting at 3:25 p.m. Frontstretch grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. and backstretch and Turn 4 trackside parking gates open at 5:30 p.m. Qualifying starts at 6 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

The latest news and updates about the God’s Pit Crew 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.