Lee Pulliam Returns to Race at South Boston Speedway After Six-Year Hiatus

Pulliam to Compete in March 21 SBS Season-Opening NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Race

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, VA (March 15, 2026) – It was six-and-a-half years ago, September 7, 2019, that Lee Pulliam last drove into Victory Lane as a driver. The victory came at South Boston Speedway on a night on which he staged a dominant performance in winning the pole and sweeping a twin-race event.

The Alton, Virginia resident has not raced at South Boston Speedway since the end of the 2019 season and would relish the experience of returning to Victory Lane at the legendary speedway.

He will get that opportunity when he returns to the legendary oval for the 100-lap Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division race that will be part of the Saturday, March 21 season-opening URW Community Federal Credit Union Race Day event.

“I couldn’t be any more excited,” Pulliam said of making his first start at South Boston Speedway as a driver since the aforementioned September 7, 2019 event where he scored his most recent victory.

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“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. Where the grandstand they named after me today is where I used to sit and watch races.

Lee Pulliam poses with the trophy after his last Late Model Stock Car victory to date, which came at South Boston Speedway on September 7, 2019.

“All of it is surreal,” he continued. “I had so much success there over the years. It’s always great to race in front of your hometown crowd, the people from Roxboro and South Boston, and have a lot of local support.”

Pulliam, a four-time NASCAR Weekly Series National Champion, a six-time winner of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200, and a two-time winner of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown, has 52 career NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division wins at South Boston Speedway, which puts him third on the track’s all-time career wins list.

He had not driven a racecar for five years when he climbed behind the wheel for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway last September and finished second, just inches short of edging Landon Pembelton for the win.

“We pretty much had that race won and a late caution got us,” Pulliam explained.

Lee Pulliam hoists the trophy in Victory Lane after his Late Model win at South Boston Speedway on August, 24, 2019.

Pulliam drove a car out of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s stable to a second-place finish in last fall’s Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park, leading all but 18 laps of the race. He also won the pole and finished second in the CARS Tour Late Model race at Southern National Motorsports Park on February 28.

What it would mean to win the season-opening 100-lap race at South Boston Speedway, Pulliam said, “would be hard to describe. It will be one heck of a celebration if we get it done. It’s been almost seven years since I’ve gone to Victory Lane. I went five years without driving anything.”

Photos by Blake Harris

Pulliam is preparing for a lifelong dream opportunity to drive the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Martinsville Speedway on March 28. Competing in the March 21 event at South Boston Speedway is part of his preparation for the Martinsville race.

“I scheduled all of these races before my Martinsville debut just to try to get as sharp as I could before going to do something I always dreamed of in the O’Reilly Series,” Pulliam explained. “I’m going to take the South Boston race on the 21st and use it to get a rep in and be able to race in front of our hometown crowd. I want to put on a good show for everybody at South Boston, and hopefully all of our South Boston fans will come to Martinsville and support us the next weekend.”

When asked what led him to get back behind the wheel again, Pulliam said, “I never wanted to quit to start with. I was trying to take care of my family and finances. The passion of racing has never gone anywhere for me. I don’t think there is a person on pit road that loves it any more than I do. I love being behind the wheel. It’s just such an expensive sport.

“Almost winning Martinsville last year and then getting a call from Dale Jr. about driving his O’Reilly’s car put all of this into motion,” continued Pulliam. “If I am going to do something I’ve always dreamed of I want to give 110 percent. The only way to give 110 percent at Martinsville Speedway is to be as sharp as I can. I feel like running these local races will help tune me back in. I went five years without running a race so it’s pretty incredible I’ve had a shot to win every race I’ve run since I came back. That’s not an easy task, especially in the races we’ve been running.”

Along with the 100-lap race for the Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division race the season-opening March 21 URW Community Federal Credit Union Race Day event will feature the Third Annual Pace-O-Matic King of the Modifieds powered by Dominion Energy race, a 125-lap race for tour-type Modifieds paying $20,000 to win. A 35-lap race for the competitors of the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club will round out the season-opening event.

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.