Oakley Set to Return to Racing at South Boston Speedway in Saturday Late Model Stock Car Twinbill

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, VA (May 6, 2025) – Veteran Late Model Stock Car driver Josh Oakley will be returning to competition at South Boston Speedway for the first time in almost two years when the region’s top drivers and teams gather for the Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night on Saturday night, May 10 at South Boston Speedway.

Oakley will compete in the twin 75-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races that will headline South Boston Speedway’s first night racing event of the 2025 season. His last race at South Boston Speedway was on September 2, 2023.

The Rougemont, North Carolina resident stepped away from driving last season to take on the role of a crew chief. He is continuing his work as a crew chief this season, serving as crew chief for driver Chase Ellis, the grandson of the late Maurice Hill, a former Late Model Stock Car Division track champion at South Boston Speedway and Orange County Speedway.

With little conflict with Ellis’ racing schedule, the door of opportunity opened for Oakley to get back into the driver’s seat of his own car and compete in select races.

“I’m very excited,” Oakley said of competing in the upcoming twin-race event at South Boston Speedway. “I’ve missed driving so much. I was involved on the crew chief side of things last year. It was very hard to take that step and watch other people, but it was satisfying to help somebody else too. This year I’m doing a little bit of both. I’m being a crew chief and being able to drive a little bit. I’m very excited about it.”

Oakley and his team recently tested his car at South Boston Speedway. The test went well enough that the Rougemont, North Carolina resident plans to compete in the upcoming twinbill.

“We had a really good test,” he pointed out. “I’ve basically rebuilt the car with something totally different as far as setup. We switched to R&S Racecars, and Marcus Richmond and all the people at R&S have been very helpful getting us up to speed.

“We ran (the test) on some hand-me-down tires from guys that took tires off from the CARS Tour race at Orange County the other week,” he continued, “so I wasn’t on good tires. Speed-wise on those old tires, we weren’t very far out from where we should be. The car was driving really well when we left the track. I feel real confident having a week to work on the car and coming back (to race). I feel when we come back, we should be a lot better than we were.”

Oakley pointed out that returning for a twin-race event is a plus for himself and his team.

“I feel it will help us,” he said. “We’re using this first race back as a test session for me and the car. You don’t have to panic if you go out in the first race and you’re not exactly right because you know you’re going to get that second chance. With the way South Boston Speedway does the invert you can kind of pace yourself the first race, see what the car is doing, make swings at it between races, and go back out for the second race. You never know, you might go from being so-so to being really good and having a shot to win a race.”

Oakley, who has four Top-5 finishes and eight Top-10 finishes in 14 starts at South Boston Speedway over the span of the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons, has set modest goals for his return this weekend.

“We’d be happy to come up there and be competitive, finish in the Top-10, not tear anything up, not have any problems, and come away with something to work with,” he said. “I think that’s a reachable goal for us. I’d be very ecstatic if we can get a Top-5 finish for the first time out with the car.”

A six-race card is slated for the Saturday night, May 10 Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night South Boston Speedway. Along with the twin 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division fans will see a 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division, a 20-lap race for the Dollar General Hornets Division and a 35-lap race for the regional touring Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club.

Advance adult tickets for the Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant 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, healthcare workers, 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. Practice will run from 3:25 p.m. until 5:15 p.m. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 3:30 p.m. Group qualifying begins at 6 p.m., pre-race ceremonies are set for 6:45 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 Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant 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.