Rundstrom, Brunelli Ready to Fight for South Boston Speedway Limited Sportsman Title

Season-Long Battle Separated by Two Points Heading into September 12 Finale; Dawson Still Mathematically Alive

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, VA (September 4, 2026) – Two teenagers. Two points. One race.

The South Boston Speedway Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division championship comes down to the season’s final points race – a 50-lap affair that will part of the Halifax County Farm Bureau Championship Night event on Saturday night, September 12.

Brian Rundstrom Jr. of Green Bay, Virginia holds a slim two-point lead over Tristan Brunelli of Powhatan, Virginia in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division championship chase entering the season’s final points race.

The two 16-year-olds have one goal entering the season finale – WIN. Both drivers have shown their prowess in recent weeks. In the three events prior to the Aug. 29 event, they alternated finishing one-two to each other. They have also swapped the points lead.

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Brunelli held a two-point lead over Rundstrom heading into the August 29 event, but the points lead flipped to Rundstrom’s favor when he won the August 29 event while Brunelli had to settle for a fourth-place finish.

“We had a really good piece, and the win is exactly the momentum we need to head into the last race for the championship,” said Rundstrom who has four wins on the season, has captured two victories in his last three starts and has finished no worse than third in his last five starts.

“Go win is all I’ve got to do.”

Tristan Brunelli poses in Victory Lane after his Budweiser Limited Sportsman win on August 22. It was his division-leading fifth of 2026.

Brunelli enters the season’s final points race with momentum as well. He has five victories on the season including three wins and two runner-up finishes in his last six starts.

“We’ve just got to come into the next race, do our thing, and win the race,” Brunelli remarked. “If the points fall our way, they fall our way. We’ve just got to do the best we can, try to execute to the best of our ability, and finish out the last race with a win.”

There are multiple scenarios for the championship. If Rundstrom wins the race he will win the championship. Should Brunelli win the race from a normal starting spot and Rundstrom finishes second the result is a tie. In that case, Brunelli would win the championship on a tiebreaker, having six wins as compared to four for Rundstrom.

If neither driver wins the race and Rundstrom finishes one position behind Brunelli Rundstrom will win the championship. If Rundstrom finishes two positions behind Brunelli a tie will result with Brunelli winning the title on the tiebreaker, having five wins to Rundstrom’s four.

Brian Rundstrom Jr. poses in Victory Lane after his Budweiser Limited Sportsman win on August 29.

The scenarios would seemingly put a lot of pressure on the two young drivers. Yet, both insist they are not letting it cloud their approach or mindset.

“We just plan to go out and do exactly what we did last time,” Rundstrom pointed out. “That’s all we need to do. It’s going to be all offense.”

As for Brunelli, “there’s no pressure. We’ve just got to maintain, keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia. Dawson, who led the championship standings most of the season, fell upon unfortunate circumstances has a shot the division title – albeit a long one. He stands in third place, 11 points behind Rundstrom and nine points behind Brunelli.

Dawson has struggled in recent weeks, losing ground in the division championship chase since his car was destroyed in a crash during the July 11 event. Since the crash he and his team have worked hard to get a handle on his new car, but results have been modest. His best finish with the new car has been a sixth-place finish in the August 29 event.

Needless to say, this has been a pressure-filled season for the veteran driver.

Drew Dawson celebrates with brother Justin after winning his first race of 2026.

“I feel like the pressure has been on since the first race,” Dawson remarked during a recent interview. “The competition is very tough. Everybody wants to get a big piece of that (championship) pie.

An unfortunate circumstance would have to befall both Rundstrom and Brunelli for Dawson to win the championship. If Dawson wins the race, Brunelli would have to finish 10th or worse and Rundstrom would have to finish 12th or worse.

Champions in the track’s three other divisions will also be crowned on Halifax County Farm Bureau Championship Night. Trevor Ward of Winston-Salem, North Carolina holds an 11-point edge over eight-time South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia in the Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division.

Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia has all but locked up the track’s Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division title as he holds a 23-point lead over Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia.

The Dollar General Hornets Division championship is very much in play as Landon Milam of Keeling, Virginia stands with a narrow six-point margin over Chris Penick of Evington, Virginia and a 19-point lead over Cameron Moss of Danville, Virginia.

Four races are set for the Saturday night, September 12 Halifax County Farm Bureau Championship Night event at South Boston Speedway, the last event of the speedway’s championship points season.

A 100-lap race for the Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division will highlight the night’s racing action. Also slated are the 50-lap race 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.

Fans will have the opportunity to meet the competing drivers during an on-track autograph session that will run from 5:30 p.m. until 6:15 p.m. Following the final race of the night fans will be treated to a colorful fireworks show presented by Italian Delight Family Restaurant of South Boston, Virginia.

The Saturday, September 12 event schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m. A drivers’ meeting is slated for 2:45 p.m. Practice will start at 3:25 p.m., frontstretch grandstand spectator gates will open at 3:30 p.m., and trackside parking gates are set to open at 5 p.m., Qualifying will begin at 5 p.m., the on-track autograph session starts at 5:30 p.m. pre-race ceremonies will begin at 6:40 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag 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 military 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.