Ward Wins First Late Model Championship, Weddell Wins First Race, Capping Off Incredible Season at South Boston Speedway

Rundstrom Jr., Layne, Milam Earn 2026 SBS Division Titles

By Joe Chandler

Director, Public Relations

South Boston Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON VA (September 13, 2026) – Trevor Ward had to wait an extra day, but finally achieved a dream – winning a South Boston Speedway championship.

The 2026 South Boston Speedway Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division championship, Ward’s first career track championship, was worth $20,000. The payout was from Hitachi Energy from the speedway’s $75,000 Championship Loyalty Bonus Program powered by Hitachi Energy and EMPOWER Broadband.

It was another milestone for the Winston-Salem, North Carolina resident who earlier this season topped the career win mark his father, former standout Dean Ward, had set at South Boston Speedway during his career. Ward had four wins at the .4-mile oval this season and has 10 career wins at the speedway.

“I’m so glad to be able to win my first championship and to win it here at South Boston Speedway,” Ward remarked. “I never would have believed I would be a South Boston Speedway Late Model Stock Car champion. I’m super glad to be able to do that.

“It’s going to be one to remember,” Ward continued. “It’s been a dogfight all year. The competition was more stout than last year. It feels great to rebound from being one position and two points shy last year.”

Ward held an 11-point edge over eight-time and defending South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia entering the 100-lap Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division race that headlined the Halifax County Farm Bureau Championship Sunday event at South Boston Speedway. The track’s championship event was originally scheduled for Saturday night but was postponed due to weather and rescheduled for Sunday afternoon.

He finished fifth while Sellers finished second in the race, giving Ward the title by an unofficial eight-point margin.

While Sunday was a career day for Ward, it was also a huge day for 16-year-old Conner “C-Weed” Weddell of Centerville, Maryland. After having rung up seven second-place finishes and six third-place finishes in his 19 starts this season, the teenager earned his first career South Boston Speedway Late Model Stock Car Division victory in the track’s final points race of the season.

“We finally got the deal done,” Weddell said with a smile. “I had an amazing racecar from Tyler Hughes. We really work on the car five days a week. We’ve had good results all year, and I’m glad to finally get the first one (win) out of the way.”

Weddell sped past Ward to take the lead on lap 41and led the final 51 circuits, finishing 2.596 seconds ahead of Sellers in the caution-free race.

“That was the longest 51 laps of my life,” Weddell said. “I can’t really describe the emotions I’m going through. I’m super grateful to everybody who allows me to do this, and I’m super glad to be able to race here at this beautiful facility here at South Boston Speedway.”

Car owner Tyler Hughes said he is “insanely proud” of his young driver and the effort everybody on the team puts in.

“We came so close (to winning) the first race of the season,” Hughes noted of the opener when Weddell almost pulled off an upset over Lee Pulliam. “It’s been a real grind racing second and third every week. The last couple of weeks we’ve been digging in trying to see what we can do better.”

Hughes noted that down the final stretches of the race his main job was keeping Weddell calm.

“Once we realized Peyton really wasn’t catching us the message was to keep stringing laps together and pray that a caution doesn’t come out.”

Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia finished third, with Bruce Anderson of South Boston, Virginia finishing fourth and Ward rounding the top five finishers. Bobby McCarty, Blake Stallings, Lane Woods, Brandon Pierce and Thomas Scott completed the top 10 finishers in the 15-car field.

Rundstrom Wins Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division Title

In one of the closest championship points battles in the division’s history, Brian Rundstrom Jr. of Green Bay, Virginia won the South Boston Speedway Budweiser Limited Sportsman championship. He received a $3,000 payout from EMPOWER Broadband as part of the speedway’s Championship Loyalty Bonus Program powered by Hitachi Energy and EMPOWER Broadband.

Rundstrom and Tristan Brunelli of Powhatan, Virginia entered Sunday afternoon’s 50-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race separated by just two points. Brunelli won the pole in qualifying and led the first 22 laps. The came disaster.

The two teenagers were side-by-side battling for the lead when they ran up on the slower car driven by Jared Dawson. Dawson’s car got out of shape, was tagged hard by Brunelli who was in the middle of the three-car sandwich and spun into the fourth turn wall.

Brunelli was sidelined due to heavy damage to his car and was left with a 16th-place finish. Rundstrom inherited the lead and drove away from the field after a restart that followed a caution period with six laps to go in the race. He finished 1.788-seconds ahead of runner-up Jacob Derrick of Hampton, Virginia to claim his fifth win of the season and the division title.

Chris Elliott of Bullock, North Carolina, Stuart Crews of Long Island, Virginia and Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers in the 17-car field.

Layne Wins Fourth Career Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division Title

Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia captured his fourth career Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division championship Sunday afternoon at South Boston Speedway, needing only to start the 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race to secure the title.

Layne, who racked up eight wins this season, had a tough afternoon, finishing sixth in Sunday afternoon’s 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race. Nevertheless, it was good enough to secure the division championship and a $1,000 payout from EMPOWER Broadband as part of the speedway’s Championship Loyalty Bonus Program powered by Hitachi Energy and EMPOWER Broadband.

Jay Hemenway of Wake Forest, North Carolina won Sunday’s race, taking the lead from pole winner Jarrett Johnson of Danville, Virginia on the ninth lap and driving to a 1.842-second win over runner-up Caleb Sanford of South Boston, Virginia.

Johnson finished third, Andrew Turner of Sutherlin, Virginia took fourth place and Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers.

Landon Milam Captures Dollar General Hornets Division Crown

Landon Milam of Keeling, Virginia had a big day Sunday, celebrating his first career South Boston Speedway Dollar General Hornets Division championship, and will receive a $500 payout from EMPOWER Broadband as part of the speedway’s Championship Loyalty Bonus Program powered by Hitachi Energy and EMPOWER Broadband.

Milam entered Sunday afternoon’s 20-lap Dollar General Hornets Division race with a six-point lead over Chris Penick of Evington, Virginia. He finished third in the race while Penick, from Evington, Virginia, finished ninth.

Cameron Goble of Ringgold, Virginia won the race, giving him two wins in the division this season. The win was his 11th career win in the division and vaulted him into sole possession of second place on the division’s all-time career win list.

Aaron Stoltz finished second 3.192 seconds behind Goble, with Milam finishing third, Nicholas Sykes taking fourth place and Braden Humphries of South Boston, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.

Unofficial Results

Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Feature

1 2 8W Weddell, Conner

2 8 26 Sellers, Peyton

3 7 0 Pembelton, Landon

4 5 9 Anderson, Bruce

5 1 77W Ward, Trevor

6 4 41 McCarty, Bobby

7 6 77S Stallings, Blake

8 3 92 Woods, Lane

9 9 2 Pierce, Brandon

10 11 8S Scott, Thomas

11 10 12 Peregoy, Zach

12 13 50 Pittman, Raymond

13 14 22 Reaves, Barry

14 12 42 Horton, Chris Jr

15 15 22X Winslow, Eric

Budweiser Limited Sportsman Feature

1 3 88R Rundstrom, Brian

2 5 88D Derrick, Jacob

3 4 91 Elliott, Chris

4 11 45 Crews, Stuart

5 10 8D Dawson, Drew

6 12 19 Davis, Bob

7 7 5 Peregoy, Beverly

8 8 8M McGowan, Landon

9 2 1 Holdren, Dennis

10 6 33 Rogers, Dan

11 14 88 Dawson, Justin

12 17 15 Housman, Tony

13 13 2 Daniel, Trace III

14 9 05 Hilton, Collin

15 16 22S Penick, Jordaine

16 1 18 Brunelli, Tristan

17 15 01 Dawson, Jared

Southside Disposal Pure Stock Feature

1 3 12 Hemenway, Jay

2 5 31 Sanford, Caleb

3 1 88 Johnson, Jarrett

4 2 76 Turner, Andrew

5 8 63 Davis, Dillon

6 4 9 Layne, Johnny

7 6 11 Reaves, Barry

8 11 10 Mayo, Anna

9 7 83 Milam, Kendall

10 10 6 Reaves, Zach

11 9 17 Allred, Joe III

Dollar General Hornets Feature

1 1 18 Goble, Cameron

2 3 02 Stoltz, Aaron

3 2 83 Milam, Landon

4 8 27 Sykes, Nicholas

5 6 71 Humphries, Braden

6 4 29 Moss, Cameron

7 9 4 Winslow, Eric

8 10 76 Armstead, Kristian

9 7 24 Penick, Chris

10 5 83C Milam, Kendall

11 11 14 McCauley, Mark

12 12 15 Kelly, Wendi

13 13 12 Ruotolo, Andrea

Next Event at South Boston Speedway

The champions of the zMAX CARS Tour will be crowned when the series visits South Boston Speedway on Saturday, October 17 for the AutosByNelson.com Championship Night.

The stars and cars of the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour will be featured in a 100-lap race, and the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour will be featured in a 125-lap race, with the champions being crowned following the two races.

The October 17 event day schedule has practice going from 9:25 a.m. until 11 a.m. Qualifying is set to begin at 2:40 p.m. An on-track autograph session is set from 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Driver introductions are slated for 5 p.m. Pre-race ceremonies will begin at 5:20 p.m. and the first race will get the green flag at 5:30 p.m.

Adult advance tickets are priced at $25 each. Adult tickets at the gate on race day are priced at $30 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, veterans and military personnel, first responders, healthcare workers and students with ID may purchase tickets for $25 each at the gate on race day. Kids ages 12 and under are admitted free. Suite passes for the event are not available as they are sold out.