Peyton Sellers insists there is no pressure on him as he looks toward South Boston Speedway’s final points event of the 2023 season, the 150-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division race paying $5,000 to win that will headline the Halifax Farm Bureau Championship Night Race on Saturday night, September 2.
Sellers, a two-time NASCAR national champion and six-time South Boston Speedway track champion, trails 18-year-old Carter Langley of Zebulon, North Carolina by a narrow three-point margin entering Saturday night’s event.
The Danville, Virginia resident has been involved in close championship chases before and has seen multiple title scenarios during his racing career. His view is the pressure does not rest on him – it instead rests on Langley.
“I’m in a good situation,” Sellers pointed out. “There is no pressure on me. We’ve had some bad races, and by the grace of God we’re still in contention for the championship, so the pressure is on him. I’ve just got to go out and do what I’ve got to do. I’ve got to wait on him to falter because we have faltered some. He (Langley) has got to not falter.”
Sellers appears to have the upper hand when it comes to momentum. He has logged four Top-5 finishes in his last five starts including wins in the last two races at the .4-mile oval. Langley’s second-place finish behind Sellers in the 100-lap race on August 19 was his first Top-5 finish since July 15 when he had a runner-up finish and a win in a twin-race event.
“It feels good to be hitting our stride here at the end of the year, but with the bad luck we’ve had we just put ourselves out of contention a little bit in points,” Sellers remarked.
“We’ve had a flat tire. We got caught up in a wreck when Trevor Ward blew up. In the 200-lap race on July 1 we had a flat tire when I was running third. Then, I got caught up in a wreck trying to come back up through the field. We’ve had our share of bad luck, and all we can do right now is try to do what we’ve done the last two races.”
The turnaround in Sellers’ fortunes started a month or so ago.
“About a month ago we hit on some things that really started helping,” Sellers said. “We were able to find some speed. We struggled a little bit earlier in the year being there in the long run. Carter passed us late in the race in a couple of races. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been able to stay consistent throughout the race.”
That was demonstrated in Sellers’ victory in the 100-lap race on August 19.
“It was a good warm-up for the 150-lapper to be able to see how the car was going to stay under us for that race,” explained Sellers. “I was very happy. The car stayed very consistent the whole race. At the end, Carter was kind of tracking pace with us, but we were able to fire off well on the restarts.”
Championships are in play in all four of South Boston Speedway’s NASCAR-sanctioned racing divisions in Saturday night’s Halifax Farm Bureau Championship Night Race. Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia is looking to capture his first career South Boston Speedway Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division title. He leads teenager Carter Russo of Rougemont, North Carolina by 21 points entering the final points race of the season. Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia is looking to take home a third career Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division championship. He holds a 25-point lead over Scott Phillips of Halifax, Virginia in the division point standings. Kendall Milam of Keeling, Virginia is looking to claim his first career championship in the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division. Milam holds a 14-point lead over D.J. Moser of Ringgold, Virginia entering the season’s final points race. Milam and three others have a shot at the title.
Saturday night’s 150-lap race for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division paying $5,000 to the winner will be the focal point of the night. Also scheduled Saturday night are a 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 Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.
A dazzling Labor Day fireworks show sponsored by Italian Delight Family Restaurant of South Boston, Virginia will be held following the last race of the night.
Advance adult general admission tickets are priced at $17 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com or by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
Tickets at the gate on race day will be $20 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $17 each at the gate on race day.
Frontstretch spectator gates open at 3:20 p.m. Practice will begin at 3:30 p.m. and qualifying will start at 6 p.m. The first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
The latest news and updates for fans and competitors about the Halifax Farm Bureau Championship Night Race and other events at South Boston Speedway can be found on the speedway’s website and the track’s social media channels. Information may also be obtained by phoning the speedway at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
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