The chase for South Boston Speedway’s 41stNASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division championship has boiled down to a two-driver battle as competitors look toward the 150-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division race paying $5,000 to win that headlines the August 31 Halifax County Farm Bureau Championship Night event at South Boston Speedway.
It will be either two-time NASCAR national champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia or fellow Danville, Virginia resident Blake Stallings taking home the division championship at the end of the Halifax County Farm Bureau Championship Night event.
Adding to the championship night event is the return of NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor Jeb Burton of Halifax, Virginia to his hometown track. Burton, a two-time winner on the NASCAR Xfinity Series and a winner on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will be driving the No. 27 Chevrolet sponsored by Talbert’s Building Supply, State Water Heaters, Capital City Towing and Grand Spring Premium Spring Water.
Burton, who drives for Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington, South Carolina and fly back to South Boston to compete in Saturday night’s race.
“I’m excited to be able to race at South Boston Speedway this weekend,” Burton said. “It’s going to be interesting, and a long grueling day for me as I’ll practice, qualify, and race the Xfinity car at Darlington and right after that race try to get home and start in the back of the field for the Late Model race. Thankfully it’s 150 laps, so that’ll be exciting. I’m going to get Trey Crews to practice the car, just to kind of see where we are on Saturday.”
Sellers, a five-time winner at South Boston Speedway this season, is seeking a record-tying seventh South Boston Speedway NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division title. He leads Stallings, a three-time winner this season, by 26 points in the championship points chase.
While he does not have the championship secured, Sellers is in a good position entering the final points race of the season at South Boston Speedway.
“I feel like we’re in good shape,” Sellers remarked after posting two Top-5 finishes in the August 17 twin-race event at South Boston Speedway. “It (the championship) is a little closer to happening now. We put a lot of work into this season. We’ve put a lot of emphasis on South Boston Speedway, and it seems like it’s paying off.”
While Sellers has his eyes focused on the division championship, there is also the matter of the 150-lap race and its big winner’s prize.
“I think we just go race, try to win, and be there at end,” he noted.
Stallings is having his best-ever season at South Boston Speedway. His win on April 13 snapped a five-year winless streak. His 2024 record at South Boston Speedway includes three wins, one pole win, nine Top-5 finishes and Top-10 finishes in all 13 of his starts.
As far as momentum goes heading into the 150-lap race, Stallings won the first race of the twin-race event on August 17 and finished fifth in the nightcap after starting at the rear of the field, giving him three straight Top-5 finishes.
Stallings said after the August 17 event his priority entering Saturday’s 150-lap race is protecting his second-place position in the division point standings as his margin over third place driver Mike Looney of Catawba, Virginia is only seven points.
“I feel like Peyton pretty much has the championship locked up,” Stallings noted. “At the same time, it takes a huge weight off my shoulders. I’m no longer going to be points racing against Peyton. I will be a little on defense to try to hang onto second place in front of Mike (Looney). We’re just going to come back, have fun, and compete for a win.”
Stallings said winning the 150-lap andthe $5,000 winner’s prize would be a great way to finish the South Boston Speedway points season.
“It would be very grand to win on championship night to cap off our season here,” Stallings said. “I don’t know what would boost our confidence more than that. I would hope that would be enough to give us enough momentum to build our program even stronger over the winter and allow us to come back, hopefully be a little more competitive earlier in the season next year and see if we can get a little bit of a gap in points next year.”
In looking at the division point standings, Looney likely would finish no worse than third in the standings. With only a seven-point gap between he and Stallings, Looney could grab second place in the standings if misfortune befalls Stallings.
Stacy Puryear of South Boston, Virginia is in fourth place 68 points behind the leader, and Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina stands in fifth place 70 points behind Sellers. Kyle Dudley of Roanoke, Virginia occupies sixth place, 80 points down to Sellers and 10 points behind Borst. Dudley has a shot at working his way into the top five of the standings.
In addition to the 150-lap race for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division, the Saturday, August 31 Halifax County Farm Bureau Championship Night event will include a 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, twin 15-lap races for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division, and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.
Advance tickets for the Saturday, August 31 Halifax County Farm Bureau Championship Night event are priced at $17 each. Advance tickets 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.
The event schedule for the Saturday, August 31 Halifax County Farm Bureau Championship Night event has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m. Practice will begin at 3:25 p.m. and run until 5:05 p.m. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 3:30 p.m. and backstretch and trackside parking gates will open at 5:30 p.m. Qualifying is set for 6 p.m., pre-race ceremonies are slated for 6:45 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
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