Six Virginia natives were formally inducted into the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame and South Boston Speedway’s 2024 division champions and award winners were honored Thursday night during the South Boston Speedway Awards Banquet.
Approximately $30,000 in awards were presented during the event held at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, Virginia.
The six Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees included former NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Rudd who held the NASCAR Cup Series record for consecutive starts for a decade and is known as one of the few successful driver/owners in NASCAR’s modern era, and Cathy Rice, only the second woman to become a general manager at a NASCAR-sanctioned speedway and the first woman to be inducted into the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame.
“I’m at a loss for words because I can’t express how I feel,” Rice said. “I am very honored to be the first female to be inducted into the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame. Nobody knows until they walk down that path.”
Four major motorsports personalities were inducted posthumously. They included Robert “Red” Byron, who won NASCAR’s first-ever race and went on to win NASCAR’s first-ever season championship, Joe Weatherly, who won the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 1962 and 1963, noted dirt-track racer Tommy Bare who won several major dirt-track races and won multiple track championships at seven different tracks throughout the region, and Emanuel Zervakis, who, as a driver, raced in three different NASCAR racing divisions, was an innovative racecar builder and owner, and a track promotor.
South Boston Speedway Awards
After having been the runner-up in the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division in each of the two previous seasons, Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia earned a record-tying seventh South Boston Speedway NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division championship in 2024.
In winning the championship, the two-time NASCAR national champion tied former seven-time track champion David Blankenship of Moseley, Virginia for the most championships at the popular Virginia oval.
“It’s been a long time coming, after having finishing second the last two years,” Sellers remarked after season finale.
“To tie David Blankenship is very, very special in my heart and my brother, H.C.’s, heart. We grew up watching him and thinking a lot of him. For us to be able to do this and represent Halifax County and South Boston Speedway as champions means a lot to me.”
Consistency was a hallmark of Sellers’ championship effort. His season record included a division-high five wins, one pole win, a division-high 13 Top-5 finishes and 14 Top-10 finishes in his 14 starts. He also led a division-best 270 laps.
“Consistency is what it’s all about,” Sellers pointed out. “Our consistency was better this year. We didn’t have any wrecks this season, and completed almost all of the laps.”
Joining Sellers in celebrating track championships were Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division Champion Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia who won the division crown for the second season in a row, and first-time champions, B.J. Reaves of South Boston, Virginia in the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and Jordaine Penick of Meherrin, Virginia in the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.
After having been the division runner-up two seasons in a row, Myers won his first career Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division championship in 2023 and repeated as champion in 2024 by winning one of the closest division title battles in the track’s history.
Myers won the season’s final race to edge division runner-up Eric Winslow of Pelham, North Carolina by one point to win the championship. Myers is now one title shy of matching the three South Boston Speedway Limited Sportsman Division championships won by his father, Billy Myers of Hurt, Virginia.
The Hurt, Virginia resident had a solid season with three wins, a division-high six pole wins, eight Top-5 finishes and 11 Top-10 finishes in his 11 starts.
Reaves captured the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division title on the final night of the season with a runner-up finish and a win in the twin-race event to edge his brother, Zach Reaves of Danville, Virginia, for the championship.
The 2024 campaign was a great one for Reaves who had two wins, and six runner-up finishes in his 9 starts. He never finished outside of the Top-10 in any race this season.
In winning the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division title Penick, 16, became the second female driver to win a South Boston Speedway NASCAR division title and the first to do so in 20 years. Terri Marks won the track’s Grand Stock Division title in 2004.
Penick’s consistency allowed her to win the championship. She had nine Top-5 finishes and finished in the Top-10 in all of her 10 starts. Noteworthy is that she tallied a total of six third-place finishes during the season including a string of five third-place finishes in a row that vaulted her to the top of the standings.
Among special awards presented during the event was the 2024 Sportsmanship Award, which was presented to two individuals, B.J. Reaves and H.C. Sellers, the brother and crew chief of track champion Peyton Sellers. The Sportsmanship Award is one of the more prestigious awards an individual can receive because it speaks to character and reputation both on and off the track.
Rookie of the Year Awards were presented to drivers competing in their respective divisions for the first time in 2024 that finished the highest in their division. The award winners included Toby Layne of Farmville, Virginia (Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division), Bev Peregoy of Red Oak, Virginia (Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division), Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia (Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division) and Daniel Byrd of Midlothian, Virginia (Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division).
Most Popular Driver Awards, based upon a fan vote, were awarded in each division. Award winners were Peyton Sellers (Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division), Nathan Crews of Long Island, Virginia (Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division), B.J. Reaves (Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division) and Landon Milam of Keeling, Virginia (Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division).
Awards were presented to drivers that finished in the top five in their respective divisions. Finishing first through fifth in order in the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division were Peyton Sellers, Blake Stallings of Danville, Virginia, Mike Looney of Catawba, Virginia, Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina and Stacy Puryear of South Boston, Virginia.
The top five drivers in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, in order, were Jason Myers, Winslow, Crews, Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia and Cory Dunn of Salem, Virginia.
Taking the top five spots in the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division were B.J. Reaves, Zach Reaves, Davis, Colby Pool of South Boston, Virginia and. Scott Phillips of Halifax, Virginia.
Finishing first through fifth in the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division were Penick, Max Sangillo of Farmville, Virginia, Cameron Moss of Danville, Virginia, Byrd, and Cameron Goble of Ringgold, Virginia.
The latest news and updates at South Boston Speedway 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.
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