South Boston Speedway
South Boston Speedway, or "SoBo", is a short track located just outside South Boston, Virginia. SoBo is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) east of another area familiar to most NASCAR fans, Martinsville. It is owned by Mattco, Inc., the Mattioli family trust that owns Pocono Raceway, with general manager Chase Brashears operating the track, replacing Cathy Rice who retired in 2021 after serving in that role for 21 years.[1] NASCAR's three national series have raced at the track, though the Cup Series has not done so since 1971, while the Busch Series last raced here in 2000. After the Busch Series left the schedule, the Craftsman Truck Series competed at SoBo for a few years between 2001 and 2003.
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| Location | 1188 James D. Hagood Hwy. South Boston, Virginia 24592 |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 10,000 (est.) |
| Owner | Mattco Inc. (Pocono Raceway) |
| Opened | 1957 |
| Former names | Big Daddy's South Boston Speedway (2002–2003) |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | .400 miles (.644 km) |
| Banking | 12° – Turns 10° – Straights |
| Website | southbostonspeedway |
The ARCA Menards Series East (then NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) and Whelen Modified Tour often hold events at the track. SoBo is a storied member of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, hosting Late Model Stock Car races throughout the summer. The CARS Super Late Model Tour and CARS Late Model Stock Tour also host events at the speedway, typically holding their end-of-season championship races there.
Some of the better known graduates of South Boston's Saturday night weekly events include Jeff Burton, Ward Burton, Elliott Sadler, Stacy Compton, and the Bodine brothers (Todd, Geoff and Brett). Danville, Virginia driver Wendell Scott, the first African-American driver to compete at NASCAR's highest level, also raced in Modified Division events there.
The ARCA Menards Series had 3 races at SoBo from 2002 until 2004. The facility also hosted 11 NASCAR Southeast Series races from 1992 to 2006. NASCAR's Whelen Southern Modified Tour also had 11 events until 2016, when the series was folded into its norther counterpart, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
CARS X1-R Pro Cup Series had 21 events at the speedway from 1997 until 2011 and the ASA National Tour hosted 2 races at SoBo—one in 2001 and the other in 2002.
The track also played host to the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown in 2014 and 2015.
Notable drivers
Throughout the years, South Boston Speedway has been a popular venue where a number of NASCAR's greatest stars visited and raced, and new stars were born.
Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Geoff Bodine, Bobby Allison, Tony Stewart, Ken Schrader, and Benny Parsons are among many Cup Series drivers that have competed at South Boston Speedway over the years. Parsons scored his first career Grand National win at South Boston Speedway when the track hosted its last Grand National race in 1971.
Waltrip was a winner at South Boston Speedway while competing in NASCAR Late Model Sportsman races. Bodine cut his teeth in racing full bodied stock cars when he came South off of the NASCAR Modified circuit in 1981 to drive for Emanuel Zervakis of Richmond. The former NASCAR Modified driver won nine of 11 NASCAR Late Model Sportsman events and went on to win the South Boston Speedway title that season. He used that experience to vault his way onto the NASCAR Winston Cup Series tour.
In the early 1970s when the NASCAR Grand American Series was popular, drivers such as Tiny Lund, Pete Hamilton, Jim Paschal, Frank Sessoms, and T. C. Hunt competed on the South Boston Speedway oval.
Ray Hendrick, a legendary driver known for his hard charging driving style, recorded hundreds of wins at the South Boston Speedway during his storied career, many of them coming when he was piloting the famous winged No. 11 Modified coupe that was fielded by Jack Tant and Clayton Mitchell. The Richmond, Virginia resident won five track championships at the South Boston Speedway, four of them while competing in the NASCAR Modified division, and one in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman division.
Over the years, South Boston Speedway has been a breeding ground for a number of NASCAR stars. South Boston natives Jeff Burton and Ward Burton spent their early careers in the NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division there. The Burtons are the only brothers to win the South Boston Speedway Most Popular Driver Award.
South Boston Speedway's 1994 champion, Stacy Compton, went on to a successful career, competing in the Cup Series, Busch, and Craftsman Truck Series.
Hermie Sadler and Elliott Sadler of Emporia, Virginia competed in Late Models at South Boston Speedway, with Elliott winning the track championship as a 20-year-old rising star. Cup Series star Denny Hamlin also raced and won multiple times in the Late Model Stock Car Division.
David Blankenship of Moseley, Virginia has the most track championships. In 1998, he won an unprecedented seventh career South Boston Speedway NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division title. Hendrick's mark of five South Boston Speedway championships is second to Blankenship's seven titles. In 2019, Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia won his fifth career South Boston Speedway NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division title to move into a tie with Hendrick for second place.
Records
- Track record – Tommy Catalano (13.849 seconds; 103.979 MPH); NASCAR Whelen Modified
- Race record – Todd Bodine, 70.785 MPH
- Late Model Stock Car Track Record—Peyton Sellers (14.676 seconds; 98.119 MPH; March 16, 2019)
- Limited Track Record—Colin Garrett (15.125 seconds; 97.587 MPH; April 8, 2017)
- Pure Stock Track Record—Nathan Crews (17.678 seconds; 81.457 MPH; Aug. 24, 2019)
- NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East) Track Record—Chase Cabre (14.711 seconds; 97.886 MPH; April 5, 2017)
Late Model Track Champions
| Year | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1960 | Eddie Crouse |
| 1961 | Ray Hendrick |
| 1962 | Ted Hairfield |
| 1963 | Ray Hendrick |
| 1964 | Runt Harris |
| 1965 | Sonny Hutchins / Bob McGinnis |
| 1966 | Ray Hendrick |
| 1967 | Runt Harris |
| 1968 | Ray Hendrick |
| 1969 | Eddie Royster |
| 1970 | Jimmy Hensley |
| 1971 | Lennie Pond |
| 1972 | Sonny Hutchins |
| 1977 | Sonny Hutchins |
| 1978 | Jack Ingram |
| 1979 | Ray Hendrick |
| 1980 | Sonny Hutchins |
| 1981 | Geoff Bodine |
| 1982 | Sam Ard |
| 1983 | Roy Hendrick |
| 1984 | David Blankenship |
| 1985 | Maurice Hill |
| 1986 | David Blankenship |
| 1987 | Wayne Patterson |
| 1988 | Barry Beggarly |
| 1989 | David Blankenship |
| 1990 | David Blankenship |
| 1991 | Mike Buffkin |
| 1992 | Wayne Patterson |
| 1993 | David Blankenship |
| 1994 | Stacy Compton |
| 1995 | Elliott Sadler |
| 1996 | B.A. Wilson |
| 1997 | David Blankenship |
| 1998 | David Blankenship |
| 1999 | Bubba Urban Jr. |
| 2000 | Nick Woodward |
| 2001 | Brandon Butler |
| 2002 | Frank Deiny Jr. |
| 2003 | Philip Morris |
| 2004 | Timothy Peters |
| 2005 | Peyton Sellers |
| 2006 | Drew Herring |
| 2007 | Adam Baker |
| 2008 | Wayne Ramsey |
| 2009 | Justin Johnson |
| 2010 | Justin Johnson |
| 2011 | Philip Morris |
| 2012 | Matt Bowling |
| 2013 | Lee Pulliam |
| 2014 | Peyton Sellers |
| 2015 | Matt Bowling |
| 2016 | Matt Bowling |
| 2017 | Peyton Sellers |
| 2018 | Peyton Sellers |
| 2019 | Peyton Sellers |
| 2020 | No racing due to COVID-19 |
| 2021 | Peyton Sellers |
References
External links
- South Boston Speedway Official Site
- NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup and Busch Series winners list
- South Boston Speedway race results at Racing-Reference