South Boston Speedway
Location: 1188 James D. Hagood Highway, South Boston, VA 24592 Track Type: Oval Length: 0.4 miles Surface: Asphalt (repaved 2017, million-dollar renovation) Banking: 12° in turns, 10° on straights Width: 45 feet Seating: 7,600 Opened: 1957
Overview
South Boston Speedway sits in a natural bowl pressed into Halifax County farmland — twelve degrees of banking in the turns, ten on the straights, forty-five feet of width between the walls. Buck Wilkins and Dave Blount built a quarter-mile dirt oval here in 1957. It was paved in 1962, expanded to four-tenths of a mile in 1994, and repaved in a million-dollar renovation in 2017. The bowl is still there, and when forty Late Model Stock cars fire at once on a Friday night, the amphitheater holds the sound.
The locals call it SoBo. The speedway's own marketing calls it "America's Hometown Track." It is the front door of professional stock car racing.
History
Junior Johnson won the first NASCAR-sanctioned race here on July 8, 1960. Ten Cup races ran at SoBo between 1960 and 1971. Benny Parsons took his first career victory here — the beginning of a Hall of Fame career. Jeff Burton won six late model races here in 1986 and seven more in 1987. Elliott Sadler won a track championship at twenty. The track produced NASCAR talent reliably and quietly for decades.
The Mattioli family — the same family that owns Pocono Raceway — has owned the track since 2004. Brandon Brown runs the day-to-day as general manager. The Championship Loyalty Bonus Program rewards drivers who commit to the full season.
Key Drivers
Peyton Sellers — Eight track championships. Holds the late model track record (14.676 seconds, 98.1 mph). Five Virginia Triple Crown titles. Sellers IS South Boston.
Lee Pulliam — Won the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 six consecutive times (2011–2016). Four NASCAR Weekly national championships. The track named a section of grandstands after him. Returned from a 2,387-day absence to win here in March 2026.
Connor Hall — Won the South Boston 200 in 2024 and 2025, becoming the fourth driver to win back-to-back VTC championships.
Key Events
- Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 — Virginia Triple Crown Round 1 (June 2026). VTC purse hit $100,000 in 2025 after FloSports and NASCAR added $50,000.
- CARS Tour season finale — October 17, 2026
- Weekly Late Model Stock Car racing (spring through fall)
More on Grand National Today
- South Boston Speedway — The Full Track Guide
- Virginia Triple Crown 2026 Preview
- 2026 Virginia Triple Crown Schedule
- CARS Tour 2026 Schedule
- Langley Speedway — Track Guide
- Martinsville Speedway — Track Guide
- Hickory Motor Speedway — Track Guide
- North Wilkesboro Speedway — Track Guide
- Virginia Triple Crown Guide
- Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Guide
- CARS Tour Guide
- 2026 Race Schedules