What Is the Virginia Triple Crown?
The Virginia Triple Crown is a three-race championship series contested annually at three of Virginia's most storied short tracks. Founded in 2012 by a partnership of three track promoters — Clay Campbell of Martinsville Speedway, Bill Mullis of Langley Speedway, and Cathy Rice of South Boston Speedway — the series was created to showcase the best Late Model Stock Car racing in the Commonwealth and give grassroots drivers a meaningful championship to chase across multiple venues.
Unlike points-based championships, the Virginia Triple Crown uses a best-average-finish format. A driver's championship standing is determined by averaging their finishing positions across all three races. The lowest average wins the crown. If a driver misses one race, they cannot win the overall title — participation in all three events is mandatory.
The Three Races
Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200
Track: South Boston Speedway (South Boston, VA) — 0.4-mile oval 2026 Date: June 27 Distance: 200 laps
The traditional opener of the Virginia Triple Crown season. South Boston Speedway is a tight, demanding four-tenths-mile oval that rewards precision and patience. The 200-lap distance tests equipment as much as talent.
Hampton Heat
Track: Langley Speedway (Hampton, VA) — 0.395-mile oval 2026 Date: July 25 Distance: 200 laps
The middle leg of the Triple Crown moves to the tidewater region. Langley Speedway, located just miles from the Chesapeake Bay, has been a proving ground for stock car talent since 1950. The Hampton Heat is known for producing dramatic championship swings.
ValleyStar Credit Union 300
Track: Martinsville Speedway (Ridgeway, VA) — 0.526-mile oval 2026 Date: September 26 Distance: 200-lap feature (preceded by 4 x 25-lap heat races)
The crown jewel. The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 is the flagship event of the Virginia Triple Crown and one of the most prestigious Late Model Stock Car races in the country. Held at the iconic Martinsville Speedway — the only track that has hosted NASCAR Cup Series races every year since the series' founding in 1948 — the ValleyStar 300 is the largest and most lucrative short-track Late Model event on the East Coast, with a $125,000 total purse and $32,000 winner's share.
Prize Money and Sponsorship
The Virginia Triple Crown champion takes home a $20,000 bonus on top of individual race purses, with a total championship purse of $50,000 distributed across the top 10 finishers. In 2025, FloSports and NASCAR added an additional $50,000 in bonus money across the series as part of a grassroots racing investment initiative. FloRacing is the presenting partner and provides exclusive live streaming coverage of all three events.
Champions
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Connor Hall |
| 2024 | Peyton Sellers |
| 2023 | Trevor Ward |
| 2022 | Peyton Sellers |
| 2021 | Bobby McCarty |
| 2020 | Not held (COVID-19) |
| 2019 | Lee Pulliam |
| 2018 | Peyton Sellers |
| 2017 | Timothy Peters |
| 2016 | Not held |
| 2015 | Lee Pulliam |
| 2014 | Peyton Sellers |
| 2013 | Peyton Sellers |
| 2012 | C.E. Falk III |
Peyton Sellers holds the record with five championships (2013, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2024) and is the most dominant driver in VTC history. Lee Pulliam, one of the greatest short-track drivers of his generation, won two VTC titles (2015, 2019) and six consecutive Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 races at South Boston (2011–2016). Pulliam made his NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series debut at Martinsville in March 2026. Connor Hall is the defending champion after winning the 2025 title.
How to Watch
All three Virginia Triple Crown races are streamed live and exclusively on FloRacing (floracing.com). FloRacing is a subscription-based motorsports streaming platform and the presenting partner of the Virginia Triple Crown.
Why It Matters
The Virginia Triple Crown occupies a unique space in American motorsports. It bridges the gap between weekly short-track racing and the NASCAR national series, giving Late Model Stock Car drivers — many of whom are chasing NASCAR dreams — a high-profile, high-stakes championship that draws national attention. For Grand National Today, the VTC is a core coverage property and one of the most compelling storylines in grassroots racing.