Peyton Sellers explains the challenge of South Boston's Virginia Triple Crown race

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. — Peyton Sellers says being patient and smart are two of the most important ingredients when it comes to success in the July 1 Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort at South Boston Speedway.

The six-time South Boston track champion should know. He won the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort back-to-back in 2018 and 2019 and has not finished worse than third over the span of the last four years.

“All of the races here at South Boston Speedway are 60 laps or 75 laps and that sort of thing,” Sellers noted. “When you come here for a 200-lap race, you‘ve really got to manage tires, you‘ve got to be smart, you‘ve got to keep the fenders on the car, you‘ve got to put the car in the right spot for 200 laps, and hopefully you will have a car that can go compete for the win in the last 10 or 15 laps of the race.

“It‘s going to be challenging to be smart with your tires and keep them under you.”

The July 1 Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort is a race Sellers and Late Model Stock Car division competitors throughout the region circle on their calendars each season. Saturday‘s 200-lap race for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division is the first race of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown and pays $10,000 to win.

RELATED: Watch Saturday’s South Boston race live on FloRacing

While the Danville, Virginia resident has won the race twice, he says anytime you can win this race it is special.

“Anytime you can win in front of your home crowd it means a lot,” Sellers remarked. “This is the biggest race of the year here at South Boston Speedway with 8,000 fans in the stands, and fireworks on and off the track. It brings in all of the top guns, all of the heavy hitters in the Late Model Stock world. This race has gained a lot of momentum in the last seven or eight years. It has become a prestigious race.

“There is a lot of money on the line, a lot of prestige and a big hometown crowd. We‘ve got sponsors that will be at the race that night and it will be a big event. It gives us an opportunity to show our talents, to show our competitive spirit here at South Boston Speedway against the guys that come in from the outside.”

The July 1 Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort is the first race of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown. Other events in the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown are the Hampton Heat 200 on July 22 at Larry King Law‘s Langley Speedway and the Sept. 23 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

Sellers, the defending Virginia Late Model Triple Crown champion and a four-time Triple Crown winner, says it is vital to have a good outcome in Saturday‘s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort at South Boston Speedway.

“With the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown as competitive as it is it‘s hard to have a bad race and still have a shot to win it,” Sellers pointed out. “If you start off bad at South Boston it kind of throws your Triple Crown out the window. When the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown started you could have a bad race and it wouldn‘t kill you. Now it‘s so competitive that you‘ve got to have a pretty good string of top-three finishes to compete for the win.”

South Boston Speedway‘s annual showcase event is one that fans will not want to miss. Fans will be treated to a spectacular, colorful Fourth of July fireworks show immediately following the last race of the night. Special patriotic festivities will be featured during Pre-race Ceremonies powered by Hitachi including a flyover. Vintage military aircraft piloted by members of the Raleigh, North Carolina-based Bandit Flight Team will make a pass over the speedway near the conclusion of the National Anthem and will return a couple of minutes later for an additional demonstration prior to the start of the first race of the night. In addition, an Autograph Session powered by Hitachi will be held immediately after qualifying.

Along with Saturday‘s 200-lap race for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division, fans will see a 40-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 20-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.

Close to 40 cars are expected for the 200-lap Late Model Stock Car Division race. Among the top drivers joining Sellers in Saturday‘s race are Carter Langley of Zebulon, North Carolina who has won six of his 12 starts at South Boston Speedway this season, the top two drivers in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour standings, defending series champion Carson Kvapil who drives for JR Motorsports and has won three of the seven CARS Tour races run thus far this season, Brenden Queen, who competes out of the Lee Pulliam Performance stable, and 2022 South Boston Speedway Champion Layne Riggs of Bahama, North Carolina who won 10 of his 17 starts at the .4-mile oval last season.

Advance adult general admission tickets priced at $20 each 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 $25 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $20 each at the gate on race day.

Saturday‘s race-day schedule for the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort has registration and pit gates opening at 10 a.m. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 12:30 p.m. and practice will start at 1 p.m. Backstretch and Turn 4 trackside tailgating gates will open at 3:30 p.m.

Qualifying for the 200-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division race is set for 4:15 p.m. The Autograph Session powered by Hitachi is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. on the frontstretch of the speedway. Pre-race Ceremonies powered by Hitachi will begin at 6:35 p.m. and the first race will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

Fans may come out to South Boston Speedway on Friday, June 30 for Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 Practice Day and Fan Appreciation Day and watch practice free of charge from the track‘s spectator areas. Practice will include all four of the track‘s regular racing divisions and will run from 11 a.m. until 7:45 p.m.

The latest news and information about the July 1 Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort and other South Boston Speedway events can be found on the speedway‘s website and through the track‘s social media channels. Information may also be obtained by phoning the speedway at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.