Five Things You Need to Know: 20th South Boston 200

One of Late Model Stock Car racing’s crown jewel events will take place on Saturday evening with a star-studded field, kicking off the Virginia Triple Crown.

The 20^th renewal of South Boston Speedway’s annual summer highlight, the Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200, boasts an entry list with 47 drivers – including the triumphant return of six-time race winner and 2013 track champion Lee Pulliam.

Here are five things you need to know about South Boston’s summer classic:

The Virginia Triple Crown

Along with being South Boston Speedway’s richest and most prestigious race, the South Boston marks the first round of the Virginia Triple Crown, which also includes the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway (July 25) and the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway (September 26).

In 2025, NASCAR and FloSports announced an infusion of cash to make the Virginia Triple Crown points system more robust, with the three race series paying a $50,000 purse on top of race winnings – with $20,000 going to the eventual champion, which is determined based on average finish of the three races.

The South Boston 200 itself features a robust purse, paying $10,000 to the winner and a guaranteed $8,500 to start.  On top of that, the seven cars who do not make the field for the race will take home a guaranteed $500.

Event Purse: 1.) $10,000; 2.) $2,200; 3.) $1,350; 4.) $1,250; 5.) $1,100; 6.) $1,050; 7.) $1,000; 8.) $950; 9.) $925; 10.) $910; 11-40.) $885

Pole Award – $500; Stage 1 leader – $250; Halfway leader – $500; Stage 3 leder – $250; Fastest Lap – $400; Hard Charger – $500; Hard Luck – $250

Schedule and Race Format

The Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200 is a 200-lap race with 40 cars taking the green flag.

Tires: The 20^th Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200 is a 10-tire race.  Teams get four tires for practice, four tires for qualifying and the race, and two tires at halfway.

Qualifying will take place via group qualifying, determined by practice speeds from slowest to fastest.  The top-34 drivers on time will advance to the 200-lap main event.

A 20 lap (or 25 minute) Last Chance Qualifier will be held with the top-four finishers advancing into the main event.  The final two starting positions will be optional provisionals.

Stages will be 50 laps each.  Unlike in NASCAR racing and in other marquee late model races, the caution flag will not be displayed at the end of the first and third stages.  There will be a 10 minute break at the completion of the 100^th lap of the race.

Caution laps will count, with the exception of the halfway break and inside the final 10 laps.  South Boston Speedway will make up to three attempts at an overtime finish, if necessary.

Schedule

11:00am – Registration/Pit Gates open
11:30am – Spectator gates open
12:25pm – Mandatory Drivers’ Meeting
1:00pm – Practice begins
Late Model Stock Car practice 1:15pm-1:45pm; 2:20pm-2:50pm.
3:25pm – Qualifying
5:00pm – On Track Autograph Session and Fan Fest
6:30pm – Pre-Race Ceremonies/Driver Introductions
7:00pm – Green Flag
– Late Model Stock Car LCQ (20 laps/25 minutes)
– Limited Sportsman (40 laps/40 minutes)
– Pure Stock (20 laps/15 minutes)
– Hornets (20 laps/15 minutes)
– South Boston 200 (200 laps)

Entry List

47 drivers will attempt to make the field for the summer classic, including Lee Pulliam, Peyton Sellers, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, Connor Hall, Landon Pembelton and more.

The complete entry list is as follows:

Past Winners

Lee Pulliam, who is making his first start in the event this decade, has won South Boston’s summer highlight six times, with all six wins coming consecutive.  Peyton Sellers, Bobby McCarty, Connor Hall and Deac McCaskill are also repeat winners.

Corey Heim, who is the most recent winner in the NASCAR Cup Series following his triumph at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, is also a former winner of the South Boston 200.

Previous winners:

• 2006 – Drew Herring
• 2007 – Adam Barker
• 2008 – Deac McCaskill
• 2009 – Nick Smith
• 2010 – Deac McCaskill
• 2011 – Lee Pulliam
• 2012 – Lee Pulliam
• 2013 – Lee Pulliam
• 2014 – Lee Pulliam
• 2015 – Lee Pulliam
• 2016 – Lee Pulliam
• 2017 – Philip Morris
• 2018 – Peyton Sellers
• 2019 – Peyton Sellers
• 2020 – Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
• 2021 – Bobby McCarty
• 2022 – Corey Heim
• 2023 – Bobby McCarty
• 2024 – Connor Hall
• 2025 – Connor Hall

How To Watch

The 2026 Thunder Road Harley Davidson will be broadcast live on the FloRacing streaming media platform.  Live timing and scoring will be available on the Race Monitor app and on MyRacePass.

Tickets are also available for the race in person for $25.

Short Track Scene will be on location with complete, comprehensive coverage of the 20^th Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200.