The 2026 Virginia Late Model Triple Crown

The Virginia Late Model

Triple Crown

2026

Consistency. Adaptability. Speed. Respect.

The presence of all four attributes gives a driver a shot to win one of late-model racing’s most prestigious miniseries: the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown presented by FloRacing. The lack of just one thwarts all chances.

Those four words are the keys to the Virginia Triple Crown as laid out by Peyton Sellers, the two-time NASCAR Local Racing Series national champion who’s claimed a record five of the 13 Triple Crowns that have been awarded since 2012. He understands as well as anybody the laborious nature of chasing this particular glory.

South Boston Speedway is a wide, high-grip oval with moderate banking. Langley Speedway is a flat oval with almost no grip where tire management is a crucial factor. Martinsville Speedway is all brakes and all speed, and track position is vital.

Drivers who aim for the 2026 Virginia Triple Crown must master all three venues, from the June 27 running of South Boston’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 to Langley’s Hampton Heat on July 25 through Martinsville’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on Sept. 26.

Who will claim the throne this year?

2026 Virginia Triple Crown schedule

June 27
Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200
South Boston Speedway
Highlights

July 25
Hampton Heat
Langley Speedway
Buy Tickets
Watch on FloRacing

Sept. 26
ValleyStar Credit Union 300
Martinsville Speedway
Buy Tickets
Watch on FloRacing
Watch on NASCAR Channel

Virginia Triple Crown logo

Connor Hall

The reigning Triple Crown champ

The purse

Last year, NASCAR and FloSports announced a game-changer for the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown when the duo contributed $50,000 to the purse. The contribution raised the overall champion purse to $20,000, making it the richest prize in the event's short-but-storied history.

The move in 2026? Run it back.

FloSports and NASCAR are once again teaming up to deliver an enhanced Virginia Triple Crown with another purse of $50,000 and a $20,000 prize awarded to the overall champion.

The payout structure will once again reward the top 10 drivers in the final standings:

1st – $20,000

2nd – $10,000

3rd – $7,500

4th – $5,000

5th – $2,500

6th-10th – $1,000 each

FloRacing remains the presenting partner of the Virginia Triple Crown, continuing its role as the nation’s leading destination for live and on-demand grassroots motorsports coverage. With its ongoing investment in regional racing, FloRacing ensures that the Virginia Triple Crown reaches a broader national audience while maintaining its deep roots in the sport’s most passionate communities.

“We’re proud to continue our partnership with NASCAR and further grow the Virginia Triple Crown,” said Michael Rigsby, GM of FloRacing. “This event represents everything that makes Late Model racing special: elite competition, passionate fans and historic tracks. We’re looking forward to building on that foundation and bring even more visibility to this incredible championship.”

Added Joey Dennewitz, Vice President, Industry Development, NASCAR: “The Virginia Triple Crown is late model stock racing at its best: tough, gritty and intense. With FloRacing’s continued support, we’re building even more momentum around one of short-track racing’s most exciting championships while delivering the kind of must-watch racing our fans love.”

To be eligible for the championship and prize money, drivers must compete in all three events.

“With the continued support of FloRacing and NASCAR, the Virginia Triple Crown has never been stronger,” said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. “This championship connects three historic tracks and showcases the very best of Late Model racing. Fans can expect incredible competition from start to finish.”

South Boston Speedway General Manager Brandon Brown emphasized the importance of a strong start to the series: “Kicking off the Virginia Triple Crown at South Boston Speedway is something we take a lot of pride in. Every lap matters, and a strong performance in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 is absolutely crucial to a driver winning the Triple Crown.”

Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway owner and operator Bill Mullis echoed the sentiment: “The Virginia Triple Crown continues to grow in prestige, and FloRacing and NASCAR’s involvement has played a key role in that evolution. It’s exciting to see the tradition continue to thrive and bring even more value to Late Model racing.”

Race payouts

Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 payout

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

Hampton Heat payout

(Payout TBA)

ValleyStar Credit Union 300 payout

1. $32,000

2. $8,000

3. $6,000

4. $5,000

5. $4,000

6. $3,000

7. $2,800

8. $2,700

9. $2,600

10. $2,500

11. $1,900

12. $1,875

13. $1,850

14. $1,825

15. $1,800

16. $1,725

17. $1,600

18. $1,575

19. $1,500

20. $1,450

21. $1,420

22. $1,400

23. $1,390

24. $1,380

25. $1,370

26. $1,360

27. $1,350

28. $1,340

29. $1,325

30. $1,310

31-40. $1,275

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Virginia Late Model Triple Crown

Winners

Year	Triple Crown champion
2012	C.E. Falk III
2013	Peyton Sellers
2014	Peyton Sellers
2015	Lee Pulliam
2016	Not held
2017	Timothy Peters
2018	Peyton Sellers
2019	Lee Pulliam
2020	Not held
2021	Bobby McCarty
2022	Peyton Sellers
2023	Trevor Ward
2024	Peyton Sellers
2025	Connor Hall

The history

Martinsville president Clay Campbell was one of the masterminds behind the Virginia Triple Crown alongside Langley owner Bill Mullis and former South Boston general manager Cathy Rice.

All three shared the goal of bolstering the sturdy late model stock car foundation in Virginia, which Campbell believes the Triple Crown has more than accomplished.

"At the time, all three tracks had their own big race," Campbell said. "We put our heads together to try and figure out if there was some way we could tie the three together and get some of the local guys to run at different tracks. The premise was to make these three races bigger and putting emphasis on the great racing in Virginia."

One factor that separates the Virginia Triple Crown from similar events is how the champion is determined. Instead of relying on points, the driver who records the best average finish between the three venues is declared the winner.

Seven different drivers have had the privilege of claiming the Virginia Triple Crown during its brief history, with two-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion Peyton Sellers leading that group with five titles.

Sellers admits the Virginia Triple Crown gets harder to win with every passing year, but he says the more interest the event receives only adds to its prestige and significance toward short-track competition, particularly on the East Coast.

"This has really gained popularity from guys in other states," Sellers said. "You have drivers from Tennessee, North Carolina and Maryland trying to win it. For me, this is home, and there are a lot of people in Virginia who have carried the torch for short-track racing. That’s what you do by winning the Triple Crown."

Sellers added the exposure drivers and tracks have gotten from the Virginia Triple Crown has been phenomenal. He considers all three legs of the event to be true crown jewels for late model stock car racing because of the car counts, high attendance and the individual efforts taken by tracks to emphasize the importance of their races.

For Campbell, the success and growth of Triple Crown has been another positive development for short-track racing in the state of Virginia, which has recently seen Dominion Raceway emerge as a premier venue for competitors since its grand opening in 2016.

Even though there currently is not any room for another facility in Virginia to become part of the Triple Crown, Campbell wants to see every track in the state flourish. He is confident that trend will continue as the three-race series keeps growing.

"The [Triple Crown] started with [South Boston, Langley and Martinsville], but Virginia has numerous great weekly race tracks," Campbell said. "This doesn’t take away from any track that isn’t a part of it, and there are other tracks that have come along that are certainly capable of being in the Triple Crown. We’re very healthy with great tracks in the Commonwealth of Virginia, but right now we’re sticking with what we got."

Sellers’ mindset for the Virginia Triple Crown remains unchanged year over year. He always expects the title to come down to the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 due to the talented fields and the diversity of each facility.

"Nobody runs away with [the Virginia Triple Crown], because you’re looking at three different tracks," Sellers said. "South Boston is a fast track with wide corners, Langley is as flat as a pancake with no grip at all, and Martinsville’s got all the grip in the world with nothing but straightaway."

Winning the Virginia Triple Crown has always been a great source of pride for Sellers, and he wants nothing more than to add a sixth championship in the series and celebrate in front of the loyal Virginia short-track fans at Martinsville.

The support drivers like Sellers and others have for the Virginia Triple Crown has been a welcomed development for Campbell, who has seen the series weather different obstacles that included Langley’s brief closure in 2016 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Now that the Virginia Triple Crown is more popular than ever, Campbell can't help but reflect on its beginnings and how he, Rice and Mullis worked diligently to create a series that has now become synonymous with late model stock car competition in the state.

"I don’t think any of the three of us ever thought [the Virginia Triple Crown] would be this popular," Campbell said. "All three of us are so entrenched in late model stock racing, but Cathy and Bill wanted to do whatever they could to enhance weekly racing. For people to mention these three races and talk about who’s going to win the Triple Crown at the end of the year is pretty cool."

Looking back

Last year's Triple Crown