The Virginia Late Model Triple Crown

The Virginia Late Model

Triple Crown

NASCAR Regional

The annual late model stock car races at South Boston Speedway, Langley Speedway and Martinsville Speedway in Virginia are monumental events on their own, pillars for the region’s best short-track racers.

Together, they form one of late-model racing’s most prestigious miniseries: the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown.

In 2025, the June 28 running of South Boston’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 marks the first leg, followed by Langley’s Hampton Heat on July 19. The Triple Crown concludes with Martinsville’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on Sept. 27.

That means drivers aiming for the title must boast consistency through three unique racing experiences, from the high grip of SoBo to the flat, tire grading surface at Langley to the long straights and sharp corners at Martinsville. The Triple Crown demands everything from competitors.

Nobody knows this better than Peyton Sellers, the two-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion who’s claimed a record five of the 11 Triple Crowns that have been awarded since the miniseries debuted in 2012.

Sellers, the reigning champ, is back in 2025 to defend his title. But he’ll be the first to explain the laborious nature of chasing a Virginia Late Model Triple Crown.

2025 Virginia Late Model Triple Crown schedule

June 28	Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200	South Boston Speedway	Recap	Highlights
July 19	Hampton Heat	Langley Speedway	Buy tickets	Watch on FloRacing
Sept. 27	ValleyStar Credit Union 300	Martinsville Speedway	Buy tickets	Watch on FloRacing and NASCAR Channel

Virginia Late Model Triple Crown

More money, more prestige

In early June, NASCAR and FloSports announced a game-changer for the 2025 Virginia Late Model Triple Crown. 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.

With the announcement, FloRacing became the presenting partner of the Virginia Triple Crown.

"We’re thrilled to partner with NASCAR to elevate the Virginia Triple Crown to a whole new level," said Michael Rigsby, GM of FloRacing. "Late Model racing has long been a core focus for FloRacing, and this partnership lets us invest directly in the drivers, teams and fans who make it so special. We can’t wait to showcase this incredible three-race showdown to a national audience."

Added Joey Dennewitz, managing director, NASCAR Regional: "The Virginia Triple Crown is a celebration of short-track culture, where many of NASCAR’s top stars got their start. With the support of FloRacing, we're amplifying the reach and prestige of each event, creating more excitement for fans and more opportunity for drivers. It's exactly the kind of grassroots investment that strengthens the future of our sport."

The new Virginia Triple Crown payout structure extends to the top 10 finishers in the standings. Previously, only the top three earned a payout.

The following is the new structure.

1st - $20,000

2nd - $10,000

3rd - $7,500

4th - $5,000

5th - $2,500

6th through 10th - $1,000 each

The payout is awarded following the third leg of the Triple Crown, the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

Drivers must compete in all three events to be eligible for the championship and prize money.

"With FloRacing’s involvement in the Virginia Triple Crown, what was already a most sought-after achievement for the drivers to win, at three of the most storied tracks in NASCAR, has a much larger presence,” said Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell. "While this extra incentive will attract more competitors, really, the fans are going to benefit.

"It’s hard for me to imagine the great racing and drama they will see at South Boston, Langley and Martinsville, whether in person at the track or watching on FloRacing. I’m looking forward to seeing who comes away with the Virginia Triple Crown when the checkered flag drops on the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on September 27."

Added South Boston Speedway general manager Brandon Brown: "We’re excited to see the Triple Crown elevated to even greater heights this year and reward drivers who race all in three races. We take so much pride in kicking off the Virginia Triple Crown at South Boston Speedway. Our race sets the tone every single year, and this year it will mean more than ever.

"A great run in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 will be vital to anyone who wants to take home all the money after Martinsville."

Langley Speedway owner and operator Bill Mullis said the sponsorship from FloRacing brings added prestige and value to the Triple Crown.

"This sponsorship adds to the already storied history of the Virginia Triple Crown and brings even more realization to its value and the value the Triple Crown has brought to Late Model Stock Car racing all these years," he said. "I’m excited to be a part of this, knowing its humble beginnings.

"The tie between South Boston, Langley and Martinsville is so strong, and this makes it stronger."

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

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.

Six 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."

Behind the scenes

Virginia Late Model Triple Crown