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Saturday night will be a big race in several ways for two teenage drivers. Farmville’s Max Sangillo and Meherrin’s Jordaine Penick enter the Oak River Race Night tied for third place in the HEAT Hornets Division. 

They’ll have two chances to move up in the standings, as South Boston Speedway plans to host two 15-lap races. This will be the first time in the division’s history that drivers will battle it out in a double-race event. 

And the two drivers aren’t that far back to begin with. Former division champion Jason DeCarlo of Chase City currently sits in first, holding a 10-point lead over Steven Layne of Nathalie. Penick and Sangillo are right behind, just 12 points back of DeCarlo. First-year competitor Dustin Davis of Nathalie sits in fifth place 18 points behind the leader, and Daniel Byrd of Midlothian is 20 points out of the lead in sixth place.

Cameron Goble of Ringgold has won three of the division’s four races with DeCarlo having one win. DeCarlo is the only driver to have posted a Top-5 finish in all four races. Goble, Layne, and Penick have three Top-5 finishes in four races.

Both the 15-year-old Penick and her 16-year-old cousin Sangillo have been improving with each race. Max just recently had his first Top 5 finish of the season, while Jordaine continues to climb the leaderboard. Two years ago as a rookie, she finished eighth. Last year, she wrapped up the season in sixth. Now she’s got her eyes set on the checkered flag. 

For Sangillo, making one switch from last season has changed a lot. He drove a Honda Civic in the division for his rookie year. This time around, he’s working with an Acura RSX and you can tell the difference. 

A crowded field for Late Model

For the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division drivers, the twin 75-lap races that will headline Saturday night’s six-race card mark the final opportunity to take home a win and hone car setups under race conditions before gearing up for the track’s 200-lap race on Saturday, June 29 that marks the opening race of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown.

With the season closing in on the midway point there is a six-way battle in progress for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division title. There have been five different winners in six races with two-time NASCAR national champion and current division points leader Peyton Sellers of Danville being the only repeat winner. Craig Moore of Rougemont, North Carolina, Blake Stallings of Danville, Kyle Dudley of Roanoke and Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina have one win each.

Only 19 points separate the top six drivers with Sellers leading Dudley by 12 points. Stallings sits in third place 14 points back, Borst is in fourth-place 15 points back, Mike Looney of Catawba is in fifth place 17 points out of the lead, and Stacy Puryear of South Boston is 19 points behind Sellers in sixth place.

Over in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, only 15 points stand between first-place and fifth-place. Defending division champion Jason Myers of Hurt holds a six-point edge over Eric Winslow of Pelham, North Carolina. Cory Dunn of Salem is in third place 11 points out of the lead, and Nathan Crews of Long Island and Drew Dawson of Nathalie are tied for fourth place 15 points out of the lead.

There have been four different winners in five races with Winslow being the only repeat winner. Myers, Nathan Crews and Drew Dawson have one win each.

Defending champ leads Pure Stock

Defending division champion Johnny Layne of Halifax leads the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division with two wins in three starts, but the division championship chase continues to be a close.

Layne enters Saturday night’s 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division with a narrow four-point lead over Zach Reaves of Danville, the winner of the division’s most recent race on May 11. B.J. Reaves of South Boston sits in third place seven points behind Layne with Kenny Mills of South Boston in fourth place 10 points out of the lead, and Bruce Mayo of Halifax occupying fifth place, 15 points behind Layne. There is only a 20-point difference between Layne and former division champion Scott Phillips of Halifax who sits in eighth place in the standings.

When will the races start? 

Saturday’s Oak River Realty Race Night event schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m. Practice will start at 3:30 p.m. and run until 5:15 p.m. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 3:30 p.m. Qualifying is set for 6 p.m., pre-race ceremonies are scheduled for 6:45 p.m. and the first race of the night will start at 7 p.m.

Advance tickets for the Oak River Realty Race Night event are priced at $12 each. Advance tickets 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 $15 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate on race day.