08/24/2026
Southern Ground Pounders Race Recap
South Boston Speedway | August 22, 2026
Twelve V8 AMERICAN RACECARS made the call Saturday night as the Southern Ground Pounders returned to the historic South Boston Speedway for 35 laps of vintage racing action.
As always, there was no qualifyingโthe pill draw set the starting field:
Cole Adkins (S)
James Miller(S)
Chris Hicks (M)
Bob Wallace (S)
Jimmy Hurley (M)
James Turner (S)
Josh Roberts (S)
Mark Manno (M)
Bobby Griffin (S)
Shayne Lockhart (M)
Frank Hicks (S)
Dee Campbell (S)
Cole Adkins would lead the 12-car field to the green flag, but James Miller wasted no time jumping out front and setting the early pace. Behind him, the field stayed two-wide for several of the opening laps as everyone fought for position around the fast South Boston oval.
Early in the race, Adkins got sideways and overcorrected entering turns 3 and 4, sending his Sportsman hard into the outside wall. It was a great display of driving throughout the field as everyone managed to avoid what could have easily become a much larger incident. Unfortunately, the impact snapped a panhard bar and ended Adkins' night early.
Under the caution, Dee Campbell was also forced to retire with an ignition issueโsomething his team had battled throughout practice. In true SGP fashion, a fellow competitor had even loaned Campbell parts earlier in the day in an effort to keep him on the racetrack. Competitors helping competitorsโthat's what the Southern Ground Pounders are all about.
The restart would go single file, with Miller taking off and Wallace, Roberts and Hurley in pursuit.
It wouldn't take long for the Modifieds to begin making their way toward the front. Mark Mano charged forward using the high side and eventually took over the overall lead, with Shayne Lockhart locked onto his rear bumper as the two set the pace for the Modified division.
Meanwhile, Miller's impressive South Boston debut was far from over.
Bobby Griffin began applying pressure for the Sportsman lead, but Miller held him off for several laps. Soon Josh Roberts joined the fight, while Bob Wallace stayed within striking distance as the Sportsman competitors began jockeying for position.
Frank Hicks and James Turner would unfortunately retire early as the action continued to heat up.
On lap 14, Jimmy Hurley blew a radiator hose, bringing out another caution. Almost simultaneously, Mano spun and backed hard into the outside wallโnearly an exact replay of Adkins' accident earlier in the race.
Track officials displayed the red flag to inspect the racing surface and clean up the fluid from Hurley's car.
Mano's crew went to work, made a quick repair, and remarkably got him back onto the racetrack at the rear of the field.
When racing resumed, Shayne Lockhart led the way with Chris Hicks, Bobby Griffin, Josh Roberts and Bob Wallace making up the top five.
Over the remaining laps Mano charged his way back through the field and eventually tracked down Hicks to reclaim the second-place position. But the laps were disappearing quickly, and the pace Lockhart had established proved too much to overcome.
After 35 laps, Shayne Lockhart crossed the stripe as the overall and Modified winner, continuing his incredible undefeated 2026 SGP season.
Behind the Modified battle, Bobby Griffin and Josh Roberts put on a show of their own.
For nearly the final 20 laps, Griffin and Roberts raced nose-to-tail around South Boston Speedway. Griffin used every inch of available asphalt to keep Roberts behind him. Lap after lap, the pair changed lanes, searched for grip and worked traffic, with Roberts patiently waiting for Griffin to make a mistake.
That mistake never came.
Griffin stayed smooth under relentless pressure and held Roberts off to capture the Sportsman victory.
Just behind them, Bob Wallace and James Miller showcased plenty of speed of their own and had a front-row seat to the battle, ready to capitalize if either of the leaders slipped.
It was another night that showcased exactly what the Southern Ground Pounders are aboutโraw American V8 racecars, hard competition, racers helping racers, and respect on and off the racetrack.
Congratulations to our South Boston Speedway winners:
๐ Modified & Overall Winner โ Shayne Lockhart
๐ Sportsman Winner โ Bobby Griffin
The Southern Ground Pounders now get a short break before returning to action September 26 at Carteret County Speedway.
Follow along on our social media pages and at sgpracingseries.com for all the latest SGP news and updates.
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