Veteran Late Model racer CE Falk, III is always a potential contender at the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, but like so many other great Late Model Stock Car racers, victory at Martinsville has eluded him.
Falk will be making his 10th start in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 if he makes the field for Sunday’s 200 lap feature. He felt confident about the car during last Thursday’s test session and is hoping for a little luck on Sunday.
“We’ve been coming here a long time,” Falk said. “This is my 10th year coming here. It never gets any easier. Track keeps getting faster. We had a fast car all year, just had some mechanical and part failures. We’ve got a good machine this weekend. We’re in the right direction, just need a little extra.”
Falk has been coming to Martinsville in the past driving a black and red (or black and pink) number 40 car that has been dominant at Langley Speedway during the better part of the last decade. However, this year, he will be honoring his father, Eddie Falk, with a throwback paint scheme and a different number.
Falk drove the number 04 car, with a throwback Eddie Falk paint scheme on Father’s Day Weekend at South Boston Speedway and has continued to run it ever since.
“My dad raced in the Busch Series from its inception when they changed it from Late Model Sportsman to Busch Grand National,” Falk explained. “That was his number and Pabst Blue Ribbon was his sponsor. We don’t have a relationship with them, it’s just cool to honor my dad. We had it on there for Father’s Day and we won the race so, got to stick with it, right?
“I’ve been coming here for nine years with number 40 on the door so I figured we’ll try a different one this time.”
Falk is hoping that the number change will change his luck as well. Falk has been in contention in the past, having scored a sixth place finish twice in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. Often times, it is a late race caution that undoes strong performances for Falk.
“I’ve been snake bitten by the 10 to go caution for three years in a row,” Falk commented. “Definitely not a fan of it but it is what it is. We’ve won the Virginia Triple Crown here. We’ve started in the back and come to the front and passed a lot of cars here. Had a lot of success here. Just never came home with a grandfather clock and that’s what we all want.”
Most of Falk’s success in his Late Model Stock Car career has come at his home track, Langley Speedway. Falk won four championships at Langley and has amassed countless wins. Langley Speedway now sits dormant after closing down for the 2016 season and, while Falk no longer lives in Virginia Beach, he hopes to see it reopen.
“If you want short track racing to live, we need tracks to open,” Falk stated. “There’s a large contingent of cars that didn’t race this year because Langley was closed. It was my home track. I don’t really live in that area anymore, I live in Mooresville. It’s still sad to see a racetrack close up. Hopefully Bill Mullis and those guys can get it straight. I know they have what it takes to make it happen, they just need to get with the people from California to make it right.”
Langley Speedway is a track that has had tremendous support from the community, from strong fields of cars to a loyal, devoted fanbase.
“How many tracks would love to have an area with a half million people living within 10 miles of it,” Falk said. “It’s such a large military, NASCAR friendly community that can pack 10,000 people every weekend so that’s what Langley did every week. The support’s there. You see it all over the internet and Facebook. The money people just have to get it right.”
The Langley Speedway faithful continue to cheer on the Tidewater racers and Falk will be one of the Eastern Virginia drivers leading the charge in Sunday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
