Four-time Langley Speedway track champion CE Falk, III comes into the 10th running of the Hampton Heat with extra motivation to win after coming up just short in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown earlier this year.
Falk led 188 laps in last year’s Hampton Heat 200 but wound up finishing third, a result he mirrored in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown back in April. Heading into Saturday night’s Hampton Heat 200, a race Falk has won three times in his illustrious career, Falk is confident he can get the victory.
“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think we could win,” Falk told Race22.com. “I think we have a pretty good carl. Got a lot of good cars here today. I think our car is better than last year and the Hamlin race so I’m looking forward to it. Just got to make smarter decisions today and not get too caught up on the heat. I think we have a shot at it for sure.”
Falk is the only repeat winner of the Hampton Heat 200, having won the summer highlight in 2010, 2011 and 2014. However, those wins are in the past, old glory to Falk. His focus is on winning the 2018 installment of the Hampton Heat and beating names such as CARS Response Energy Tour points leader Bobby McCarty, former NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champions Philip Morris and Peyton Sellers, Matt Bowling and a host of others.
“It kind of all resets every year,” Falk remarked. “All those victories are nice but we’re here to get the 2018 version. I really can’t afford to race every week. I don’t quite have the manpower and funds to do it like I used to, but I enjoy coming to these big races and racing against the best. I’m looking forward to today.”
After falling to third in the closing laps last year, and coming up short in the Hamlin Showdown, Falk is even more motivated to win. He looked back on the finish with pride, knowing he was a factor and did all he could do to win.
“I didn’t feel like we had the best car in the Hamlin race,” Falk recalled. “We were able to take the lead but Denny and Kyle were really good. Those guys get paid a lot of money to drive racecars every day. Those guys are good for a reason. There’s no slouch. I was disappointed not to win but I did the best I could and that’s all I can ask for.
“I had a lot of my friends call me after that race and say, ‘well if it was just a Late Model race, you wouldn’t have to worry about anybody, but you had two Cup guys you had to worry about.’ They were there to win too.”
Falk will almost certainly be a contender in Saturday night’s Hampton Heat 200 as he looks for his fourth win in the race. Race22.com will have live updates from the race in our RaceDay Live coverage. The green flag is scheduled to fly around 9pm, but with the possibility of rain, race director Shayne Laws has said he would be willing to run the Hampton Heat before the preliminary races to get the race, which was postponed back in July, completed. The preliminary races are scheduled to begin at 7:15pm.
