HAMPTON, VA :: An exhausting week of plans and preparation and long nights staying up late led up to the $10,000-to-win Hampton Heat 200 on Saturday night. With 37 cars represented, not only was being the fastest of them all special, but avoiding them all was just as challenging. The Hampton Heat 200, which is race sponsored by the city of Hampton, has been growing and for obvious reasons. Because of the track’s unique configuration of long, sweeping low banked turns and straights that keeps you cranking left, a lap around the 4/10 mile oval demands your constant attention, and in most cases, blinking is not recommended.
Last year’s Hampton Heat 200 certainly put a buzz in the air in the Late Model community and this year was anticipated to be much the same. Given the fact that the past two years, non-Langley regulars have won this prestigious event at this difficult track, a total of 37 Late Models made the trip, of which 26 were non-regulars. Also providing an incentive to win was the second of three installments known as the Virginia Triple Crown Series that South Boston Speedway, Langley Speedway and famed Martinsville Speedway all participate in. The prize for that chase will be awarded to the driver for his three best performances in each race and a prize of five thousand dollars.
Qualifying began for the event with thirty seven cars taking time and claiming the pole for the event was Matt Waltz who was just as fast all day during practice. Waltz’s lap of 16.071 sec or 88.482 mph did the trick securing the pole as Deac McCaskill, in his first ever appearance at Langley Speedway, blistered up quite a lap of his own and would start shotgun to the pole. Also, in his first ever start, Brayton Haws would roll off third while Greg Edwards and Woody Howard completed the five best. Previous race champions Nick Smith starts eighth, Matt Bowling ninth, CE Falk 13th and, surprisingly, Peyton Sellers started in the back in 21st. Just as qualifying was complete, rain came to try to cool off the Hampton Heat 200. In what was scheduled for a 7pm start time, the green flag didn’t wave until 11:20 pm.
The green flag waved as 37 Late Models roared to life and setting the pace early was Matt Waltz. McCaskill would follow the leader while on back, Nick Smith and CE Falk proved there would be no riding in this race for them. The races first caution came on lap 27 when Tyler Ankrum banged the wall and blowing out his right rear. Back to green flag racing and this time McCaskill pressured Waltz for the lead. Continuing his charge to the front was Nick Smith who eventually took second from McCaskill as the race experienced its second caution. At this point in the race, racers back in the pack had noticeable front end damage from everyone getting wadded up. Clearly the riding around game plan was out the window for this field of cars. Green flag waved again with Waltz securing the point while Smith was giving chase. On back, it was Falk and now Dillion Bassett mixing it up at the front of the field.
After another caution period, a battle for the lead took place as Waltz had it and Nick Smith wanted it. The two would battle side by side just before the halfway point with Smith taking point as the caution flag waved to signal halfway. Then came some unfortunate controversy as Nick Smith and Matt Waltz came to pit road believing an official had signaled for them to come in. Greg Edwards followed in as well but pulled back out onto the track just missing the tire barrier along pit road. Though not the first time to ever happen in racing, track officials enforced the ruling that the pace truck was to bring the field to pit road for the halfway break. That ruling placed both Smith and Waltz, who easily defined the race as the two best of the field, to the tail end of the lead lap. After the 15 minute halfway break, we were back to racing as familiar foes with a rivalry past were on the front row to restart the race.
Inheriting the lead was Greg Edwards with CE Falk opting to start behind the leader making way for Bassett to start outside pole. Edwards made quick work of Bassett on the restart while Falk, as planned, followed on through giving chase to the leader. Just a few laps later, Falk would make his move on Edwards and, on lap 112, the race had a new leader. Several cautions later and the nights of Nick Smith and Matt Waltz go from bad to worse. Both would find themselves involved in wrecks as faster cars trying to come through a slower field. Back to racing and race leader CE Falk was looking true to form. Several more cautions came out during the late stages of the race with the last one on lap 195 for debris that race leader CE Falk ran over, a green-white-checkered finish was on the way.
Falk gained the edge on the restart and disposed of Bassett, who performed so well racing Falk in chase of the lead, in turn one. Danny Edwards, Jr., who had been picking them off one by one all night, stuck his nose underneath of Bassett before contact sent Bassett in the marbles. As all that went down, CE Falk had no more reason to look back in his mirror as the only thing he was looking for was the checkered flag. As lap 205 of a scheduled 200 went up on the board and the clock on the wall said 1:30 am, CE Falk, in return to his hometown track, wins the Hampton Heat 200 and marks the third time he has accomplished this feat. Danny Edwards, Jr., in his best finish in two years, came home second while points leader Greg Edwards is third. Peyton Sellers finished in fourth while Matt Bowling finished fifth, Brandon Gdovic finished sixth and Dillion Bassett was seventh — each with excellent performances of their own.
In a race marred by the rains and by the late start, the Langley Speedway faithful stuck around to witness short track thunder beating and banging in every green flag lap. Though caution laps plagued the race, the action was everything expected including race controversy and a green-white-checker finish. But in the end, this is one race CE Falk won’t soon forget. The win, the hardware, the $10 grand and champions bragging rights is good for one year. They will do it all again next year and no telling how big this event will grow into then.
