Brenden Queen was hoping for a strong run in the Hampton Heat 200 to turn his 2017 season around, and he managed to do just that on Saturday night.
After winning the championship at East Carolina Motor Speedway last year, finishing second in the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National and picking up top-10 finishes in all three of the season ending majors, Queen entered the 2017 season with optimism. However, prior to Saturday night, Queen had yet to score a top-five finish.
That changed when he was able to race his way into contention in the Hampton Heat 200 at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway. In the closing laps, Queen came on strong, mounting a late rae charge that propelled him to a runner-up finish, his first top-five of the year.
“We needed this run,” Queen said after the race. “With this many people around, it looks like we won the race. For us, this is our first top-five of the year. It sets us up good going in Martinsville in the Virginia Triple Crown. We showed them we were there.”
The runner-up finish has renewed Queen’s confidence, but even then, Queen was still left to wonder what could have been.
“Maybe one more caution, I could have had a shot at Bobby,” Queen added. “I saved a lot and we were able to capitalize when they got to racing and, once we got by them we left them.”
Brenden Queen will continue to set his sights on victory lane at Langley Speedway, where he has never won, for the rest of the season while also preparing for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway on September 23rd.
