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July10th, 2010
Langley Speedway Racing, Hampton, VA
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On July 10thm 2010 we had nothing to do and were talking about how we never try the races.. so off we went since it's close to the house. We learned really quick not to go so early. They have trials and more trials and more trials... and basically it gets real old, really fast. There's nobody in the stands till actual race times so we learned never to go when gates open. There wasn't much to do there. There's two stands and a truck with some food and it's slow going getting service. There were one or two tables set up, one where you get programs (like 2 bucks and shown above; nothing in it really) and one where you can buy novelties/candy. There was another area to buy T-shirts and hats later on. The best part of the day was being able to go down into the pits. Here, the drivers let you look at their cars and sign autographs (most did; a couple did not want to do this and were not very friendly; they look put off by it, while others loved it). Some cars were favored merely because of their decorations/sponsors. IE, the Dunkin Donuts car was favored by many. I think because it looked the nicest (colors) and the driver was very friendly. Alas, he did not win. There were some "midget" cars that did a race, some pick up trucks and some OLD cars as well before the main races. While down in the pit, just because I collect autographs, I did manage four autographs (I could have gotten almost all of them but we just picked out four who were willing to give free photos out). Here's the recap per Wikipedia: Run on July 10, 2010, the 2010 edition of Langley Speedway's richest race began under ominous conditions with short lived showers stopping practice a couple times early in the afternoon. However, the skies eventually cleared before qualifying began, which saw 23 entrants set times. Former Hampton Heat winner Nick Smith had returned with yet another car owner to attempt the race, but suffered a mechanical failure on his first qualifying lap and did not race. Paul DeBolt set the fastest time of 16.140 seconds, ahead of C.E. Falk, Greg Edwards, Stacy Puryear, and Woody Howard who filled out the top 5. The first half of the race featured some early excitement with C.E. Falk shoving DeBolt out of the way on lap 13 to take the lead. As well as a heated battle between Stacy Puryear and Mark Wertz that had a lot of bumping and close calls. The first half of the race went caution free until lap 100 when the caution was displayed for the half way break which allowed teams to swap tires, add fuel, and make adjustments. C.E. Falk held the lead through lap 100 and claimed a $100 bonus for being the half way leader award winner. During the break Stacy Puryear was interviewed about the on track contact with Mark Wertz which revealed a bit of a pay back may have been in order. The race resumed with all drivers in the same positions they were in at lap 100 and immediately was back under the caution flag as a pile up in turn 1 damaged the cars of Dean Shiflett and Eddie Johnson, and forced Duane Shreeves out of the race. Once resuming the race it was not long before the caution came out again when Puryear and Wertz bumped again, resulting in Wertz spinning in turn 4. Wertz drove up alongside Puryear under caution to voice his displeasure, but nothing more occurred between the two during the remainder of the race. The race continued on another long green flag run during which C.E. Falk began to show his dominance, pulling out to a big lead. The dynamic of the race changed quickly with only a few laps to go when Rick Gdovic went for a spin on the backstretch bringing out the final caution of the race. There was less than 10 laps to which meant the cars would line up in single file for the restart instead of the double file restarts used in the first 190 laps. Paul DeBolt attempted to close in on C.E. Falk on the restart but Falk got a better restart and was not strongly challenged in the final sprint to the checkers. Falk picked up the $10,000 winner's check and demonstrated much relief in victory lane at claiming victory in the race that had eluded him in the previous two years. I'd love to go to a real Nascar race (you know one of the biggies). Maybe someday. One thing about the race's I'd suggest is making sure you bring ear plugs! It's SUPER loud there...and your ears will be hurting you if you don't. I'd also suggest a stadium blanket and cushion to sit on. The benches are aluminum and hard. The weather shifts a lot too...there's no place for kids to play, so leave them at home.
Left to Right: 1) Red Impala sponsored by fire department 2) Actual race 3) The Pit 4) On the track just before lining up to race
Left to Right: 1) "Midget" cars 2) On of the Midgets cars either crashed or broke down and was picked up and carried off... 3) Inside one of the cars in the pit area 4) Handprint car (I think this is the children's hospital car)
Left to Right: 1) Gold Impala 2) Getting ready to start the big race 3) The flag dude 4) the Dunkin Donuts car
Left to Right: 1) In the pit; some cars under tarps or tents to shield from sun and rain 2) Cars lined up and getting ready to go on the track 3) Car 98 racing 4) Car 57 racing.
Left to Right: 1) Car 38 a Monte Carlo 2) Car 29 close up 3) Car 17 came in 2nd 4) Car 17 winning
Left to Right: 1) Car 5 Racing 2) Black Ford Fusion 3) Stands
Left to Right: 1) Casey Wyatt (car 23) autographed photo 2) Mark Wertz (car 55) autograph 3) Richard Storm (car 07) autograph 4) Stephen Berry (car 99) autograph
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