C.E. Falk went into Thursday’s Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Southside Speedway in Midlothian, Virginia looking to do two things, first, support a great group in the Denny Hamlin Foundation and second, to see what he could do against the big boys of NASCAR.
Falk felt strong all day in practice and felt this could be his chance to shine on one of the biggest stages for Late Model Stock racing. As qualifying rolled to an end, Falk proved that he would be one to contend with by sitting on the provisional pole position for several minutes before being knocked off by Tony Stewart and eventual pole winner Denny Hamlin. Falk would line up third with a familiar face behind him in fellow Langley competitor Matt Waltz starting fifth.
On the green Hamlin would get the jump as Falk looked to get past Stewart for second place on the track. Unfortunately the high line was the one on the move as Kyle Busch moved past Falk and Stewart moving himself into second and Falk into fourth. After a caution on lap 17, Falk would start his charge following Busch on the high line past both Stewart and Hamlin moving into second.
The second restart of the day would lead to Falk’s first lead of the day on lap 41. But this lead would end as quickly as it began as a hard shot from Busch would send Falk up the hill in turns 3 and 4 leading to Falk, Busch and Hamlin coming off turn 4 three-wide putting Busch back in the lead and Falk back into third.
Falk would be moved back into however as a caution came out before lap 42 was officially completed. The field went back green a few laps later and Falk began to look real comfortable at the front of the pack. Falk’s run would get slowed by a red flag on lap 62 as the machine of Chris Hopkins went for a rollover in turn 3.
Falk would continue to lead until a restart on lap 102 where Hamlin would fight past Falk on the outside to regain the lead. Hamlin would least the rest of the first 150 laps with Falk not far behind him in second. Going into the break Falk felt confident but knew it was still anyone’s race to win. “Got a long way to go with 100 laps left, so it’s still anybody’s race,” said Falk while getting some new tires and a drink during the 10 minute break.
Hamlin would really flex his muscle as the last 100 laps began keeping a stranglehold on the lead. Falk would continue to run a steady second place and wade through all the cautions but as the laps winded down it appeared Falk’s chances may have been slimming. As the field went on one of its longest green flag runs of the day Falk was struggling to chase down Hamlin while being faced with a mirror full of local legend Eddie Johnson.
But just as all hope seemed to be lost a caution appeared on lap 246 setting the field up for the one and only green-white-checker attempt of the race and Falk knew this was his only shot. Going green Hamlin chose the outside lane hoping to keep Falk pinned on the bottom. The two stayed side-by-side and took the white flag door-to-door. As the dived down into turn 3, Falk made his presence known giving Hamlin a nudge in the door to gain the advantage coming off the corner and win the drag race to the start/finish line.
“I can’t believe it man, I can’t believe they actually flew the checker flag and I didn’t get disqualified or nothing and I’m sitting in the checker board box and I got the trophy in my hand,” said an elated Falk in victory lane after the race. “I hope I get invited back next year.” When asked if he would race the same way he did during the last corners again Falk simply said, “as long as it has the same result.”
C.E. Falk and his brother and teammate Wes Falk will be back in action this Saturday in a 100 lap Crossroad Fuels Late Model Stock event at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia. Falk Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Avalon Fishing Pier, Leithcars.com, Towne Bank, HorsePower Tee Shot Tour, and Ford Racing for their continued support in the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season.
