Rumblings from Pit Road

CE Falk Muscles Way To Win Hamlin Showdown

2010-05-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

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.

South Boston Speedway Releases 2010 Schedule

2009-11-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

http://www.southbostonspeedway.com/2010schedule.htm

Another impressive schedule from one of the most historic short tracks in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. The season is slated to begin on March 13 with twin Late Model races as well as the Limiteds, Pure Stocks and Southern Vintage Modifieds in a day race. The Late Models will compete in 22 races over the course of the 2010 South Boston Speedway schedule. Six dates on the schedule include twin races for the Late Models.

Some notable dates on the schedule:

April 3: Camping World East/Southern Modified double header

June 12: USARacing Pro Cup 250/TBA

July 2: Late Model 200/Limited 100/Pure Stock 50/Fireworks

August 28: PASS Super Late Model/Twin Late Model

October 16: Late Model 300

November 6: USARacing 300/TBA

CE Claims Win #11 of 2009

2009-09-08T23:32:00.000-07:00

Following his first sweep of last week's twin 75 lap races at Langley Speedway, CE Falk looked to repeat that feat as twin 75s were ran for the second time of the 2009 season. Not to mention this was Falk's last opportunity to improve on his NASCAR Whelen All American Series points.

Falk started out the night in a similar manner by winning the pole for race number one and the outside pole for race number two. Meanwhile, teammate and younger brother Wes Falk was able to improve on his qualifying efforts placing his 41 machine third for race number one and seventh for race number two. With 19 cars in the field the chances of improving on both NASCAR and track points looked great for both Falk Motorsports teams.

The first race was pretty uneventful and both CE and Wes were able to drive their own races and avoid any trouble. Wes would run in the top five for most of the night before being passed late by Greg Edwards and Woody Howard pushing him back to a sixth place finish. Meanwhile, CE looked just as impressive as he did last race leading flag-to-flag and overcoming two restarts to claim his 10th win at Langley and his 11th win of the 2009 season. Falk took the win home by just over a second over his closest competition for the 2009 Langley track championship Danny Edwards while Mark Wertz, Greg Edwards and Woody Howard completed the top five.

But Falk knew his night wasn't complete and that race number two would be just as tough while he spoke in victory lane, “I don’t know. I feel like, these twin races, it’s not really a win ‘til you win both of ‘em. We gotta make one adjustment on this car. We were a little too tight, but Danny seemed to be really good. I don’t know how much he was riding. And, Paul (DeBolt), he’s gonna be good for the next one.”

Race number two was even more uneventful as the field stayed under the green flag for the entire 75 lap distance. DeBolt used his pole starting postition to get the early edge over CE Falk who started to his outside on row number one. Falk would remain in the runner up position for majority of the evening before being overtaken by both Dean Shiflett and Mark Wertz in the final 15 laps of the event relegating CE to a fourth place finish. Meanwhile, brother Wes had similar issues as his car suffered a tight condition and after fighting hard all night was relegated to a ninth place finish.

Overall the night was a boost for CE Falk who not only padded another four points onto his track points lead over Danny Edwards increasing it to 26(746-720). Wes continues to hold onto the sixth place in track standings with a 16 point advantage over seventh place Dean Shiflett(542-526). Three races remain on the 2009 Langley Speedway schedule with 100 lap races on Septmeber 19th and 26th and on the season finale on October 10th.

On the NASCAR level, the win in the first race increased Falk's national points amount by 11 points to 751 while increasing his Virginia state total by 21 points to 741 giving CE a 49 point edge over Frank Deiny who will run his 18th race this Saturday before the NASCAR cutoff on Sunday. In order to pass CE, Deiny must win this weekend over a full field of 23 cars in Motor Mile's 150 lap season finale.

NASCAR Notes

2009-09-05T01:04:00.000-07:00

After being bounced from his regular ride in the Hall of Fame 96 in favor of rookie Erik Darnell, Bobby Labonte has found a new home for those seven races in the 71 of TRG Motorsports.

This of course in replacement of David Gilliland who has already agreed to replace the injured Bill Elliott in the Wood Brothers famous 21 for this weekend's race at Atlanta. Elliott cracked three ribs while riding his dirt bike.

Gilliland will also make three starts in Joe Gibbs Racing 02 Farm Bureau machine. Those starts will come at Charlotte, Texas and Homestead.

On a happier note for the Elliott family, Bill's 13 year-old son Chase became the youngest winner in PASS South history after beating Venturini development driver Jeff Choquette in the Over The Mountain 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway last Saturday night.

Something Interesting I Saw Over On Jayski.com

2009-09-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

The top-12, under Formula One scoring:
1) Tony Stewart 99

2) Jeff Gordon 82

3) Jimmy Johnson 74

4) Mark Martin 70

5) Kyle Busch 56

6) Denny Hamlin 56

7) Greg Biffle 44

8) Carl Edwards 44

9) Kurt Busch 43

10) Ryan Newman 40

11) Kasey Kahne 33

12) Brian Vickers 31

ACC Starts 2009 Off With A Loss

2009-09-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

NC State had a chance to start the 2009 season for the ACC off with a bang hosting SEC South Carolina in Raleigh but were unable to get to the endzone as the Gamecocks would win in a low scoring battle 7-3 on Thursday night. Hopefully with the rest of the conference playing on Saturday the strength of the ACC can be shown especially with VT facing SEC opponent Alabama in Atlanta.

Tyrod Taylor To Carry The VT Banner

2009-09-03T01:42:00.000-07:00

The Junior QB comes into 2009 with an overall record of 13-2 under head coach Frank Beamer and looks to have another impressive year and possibly lay claim to several school records;

556 yards behind Bob Schweickert in career rushing yards by a QB(35 behind Michael Vick)
9 touchdowns behind Schweickert in career rushing TD's by a QB(3 behind Vick)
2 behind Schweickert in career 100-yard rushing games by a QB(tied with Vick)
Also boasts a 400 lb front squat, a QB record

Taylor has played in 23 games in his career at VT while starting 15 of them, 10 of those in 2008. Taylor was also voted the MVP of the 2008 ACC Championship which helped vault VT into the Orange Bowl against Cincinnati.

Career Stats: Passing Rushing

Year Comp-Att Pct. Yds TD Int Att Yds Avg TD

2007 72-134 53.7 927 5 3 102 429 4.2 6

2008 99-173 57.2 1036 2 7 147 738 5.0 7

Career 171-307 55.7 1963 7 10 249 1167 4.7 13

VT Streaks Going Into 2009

2009-09-03T01:33:00.000-07:00

A quick look at some of the streaks that the Hokie program is carrying into the 2009 season;

16 consecutive bowl appearances, third in the NCAA behind Florida(18) and Florida State(27)
Coach Beamer sits 5th amongst coaches for longest consecutive bowl appearances with 16
Still on a 4 game win streak dating back to a 14-3 victory over Duke at home
Has scored in a school record 176 straight games dating back to Sept. 23, 1995
Tech is 2nd in the NCAA for consecutive seasons with 8 or more wins with 11 behind Georgia(12)
Tech has won the last 2 ACC Championships(2007,2008)

Virginia Tech Hokies 2009 Schedule

2009-09-03T01:30:00.000-07:00

Sept. 5-vs. Alabama in Atlanta, GA

Sept. 12-Marshall

Sept. 19-Nebraska

Sept. 26-Miami

Oct. 3-at Duke

Oct. 10-Boston College

Oct. 17-at Georgia Tech

Oct. 29-North Carolina

Nov. 5-at East Carolina

Nov.14-at Maryland

Nov. 21-NC State

Nov. 28-at Virginia

Looks to be another great season for Beamer and the boys from Blacksburg, VA! Can't wait for the season to get kicked off!

Article Update

2009-09-03T00:49:00.000-07:00

Article about last Saturday's Late Model action at Langley Speedway is up over at Race22.com check it out by following the link below and make sure you stay tuned to Race22.com for all your news surrounding Late Models as we head in to the end of the NASCAR season and the approaching big races at South Boston, Martinsville, Myrtle Beach and more.

http://www.race22.com/summer2009news2/Falk_Doubles_Up_at_Langley.html

Exciting News From The CWTS

2009-09-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

It was recently announced that Richard Childress Racing and the famous black number 3 will soon be returning to Camping World Truck Series competition after a long absence. Behind the wheel of the familiar paint scheme will be Childress' grandson and up-and-coming talent Austin Dillon. The truck is set to return to the track this weekend at Iowa ending Childress' 10 year long absence from the series. RCR was the first team to win in truck series competition back in 1995 in the inaugural race at Phoenix.

Dillon has visited Iowa Speedway three times this year already in competition racing in the Camping World East-West Challenge, ARCA and Nationwide series races at the 7/8 mile oval. His current best finish at Iowa is a runner up finish to Parker Kilgerman.

Obviously this will cause much comparisons between the young driver and the previous driver of the black number 3 Dale Earnhardt, Sr. While I think that currently will be a stretch of a comparison I do think Dillon has the talent and equipment available to him to make a splash very soon and have a long lasting career in NASCAR's top three divisions.

Upcoming Race Schedule

2009-09-02T03:06:00.001-07:00

For those wondering where I'll be in the coming weeks, here is my current schedule for the next two months as racing season begins to wind down;

9/5: Langley Speedway Late Model Twin 75s Modified 50

9/12: Motor Mile Speedway Late Model 150(tentative)

9/13-14: Rockingham Speedway Late Model test at Little Rock(tentative)

9/19: Langley Speedway Late Model 100

9/26: Langley Speedway Late Model 100 Modified 50

10/3-4: Martinsville Speedway Baileys 300

10/10: Langley Speedway Finale Late Model 100 Modified 50

10/16-17: South Boston Speedway Mason Dixon 500

10/24: Langley Speedway Night of Destruction(tentative)

Notes From The Sprint Cup Series

2009-09-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

David Stremme is out and Brad Keselowski is in over at the Penske Racing #12, Brad will compete full-time for the team in 2010 in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series.
Erik Darnell will get his first shot at the Sprint Cup level this weekend at Atlanta for the first of seven races he will run in the Hall of Fame Racing #96 entry, Northern Tool + Equipment will sponsor the car. Darnell will also run at Loudon, Kansas, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead. Bobby Labonte will run the other five events with Ask.com and DLP as sponsors.
Furniture Row Racing, fresh off their announcement that they will run full-time with Regan Smith in 2010, unveiled a special paint scheme for Richmond which they donated to World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization based in Federal Way, Washington.
Wave Energy Drink announced that they will sponsor Tommy Baldwin Racing and driver Patrick Carpentier for six races in 2009. The beverage company will adorn the TBR #36 Toyota for six straight races at Atlanta, Richmond, New Hampshire, Dover, Kansas and California.
Finally, despite various rumors to the contrary, Kevin Harvick will return to the Richard Childress owned #29 in 2010 with continued backing from Shell and Pennzoil.
On a scheduling note, Dover International Speedway announced their dates for the 2010 season with the track's spring tripleheader being moved to May 14-16. The change was made to accommodate a busy spring NASCAR schedule. The second race weekend at Dover will remain unchanged at September 24-26.

Race22.com

2009-08-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a second to remind everyone that for news about local Late Model racing Race22.com has you covered. Be sure to check out our weekend wrap up, http://www.race22.com/summer2009news2/Wrap_Up_August_30_2009.html, and stories are on the way about this weekend's UARA, PASS, ASA, Langley Speedway races and more.

Race22.com All Late Models! All The Time!

One Night, Two Wins For CE Falk

2009-08-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

The quote, "when your on, your on," is the best description for talking about the way CE Falk went about bringing home his ninth and tenth wins of the 2009 season in NASCAR Whelen All-American Late Model Stock competition at Langley Speedway. The track had changed the scheduled 100 lap event to twin 75s in an effort to make up some events that had been cancelled by weather.

Falk would show his strength early laying claim to the pole position for the first race and the outside pole position for the second race. Brother and teammate Wes Falk would qualify his Chevrolet 10th and 13th for the respective races.

Race one saw CE waste no time in taking the lead and showing the way but the road was not so smooth for Wes who encountered some bad luck early as the 17 of John Staton spun directly into the path of the hard charging 41 resulting in Wes' car climbing the side of Staton's bringing out the first caution and relegating Wes to a 19th place finish.

CE would continue on in dominating fashion opening up several large leads and showing some tremendous power on every restart before cruising to the first win of the night by just under two seconds over last week's winner Woody Howard. Mark Wertz, Danny Edwards and Greg Edwards would make up the rest of the top five.

After ample amount of time to rest and prepare for race number two the field retook the track just after midnight but the song remained the same. After taking the lead from pole sitter Paul DeBolt on lap 7 Falk never looked back showing no loss of power from race one. Meanwhile, Wes was having a much better race moving up to as high as seventh before losing brakes and having to run the race of his life to protect his eighth place finish.

CE Falk, who had impressed many by running away from former USAR standout Woody Howard by two seconds in race one, would top that in race two as he would battle through numerous restarts to top Howard once again, this time by just over four seconds. Greg Edwards, Mark Wertz and Dean Shiflett would round out the top five in race number two.

"We had two flawless races, the car was absolutely perfect. Our Avalon Pier/HorsePower Tee Shot Tour/Towne Bank Ford Fusion was incredible on both the short and long run," said an elated CE Falk glancing over at two trophies, "My team showed that they wouldn't let a bad week bring them down."

The night was also incredible for CE in the championship points battle as he would extend his lead over 2008 Champ Danny Edwards from six points to 22(652-630) with five races left on the schedule for the Crossroads Fuel Late Models. While Wes Falk is locked in a tight battle for sixth in points which he currently occupies by four points over Jeff Shiflett and eight points over Dean Shiflett.

In the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series points CE Falk would see a 50 point improvement in his National total, lifting it up to 736 points, and a 68 point boost in his Virginia State total, improving that to 716 points.

Next up for Falk Motorsports is another pair of 75 lap races next week, September 5th, at Langley Speedway.

New Article

2009-06-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

New article up over at B/R, my weekly Studs and Duds column from this past weekend's Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Here is the link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/199509-lifelock-400-studs-and-duds/show_full

Sad News

2009-06-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

Sad news out of the NASCAR Mexico Series as former series champion and well-respected driver Carlos Pardo was lost after a hard crash in the final laps of the series' event at Autodromo Miguel E. Abed.

As per the series rule book the race was called due to time constraints and the results were based on the last completed green flag lap in which Pardo was the leader ergo he was declared the race winner.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Pardo family in this tough time.

First Post Soon

2009-06-10T00:30:00.000-07:00

New website here, got it created not long ago and its about time for me to hit the sack so my first official post will come tomorrow. Also Thursday night I will probably post my review of the new movie "The Hangover" as I plan to go see it with some friends Thursday evening. So be on the look out for that and much more to come! Thanks for reading!