Hampton, VA(May 27, 2012) — After a trying week of disqualifications, reversals and finally a decision from Nascar themselves. Only racing itself could overshadow the events and misfortunes of CE Falk, Greg Edwards and Langley Speedway. That’s exactly what racing just did as 18 Late Models highlighted the Twin 50s that were on tap for the evening. Coming into tonight’s racing was new 2012 points leader Greg Edwards. With just two race wins so far at Langley, his string of runner up finishes easily recognizes Edwards as deserving to lead the points after CE Falk was DQed from last week. With that being said, no doubt Greg Edwards was smelling blood and winning was the only thing left on his mind. Likewise for CE Falk, he too was wanting to prove despite the ruling from last week that his rocket could still win without the truck arm bushings in question.

It was a hot afternoon at Langley Speedway with temps in the mid 80s and a track temp near 120 degrees. Humidity was up and that means a slick track. But that didn’t slow Greg Edwards for qualifying as he turned a lap worthy of a pole. Wesley Falk again qualified on the front row and would start beside Greg. Brother CE Falk claimed 3rd fastest with Danny Edwards Jr and Shayne Lockhart turning in fast laps respectfully. But soon news spread as it so rapidly does about Greg Edwards running low on tranny fluid thus giving up his starting pole position. Rule has it that a required amount of tranny fluid must measure up when inspected. Does running less give you a competitive advantage? Who knows but fortunately there’s no point value to it and Greg will have to start in the rear. Now the question is, will Greg save his tires and take what’s given or will he go after this first race to win.

Green flag will wave for now awarded pole sitter Wesley Falk and he will lead a field of 18 Late Models into turn 1. After a 2 lap battle with brother CE Falk, the older Falk brother will secure the lead and start to take off. Wesley will settle for 2nd while Shayne Lockhart tucks in behind for 3rd. Danny Edwards Jr and Mark Wertz make up the top five. After 20 laps complete there wasn’t much change in the running order except…Greg Edwards. Personally thinking Greg would save his stuff for them in the second race all of a sudden found Greg Edwards up to 9th on the charts. But would there be enough laps to get up there with the leaders? However on Lap 30 the caution would wave for spinning rocket of JT Jackson over in turn 2. With the cone rule in effect, going to the high side can yield results and that’s where Greg Edwards would go on this restart. But soon after just one lap the caution comes back out for the second time for debris in turn 2.

On that restart, CE Falk was able to clear and in the process, Greg Edwards picked another position and rests in 5th. Lap 31 restart, CE Falk clears but is momentarily harassed by Wesley Falk who had thoughts about taking the lead. While the leaders try to get away in the closing laps, Greg Edwards goes middle 3 wide into turn 3, makes slight contact with Lockhart. Holds his line and takes the 4th spot dropping Lockhart to 5th. Now Greg Edwards sets his sights on brother Danny for 3rd and easily distinguishes himself as the fastest car on the track. Its now lap 48 and Greg Edwards does away with Danny Edwards and now clears Wesley Falk for 2nd but time will run out and CE Falk win take the checkered flag in the first twin 50. Greg Edwards, Wesley Falk, Danny Edwards Jr and Casey Wyatt made up the top 5 for that feature.

As you know, the way they finished the first race is how the starting grid for the 2nd race will be. That puts CE Falk on pole and will lead 18 Late Models to battle for yet another 50 laps. With Greg Edwards on the outside the start is always a thriller for these two for sure. But like a shot from a canon and as the green waved to start the race, Greg Edwards made quick work of CE Falk and took the lead. By lap 5, Greg Edwards built a lead by about 5 lengths’ leaving the others to sort themselves out. CE Falk is running 2nd while Wes Falk, Danny Edwards and Casey Wyatt round out the top 5. Several laps would go by with little change in the running order with the exception of Shayne Lockhart who appears to be on the move. Lap 30 is now in the books and Edwards lead is now 10 lengths and just as he passes me, CE Falk goes by with an awful engine flutter coming from his ride.

With CE Falk having engine troubles, which moves Shayne Lockhart to second, Wesley Falk to 3rd, Danny Edwards rolls 4th and Casey Wyatt 5th. But with 10 laps left, the fastest car on the track was no longer Greg Edwards. It was the #95 of Shayne Lockhart and closing in to battle for the lead. Greg would fight for a half a lap before having to give in to the faster ride of Shayne Lockhart who would go on to win for the first time at Langley Speedway. Greg Edwards would have to settle for 2nd while Wes Falk turns in another good night finishing 3rd, Casey Wyatt crossed the line in 4th and Danny Edwards Jr 5th. It was later learned that for CE Falk, had a spark plug wire fall off and was not an engine failure. For Greg Edwards, he believed that he may have had a tire go down but again, crossing the stripe first was Shayne Lockhart in his first ever win at Langley Speedway.

Results ….
Race #1:
Fin. Pos. (Car #) Driver; Laps Compl.
1. (40) C.E. Falk; 50
2. (97) Greg Edwards; 50
3. (41) Wes Falk; 50
4. (26) Danny Edwards Jr.; 50
5. (29) Casey Wyatt; 50
6. (55) Mark Wertz; 50
7. (95) Shayne Lockhart; 50
8. (20) Gary Weeks; 50
9. (38) Duane Shreeves; 50
10. (61) Kevin Cunningham; 50
11. (67) J.T. Jackson; 50
12. (77) Bruce Livingston; 49
13. (83) Jeremy Grogg; 48
14. (01) Jeff Shiflett; 31
15. (6) Shawn Balluzzo; 29
16. (90) Terry Carroll; 29
17. (97a)Robbie Babb; 4
18. (55a)Todd VanGuilder; 4
Pole: W. Falk – 87.930 mph.

Race #2:
Fin. Pos. (Car #) Driver; Laps Compl.
1. (95) Shayne Lockhart; 50
2. (97) Greg Edwards; 50
3. (41) Wes Falk; 50
4. (29) Casey Wyatt; 50
5. (26) Danny Edwards Jr.; 50
6. (55) Mark Wertz; 50
7. (01) Jeff Shiflett; 50
8. (20) Gary Weeks; 50
9. (90) Terry Carroll; 49
10. (6) Shawn Balluzzo; 49
11. (38) Duane Shreeves; 49
12. (77) Bruce Livingston; 49
13. (61) Kevin Cunningham; 48
14. (83) Jeremy Grogg; 47
15. (40) C.E. Falk; 32
16. (55a)Todd VanGuilder; 3
17. (97a)Robbie Babb; 3
18. (67) J.T. Jackson; 2
Pole: C.E. Falk – via Race #1 finish.

The veteran Motorcross racer, who had a crash on February 18th in Arlington, Texas at Cowboys Stadium that ended his season with injuries including a fractured his tibia/fibula, tore the ACL in his knee, two broken ribs and a broken T6 vertebra.  The injuries devastated his season with TwoTwo Motorsports in AMA, but as he continues to focus on a 2013 return with the team, he’s ready to try his hand at stock car racing.

He’ll compete in a car out of veteran Late Model Stock Car racer, Jamie Yelton’s shop.  Yelton operates Fat Head Racing and handles the short track program for Marcos Ambrose Motorsports, owned by NASCAR driver Marcos Ambrose.  Reed, who tested a car for the first time at Hickory Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 10th and again on Friday, May 11th is looking to get some seat time and learn to race with four wheels instead of two.

Reed will compete in a 100-lap Late Model Stock Car race for his first outing with the team.  He will have Yelton with him to help mentor him in his transition to stock cars and the veteran driver has helped guide the careers of some of the brightest talent in short track racing including Brennan Poole, Paddy Rodenbeck, Ronnie Bassett, Jr. and most recently Ben Rhodes.

For more information on Chad Reed check out his website www.ChadReedRacing.com or for more info on the race at Hickory Motor Speedway check out the tracks website at www.hickorymotorspeedway.com.

Hampton, VA(May 24, 2012) — Another twist in the CE Falk, Langley Speedway saga comes as NASCAR steps in to help the track reverse decision.

On Saturday night, CE Falk III took the checkered flag on the track twice in twin races, soon after the final checkered flag fell, he was disqualified when his truck arm bushings failed inspection. An unwritten rule prohibits competitors from drilling the bushing and adding a pin, a practice that used to be common according to some racers until it was made illegal.

Though, the rule book doesn’t clearly state that you can’t run truck arm bushings like Falk had them, his wins were dismissed. On Monday, track management reversed the decision on the first of the twin races by using an unwritten track policy, that every race stands for itself. On Thursday, nearly a week after the original decision was made and after three days of deliberating with NASCAR officials, that decision too was reversed, reinstating the disqualification for both races.

The disqualification handed the win in both races to Greg Edwards, a bitter rival of Falk’s and thus wiping out Falk’s championship hopes at Langley Speedway. Through the twists and turns from Saturday night to Thursday, many questioned the integrity of the tracks officials on both sides of the arguement, but one racer who wished to remain anonymous said NASCAR got it right.

“I don’t know what Langley Speedway was thinking,” the driver said of Monday’s decision to give Falk one of his wins back. “That’s not how it’s done in racing, everyone knows that on a night of twins, if you’re illegal, you’re out on both races. Thankfully NASCAR stepped in and forced the track to make the right decision and help them save face.”

The driver also added, “Everyone knows in this deal that what they did was illegal, it’s an unwritten rule that we all just abide by. I guess they just thought they were above the rules.”

The track issued the following statement regarding the Thursday decision.

“The Officials at Langley Speedway, after a three day fact finding mission have decided that it is in the best interest of NASCAR, Langley Speedway, competitors, and fans, to reverse Monday’s decision to allow C.E. Falk III to receive points and a win in the 1st of twin late model races.”

“After much deliberation, with officials at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord N.C. and consulting with NASCAR Corporative offices in Daytona Beach Fla. It is in the best interest of all parties for Langley Speedway to follow pre established national standards.”

“Those industry standards are: When twin features are run during the same event night and a rules infraction is found, following the last event the standard in the racing industry is the competitor is penalized for both races. Therefore, the Competitor in question will be disqulified for both events on the race night of Saturday May 19, 2012.”

Falk speaking with the local paper that covers Langley Speedway (the Daily Press) had this to say in response to Thursday decision.

“This opens our options,” he said. “We still want to compete for a national championship, so we might have to go where we can get the most races and the most car count.”

“We’ll be back for races like the Hampton Heat. I don’t know if I’ll be racing there on Saturday, but I never meant to say (earlier in the week) that I’d never race there again. Langley has been around for 62 years and it will always be bigger than one driver.”

“I know Langley did what was best for the track, but this decision is heartbreaking. I still don’t agree that this is an infraction.”

Hopefully this puts an end to a crazy week for Langley Speedway, CE Falk, Greg Edwards and all the tracks supporters and fans.

Copper Hill, VA(May 24, 2012) — Wow.  That would be a good word to describe all of the goings on in Late Model Stock Car racing right now.  From a surprise win by Josh Berry at Motor Mile to pure domination by Dustin Rumley at Ace to the controversial disqualification and subsequent reinstatement and his re-disqualification(not really a word is it) of one of CE Falk’s wins at Langley to Nate Monteith getting busted after a mistake by his engine builder, there has been a lot happening.

Yeah, that’s only the top of the iceberg, but here at RACE22.com we’ve got the job of trying to sort the whole mess out and one of my personal favorite things to do is the Power Rankings.  That’s where I try to take a look at the Late Model Stock Car scene as a whole and figure out who the power players are and figure out who’s going to get left off the list, because there’s only ten spots.

I hope you enjoy these too and without further interruption, let me unveil the Power Drivers from the last two weeks.

Honorable Mentions ….

Frank Deiny, Jr.
OK, yeah I just listed ole’ FDJ on here and you might ask why? Well, I just thought I’d help my new found friend on Facebook be right about us being ‘biased’ and a ‘shill for drivers with money’. I mean we couldn’t have just listed Frank on here because Saturday night he was a few spots away from being fired from his ride(inside joke or I assume he hopes so) in qualifying to finishing second with a chance to win it in the closing laps at Motor Mile. Yeah, heck we actually ignore what goes on, on the track in favor of our ‘favorites’!

Adam Long
Putting it on the pole at Motor Mile Speedway with Lee Pulliam in attendance is darn near impossible, but Adam Long … yes, I said Adam Long. The young driver has been coming into his own this season after up and down performances over the past several seasons and if he had been able to hold it together for the 150-lap race this past weekend he would have easily vaulted into the top 10.

10 – Kenny Brooks
He retains his spot among the top 10 with two more wins at Concord Speedway, bringing his season total to 5, but Concord Speedway appears to be on the verge of shutting down. They’ve cut the purse already and plan to end the season early … way early … in July. Hopefully for Brooks, he can move somewhere else and pick up right where he’ll leave off at Concord.

9 – Josh Berry
Winning at Motor Mile Speedway is a pretty big deal and when you’re the only car out of the JR Motorsports stables that wins races, that’s an even bigger deal. Josh Berry is proving that he has the talent to move up the ranks as he has been one of the best cars in every race at Motor Mile this season and on a night when Lee Pulliam dominated he came away with the win. Was there a little luck involved? Sure, but I’d rather be lucky than good any day.

8 – Daniel Pope II
Winning because the apparent winner gets disqualified isn’t something you typically celebrate, but for Daniel Pope, who picked up his third win after protesting Nate Monteith, it was a big deal. Not only did they get the win, but the subsequent disqualification gave him the points lead, something he hopes to hold on to the rest of the season.

7 – Dustin Rumley
At Ace Speedway the racing seems to go in cycles and when you’re hot there, you’re on fire. Dustin Rumley is having a little surge as he heats up along with the temperatures and has taken command of the Late Model Stock Car division at Ace Speedway. Rumley has always been a wheelman and now he’s taking it to a new level beating some of the best competition at Ace Speedway and making it look pretty easy.

6 – Greg Edwards
He was ranked second last time on the heels of being best in class in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown and the top Late Model regular. This time even with a win two wins, albeit by disqualification, he slips a little as many other drivers throughout the region begin to flex their muscle. However, Edwards I believe is on the verge of being right back at the top, if he can find a way to out run CE Falk III.

5 – Deac McCaskill
Southern National Motorsports Parks reincarnation has been good to Deac McCaskill as he’s been able to win five races there this season, not to mention his single victory at South Boston. Though he had taken a season or so off to mentor, Darrell Gilchrist, he hasn’t skipped a beat in his return.

4 – Marty Ward
Marty Ward is another driver that despite his age, hasn’t missed a beat and probably won’t anytime soon. He got tired of Toby Porter dominating at Greenville Pickens Speedway, the track that Ward has called home for years and now he’s up front winning every race. He’s won the last four and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

3 – Lee Pulliam
Everyone knew that it was only a formality for Lee Pulliam to be allowed to race, before he’d start dominating. Well three races in and he’s won the first two and had the third one won until he got into the corner too hard and pushed up into Josh Berry. So far in his career he’s won at every track he’s ever raced, much like his nemesis, Philip Morris, who is set to return soon as well. He’s won at Motor Mile, South Boston, Caraway and Martinsville and if he has anything to do with it, I’m sure he’ll add Kingsport Speedway to that list this weekend.

2 – Nate Monteith
Lightning Monteith has been living up to expectations this season and despite a protest and subsequent disqualification this past weekend, he’s not slowing down. He’s already got three wins and after getting his car clipped by Performancenter Racing Warehouse with a new Marlowe/LTO merged clip, his program is stronger than ever. He’ll have to be on his toes with invaders like Mike Looney, Adam Long and Lee Pulliam coming to town and he’s got to keep an eye on Daniel Pope and Zeke Shell for sure, but he’s vowed to win the rest of the races at Kingsport this season, so I guess we’ll see.

1 – CE Falk III
He might have been disqualified from two one, I mean two races this past weekend, but the young driver is still the hottest driver in Late Model Stock Car racing right now.  Having won at South Boston, Motor Mile and Langley Speedway, he’s on fire and he’s on par to have a shot at winning the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championship.  However, his disqualification might have shed a little light on his domination this season, but we’ll find out if it mattered at all in twin races at Langley Speedway this weekend.

Nashville, TN(May 24, 2012) — Last weekend was a controversial one for Late Model Stock Car racing and the controversy all started at Kingsport Speedway last Friday night when Nate Monteith’s apparent win was protested by the second place finisher and tomorrow night, that’s likely where the controversy will pick up again.

Monteith appeared to have cruised to his fourth win of the season on Friday night, May 18th, but following the race, second place finisher, Daniel Pope II and his team led by crew chief, Randy Weaver filed a protest that would see every piece of his engine be tore down. In the early morning hours of Saturday when the tear down was completed, Monteith’s pistons were being taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center, which in racing is typically a formality before being officially disqualified.

Monday afternoon, Monteith got the call and he was officially thrown out from his fourth win, handing Pope his third win of the season and the points lead. While we caught up with Monteith Monday night and got his side of the story, we hadn’t spoke with Pope or his team until today and considering that Monteith specifically called out Pope’s crew chief, we figured it was best to talk to him.

While he didn’t throw any jabs at Monteith, Weaver did offer up that while Monteith is contending that the piston rings gave him no performance advantage, that the veteran crew chief doesn’t buy that.

“The whole piston ring deal, there’s more to it than the three-thousandths,” Weaver said in a phone interview. “He says there’s not a performance advantage and I don’t buy that at all. Now, I’m not an engine builder, but I have spoke to several and they all tell me as has JE Pistons that it does give him a performance advantage.”

Was it enough of an advantage for him to outrun Pope?

“I’m not saying it’s what got us beat, but it was wrong and that’s just it.”

When asked why the decision was made to protest Monteith, Weaver offered that it was simply a matter of timing.

“It all boils down to, I get paid to do a job. I get paid to run good and win races and I felt like the time was right for us to look. With the way things had changed with his car the last few weeks, I knew he had changed engine builders, so I had to see what was going on.”

“It’s one of those deals. Hey, he got busted. I’m not going to sit here and throw him or Jeremy UpChurch(the engine builder) under the bus. I’m not looking to do that at all, I just had to see what they had, to know what we’re up against.”

Many people also believed that Weaver must have been tipped off by someone that the piston rings weren’t right at which he laughed.

“For sure? No, I gambled, but I won. I didn’t know if anything was wrong for sure, just went off of history and gambled a little.”

Weaver isn’t sure where Monteith’s anger at him comes from and maintains that the deal wasn’t personal and said he even told Monteith that after the officials were finished with the inspection.

“That morning, Saturday morning when they finished taking the engine apart and were taking the pistons back, I went over and shook his hand and told him that it wasn’t personal, it was just business. He blamed it on my boss, on Daniel’s dad and said “I don’t think it was you”.”

“It was me, I suggested it, it was something I just had to know,” continued Weaver. “It is what it is, they get all mad and it don’t matter to me. But, be mad at me all the time, don’t tell me one thing and then go tell another story on the phone.”

Weaver also offered his opinion on Monteith’s comments about being able to beat them every week and not having to worry about Pope or anyone else.

“I’ll give him credit, he’s been the dominant car at times. He’s done it before, maybe he can. If he don’t though, he’ll look bad with all that talking he’s doing.”

Weaver and Pope were on the way to test at Kingsport Speedway today in preparation for tomorrow nights race during the phone interview earlier today and is hoping they’ve found a little extra that will get them back in victory lane.

“I work on the car every week,” continued Weaver. “Every week we do the same thing, we make changes to get better whether we win or finish 10th and we did that again this week.”

Weaver and his driver will certainly be one of the players tomorrow night when the green flag drops, but it will be interesting to see if Monteith can live up to his expectations or if Pope or someone else has caught up to him. They’ll also be joined by a trio of Motor Mile Speedway regulars who are expected to attend including Lee Pulliam, Mike Looney and Adam Long.

“We’re all out there for the same goal, added Weaver. “We’re all out there to win the Piston Cup.”