Falk makes it back-to-back

Published 10:30 pm Monday, April 27, 2009

Solidifying his status as a prime championship contender, C.E. Falk wired the field to capture his second straight victory in the Sprint 100 for the Crossroads Fuel Service Late Model Stock Cars Saturday evening at Langley Speedway.

Falk was quickest in time trials, clocking in at 87.095 mph.

As the race got under way, Woody Howard remained on Falk’s flank until they reached Turn 4. Exiting the corner, Falk gained the clear-cut edge and left an opening to Howard’s inside. Greg Edwards pounced on the opportunity and took over the runner-up spot on lap 2. Howard settled into third, followed by Aaron Adams and Danny Edwards Jr.

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The race’s only caution flag appeared on lap 77 when fourth-place Adams spun in Turn 2. He tried to continue, but was eventually forced to the sidelines and a 14th-place finish.

Lining up for a restart, Falk, who was nearly half a lap ahead at the time of the caution, was separated from second-place Danny Edwards Jr. by three lapped machines.

Back under green, Falk took full advantage of his three-car buffer, pulling away by half a straightaway as Danny Edwards Jr. fought past the slower traffic.

At the checkers, C.E. Falk was the winner by 1.409 seconds — nearly half a straightaway — over Danny Edwards Jr. Dean Shiflett slipped past Wesley Falk on lap 95 and took third. Greg Edwards rounded out the top five.

In Victory Lane after the race, C.E. Falk said, “This car is hooked up, man. From this past week to this week, we didn’t change nothing and it showed up. Danny was coming there at the end, but we were just trying to ride and save our tires for next week.”

In the evening’s other feature events:

Michael Leech moved out front on the start and led all the way to the checkers in the 50-lap B&C Seafood Modified feature. The victory was Leech’s first in the Mod division.

Chris Johnson, the winner on Opening Night, was the fast qualifier, at 84.507 mph. Leech qualified on the outside pole.

At the drop of the initial green flag, Johnson failed to come up to speed as Leech shot into the lead. Joe Scarbrough emerged in second, followed by Rusty Wood, Shawn Balluzzo and Jimmy Humblet. Johnson struggled around the track for a lap, then pulled into the pits and parked his machine for the night.

The only yellow flag flew on lap 19 when Wood and Scarbrough tangled in Turn 2 and Wood spun.

At the finish, Leech was the winner by 0.848-second — about four lengths — over Balluzzo. Scarbrough was third, almost six seconds back.

Ryan Nester picked up his second win in as many starts in a 50-lapper for the Atlantic Power Sweeping Super Streets, leading the way from pole to checkers.

The only caution flag waved on lap 7 to allow rescue personnel in the infield to respond to a call on the grandstand side. As the race resumed, Nester quickly fashioned a three-length edge over Randy Sample.

Over the second half of the race, Nester maintained a half-straightaway margin and won by 1.803 seconds over Sample. Jeff Shannon was third.

Randy Prillaman led all 25 laps to notch his second straight win in the EZ Auto of Newport News UCAR feature.

Prillaman was the pole-sitter for the race. Robert Rusinyak shared the front row with Prillaman, while Adam Florian, Robbie Salas and Greg Pass lined up third, fourth and fifth, in that order.

On the start, Prillaman pulled ahead of Rusinyak as the field rounded Turns 1 and 2 for the first time. Florian moved up to fill the void to the inside of Rusinyak and came away with the second spot.

On lap 16, Prillaman steered into lapped traffic and Florian closed to within two lengths. On the following circuit, though, Prillaman broke into the clear and began to rebuild his advantage. At the finish, Prillaman was the winner by 2.117 seconds — about half a straightaway — over Florian.

Mike Ganoe took the lead on the opening lap and rolled to the win in the 20-lap season opener for the fledgling Enduro division. At the checkers, his winning margin was almost half a lap. Wayne Groome was the runner-up.

The Wolf Truck division kicked off its season on Saturday night. Apparently, however, Mark Claar was the only one who got that memo. Claar, the lone entrant, turned five laps and was flagged the winner, getting a 50-point head start on the rest of the class in the ‘09 title chase.

In deference to next weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series activities at Richmond International Raceway, no races will be held at Langley Speedway on Saturday, May 2. The schedule resumes on Saturday, May 9, with Moody’s All Virginia Environmental Solutions Night.