Falk race wins overturned

Published 11:13 pm Thursday, May 24, 2012

Greg Edwards leads No. 40 C. E. Falk III, who went on to finish first in both 50-lap races on May 19. Falk was later disqualified by the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series technical inspectors, giving Edwards, the second-place finisher in both of the Twin 50 Lap races, a pair of wins in the late-model stock car features at Langley Speedway.

Twice on Saturday night, C.E. Falk outran Greg Edwards to the checkered flag. He couldn’t outrun the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series technical inspectors, though, and his disqualification handed Edwards a pair of wins in the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce Twin 50s for the EZ Auto in Newport News Late Model Stock Cars, the featured events of Military Appreciation Night at Langley Speedway.

In the opener, Edwards started on the pole, at 88.576 mph, and led the first 13 circuits. Falk, who started third, moved up to second on the opening lap and began pecking on the leader’s rear bumper.

Coming around to complete lap 13, Falk slipped a fender underneath Edwards and motored to the point as they reached Turn 1 on lap 14.  The only caution flag appeared on lap 22, when Duane Shreeves and Shayne Lockhart tangled and spun in Turn 2.

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Back under green, Falk was able to gain some breathing room as his younger brother, Wes Falk, tussled briefly with Edwards for the second spot. Edwards eventually won that battle and closed in on the front-runner.

Edwards made a hard run at Falk on lap 43, and the two made contact as they exited Turn Four. The encounter seemed to upset Edwards’ machine more than it did Falk’s, and the leader extended his margin.

At the finish, Falk was three lengths ahead of Edwards. Wes Falk was third, followed by Matt Bowling and Austin Self. With Falk’s subsequent disqualification, Casey Wyatt moved up to fifth in the official rundown.

By virtue of his first-place outing in the first race, Falk started the second event from the pole. As the race got under way, though, Edwards grabbed the spotlight, powering ahead on the backstretch. Falk dropped into second, followed by Wes Falk.

Breaking free, though, Falk pulled away again and matched the three-length margin of victory he enjoyed in the first race.  Falk battled past Edwards after a mid-race restart and sped on to the checkered flag.