Langley results 2005-06-18

NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series at Langley Speedway - Hampton, VA
Budweiser Night
Race Report
Saturday, June 18, 2005

HAMPTON, Va. (June 18) -- Danny Edwards posted his second straight win, and third overall, in the Budweiser 75 for the Chick-fil-A Late Models, the featured event of Saturday evening's NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series program at Langley Speedway.

Danny's brother, Greg Edwards, was quickest in time trials, qualifying at 85.994 mph. After an inversion, though, he dropped to fifth on the starting grid. Jimmy Adkins moved up to the pole position with Mark Wertz alongside. Danny Edwards and Doug Warren occupied Row 2, while Greg Edwards and Paul DeBolt made up Row 3.

The event got off to a rocky start as three caution flags appeared before the opening lap could be completed.

Finally getting down to business, Adkins edged ahead of Wertz to take the lead. Danny Edwards settled into third, followed by Warren and Greg Edwards. Two laps were on the board when the fourth yellow flag was unfurled.

The epidemic of "yellow fever" continued as caution flags interrupted the race at laps 7 and 12. The running order at the head of the field remained unchanged, however, with Adkins, Wertz, Danny Edwards, Warren and Greg Edwards holding down the top five spots.

Back under green, Adkins fashioned a narrow advantage as Danny Edwards moved up to challenge Wertz for the runner-up position. The bid came on lap 17 as Edwards ducked low in Turn 4 and drew even. He completed the pass for second on the backstretch on the following circuit.

Within a handful of laps, Edwards was filling Adkins' mirror. Before that battle could develop, though, the seventh caution flag waved at lap 25.

On the restart, Edwards wasted no time in going after Adkins for the lead. He drove under Adkins on the backstretch, nosed ahead at the line and gained the clear-cut edge in Turn 2 on lap 26. Within 10 laps, Edwards had pulled off by half a straightaway.

At about the same time, Warren scooted by Wertz for third place, bringing Greg Edwards with him and kicking Wertz back to fifth.

Danny Edwards' healthy margin evaporated on lap 35 as the eighth caution flag flew for a two-car tangle in Turn 3.

As the race resumed, Edwards motored away from the pack, while Warren began searching for a way around Adkins. By lap 42, Edwards' lead stood at half a straightaway and was growing.

On the 45th circuit, Edwards made his first serious foray into lapped traffic. Working expertly past the slower machines, he had actually increased his lead when he broke into the clear on lap 49.

The ninth, and final, caution flag appeared on lap 52 for a blown engine along the frontstretch. Both Adkins and Warren ran through the fluid and skittered sideways. With a bit of fancy driving, though, they managed to gather their machines and continue as the field slowed.

Lining up for what would turn out to be the final restart, Danny Edwards maintained the top spot, followed by Adkins, Warren, Greg Edwards and Wertz.

Under green for the sprint to the finish, Danny Edwards immediately opened a two-length advantage, stretching it to three as the field rumbled down the backstretch. Adkins, Warren, Greg Edwards and Wertz were bumper-to-bumper with points leader Tommy Cherry lurking in sixth.

On lap 67, Cherry cracked the top five for the first time, easing ahead of Wertz. He completed the pass on lap 68.

At the front, meanwhile, Danny Edwards was on cruise control. By the finish, his winning margin had swelled to a full straightaway.

Adkins was second to the checkers, fighting off Warren's last-lap bid to secure the spot. Warren was third, followed by Greg Edwards and Cherry.

In Victory Lane after the race, Edwards commented on the performance of his Dodge: "The car was excellent today. We made a few changes over what we did last week in hopes to improve it and, for the night anyway, it was definitely better. The guys on this team have worked awful hard. We've been fighting that same vibration we had last week. We worked pretty late every night this week, trying to find it and we still didn't find it, so we've still got somewhat of a vibration. It was a little better tonight."

Asked about the level of competition in Langley's Late Model division this season, Edwards noted, "It's definitely a close field and, every week, it seems it gets tougher and tougher and we get more people in the mix, week in and week out. You start seeing some new faces up here on the podium and throughout the top 10, so it's a great series and I think a lot of people are starting to get dialed in."

In the evening's other feature events:

Steve Dill scored his fourth win of the year in a 50-lapper for the nTelos Super Streets, nipping Jason Moore at the checkered flag.

At 72.374 mph, Moore was fastest in qualifying, but started fourth after the inversion. Tony Spivey launched from the pole and set the pace for the first 12 circuits before giving way to John Boord.

Meanwhile, Dill, who started eighth, was quickly working his way toward the front. After bypassing Spivey for second, he closed in on Boord and was only a car-length back when the first caution flag appeared, on lap 18.

Back under green, Dill stalked Boord for a lap, then drove under the leader in Turns 3 and 4 on the 19th circuit. Dill nosed out front to lead that lap, then completed the pass in Turn 3 on lap 20.

For his part, Moore slipped a couple spots in the opening circuits. Soon, though, he began to march toward the point. He grabbed second place from Boord on lap 32 and zeroed in on Dill, who was carefully navigating traffic.

The race's second, and final, caution flag appeared on lap 48, setting up a three-lap shootout for the win. Dill and Moore were first and second, separated from third-place Kenny Wood by a host of lapped cars.

On the last restart, Dill forged a two-length advantage, only to see Moore quickly gobble up that real estate.

Working the white-flag lap, Moore pulled to the outside of Dill in Turns 3 and 4 and drew alongside off the final corner. The bid fell short, though, as Dill held on to win by a couple feet.

Mike Ganoe was third to the line, while Wood and Spivey were fourth and fifth, respectively. After running up front for most of the event, Boord retired in the closing laps with mechanical problems, winding up 22nd.

Nick Smith led all 25 laps to claim his fourth victory of the season in the Cook's Moving Service INEX Legends feature. Starting on the outside of the front row, he grabbed the lead from pole starter Brian Simpson on the opening circuit and never looked back.

Enjoying an advantage of better than half a straightaway, Smith saw his lead vanish on lap 23 when the only caution flag waved.

Over the final three laps, though, he easily outdistanced Jeremy Cook and won by three car-lengths. Cook tailed Smith to the stripe, followed by fast qualifier Don McLaughlin, Ryan Crites and Cameron Patrick, who fended off Kerry Gilbert for fifth place.

Doug Paasch came out on top of a rough-and-tumble 50-lapper for the Rolling Thunder Modifieds, muscling into the lead on the 48th circuit.

After an inversion of the six fastest qualifiers, Chris Elliott started from the pole and, for the first 26 laps, had things his way.

On lap 27, however, Elliott was collected by the spinning lapped car of Rob Wells. The incident relegated both drivers to the sidelines and passed the lead to Thomas Stinson, the fast qualifier for the event at 84.784 mph.

Once out front, Stinson was able to maintain a fairly comfortable margin over Paasch, who was busy defending the runner-up spot from challenges by Rusty Wood.

The race was nearly decided in Stinson's favor on a restart at lap 40. As the field came up to speed off Turn 4, Paasch spun his tires and almost lost control, while Stinson bolted to a six-length lead.

On lap 43, Wood slipped by Paasch for second. Two laps later, though, Paasch returned the favor, putting himself in position to capitalize when the last of the race's seven caution flags waved on lap 46.

On the final restart, Paasch shadowed Stinson, then pounced on lap 48, rooting the leader from the bottom groove in Turns 3 and 4. Paasch held a slim edge at the end of that circuit, then pulled ahead for good as the lead pack headed for the white flag.

Stinson made one last charge at Paasch out of Turn 4 on the final lap, but fell a car-length shy at the checkers as Paasch held on for the victory. Wood was third in the final rundown, holding off Buddy Emory, and John Thorpe completed the top five.

Ashley Mullis was the winner of the evening's first event, a 20-lap contest for the HRKC Pro Winged Champ Karts. She jumped into the lead on the first lap and set the pace for the entire distance.

Ryan Hudgins was locked a tight draft with Mullis throughout the race. The two proved to be an effective team, pulling away from the pack by a full straightaway.

On the final lap, Hudgins took a quick peek to the high side before driving low off Turn 4. Mullis fended off his advance, though, and won by a kart-length. Bill Mullis, Bill Dailey and Alan Purser Jr. were third, fourth and fifth, in that order.

LATE MODELS - 75 laps
1. Danny Edwards; 75
2. Jimmy Adkins; 75
3. Doug Warren; 75
4. Greg Edwards; 75
5. Tommy Cherry; 75
6. Mark Wertz; 75
7. Nick Smith; 75
8. Shawn Balluzzo; 75
9. Danny Harrell; 75
10. Dalford Briley; 75
11. Todd VanGuilder; 75
12. Mitch Sarvis; 75
13. Billy Fisher; 75
14. Paul DeBolt; 75
15. Elton Nurmi Jr.; 75
16. Jeff Shiflett; 73
17. Bobby Dean; 73
18. Ron Blackburn; 50
19. Jeff Sampson; 43
20. Brian Carter; 34
21. Greg Burgess; 22
22. Bobby Spivey; 15
23. Casey Wyatt; 14
24. Anthony Warren; 6
25. Craig Brown; 2
26. Aaron Adams; 2
27. Hudson Hall; 0
Fast Qualifier: G. Edwards - 85.994 mph.
Pole: Adkins - Top 5 inverted.

SUPER STREETS - 50 laps
1. Steve Dill; 50
2. Jason Moore; 50
3. Mike Ganoe; 50
4. Kenny Wood; 50
5. Tony Spivey; 50
6. Jessica Wood; 50
7. Jeramie Wood; 50
8. Scott Finch; 50
9. Jeff LaBeau; 50
10. Dale Parro; 50
11. Larry Venable; 50
12. Jason Langley; 50
13. Tommy Sweeney; 49
14. Doug Woodyard; 49
15. John Eagle; 49
16. Trip Anderson; 49
17. Jill Brinson; 49
18. J.T. Brown; 48
19. Rod Busitzky; 48
20. Dennis Nowak; 47
21. Richard Haymond; 47
22. John Boord; 45
23. Sean Calway; 45
24. James Loving; 37
Fast Qualifier: Moore - 72.374 mph.
Pole: Spivey - Top 4 inverted.

INEX LEGENDS - 25 laps
1. Nick Smith; 25
2. Jeremy Cook; 25
3. Don McLaughlin; 25
4. Ryan Crites; 25
5. Cameron Patrick; 25
6. Kerry Gilbert; 25
7. Denver Alvis; 25
8. Dale Blankenship; 25
9. Brian Simpson; 25
10. Kyle Hall; 25
11. Ron Barfield; 25
12. Kevin Seidnitzer; 25
13. Steve Hancock; 25
14. Brian May; 24
15. Sparky West; 24
16. Kyle Hockaday; 24
17. Toby Davis; 24
Fast Qualifier: McLaughlin - 77.595 mph.
Pole: Simpson - Top 7 inverted.

ROLLING THUNDER MODIFIEDS - 50 laps
1. Doug Paasch; 50
2. Thomas Stinson; 50
3. Rusty Wood; 50
4. Buddy Emory; 50
5. John Thorpe; 50
6. J.J. Jensen III; 50
7. Irvin Bell; 50
8. David Williams; 50
9. David Wheeler; 50
10. Robert Lipford Jr.; 50
11. David Laughlin; 48
12. Dwayne VanTassel; 48
13. Ryan Wilbourne; 48
14. Jason Stewart; 44
15. Jeff Sivers; 39
16. T.J. Guthrie; 39
17. Danny Corker Jr.; 37
18. Mike Tomlin; 26
19. Buster Horne Jr.; 26
20. Chris Elliott; 26
21. Rob Wells; 25
22. Kyle Wood; 18
23. Chris Hoylman; 8
Fast Qualifier: Stinson - 84.784 mph.
Pole: Elliott - Top 6 inverted.

HRKC PRO WINGED CHAMP KARTS - 20 laps
1. Ashley Mullis
2. Ryan Hudgins
3. Bill Mullis
4. Bill Dailey
5. Alan Purser Jr.
6. Warren Smigo
7. Robert Peach
8. Thomas Fontaine
9. Linwood Harris
10. William Conrad
11. Marcus Holmes
Fast Qualifier: A. Mullis - 60.663 mph.
Pole: B. Mullis

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