From the moment Cole Bruce had an engine expire, there was practically no one left to challenge Chase Burrow on Late Model Stock opening night at Langley Speedway on Saturday.
This is technically the second consecutive victory in Hampton for Burrow going back to the season finale last year. Driving his No. 00 house car, Burrow ran second to pole-sitter Bruce for the first six laps.
Burrow took the lead from the outside on the ensuing restart and the pair were practically nose-to-tail on every run through Lap 44 when Bruce had the mechanical failure that eliminated his No. 31 from contention.
“We had a misfire two or three laps before that,” Bruce said. “Thought maybe spark plug issue or down a cylinder; all the gauges looked good, water was fine and had oil pressure. I got out of Turn 2 and it hand grenade(d) on me and I was history.
“It just sucks. Brand new motor. Gonna have to go back to the shop and see if we can find a new motor. It was going to be a good race between me and Chase; he just executed on that restart.”
From there, Burrow checked out ahead of the likes of Woody Howard and Greg Edwards. It was a night where several other expected contenders had issues too. Danny Edwards, the six-time track champion, fell off the pace on Lap 22. Ryan Matthews had a mechanical issue with 10 laps to go.
All told, it was a flawless night for the uncontested No. 00.
“I just got to thank my guys,” Burrow said. “This car practically drove itself. This was fun.”
Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.
