Story by: Mason Dunn ~ mason@RACE22.com

Hampton, VA(April 12, 2010) -- The number 13 was quite prevalent on opening night at Langley Speedway. First a 13 year old qualifying record held by seven time track champion Phil Warren at 15.815 seconds was bested by five time track champion Danny Edwards Jr. with a time of 15.748. Then, eventual Late Model Stock Car race winner Mark Wertz made a error in qualifying not taking his second timed lap resulting in a 13th place starting position.

As they went to the green Danny Edwards Jr. led them down flanked by Dean Shiflett on his outside followed by defending champion CE Falk and Paul DeBolt in row two. After the green going into turn one Edwards Jr. cleared Shiflett while Falk made a dash to the inside of Shiflett in a challenge for second place. The first caution appeared on lap nine not for a wreck or debris but for a power outage causing the track lights from the end of the backstretch all the way to the start/finish line to go dark.

When the lights came back on the fans were treated to the first double-file restart for the Late Model Stock division. When the green dropped something appeared to be a miss in the defending champ's car as Falk failed to get to speed on the outside causing a stack-up with DeBolt receiving heavy front end damage forcing him to the sidelines with a punctured radiator.

On the second restart of the race, Falk once again encountered trouble getting up to speed dropping Falk to just outside the top five. Edwards Jr. continued to lead while being chased by brother Greg Edwards, Shiflett and Falk. The cars on the move were those of Mark Wertz, who appeared in the top five for the first time on lap 13, and Falk, who recovered from the restart woes to climb back into second on lap 19.

The field would stay under green for a long time during which Falk reeled in leader Edwards Jr. and began to make challenges on lap 48 as both the leaders encountered lap traffic in the form of Jeff Shiflett and John Staton who were locked in a side-by-side battle. Falk tried to use the lapped cars presence to make the pass on Edwards Jr. but to his dismay Shiflett began to slow on the inside allowing both Staton and Edwards Jr. to pass, ending Falk's challenge.

The third caution flag of the day appeared on lap 69 ending a 60 lap green flag run when the Toyota of Robbie Babb went for a spin in turn four. On the ensuing restart, troubles continued for Falk as he fell to fifth being bypassed by Greg Edwards, Wertz and brother Wes Falk who was beginning to mount a charge.

The green wouldn't stay out long as John Staton and Shawn Balluzzo tangled on the front stretch to bring out the fourth caution on lap 71 followed by a brief green flag run before the fifth and final caution for Dean Shiflett's spin in turn four on lap 81.

On the final double-file restart the Edwards brothers made up the front row followed by Wertz, CE Falk and Wes Falk. On the restart, Edwards Jr. continued to show the way as Wertz followed him past Greg Edwards for second. Wes Falk bypassed brother CE for the fourth spot as CE still suffered from mechanical woes with his machine.

Wertz took over the lead for the very first time on lap 86 as he cleared Edwards Jr. and looked to set sail. But in his rear view mirror, Wes Falk was making a strong late charge as he bypassed Greg Edwards for third and was setting his sights on Edwards Jr. for second, which he would take hold of on lap 89.

In the final ten laps Falk put all he had into chasing down Wertz, closing the gap from 1.1 seconds on lap 90 to only 0.4 seconds as they took the checkered flag. Danny Edwards Jr. came home in third by 0.032 seconds over brother Greg while Doug Warren edged rookie Brandon Gdovic by only 0.018 seconds for the fifth spot. Defending champ CE Falk was relegated to an eighth place result due to his mechanical woes.

In Victory Lane an elated Mark Wertz spoke about how he was pleased with the new double-file restarts and how the switch from Goodyear to Hoosier really improved the Late Model division as a whole. When asked about the tire switch Wertz said, "What do you think? We run a 16.80 pace all night. We were in the 17.40s last year. It's awesome." Wertz also had nothing but praise for the rest of the division, "You've gotta take every week like it's the last week. These guys are so good out here. The competition's so strong at Langley Speedway, you've just gotta enjoy the wins when you get 'em 'cause they don't come often."

Final Rundown:
1. Mark Wertz #55
2. Wes Falk #41
3. Danny Edwards Jr. #26
4. Greg Edwards #21
5. Doug Warren #45
6. Brandon Gdovic #46
7. Duane Shreeves #38
8. CE Falk #40
9. Jeff Shiflett #01
10. Dude Gibbs #7
11. Woody Howard #82
12. Dean Shiflett #06
13. Terry Carroll #90
14. Robbie Babb #44
15. Shawn Balluzzo #48
16. John Staton #17
17. Rick Gdovic #64
18. Paul DeBolt #34
19. Casey Wyatt #10
20. Kyle Waltz #21A