Hampton, VA — After an almost four-year hiatus, Smithfield, Virginia’s very own and 2017 Late Model Stock Car Champion Matt Waltz returns to competition at Larry King Laws Langley Speedway this weekend for the CARS Tour Visit Hampton VA 125.
After taking some time away from the daily grind of working to field a competitive race car every Saturday night, Waltz took some time off to enjoy life and check some boxes off the bucket list. In his time away from Langley Speedway Waltz worked on and competed in a handful of NASCAR Xfinity Series races, helped to grow the family business, bought his first home, and got married! His return will surely be welcomed by fans up and down the grandstands while making fellow competitors work harder.
“We plan to race a handful of other races,” Waltz mentioned about his return to stock car racing. “Something like three more this year but we will really see how this one goes and will go from there.”
The break from weekly racing was never a complete clean break so to speak. As the small family-owned race team operating out of Newport News, Virginia never sold any of their equipment. Continued to maintain the car and continued to support the Speedway. Safe to say that life just got in the way of the family hobby.
“We have really been in progress for about two years now of slowly getting it pulled together,” Waltz commented. “Craig Eastep Jr. came to work with us in 2019 to work on the car and our equipment at work, however, we have thankfully been so busy at work it’s been hard to find time to get it done.”
For what should be like riding a bicycle Matt Waltz should have no issues knocking off the cobwebs and CARS Tour regulars shouldn’t sleep on the hometown driver. Waltz is no stranger to Dale Lemonds victory lane as he found himself there twelve times during the 2014 season. He was the heavy favorite for not only the 2014 championship but a Hampton Heat victory as well. That was until a mid-race pit road communication error took him out of the hunt for both. As any competitive racer would be Waltz was disappointed but that didn’t keep him away from victory lane. Hard work and determination would finally pay off during that 2017 season where he would finally earn the crown.
“We don’t go to the track looking to do anything but win,” Waltz exclaimed. “I understand we have been out of it quite a while and the other guys I’m sure are on their game and we will have an uphill battle but we have been busting our butts to get the car where we think we need to be.”
Waltz will no doubt have his work cut out for him this weekend as some of the best Late Model Stock drivers make their way into town. However, that same hard work a determination that got him twelve wins in one season and a track championship coupled with track experience will certainly be an advantage.
Practice for the Visit Hampton VA 125 is set to being Saturday at 2:00 PM EDT. Single car qualifying is set to roll off at approximately 5:30. Green flag set to wave on the evening around 7:00 PM.
About Langley Speedway
Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway is a paved short track measuring 0.398 miles in length. The track is one of the flatest tracks in the region with only 6 degrees of banking in the corners and 4 degrees on the straights. The track is NASCAR sanctioned and participates in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, which determines a national champion for the NASCAR sanctioned local tracks. The track currently hosts 11 divisions which alternate running during their Saturday night program: Late Models, Grand Stock, Modifieds, Legend cars, Super Street, UCAR, Pro Six, Super Trucks, HRKC Pro Winged Champ Karts, Bandoleros, and Enduros.
About CARS Tour
The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour is one of the premier short track series in the United States. Drivers compete in Late Model Stock Cars and Super Late Models at the best short tracks across the Carolinas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. The CARS Tour can be found on Facebook at “CARS Tour”, on Twitter @CARSTour, and on Instagram as @CARS_Tour. For more information, visit www.carsracingtour.com or call their Mooresville, N.C. headquarters at 704.662.9212.
