Hampton, VA – Every racer dreams of being able to do it one day in their career. Winning a championship once is all it takes to get your name written in the record books. Winning two titles gets your name bumped up the list a little beat. Winning back-to-back titles is something more than just record book worthy – it is a statement.
A statement not easily made as the Hampton native spent all year fending off the likes of Tim Wilson and Nick Sample. The three divers often spend all thirty laps either nose to tail or door to door.
“Man it really means a lot to come back out this year and win back-to-back championships,” Roberts said. “Over the winter we worked on the car and knew we wanted to run for the championship again and thought we would have a chance with the fuel from the previous year but knew it wouldn’t be easy.”
It was a roller coaster of a start for the Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway veteran in 2022. The defending champion took the runner-up position on the opening night of the season and was regulated to a sixth-place finish in race two when the team ran into issues with the car. Putting just the slightest bit of doubt in the driver’s mind that going back-to-back might not be in the cards.
“After the first two races and after leading the second race and having car trouble we fell back a bit in points and [got] me thinking it wasn’t going to happen,” Roberts admitted. “The guys never gave up nor doubted anything, they worked hard to get the car back together and dialed in and we started winning races and climbing back in the points. This points battle was tight throughout the year and came down to the [wire] for the last race.”
Roberts and crew rebounded strongly as they picked up win number one of the season by week three and there was no stopping them. Roberts would go undefeated through the summer months picking up all five of his wins from May to August. He would wrap the season up with another sixth-place finish followed by two runner-up finishes. Enough to edge Tim Wilson by a total of seven points to secure the championship.
“Winning this championship meant just as much as last year because we had some setbacks throughout the year and I didn’t think it would be possible but the guys never gave up on me nor the championship and we brought a winning car every week to the track. My team won this championship for me last year and even more this year because they never gave up.”
To celebrate with Chris Roberts and the rest of the 2022 championship class make sure to reserve tickets now for the 2022 awards banquet now by calling the track office Monday through Friday at (757) 865-7223. Tickets are on sale now for $50. The banquet will be held Friday, January 13th at the Hampton Convention Center. Social hour will begin at 6:30 PM the banquet to follow at 7:30 PM.
