Hampton, Virginia’s Langley Speedway is as old as NASCAR itself, having opened in 1950. It hosted its share of NASCAR racing with both the Cup and Xfinity Series appearing at the track.
But it took until 2017 for NASCAR’s oldest division to visit one of the sport’s oldest tracks. The first-ever NASCAR race was a modified event, and modifieds headlined events over the Strictly Stock at the very beginning of the series.
So it’s fitting for the Whelen Modified Tour, the current incarnation of the NASCAR modified division, to return to Langley.
Even after a successful race in 2017, it wasn’t a given that the track would remain on the Modified Tour schedule. After returning in 2018, the series took a hiatus until returning in 2022 for what has now become an annual fixture.
Series directory Jimmy Wilson, though, certainly wants it to say.
“It definitely is very important to us,” he said of the track.
“Even though we don’t have a long history of coming to the racetrack, but the Tidewater area of Virginia, to this market, to our sponsors, to Whelen and everyone else, with the military component that’s here… it puts a whole different eyeball on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour when you come out to this part of the country.”
“And with a facility like this and the improvements that Bill Mullis and staff continue to put in, it’s definitely one that we try to keep circled on our calendar,” Wilson concluded.
It’s not just NASCAR executives who love the track, too. Whelen Modified Tour drivers are fans of the .395-mile flat track in southwestern Virginia.
Hampton is a fitting home for a speed complex, and the track sits just next to NASA Langley Research Center and the Langley Air Force Base.
“It’s pretty challenging,” said Austin Beers, who’s driving the No. 64 modified. “It’s a pretty meticulous track, especially with [Turns] 1 and 2 with how you’re turning twice, and you’ve got to keep your tires on it, especially with that 90-lap run at the end.”
But Beers likes the challenge, especially since it suits his driving style.
“Oh yeah, this is definitely one of my favorite tracks. If people asked me if it was my favorite track, I’d probably say yes. I really enjoy this racetrack,” he gushed.
John-Michael Shenette, who’s making his modified debut at age 39 driving the No. 28 modified, after having raced super late models part-time for years, detailed that the track is more challenging than it looks.
The track forces drivers to turn the wheel throughout nearly the entire lap, including on the straightaway, Shenette detailed. And, he added, the corners are more complicated than they look. Though both officially have six degrees of banking, Shenette described a completely different lane through Turns 1 and 2 than through Turns 3 and 4, taking advantage of apparently higher banking in the first set of corners.
One driver who would know is Melissa Fifield. The driver of the No. 01 modified is a ten-year tour veteran who’s the only driver to have made a start at Langley all four years.
“It’s a neat little short track, I think it’s got a few little quirks in it,” Fifield acknowledged. “I think it’s more of a driver’s racetrack, you’ve got to be able to not loose too much time through the corner but roll the corner as well.”
Tyler Rypkema, driver of the No. 32, has a more personal connection to Langley, even if he’s never raced at the track.
“Never been to Langley before, so I don’t really have a draw to it yet, but it’s a nice facility,” he detailed “It’s got Musco Sports Field Lighting, my sponsor, on the track. So that’s kind of cool, to race under the lights here. But beautiful facility, gorgeous track, and it’s nice to see local short tracks that are taking pride in their facility and keeping it updated and putting money in the infrastructure of the racetrack and really making a nice place for us to come and put on a show for all the fans.”
Not only is Musco Lighting Rypkema’s sponsor, though, but also his day job.
“Yes, we install these lights all over the country, all over New York State, we put up hundreds of poles a year with all the foundation drilling and all that. So yeah, these lights on this track are Musco lighting, and they’re our sponsor and they’ve been a longtime supporter.”
“So it’s great to come to a racetrack where what I install throughout the week is what we’re racing on throughout the weekend,” he explained.
If Wilson has his way, at least, Langley Speedway will be a fixture on the Whelen Modified Tour for years to come.
