By Gary Daughtrey
Special to the News-Herald

HAMPTON — Shawn Balluzzo grabbed the lead for good on lap 92 and motored to his eighth victory of the year in the 100-lap KeesVacations.com Modified portion of Saturday’s Mid-Atlantic Modified Madness program, presented by the Racing For Hope Foundation, at Langley Speedway.

For Balluzzo, the $5,000 win served as a fitting exclamation point to his fifth Langley Mod championship in six years and finish atop the national Division II Asphalt standings in NASCAR’s Finalist Program.

Anthony Kincaid was the pole-sitter for the event, with a lap at 87.783 mph. Mike Rudy lined up to Kincaid’s outside, while Balluzzo and Robbie Babb occupied Row 2.

Balluzzo took the lead for the first time on lap 21. He slipped underneath Rudy as they reached the end of the backstretch and powered ahead off the fourth corner.

Rudy regained the lead from Balluzzo on lap 59. Chris Johnson took the lead two laps later. Balluzzo moved past Rudy into second on lap 63.

The last of the race’s five yellow flags was displayed on lap 76 for a planned 10-minute break.

When the signal was given to resume, Rudy’s car failed to refire, spelling a disappointing end to his night. He ended up 20th in the final rundown.

Johnson scooted ahead of Kincaid, who slid into the second spot, in front of Balluzzo.

Balluzzo began his charge to the front on lap 81, slipping underneath Kincaid through Turns 1 and 2 and swiping the second spot as they headed onto the backstretch. The exchange allowed Johnson to pad his lead to nearly half a straightaway. Balluzzo made short work of that gap, though. By lap 87, the two leaders were nose-to-tail.

Working lap 92, Balluzzo went three-wide with Johnson and a lapped machine to draw even on the backstretch. Another slower machine came into play in Turns 3 and 4. Johnson swung to the high side, while Balluzzo hugged the bottom and came away with the lead.

At the finish, Balluzzo was the winner by 2.372 seconds — nearly half a straightaway — over Chris Johnson. Slye was third to the stripe, followed by Kincaid and Vance.

In the evening’s other featured events:

Mark Claar scored his second straight doubleheader sweep, taking both halves of the Twin 20s for the Pepsi Grand Stocks. The wins were his sixth and seventh of the season and allowed him to draw a little closer to Ricky Derrick in the championship chase.

In the 40-lap Heritage Motor Co. Super Street feature, Randy Sample was awarded his fifth win of the year when the apparent winner, Dale Parro, failed to clear the post-race inspection.

Troy Turnage moved out front on lap 2 and rolled to his first victory in the 2011 finale for the Larry King Law Super Trucks.

In the final Super Truck points tally, Tommy Nixon claimed the crown by 26 points over Robbie Davis.

In the 30-lap Standard Welding Pro Six feature, Steve Williams completed a successful rookie campaign with his second win of the season.

In the final Pro Six points, Doug Warren bagged the title by just two points over Casey Sipe, 552-550.

Danny Harrell took the lead on lap 14 and showed the way to his second victory of the season in a 50-lap Enduro contest.