Suffolk represents at Langley
Published 10:23 pm Wednesday, May 28, 2014
By Gary Daughtrey
Special to the News-Herald
Three drivers with Suffolk connections walked away with trophies at Langley Speedway on Saturday.
Jimmy Humblet, Mark Frye and Landon Florian won their respective races during the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program.
Jimmy Humblet started on the pole, at 88.383 mph, and led all the way for his first victory of the season in the modified class.
Humblet’s drive to Victory Lane was interrupted by four yellow flags. The last one appeared on lap 44.
On the final restart, Humblet pulled ahead of Chris Johnson, who was deployed on his outside flank, and then he eased away from the pack. At the end, Humblet was the winner by four lengths over Johnson.
Shawn Balluzzo was third, followed by Danny Harrell and Scott Lawrence.
Mark Frye posted his fourth and fifth wins with a sweep of twin-20s in the Grand Stocks class.
In the opener, Frye started on the pole and led all the way. Up by a couple of car-lengths, he extended his lead on Lap 13, when Rodney Boyd and Ritchie German tangled in Turn 2, while racing for second.
At the finish, Frye won by almost a full straightaway over Mark Claar. German was third, while Jamie Sample and Boyd completed the top five.
In the nightcap, Frye showed the way for the first 11 circuits, leading to the event’s only caution flag. On the ensuing restart, Claar forced his way underneath Frye at the flagstand, making it three-wide into Turn 1.
Claar pulled out front, but officials weren’t impressed, immediately showing him the black flag for jumping the restart. Claar finally slowed on Lap 14 and turned the lead back to Frye. After serving a pass-through penalty, Claar ended up eighth.
Meanwhile, Frye wrapped up his second win of the night, beating German to the checkers by two lengths. Boyd, Michael Waters and Tommy Sweeney completed the top five.
In the 30-lap Pro Sixes class feature, Landon Florian moved out front on lap 20 and showed the way to his second win of the series.
Steve Williams, who led laps 1-19 from the pole, was second, a car-length back at the finish. Bobby Hall was third, while Travis Wall and Jordan Wood rounded out the top five.