Greg Edwards was on a roll Saturday night at Langley Raceway: First at the sign-in window, first to qualify, first on the grid and first at the end of 100 laps.
When last seen the Poquoson native was looking for somewhere to play Pick-4.
”This could be our night,” he said after leading every lap of the season-opening Late Model feature. ”We were 85 percent right, but everybody else was less than that. The car didn’t feel especially good.”
Maybe not, but Edwards and his Pontiac were good enough to easily beat Phil Warren, Buddy Malish, Ashton Lewis Jr. and Chip Hudson, who nipped Danny Edwards Jr. by less than a foot for fifth.
Saturday night’s victory matched Edwards’ 1993 total at Langley.
”We won the first race last year, then didn’t have the kind of year we wanted,” he said. ”We went home after the first race last year and maybe got a little overconfident. That won’t happen this year.”
The Edwards brothers ran 1-2 until just beyond the halfway point. Warren took second from Danny Edwards at lap 52, Malish took third from him at 58, Lewis moved to a career-best fourth at 98 and Hudson snatched fifth at the checkered flag.
The race was slowed three times for wrecks, spins and blown engines. The most serious crash involved Hudson, Charlie Daniels, ’93 track champion Eddie Johnson and Terry Harris on the frontstretch at lap 14.
It erupted when newcomer Fred Seibert blew his engine exiting Turn 4. Hudson and Harris spun together into the new paved victory lane near the flagstand, then Johnson and Hudson banged together approaching Turn 1.
The right side of Johnson’s car rode up on the guard railing and bounced along for perhaps 50 feet before coming back on all fours. The incident recalled memories of Johnson’s four-flip frontstretch wreck last spring.
More than 5,000 chilly fans watched the season-opener. They saw five NASCAR events for 190 laps and a 15-lap go-kart race. At times, they must have wondered if they’d get home before Daylight Savings Time kicked in.
It took more than two hours to run the go-kart, Mini Stock and Grand Stock features, and the Late Model 100 wasn’t finished until 10:35. The final race wasn’t finished until almost midnight.
In Saturday night’s other features:
* Pole-sitter Brian Loving fell behind early, then rallied to pass Mike Gordon on lap 22 en route to victory in the Mini Stock 25. Behind Loving and Gordon were Kevin Harrison, Jim Adkins, and Trevor Falls.
* Gordon Weeks Jr. won the 40-lap Grand Stock feature ahead of John Hicks, Jimmy Kenney, Roger Bress, and Chris Barone. Weeks led every lap and got lucky when a mid-race caution erased Mike McVaugh’s pass for the lead.
* Series rookie Larry Phelps won the 25-lap Limited Stock feature over Kevin Adams, Bobby Spivey, Jerry Collier, and Billy Kazantzis. Phelps, who raced in Thunderbolt last year, led the final 13 laps.
* Jerry Scott won the program-closing Pure Stock 20 by leading the final six laps. He beat Chris Mull, Vince Pope, Sam Zoellner and Gene Smith.
MINI STOCK 25
1. Brian Loving; 2. Mike Gordon; 3. Kevin Harrison; 4. Jim Adkins; 5. Trevor Falls; 6. Cathy Mosier; 7. Ryan Nichols; 8. Kevin Reitnour; 9. William Tippitt; 10. Chris Weatherford; 11. Bob Cochran; 12. Milton Herring; 13. Terry Critser; 14. Joe Deschaine; 15. Hank Burruss; 16. Payton Lamm; 17. Blake Kelso; 18. Jimmy Crawford; 19. David Hamm. Pole: Loving.
GRAND STOCK 40
1. Gordon Weeks; 2. John Hicks; 3. Jimmy Kenney; 4. Roger Bress; 5. Chris Barone; 6. Mike McVaugh; 7. Mark Gregory; 8. Phil Hedgepeth; 9. Andy Anderson; 10. Jeff Carter; 11. Gino Minter; 12. L.A. Moore; 13. Sid Carmines; 14. Dale Blankenship; 15. Guy Phelps; 16. Rhett Bussler; 17. Gene Brinson, Jr. Pole: Weeks.
LATE MODEL 100
1. Greg Edwards; 2. Phil Warren; 3. Buddy Malish; 4. Ashton Lewis Jr.; 5. Chip Hudson; 6. Danny Edwards Jr.; 7. Buck Godsey; 8. Buddy Dozier; 9. Terry Harris; 10. Doug Godsey; 11. Mitch Sarvis; 12. Kevin Cunningham; 13. Mike Gwaltney; 14. Barry Strathmann; 15. Jody McCormick; 16. Craig Eastep; 17. Mike Conner; 18. Charlie Daniels; 19. Eddie Johnson; 20. Fred Seibert; 21. Paul Debolt. Pole: G. Edwards Jr.
LIMITED STOCK 25
1. Larry Phelps; 2. Kevin Adams; 3. Bobby Spivey; 4. Jerry Collier; 5. Billy Kazantzis; 6. Jimmy Pearce; 7. Tommy Gibbs; 8. Kelly Carson; 9. Brian Maxson; 10. Raymond Batton; 11. J.T. Jacklson; 12. Charles Bryant Jr.; 13. Jim Powell; 14. Fred Broyles; 15. Phil Foster; 16. William Crook; 17. Mike Townsley. Pole: Bryant Jr.
PURE STOCK 20
1. Jerry Scott; 2. Chris Mull; 3. Vince Pope; 4. Sam Zoellner; 5. Gene Smith; 6. Paul Warren; 7. Corey Fogleman; 8. Paul Hopkins; 9. Billy Newman; 10. Rick Hurst; 11. Tony Davis; 12. Richard Taylor; 13. Greg Clark; 14. Ray Freeman; 15. Barney Lincoln; 16. Gregg Clakr; 17. Kenny Phares; 18. Bill Wilder; 19. John Muth; 20. Bruce Camp. Pole: Dinsmore.
