Matt Carter and DJ Valente captured Modified Division 50-lap victories Saturday night at Langley Speedway in Hampton.
In the first of the features, Carter continued to make the division his personal playpen, beating Brad Adams by 535-thousandths of a second to cap a race that took almost 39 minutes. Peyton Ferree took third, 1.212 seconds behind the leader, in a race with 14 competitors. It was Carter’s sixth victory of the season.
But in the nightcap, helped by the inversion of positions from the first race, Valente outpaced him by 635-thousandths of a second to become the only person besides Carter and former Langley Late Model king Brenden “Butterbean” Queen to win a Modified race this year.
Valente, who placed eighth in Saturday’s opener, posted his victory in just more than 14 minutes and 40 seconds. Chris Roberts placed a distant third, 5.704 seconds off the lead.
In other divisions:
Virginia Racers: Ayden Millette finished 50 laps in about 16 minutes and 45 seconds to cruise to a 5.923-second triumph over runner-up Ryley Music, who also was fourth in a Modified race. It was Millette’s second triumph of 2023.
Donovan Edwards was third among the 14 drivers, less than a second behind Music. Points leader Cody Bryant placed fourth.
Super Street: Sammy Gaita prevailed over 40 laps and more than 26 minutes, finishing 0.705 of a second faster than second-place Gordon Weeks III for his first victory of the season. Dale Nichols earned third in the field of 14, 1.580 seconds behind Gaita.
Gaita, who began the night fifth in points, closed the gap on first-place Weeks and second-place Nichols.
Legends: Tommy Jackson surged to a relatively comfortable 25-lap victory, finishing 1.729 seconds ahead of runner-up Trey Williams in a clash that took just more than 7 1/2 minutes. Devon Courtney placed third, just 0.212 of a second behind Williams in the 13-driver field, eight of whom finished on the lead lap.
Jackson has won three of four races this year and heads the standings.
Pro Six: Travis Wall stayed unbeaten in the division this season with his fourth victory, winning a 25-lap race with just five competitors. In just more than 7 1/2 minutes, he beat runner-up Atley Wiese by 1.377 seconds.
Bandolero: Brian Rundstrom Jr. registered his fourth victory of the season in as many tries, winning a 15-lap race with 11 drivers that took more than 12 minutes.
He edged Tristan Burnelli by 670-thousandths of a second, with Bryson Nichols third, 1.165 seconds off the lead.
Enduro: Charlie Bryant earned a 30-lap victory to close the night, while Chris Kane was second and Alex Floroff third.
It was Bryant’s second triumph of the year, and he moved well ahead of his son Cody in the standings. Cody, who shared the standings lead with his father entering the night, exited after 22 laps and placed 18th in the field of 19.
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Saturday night’s leaders in Hampton, with car numbers in parentheses.
Modified 50 #1: (14 starters); 1. (78) Matt Carter; 2. (3) Brad Adams; 3. (23) Peyton Ferree; 4. (47) Ryley Music; 5. (51) Mark Wertz.
Modified 50 #2: (13 starters); 1. (18) DJ Valente; 2. (78) Matt Carter; 3. (11) Chris Roberts; 4. (8) Mike Rudy; 5. (3) Brad Adams.
Virginia Racers 50: (14 starters); 1. (9) Ayden Millette; 2. (47) Ryley Music; 3. (26) Donovan Edwards; 4. (08) Cody Bryant; 5. (38) Andrew Condrey.
Super Street 40: (14 starters); 1. (21) Sammy Gaita; 2. (20) Gordon Weeks III; 3. (8) Dale Nichols; 4. (44) Colby Vance; 5. (30) Jonathan White.
Pro Six 25: (5 starters); 1. (44) Travis Wall; 2. (78) Atley Wiese; 3. (67) Chris Bechtel; 4. (08) Joe Shannon; 5. (48) Nick Lamarche.
Legends 25: (13 starters); 1. (87) Tommy Jackson; 2. (3) Trey Williams; 3. (17) Devon Courtney; 4. (5b) Charlie Beals; 5. (11) Cody Carlton.
Bandolero 15: (11 starters); 1. (88) Brian Rundstrom Jr.; 2. (18) Tristan Burnelli; 3. (80) Bryson Nichols; 4. (21) Sarah Whitesell; 5. (99) Ryleigh Rondeau.
Enduro 30: (19 starters); 1. (88) Charlie Bryant; 2. (48) Chris Kane; 3. (17) Alex Floroff; 4. (05) Stephen Flinn; 5. (3) Mikey Chinn.
