After he was disqualified from a runner-up run in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway, a “disappointed and furious” Matt Waltz saw his Virginia Triple Crown hopes evaporate in an instant.
It took three long weeks for Waltz to get a chance to avenge himself, but the veteran responded with a statement drive the proved worth the wait at Langley Speedway.
Waltz was the star of the night in the Hampton Heat 200. The 35-year-old surged to the lead before the halfway break and controlled the rain-delayed race’s second half to secure his first victory in the iconic event.
“To come out here after so many years and be able to win this thing, it’s awesome, man,” Waltz said afterward. “I’m so fired up. We had such a good racecar today.”
The Langley result won’t be enough to bring Waltz back into the Virginia Triple Crown conversation. He was effectively knocked out of contention in the three-race series with his DQ. But the 2017 Langley track champion is now locked into September’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 after one of the biggest wins of his career.
Coming up second to Waltz was South Boston 200 winner Connor Hall. The JR Motorsports driver managed his tires early and marched through the field over the final 100 laps to rise into contention.
Hall finally managed to get the better of a returning Brenden Queen, beating his longtime rival after coming second to him in the prior two editions of the race. But he ran out of time to chase down Waltz in the closing laps.
Asked what he needed to go differently for a chance to win, Hall said “I think just to maintain track position the first 100 (laps). … I thought (Queen) and I were doing the right thing, hanging around 10th or so like we normally do. It’s just like every time one of us tried to make a move to the top or the bottom, it always seemed like we were boxed in.”
It was the 28-year-old’s fifth runner-up finish in the event, a trend he admitted is getting old. But this year’s result could pay dividends in two months. The Virginian will roll into Martinsville with a guaranteed starting spot as the SoBo 200 winner and stands as the clear favorite to win the Virginia Triple Crown with an average finish of 1.5 through two races.
Making a rare return to Late Model racing to chase his third-straight Hampton Heat win, Queen settled for third at night’s end. The 2024 CARS Tour Late Model Stock champion has been busy competing in the ARCA Menards Series, where he leads the championship and won Friday at Dover Motor Speedway.
Woody Howard came home fourth, with Kade Brown wrapping up the top five. Carson Loftin, Peyton Sellers, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Trevor Ward and Brandon Pierce completed the top 10.
Sellers led the field to green, but it was Sam Yarborough that showed the way for the bulk of the race’s opening stint. Yarbrough snatched the top spot from Sellers in the opening laps and marched off to an early advantage, but saw his day undone before halfway when his No. 95 was hit with mechanical issues.
From there, the storyline of the race slowly shifted to Waltz. The 35-year-old marched forward early as rain threatened to end the proceedings early, taking the top spot from Atley Wiese three laps before the halfway break. He led the field to pit road for the 15-minute stoppage and waited.
Then came the rain. The .396-mile oval laid dormant as showers threatened to end the festivities early. Last year’s Hampton Heat had ran late into the night. But with this year’s race at halfway, this year’s edition could have been called during the break.
In the end, track officials elected to wait out the rain and resume the event. It went green for the second half just after 12:30 a.m. ET. The decision proved to be a big deal for Hall, Queen and the Virginia Triple Crown as a whole. But Waltz made sure it didn’t change the winner at night’s end.
“I was doing the rain dance at halftime, but it’s all good now,” he joked.
With the second leg complete, the Virginia Triple Crown will wrap up with Martinsville’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on Sept. 27.
Hampton Heat Results
- Matt Waltz
- Connor Hall
- Brenden Queen
- Woody Howard
- Kade Brown
- Carson Loftin
- Peyton Sellers
- Ronnie Bassett Jr.
- Trevor Ward
- Brandon Pierce
- Daniel Silvestri
- Cody Bryant
- Darren Krantz Jr.
- Ryan Matthews
- Ryan Millington
- Doug Barnes Jr.
- Deac McCaskill
- Parker Eatmon
- Landon Pembelton
- Chase Burrow
- Greg Edwards
- Atley Wiese
- Chase Johnson
- London McKenzie
- Trey Williams
- Andrew Condrey
- Justin Carroll
- Jonathan Shafer
- Chris Horton Jr.
- Mason Bailey
- Tate Fogleman
- Ayden Millette
- Blake Stallings
- Dustin Storm
- Bobby McCarty
- Sam Yarbrough
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.