Langley to Host NASCAR Touring & Weekly Series in 2017
Newly Re-opened Virginia Track Adds NASCAR K&N Pro East and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 19, 2017) – Bill Mullis made the big news announcement Friday: He had purchased Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, and the historic track will re-open in 2017 to racing.
Sunday afternoon, Mullis continued the good news for racers and race fans. He announced the .4-mile oval will host the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and newly unified NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this season. In addition, the track will return to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series with its weekly racing program.
“It’s been a long process,” said Mullis. “But I grew up racing at Langley and know the value of the track to the community, so it’s been a very worthwhile process. Once we got the paperwork finalized for the sale, we worked very quickly with NASCAR to assure our fans and drivers that we remain committed to bringing NASCAR racing back to Hampton in a big way.”
“Langley Speedway has been a longtime member of NASCAR and the facility lends itself to great racing – whether it’s the Late Models on Saturday night, or the K&N Pro Series or Whelen Modified cars,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president for weekly & touring series. “We’ve worked with Bill in the past and we welcome the opportunity to extend our partnership. The return of Langley is a win not only for their local community, but for NASCAR fans everywhere.”
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will race at Langley on Saturday, May 13, while the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will make its return on Saturday, Sept. 2.
This is the first year of the unified NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, combining the northern-based tour with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour under one series. The former Whelen Southern Modified Tour made eight stops at Langley between 2010 and 2015, with Burt Myers and George Brunnhoelzl III scoring two wins apiece. Two of the last three races there featured a pass for the win in the final two laps.
Langley also proved to be an accurate predictor of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship, as all three race winners from 2013-15 went on to win the title, including current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers Ben Rhodes (2014) and William Byron (2015).
The inaugural K&N pro East race at Langley in 2011 featured 2017 DAYTONA 500 entrants Matt DiBenedetto, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Corey LaJoie. LaJoie won the 2012 race at Langley, which featured Elliott becoming the youngest pole winner in series history to that point.
Sources: NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications