The 2018 racing season at Langley Speedway got underway the last day of March. But the most anticipated night of the year is one that has been a few years in the making.
On Thursday, April 19, the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown finally will come to the fourth-tenths paved oval in Hampton.
In the charity event, which wasn’t held the past two years, NASCAR stars go head to head with local late-model drivers in a 200-lap pro-am. It is held the same week as the spring NASCAR races in Richmond.
In addition to Hamlin being on hand, so will Kyle Busch, one of his teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, and NASCAR veteran Timothy Peters.
For Hamlin, it’s a return to the track where he began his stock car racing career in 1997. He won his first stock car race on the way to winning the track’s rookie of the year honors and track championship.
All money raised from the event benefits the Denny Hamlin Foundation, which supports Cystic Fibrosis research and therapy.
It has been held at Southside Speedway (2008-2010), Richmond Raceway (2011-2013), and South Boston Speedway (2014-2015). Previous winners are Hamlin, Busch, Peters, Tony Stewart, and local late-model stars C.E. Falk and Matt Bowling. Peters won the 2015 race.
The event was supposed to be held at Langley in 2016, but the track wasn’t open that year as Bill Mullis, the current owner, was in negotiations to buy it.
The remainder of the 2018 schedule:
- April 7: Twin Late Models, Modifieds, Super Streets, Pro Six, UCARs, Karts.
- April 14: Twin Modifieds, Grand Stocks, Super Trucks, Legends, Bandoleros, Karts.
- April 19: Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown. Late models, Super Streets.
- April 28: K&N Pro Series East, Super Streets, Pro Six, UCARs, Legends.
- May 5: Twin Late Models, Grand Stocks, Super Trucks, Legends, Bandoleros, Enduros.
- May 12: Twin Modifieds, Super Streets, Pro Six, UCARs, Karts, Enduros.
- May 19: Twin Late Models, Grand Stocks, Super Trucks, Legends, Bandoleros, Enduros.
- May 26: Twin Modifieds, Super Streets, Pro Six, Twin UCARs, Karts.
- June 2: Twin Late Models, Grand Stocks, Super Trucks, Legends, Bandoleros, Enduros.
- June 9: Twin Late Models, Super Streets, Pro Six, UCARs, Karts, Enduros.
- June 16: Twin Late Models, Modifieds, Grand Stocks, Super Trucks, Legends, Bandoleros.
- June 23: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Super Streets, Pro Six, UCARs, Karts.
- June 30: Virginia Sprint Cars, Grand Stocks, Legends, Bandoleros, Karts.
- July 7: Twin Late Model, Grand Stocks, Super Trucks, Legends, Bandoleros, Enduros.
- July 14: Twin Modifieds, Super Streets, Pro Six, UCARs, Karts, Southern Ground Pounders.
- July 21: Late Models, Super Streets, Super Trucks, Pro Six, UCARs.
- July 28: Twin Modifieds, Twin Grand Stocks, Super Trucks, Legends, Bandoleros, Enduros.
- Aug. 4: Twin Late Models, Super Streets, Pro Six, UCARs, Karts, Virginia Mini Cups.
- Aug. 11: Twin Modifieds, Super Streets, Twin Super Trucks, Legends, Enduros.
- Aug. 18: Twin Late Models, Grand Stocks, Pro Six, UCARs, Twin Karts.
- Aug. 25: Twin Late Models, Grand Stocks, Super Trucks, Legends, Twin Bandoleros,
- Sept. 1: Twin Modifieds, Super Streets, Twin Pro Six, UCARs, Karts.
- Sept. 8: Twin Late Models, Grand Stocks, Super Trucks, Legends, Bandoleros, Enduros.
- Sept. 15: Twin Late Models, Super Streets, Pro Six, UCARs, Karts, Enduros.
- Oct. 6: Modifieds, Super Streets, Pro Six, UCARs, Karts, Virginia Mini Cups.
- Oct. 13: Regular- season finale: Late Models, Grand Stocks, Super Trucks, Legends, Bandoleros, Enduros.
- Oct. 20: Fall Day of Destruction (rain date is Oct. 27).
