Woody Howard seeks another Hampton Heat trophy 15 years after marquee victory

When Woody Howard prevailed in the Hampton Heat back in 2009, the race served as one of several notable events on Langley Speedway‘s calendar.

The 15 years that have passed since that day have seen the Hampton Heat emerge as Langley‘s crown jewel and a key component of the prestigious Virginia Late Model Triple Crown. Saturday‘s festivities are poised to be the largest in Hampton Heat history with a record 38-car entry list and a sold-out crowd.

The Hampton Heat is already a challenging event due to extreme temperatures, but Howard knows the increased notoriety surrounding this year‘s race only puts more pressure on competitors. Despite this, he believes the speed in Robert Hopper‘s No. 41 Ford will put him in an ideal position to earn a second Hampton Heat victory.

“I‘m feeling pretty confident,” Howard said. “We‘ve been making progress all year getting the car better. With competition the way it is on a weekly basis, I don‘t think it‘ll be much different. It‘s tough every week, and there will be some more cars to deal with, but we‘ll have a shot at it.”

STREAMING: Watch Saturday’s Hampton Heat live on FloRacing

Langley has always been a special track for Howard, as he formally broke into Late Model Stocks at the facility at the turn of the century.

Howard immediately showcased his talent behind the wheel by winning several races across northern Virginia. He picked up his lone track championship in 2002 at Southampton Motor Speedway, a feat he accomplished by fending off current NASCAR Cup Series competitor Denny Hamlin.

It was Howard‘s back-and-forth rivalry with Hamlin that caught the attention of Joe Gibbs Racing, which brought Howard into the team’s developmental program starting in 2005, one year after Hamlin joined. While waiting for an opportunity to move up with Gibbs, Howard kept himself busy by committing to the USAR Pro Cup Series with owner Jim Dean.

The combination of Howard and Dean proved to be effective. Howard took home five checkered flags across the USAR Pro Cup Series platform in Dean‘s black No. 55 between 2005-07, scoring personal best points finishes of third in the Northern division and the National standings during that timeframe.

Howard was encouraged by J.D. Gibbs to keep racing with Dean as he attempted to find a seat for him somewhere on the developmental ladder. Those efforts proved to be in vain, as a changing landscape and a lack of funding on Howard‘s behalf prevented him from moving into NASCAR‘s top ranks.

“It was the same trouble everybody has; they needed money,” Howard said. “I was probably one of the last guys that got paid by a team. I had a good experience with them, and J.D. was real nice. He didn‘t promise anything, but he tried to put something together. I had a little bit of backing, but not enough to do a Truck or Xfinity race.”

With his portal to NASCAR effectively closed, Howard was unsure if he wanted to continue a career in motorsports. He admitted that being too hands-on with Dean‘s car likely served as a detriment to his development, and he wishes he could have spent more time at Gibbs‘ shop to help court sponsors.

Howard decided not to let the circumstances deter his passion for racing. After moving back to his home of Chesapeake, Virginia from Charlotte, Howard shifted some of his priorities over to his education but also got connected with James Long to drive his Late Model Stock at Langley.

Long was no stranger to success at Langley, with his accomplishments including a victory inaugural Hampton Heat with Nick Smith behind the wheel. When it came time for the second edition of the Hampton Heat in July 2009, Howard felt he had a solid chance to take home a checkered flag.

Facing a talented field, Howard kept Long‘s car inside the top five all evening while patiently waiting for a chance to pounce on the lead. The opportunity materialized with 18 laps remaining, when Howard made the race-winning pass on C.E. Falk III, who would later go on to claim three Hampton Heat victories of his own.

The triumph came as a minor surprise for Howard. He never considered Langley to be his strongest track but felt immense pride in proving he could beat the seasoned veterans like Falk, Greg Edwards, Danny Edwards Jr. and others in one of the facility‘s toughest events.

“I didn‘t have a lot of success at Langley, actually,” Howard said. “I had a lot of experience but felt like an underdog out there. They actually stopped racing Late Models at Langley right when I got into them. It was cool to race with those guys, and it still is.”

A handful of the same competitors Howard battled held off for the win years ago have filed entries for this weekend‘s Hampton Heat, along with a handful of new household names and invaders outside of the region.

Connor Hall and Brenden Queen, two names Howard has followed around Langley plenty of times, are anticipated to be the favorites Saturday night. Joining them on the starting grid is NASCAR Hall of Famer and two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is making his first start of any kind at Langley.

Dale Jr.‘s presence alone highlights how much the Hampton Heat has changed from Howard‘s perspective since his victory. One aspect that remains unchanged for Howard is strategy, as he knows tire conservation and maintaining solid pace will be pertinent toward being in contention during the closing stages.

“It‘ll be cool to see [Dale Jr.] out there and actually get to race with him,” Howard said. “There will be some packed stands, but we‘re going to do what we normally do. We‘re hoping all the stuff we learned earlier in the year helps us out, and we‘re going to try and not make too many mistakes.

“It doesn‘t take much to put yourself outside the top 10 at Langley if you‘re off just a little bit.”

The competitive depth Howard faces Saturday is comparable to the fields he faced in the USAR Pro Cup Series during the 2000s. No margin of error exists in either qualifying or the 200-lap feature for Howard, but he feels fortunate to just have the opportunity at another prestigious win.

Howard‘s career trajectory might not have gone the way he initially envisioned when he signed his developmental deal with Gibbs, but he is content with racing at his home track of Langley on a regular basis. A lot has changed with the facility‘s crown jewel, but Howard still possesses the same confidence to win as he did 15 years ago.

“[Winning on Saturday] would be bigger than the first one for sure,” Howard said. “The first one wasn‘t quite as big of a deal. There was a smaller number of really talented drivers, but with Dale Jr. and all the other big names coming, it‘s going to be as hard to win as ever.”

More eyes than ever are on Langley‘s biggest event, but that is only serving as motivation for Howard to put together one of his best races and join a small list of drivers as a multi-time Hampton Heat champion.