C. E. Falk III (born November 5, 1987
) is an American professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver. Son of former
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
competitor
Eddie Falk and nephew of current team owner
Joe Falk, he currently competes regularly at the famed
Langley Speedway. He married Kaliegh Rey Shidler on New Year's Eve in 2014.
Career
Short tracks
A native of Virginia's
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
region and a graduate of the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...
,
Falk began his professional racing career in 2006 in the
Hooters Pro Cup Series; he ran six races with a best finish of eleventh at
Montgomery Motor Speedway
Montgomery Motor Speedway is a half-mile (.805 km) oval race track just west of Montgomery, Alabama. It opened in 1953, and is the oldest operating race track in Alabama. It held six NASCAR Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand Nation ...
. Moving full-time to
short track competition at Langley Speedway in Virginia, Falk soon established himself at the track, becoming regarded as one of the best drivers ever to compete at the well-known facility. After a winless 2008,
he won more than half the track's races on his way to the 2009 series championship.
Falk won the 2010 Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown charity race at
Southside Speedway
Southside Speedway (also known as "The Toughest Short Track in the South") was a short track used for stock car auto racing located just South of Richmond, Virginia in Chesterfield County. On Dec 11, 2020, the track announced it would be clo ...
, defeating an all-star field including
Sprint Cup Series drivers
Denny Hamlin,
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...
,
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
and
Bobby Labonte; Falk passed Hamlin on the final lap for the win, holding off a charging Stewart to take what Falk described it as the biggest win of his career.
The win boosted Falk's stock among NASCAR team owners;
later that year he would win his second Langley track championship, while in 2011 he would capture a third consecutive title.
Falk also competes at other Southeastern short tracks, being a regular at
South Boston Speedway
South Boston Speedway, or "SoBo", is a short track located just outside South Boston, Virginia. SoBo is located approximately east of another area familiar to most NASCAR fans, Martinsville. It is owned by Mattco, Inc., the Mattioli family tr ...
; in 2012 he broadened his racing to a variety of tracks in pursuit of the NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series
The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series, Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local short track motor racing around the United States and Ca ...
national short-track championship.
National touring series

Falk made his debut in NASCAR's national touring series in 2010, competing in the Camping World Truck Series for two events.
Driving for
Rick Ware Racing, he made his debut at
Martinsville Speedway; starting 30th, he finished 25th. In his second race in the series at
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
, Falk started 26th and finished 28th.
In 2012, in addition to seeking a fourth consecutive Langley Speedway championship, an effort derailed by a pair of disqualifications over the course of the season,
Falk sought to break into more regular NASCAR touring competition;
when his uncle purchased the former
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...
No. 33 Sprint Cup Series team, he stated that Falk would likely be among the drivers to compete in the car at some point during the
2012 season. In May, Falk was voted the top driver among NASCAR regional and touring series competitors; in late June, Falk joined
Hillman Racing to drive the team's No. 27 truck at
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Before 2008 J ...
in the Camping World Truck Series. Falk crashed his truck in practice for the event; borrowing a backup truck, he
started and parked in the race, finishing 34th. Falk later ran races for the team at
Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...
and
Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
, finishing 16th at the latter track.
In 2013, Falk competed in the inaugural
UNOH Battle at the Beach at
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
, racing in the
Whelen All-American Series
The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series, Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local short track motor racing around the United States and Ca ...
portion of the event. Falk led 61 laps of the race before being wrecked by
Kyle Larson
Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ ...
for the win; he recovered to finish third, his performance attracting interest from teams in NASCAR's upper-level series.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Camping World Truck Series
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
References
External links
*
*
C. E. Falkat Langley Speedway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falk, C. E.
Living people
1987 births
Sportspeople from Norfolk, Virginia
Racing drivers from Virginia
NASCAR drivers
CARS Tour drivers
University of North Carolina at Charlotte alumni
Sportspeople from Virginia Beach, Virginia