Good evening and uh welcome to uh spotlight session uh city council's uh monthly ceremonial session and uh want to ask the clerk to call the role.

Present Vice Mayor Brown, here councilwoman Campbell, present, Councilwoman Fairby, present, Councilwoman Harper, present, Councilwoman Muggler, present, Mayor Gray.

Present.

And we have a couple of presentations we're doing this afternoon to uh give us some well deserved recognition to uh two big organizations in our community, and uh want to turn it over to uh Brian Marcese, who's our outreach and creative coordinator in our marketing department to uh introduce the uh program.

So, Brian.

Great.

Uh thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, uh, members of council, City Manager Bunting, and uh City Attorney Sidner.

Um tonight we celebrate not one but two defining chapters in Hampton's story, two anniversaries that honor the grit, the spirit and soul of our city, the 75th anniversary of Langley Speedway, and the 125th anniversary of Phoebus.

So let's start where the engines were and Hearts Race.

Um for 75 years, Langley Speedway has been more than just a racetrack.

It's been a Saturday night tradition, a proving ground for champions, and a cornerstone of Hampton's identity.

It all started on North Amistad North Armaset Avenue, once home to a dusty horse track called the Dude Ranch.

But when the roar of the stock cars began to draw bigger crowds than the hooves ever did, the owners made a bold turn.

In 1950, Langley Speedway was born.

What began as a modest dirt oval quickly um grew into something greater in 1963?

Local businessman Henry Klitsch leased the track for a thousand dollars and renamed it Langley Field Speedway and led it into the modern era.

Recognizing that NASCAR was leaving dirt tracks behind, he invested 25,000 of his own money to pave the track in 1968.

Um to a serious stop on the racing map.

Between 1964 and 1970, Langley hosted nine grand national races featuring legends like Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, and Ned Jarrett.

Every winter went on to become a NASCAR champion.

A local headline said it best when Clitch passed away, he made us major league.

In the 1970s, another name changed Langley's trajectory, Joe Carver.

With charisma and flair for drama, he brought in the region's best racers and packed the stands with storylines as much as speed.

It was Langley's golden age, filled with thrilling matchups and an unforgettable Saturday nights.

Langley has long been a launch pad, not just for legends like Dale Earnhardt or Denny Hamlin, but also for our homegrown heroes, names like Diane Teal, Elton Sawyer, Phil Warren, and Sean uh Bazoo um Belusho.

Those legacies still echo with the turns.

Over the years, the track has weathered tragedy and transformation from aging bleachers and concrete grand slans to rough unroots to one of the most respected weekly tracks in the nation.

And today, under the leadership of Bill Mullis and Chuck Hall, Langley continues to thrive, drawing record crowds, hosting marquee events, and writing the next chapter and their story for the next 75 years.

You see, Larry King Law's Langley Speedway isn't just a part of our city city's history, it's a part of our soul.

Unfortunately, Bill Mullis was called down uh this week to NASCAR headquarters in Charlotte to help them out with something, and Chuck Hall has a prior uh family commitment out of town today, so neither of them uh were able to come here today, but they did uh send their appreciation.

Um that said, I'd like to invite Mary Fugier from our Convention of Visitors Bureau and Marketing Department to share a few words about the city's relationship with Langley Speedway, Hampton Heat, and how this partnership continues to drive tourism and pride.

Good evening.

It was 17 years ago that uh we were contacted by the then owner of Langley Speedway and uh Councilman Hobbs, who was not yet a councilman at that point, as well as city manager Jesse Wallace to consider sponsorship of Hampton Heat.

And um it began it that um that invitation and that conversation began a partnership that has lasted these last 17 years.

But I have to say, in um the following year, we were introduced to Bill Mullis and Chuck Hall, and it was their vision that really has um carried Langley Speedway over the last 16 years, and um has really um invigorated Hampton Heat as a major racing event on the East Coast.

It has drawn uh drivers and crews from across you know the Northeast down to Charlotte, and we're so honored every year when we have this anniversary and have the opportunity to host them.

Our relationship is apparent um in many aspects of the Langley Speedway season.

We begin the season with the Visit Hampton 125 that takes place during the Cars Tour on May 31st, and it ends with a Halloween event on October 25th, the Hampton CVB Halloween Speed Fest.

But nothing is bigger or more um important and um is more worthy of spotlight than Hampton Heat.

It is because of the anniversary um the 75th anniversary of the Speedway that we celebrate with the uh council coin, which um has been dedicated throughout 2025.

Um we honor Langley Speedway with that coin, and um we're very excited that City Council has uh um has chosen to do this throughout 2025.

We look forward to a very exciting Hampton Heat on July 19th, and while we were visited with Dale Earnhardt this past year, I have heard rumor that we have another exciting year at uh Hampton Heat, and um you'll receive news and details about that um in the coming in the coming uh weeks.

And I'm just going to stop this because again, like Brian said, it has taken on a life of its own.

Yes, it has.

Thank you very much.

If I could just just add that uh, you know, I've been to several races recently, but I also want to acknowledge you named some some big names in racing that have been a part of the uh history of Langley Speedway, but we got some young guys now making a name for themselves, uh Connor Hall, who now races with the Dale Oranh Jr.

racing team, and uh Brendan Butterbean Queen, who won a major event, I think at Daytona uh a few months back and uh seeing them raise all of those those guys uh kind of working their way up through the system, I guess, but I'm sure they're gonna make a name for themselves and make a future stars.

Yes, indeed.

So thank you.

Thank you for that.

And uh thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

And I apologize for the PowerPoint here.

It seems to um be advancing and having a mind of its own here, so bear with me on that.

Um there we go.

All right.

Uh next, uh, if Langley um represents uh momentum, uh, then Phoebus represents memory.

A place where the past is not only preserved but cherished, lived in and loved.

Tonight we honor 125 years since the town of Phoebeus took its name.

But the story goes back farther than that.