Vaughan Crittenden has been named Promoter and General Manager of Langley Speedway, the Hampton stock car track’s owner Bill Mullis announced recently.
Crittenden, 28, is among the youngest to serve in this role in the NASCAR Roots Division and succeeds Chuck Hall, who will remain a part of the speedway team.
“Vaughan is like a racehorse,” Mullis said of Crittenden, who has been the track’s Director of Media since 2013. “We just need to saddle him up and let him loose.”
Hailing from Middlesex County, Crittenden earned his undergraduate degree in Media Arts and Design from James Madison University, concentrating in digital video and cinema and minoring in Sports Communications.
Immediately after college, Crittenden worked as a photojournalist for WHSV before founding Riverdale 24 Productions, where he produced promotional videos for commercial clients and provided marketing support to organizations on the integration of strategic video content.
In 2017, he joined the Richmond Raceway team as its Manager of Communications where he led the video efforts of the NASCAR track, producing national commercials, and developed a video series narrated by legendary broadcaster and NASCAR Hall of Famer Ken Squier.
Coming to Langley Speedway in this new role, Crittenden said, is a lot like coming home. While his career has taken him to large NASCAR tracks across the country, Langley Speedway is where he “spent most Saturdays and Sundays since 2004,” said Crittenden.
“I’ve always been blown away by the sights and sounds of the track,” Crittenden said. “It’s huge. It’s exciting. It’s full of energy. From the first very race I saw live in Richmond, when I felt the cars going by and smelled the fuel, I was hooked.”
Crittenden started racing with the Hampton Roads Kart Club and spent his early driving career working his way up the ranks. That was when Mullis first met Crittenden.
“His mom used to bring him over and drop him off at my house with his go-kart,” Mullis said. “He didn’t know a thing about racing, and couldn’t turn a wrench.”
Mullis became Crittenden’s crew chief and helped him race over the years, and in return Crittenden would work in the pits for Mullis, who formerly raced.
Crittenden said he’s looking forward to taking his experience as a driver, a spectator and working on the marketing and promotions of larger tracks to “bring Langley into the next generation. It’s ready for a new image, to move forward into a new era, and for new programs to enhance the fan experience.”
Langley Speedway’s season officially kicks off on March 28 and its annual Day of Destruction—a demolition derby event—will be held on Saturday.