Darren Krantz Jr. set two goals for himself during the first leg of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown last month at South Boston Speedway. The first goal was run a clean race and the second was to gain experience against many elite short track competitors.
The 14-year-old did more than just complete all the laps during the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston. After qualifying 11th, Krantz showcased a veteran’s mindset by gradually fighting his way towards the front before crossing the line third behind race-winner Connor Hall. Matt Waltz, who was initially scored second, was later disqualified in post-race technical inspection and Krantz was elevated to the runner-up position.
By virtue of that performance, Krantz currently finds himself second in the Virginia Triple Crown standings.
The strong start to Krantz’ maiden Virginia Triple Crown pursuit has left the young racer with tremendous confidence ahead of Saturday’s Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway (4 p.m. ET on FloRacing). Krantz expects some of the same challenges at Langley that he faced at South Boston, but feels he has everything necessary to keep his Virginia Triple Crown momentum going.
“It really did mean a lot to me to get second in a big race like that,” Krantz said. “There were big teams like JR Motorsports I was racing against and I can’t wait to learn more with Chad Bryant Racing this year. They taught me a lot in that race on how to work the car, save my tires well and learn how to drive against these amazing veterans in the late model world.”
A native of Huntington, New York, Krantz first developed an interest in racing by watching his uncle Chad Churilla compete in Modified events around the Northeast.
Krantz’ father, Darren Sr., took notice of his son’s growing interest in motorsports and got him into go-kart racing at the age of seven. The first major go-kart event for the younger Krantz ended with a second-place finish, which only bolstered his motivation to improve and one day advance into the top ranks of NASCAR.
The talent Krantz displayed in go-karts manifested itself when he began participating in the Cook Out Summer Shootout. In 10 starts in the Bandit division in 2022, Krantz earned three victories and never finished outside the top five once, which allowed him to claim the championship.
Competing in the Summer Shootout was crucial to Krantz’ development and fueled his family’s decision to move from New York to North Carolina. It took time for Krantz to adjust to his new environment, but he said residing in North Carolina was a logical step towards finding sustainability in racing.
“That was the only way for me to become better in NASCAR,” Krantz said. “In New York, I had nowhere to go and there was nowhere to race to become better in my career. When we went to North Carolina, we raced at more places and made my name bigger. I was able to race Summer Shootout and really made a big name for myself.
“Now I’m in the Late Model Stock world.”
Krantz found himself behind the wheel of a Late Model Stock less than a year after his Bandit Division title in the Summer Shootout. He spent his first part-time season with Lee Faulk Racing before moving to Chad Bryant Racing in 2024. Bryant previously fielded cars in the for drivers like Connor Hall and Treyten Lapcevich.
The results for Krantz in Bryant’s equipment were almost instantaneous. He visited Victory Lane in Late Model Stocks and Limited Late Models at tracks like Florence Motor Speedway, Hickory Motor Speedway and Tri-County Motor Speedway, the latter of which was the site of Krantz’ first track championship.
Bryant’s guidance has been a crucial component towards Krantz finding a rhythm against his more experienced competition. There are numerous aspects about Late Model Stocks Krantz was unaware of prior to his first race, but he has a much broader comprehension of those concepts through Bryant’s hands-on approach to racing.
“Chad has been teaching me about my braking,” Krantz said. “He taught me how to make the car feel a certain way and told me about arching out. If I arch out and the car cannot arch out, that means our entry is loose. There’s so many things he’s helped me with and I couldn’t be happier that he taught me all this stuff.”
Krantz intends to lean heavily on Bryant’s advice as he prepares for 200 grueling laps at Langley Speedway in the sweltering heat Saturday evening. A portion of Krantz’ 2025 Late Model Stock schedule has seen him venture to Langley for weekly events, with his best showing at the track being a third-place effort on May 10.
Despite some decent results there, Krantz admitted he is still trying to figure out how to be consistent at Langley. Langley’s flat, unorthodox layout requires precision every lap to maintain track position, something Krantz believes will be more challenging for him with a longer distance and more than 30 cars sharing the racing surface.
“With Langley, it’s a very technical track,” Krantz said. “When I first raced there, I couldn’t figure it out because when you’re in the corner, the track is literally an illusion. It messes you up in the head pretty bad. You’re always turning in the car. At South Boston, you go straight for a while and figure things out.
“I really struggle with turn one and two, so all I can hope for is to learn how to get better at that track for the Hampton Heat when we practice there.”
The strategy Krantz has for Langley is the same one he employed for the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200, be clean, be smart and gain experience.
A key difference between those two events is Krantz now feels he can compete for the victory in the Hampton Heat. Finishing second at South Boston validated Krantz’ faith in his ability to hold his own against seasoned Late Model Stock veterans, many of whom will be back at Langley chasing a crown jewel checkered flag.
Should Krantz prevail on Saturday, he would not only join an elite list of Hampton Heat winners that includes Hall, Josh Berry, Lee Pulliam, Philip Morris and Brenden Queen, but he would consolidate his status as a Virginia Triple Crown title contender. Such an idea was barely fathomable to Krantz only a few weeks ago.
One victory, or even another top five on Saturday evening, putz Krantz in a great spot when it comes time to chase both a grandfather clock and Virginia Triple Crown trophy at Martinsville Speedway in the fall.
“I’m only 14 years old, so that would be an amazing for me to do,” Krantz said. “Second place in the Triple Crown for a 14-year-old is pretty, pretty impressive in my book I think. I’ll have to maintain my spot at Langley. It’s definitely going to be difficult to beat Connor Hall at his home track, but I know it’s possible.”
Making a name for himself in racing was Krantz’ objective when he moved away from his hometown. Plenty of eyes will be on the young prospect Saturday evening at Langley, all of them curious to see if Krantz can back up his South Boston showing with a Hampton Heat victory.