CHESAPEAKE, VA (WAVY) — What’s the saying? When your idols become your rivals?
Well, Chesapeake’s Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen and Dale Earnhardt Jr. certainly aren’t rivals. In fact, they’re friends. But Queen gets the opportunity to race one of his childhood idols during July’s Hampton Heat. As big of a moment as that is for Butterbean the racing fan, all Butterbean the competitor is thinking about is making history.
“It’s a normal day at work for us,” Queen said. “We’re going to be there to chase our third Hampton Heat. You don’t ever think about who’s in those cars because once you put the helmet on, it’s just another guy or girl next to you.”
Queen, a two-time Hampton Heat winner, is looking to become the first driver to win back-to-back Hampton Heats since C. E. Falk did it in 2010 and 2011. He added that this year’s Hampton Heat win would not only add to the Langley record books, but it would go a long way with his standing in the racing world, given Dale Jr.’s presence at the event.
“The more publicity you can get from a win can only boost your stock in the racing world,” Queen said. “You can just tell how much support and eyes look into it on social media. It’s just a really big deal having him in it.”
The Hampton Heat is Saturday, July 20 at Langley Speedway in Hampton. The WAVY Sportswrap team will have a full story on Queen and his incredible 2024 run in the truck series in the coming weeks.