Photos courtesy of L. TODD SPENCER I The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot

C.E. Falk, a senior at UNC Charlotte, pushes his Late Model car before qualifying at a race at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va.

C.E. Falk's daily planner features more than class information, test schedules and assignment due dates for a typical college student.

It also includes his racing schedule.

The 21-year-old Virginia Beach native is among a growing breed of drivers attending college as they pursue their dreams of racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. With classes about to begin at many schools, double-duty will take on a new meaning.

Falk, who leads the Late Model points standings at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va., enters his senior year at UNC Charlotte. Parker Kligerman, a Penske Racing development driver leading the ARCA standings, will be a freshman at UNC Charlotte. High Point University freshman Austin Dillon has competed in four Nationwide races this season for Richard Childress Racing. Duke sophomore Paulie Harraka is fourth in the Camping World West series after scoring his first series win Saturday.

And the list goes on.

David Smith, a driver development client manager for Motorsports Management International, says he sees more drivers attending college. He suggests that the economy is making some consider backup plans because of the difficulty of climbing the ranks to the top levels of racing.

Another factor is Ryan Newman. Although he wasn't the first Cup driver to go to college, he's the most recent graduate, earning a degree in Vehicle Structural Engineering from Purdue in 2001.

"For a long time people thought there was no time to go to college and no time to get that education when you're in your prime as far as being 18 years old and having the opportunity to go NASCAR racing or racing in general," Newman said. "So, I guess maybe in a roundabout way, me and a few other drivers have proved that you can do it and be successful at this level."

Falk didn't have a choice. His mother said he had to attend college or his racing career would end. Younger brother Wesley, sixth in the Late Model standings at Langley, will be a junior at UNC Charlotte. He studies mechanical engineering with a focus on motorsports.

The Falks aren't the only brothers racing Late Models at Langley attending college. Matthew Waltz, 11th in the Late Model standings, will be a sophomore at Old Dominion and is studying engineering. Older brother Kyle Waltz will graduate in December from Thomas Nelson Community College and plans to enroll at Old Dominion, also to study engineering.

Falk shows a driver can succeed in racing and academics. He says he has a B average and is set to receive his degree in management in May. He's also had a breakout season, winning seven races at Langley and vying for his first Late Model track title.

"It's a juggling act," Falk says of attending college while racing for a track title more than 300 miles away.

"The hardest part is what I'm about to go through right now, the end-of-the-season races where you have test sessions the week before and you have to be at certain tracks for two or three days," says Falk, whose classes include business policy, business law and information systems.

He says most of his classes have tests scheduled for Oct. 5. That's about when key late season races at Martinsville, Langley and South Boston are held.

"It's going to be tough," Falk says, "but it's not something I can't handle."

Harraka can relate to the challenges Falk faces. Harraka attends classes at Duke and his race team is based in California. The Camping World West Series' final two races, Iowa and California, come after classes resume.

"Was I concerned I could do it?" Harraka says of racing and college where he's double majoring in public policy and mechanical engineering. "No, it never entered my mind. It was just a matter of figuring out how to do it, figuring out what I needed to do it and how I needed to do it to balance racing and Duke.

"It's worked out. It took a little bit. The first semester was definitely a big learning semester for me on how to adapt to those two things but you learn how to be efficient as you can and ... you make it work."