Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 8, 1993 TAG: 9308080131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
And when three late-race caution periods bunched the field, Rumley stayed in front on the restarts.
That combination of speed and survival instincts allowed Rumley to win the 200-lap Late Model Stock Car race in the Taco Bell/Virginia's 13 300 on Saturday night at New River Valley Speedway.
The most serious challenge for Rumley was a restart on lap 197 that turned the race into a three-lap sprint. But the Winston-Salem, N.C., driver found a way to stay in front of runner-up Michael Ritch.
"I banzai-ed him on the restart," said Rumley, whose last victory had come in a 200-lap race June 26. "That got me away a little bit. I just went as hard as I could and moved the car around a little bit. I wasn't as conservative as I had been."
Ritch said a combination of Rumley's setup and a tactical error on the last restart sealed his fate.
"He [Rumley] was heavy through the corners and I couldn't stay with him the way he was handling," Ritch said. "And I overdrove the car on that last restart. I should have taken it easier."
Rumley agreed that the handling of his Cherolet Lumina played a key role in victory.
"Basically, we need to get this car out in front where we can use up some track, run wall to wall," said Rumley, who led by as much as eight seconds en route to his fifth victory of the season. "We've had a good car. But we've lost the chassis trying to chase somebody [Ronnie Thomas who beat Rumley in races the last three weeks]. We had our problems. But tonight we got the job done."
Paul Radford, the track's points leader, finished third.
Thomas, who had won the last four Late Model races, placed fourth. He started 16th and was as high as third before he had to drop back because of chassis problems.
Radford leads Thomas by 30 points in the standings.
Stacy Compton placed fifth in the last car on the lead lap.
In other races Saturday night:
Points-leader Kenny Montgomery of Parrott took the lead on the first lap and went on to win the 35-lap Limited Sportsman race, his eighth victory of the season. Bo Howell finished second and Grump Wills was third.
Pole-sitter Wayne Cassavaugh of Lenoir, N.C., held off a late charge by Eddie Rankin to win the caution-free 25-lap Modified Mini race. It was Cassavaugh's first victory of the year.
Tommie Allie and Arron Deplazes qualified and finished 1-2 in the 25-lap Pure Stock race. It was the second victory for the Christiansburg driver.
There was no Mini-Stock race.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB