Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 16, 1993 TAG: 9304160283
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-14 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Long
MANY QUESTIONS ON THE LINE AS SPEEDWAY SEASON OPENS
There are a lot of questions to be answered when the green flag drops Saturday night at New River Valley Speedway.Will Jeff Agnew win his third straight championship in the Late Model Stock Car division?
Will Frankie Pennington capture the title this season after losing out on the tiebreaker last year?
Will Mike Dillon vault from top rookie to champion?
Or will another front-running returnee finish as the top driver?
The answers won't be known until the conclusion of the 21-race schedule on Sept. 12.
But doing well in Saturday's FM-94 200, a double-point race, will go a long way toward getting the season off on the right direction.
The gates open at 2 p.m. Practice begins at 4 and qualifying at 6:15. Racing begins at 8.
Agnew defended his title last year because he won more races than Pennington - six vs. three - although both finished the season tied with 448 points.
The Floyd County driver will be concentrating on making it three championships in a row at the speedway. Agnew had run at Lonesome Pine on Friday nights, winning the track title there the last two years, as well. But the Coeburn track moved its races to Saturday, leaving Agnew only one title to defend.
"We'll need lots of luck," Agnew said. "That's what it takes for you to win a championship. They come when you work real hard and everything falls into place. And so far, we're feeling pretty good."
Agnew added that if the team does well early in the season, he will look for a Friday night track to complete for the Mid-Atlantic championship.
"We've come so close, I don't want to give up on that."
Agnew will use the same car - a Chevrolet Lumina - that has brought him four championships in two years. In his only race so far this season, Agnew finished 14th in Richmond after starting 38th.
Meanwhile, Pennington will be in a Ford Thunderbird after driving a Pontiac most of last year. So far, the results after a pair of invitational races have been good: fourth in Florida and third in Richmond.
And those performances have Pennington looking forward to another good season at New River Valley Speedway.
"Getting invited to those races is good, making the top 10, much less the top five, is an accomplishment," Pennington said. "We've run in the top five in the country, we should be able to run in the top five here. But some guys only run this track. And it's tough to beat a guy in his own backyard."
Dillon will be back in his Chevrolet Lumina, looking to improve on his fourth-place finish.
Several other top area drivers have changed cars in an effort to move up in the standings. Ronnie Thomas will drive a Ford, switching from a Chrysler product. Stacy Compton moves the other way, into a Chrysler from a Pontiac.
About the only top drivers who won't be back from last year on a regular basis are Johnny Rumley, who has finished in the top three in points at the track the last three seasons, and Mike Ritch, the defending Mid-Atlantic Late Model champion.
Both have plans to run on the Grand National tour this season. However, they are expected at New River for the four 200-lap Late Model races.
Overall, 57 drivers had registered for the division as of last Saturday, the first practice session. Included in that number is Ray Young, last year's Limited Sportsman champion, who is moving up a division.
Kenny Montgomery and Charlie Miles hope to take advantage of Young's absence in the Limited Sportsman division. Montgomery has finished second in Limited Sportsman the last two years while Young won Pure Stock in 1992.
The champions return in the two other divisions: Randy Bell in Mini Stock and Charlie Smith in Modified Mini.
Also strengthening the competition will be the sheer volume of cars. A track record 200 drivers had registered their vehicles before last week's practice. That's up from about 140 last year. It includes 39 Limited Sportsmans, 37 Pure Stocks, 43 Mini Stocks and 24 Modified Minis.
Thus, the drivers are not the only ones who are optimistic about the coming season.
"Last year was the best year we've ever had," said Karen Sifford, who has been at the track since midway the first season in 1988 and is now its assistant general manager. "This year should be even better than that."
\ SPIN OUTS - New River Valley Speedway will feature the same racing format as last year: 100-lap Late Model Stock Car, 35-lap Limited Sportsman, and 25-lap Mini Stock, Pure Stock and Modified Mini races.
There will be races every Saturday until Labor Day, except Aug. 28 when the Bud 500 is run at Bristol. The final race of the year will be on Sunday, Sept. 12.
There will not be a Busch Grand National race at the speedway for the first time since 1988. Instead there will be four 200-lap races for the Late Model division. They will be held May 15, June 26, July 17 and August 7.
Ticket prices remain $8 for adults for all races - including the 200-lappers. Tickets for children under 12 will cost $1.
To entertain the younger fans at the first race, the Oreo Cookie Bear and the Teddy Graham Bear will be on hand.
Also on hand will be WPSK-FM. The Pulaski radio station will do prerace reports from 5:30 to 7 p.m. this year, as well as interviewing the race winners.
No races are scheduled to be televised. But the New River Valley Speedway should get some TV exposure. Channels 7, 10 and 13 are all sponsoring cars at the track in the Late Model division - Thomas drives for Channel 7; Tim McGuire for Channel 10; and Stacy Compton for Channel 13.
McGuire also will pull double-duty as a sports reporter. He will interview the Late Model race winner for Channel 10's Monday newscasts.
The concessions menu has been expanded to include a pair of race track favorites: baloney burgers and popcorn.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING