Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 7, 1993 TAG: 9305070517
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Lynn Carroll's exclamation aptly described what happened at New River Valley Speedway last week.
The rule comes into play only when a race is going to finish under a caution. In those situations, the race is restarted for two more laps of green flag racing. Then the white and checkered flags follow on the successive laps.
The rule wasn't invoked in the first two weeks of the season. Then Saturday it came into play five times in a three-race stretch.
Accidents occurred on the last lap and the first restart lap of both the Pure Stock and Mini Stock races. Neither of these divisions count yellow-flag laps. But because of the restarts, each race still went 28 laps, three over the normal length.
The Late Model Stock Car race also ran long. Laps run under caution count, but the race was extended when it took five laps to clear the track after an accident on lap 96. The field then ran its two extra laps, making the race 103 laps long.
Ironically, not one leader had his lead threatened when the challengers were given the extra chances. Ronnie Thomas drove to victory in the Late Model race. Jay McCray held on in the Mini Stock race. And Grump Wills easily outdistanced the few cars that survived wrecks in the Pure Stock race.
\ REPAIR JOBS: Hank Turman and Tink Reedy had new front ends on their cars Saturday after accidents had left their cars beat up the week before.
"It's like a whole new car," said Reedy about his Oldsmobile. "We have to work the bugs out."
Neither driver battled for the lead in the Tombstone-WSLC 200. But neither made an early exit either.
Turman finished eighth. It was his best showing in three races and the first time he hadn't been involved in an accident.
Reedy made a couple of pit stops for adjustments to his car. He still came in ninth, which earned him valuable points in the division standings.
\ RUMLEY UPDATE: Johnny Rumley got his Oldsmobile ready for Busch Grand National competition after testing Thursday at New River Valley Speedway. He started 18th and finished 19th after an accident on lap 254 of the Rose's Stores 300 at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, N.C.
Chuck Bown, who also practiced at NRVS last week, finished sixth, one lap down.
\ WHEN RIGHT'S WRONG: Don't ask Dale Sutphin or Jeff Agnew about their right front tires.
Sutphin saw all opportunities to win three straight Modified Mini Stock races disappear when he cut his tire midway through the race. He was second at the time but lost a lap when he had to pit to replace the flat. Agnew was running near the front in the Late Model race when his right spindle broke on lap 96. The accident brought out the caution flag that extended the race beyond 100 laps and dropped Agnew back to 18th place.
\ ODD SIGHTS: A couple of strange things happened besides the extra-long races last week.
First, the track caught fire - twice. With several accidents in turn 4 during the Pure Stock race, debris started to accumulate. With the racing, the track temperature increased. And eventually the small hot spots developed and had to be extinguished. Then during the Mini Stock race, Kevin Light got spun around on the front stretch and crossed the finish line backwards.
\ HALL OF FAME: The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is looking for drivers who raced at the old Pulaski County Speedway when it was a dirt track.
Sheets are available at the speedway for drivers from the old track to fill out. The information requested includes name, hometown, birthdate, car, car number, car owner, sponsor, tracks raced, races won and racing honors.
Send information to Betty L. Carlan, McCaig-Wellborn International Motorsports Research Library, P.O. Box 1018, Talladega, Ala. 35160. Call (205) 362-5047.
\ SATURDAY'S RACE: The Wade's-Deli Mart-Food Time 200, with the usual schedule of a 100-lap Late Model Stock feature, a 35-lap Limited Sportsman race and 25-lap races in the Modified Mini, Mini Stock and Pure Stock divisions.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB