Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 28, 1993 TAG: 9305270058
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Brian DeVido
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Just look at George Foreman, Robert Parish and Nolan Ryan, all still competing and doing well against athletes 15 to 20 years younger than they are.
Sort of like the old lion, not quite ready to give up the "king of the jungle" title to the young lion.
Racing veteran Paul Radford puts about as much stock in that line as Foreman does in dieting.
"Experience has nothing to do with it," he said, referring to his success this season at the New River Valley Speedway, where he is the Late Model division point leader after six weeks. "I've just been able to finish every race, and finish well."
Radford, 62, who has been racing for more than 40 years, won his first race of the season Saturday night.
"I love racing," he said. "I love competition. Racing keeps me motivated."
Motivated enough, apparently, to keep coming back to the speedway every Saturday night, despite the way he feels on the days following a race.
"It takes me a couple of days to get over a race," he said. "I get soreness in my back and it takes me a day or two to get my energy back. But it keeps me going."
And about that car, the one that's been turning in solid performance after solid performance week after week?
"The guy who built this car last year [Lou Hennesey] had a heart attack and died," Radford said. "He never got to see the car run. The guy knew what he was doing. It's one of the better ones I've had."
As the cars started leaving the speedway with increased frequency late Saturday, there was only one problem:
The cars leaving weren't the cars of racing fans. They were the cars of the drivers.
Two major pileups in the Mini Stock and Limited Sportsman divisions made the races longer than expected.
The four-car pileup in the Limited-Sportsman race, near the starting line of the second lap, was the worse of the two. L.C. VanDyke, Brent Coake, Ronnie Byrd and Haven Lawson were the drivers involved.
VanDyke was taken to the hospital, but his injuries weren't major.
Two prominent racers in the LMSC didn't factor into the race.
Johnny Rumley was put to the back of the 26-car field before the race started because his engine was declared too low. The Winston-Salem, N.C. driver had won the first two races of the season.
And Ronnie Thomas, who had won the three previous weeks, pulled out on the 16th lap because of an oil leak.
Qualifying for the LMSC race was a gem of a run for Chris Diamond. The Hickory, N.C., driver won the pole in 16.69 seconds, the best time at the speedway this year. He lost the lead on the first lap, though, and finished fourth.
\ SATURDAY'S RACE: For the Budweiser 200, there's the regular 100-lap Late Model Stock main event; the 35-lap Limited Sportsman feature; and 25-lap Pure Stock, Modified Mini and Mini-Stock races.
But don't forget the skydivers.
A four-member skydiving team from Harrisonburg will land on the starting line at 7:45 p.m. and unfurl - what else - a Budweiser banner to begin the evening.
Gates open at 2 p.m. Practice starts at 4. Qualifying begins at 6:15 and the green flag drops at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $8 for adults, and $1 for children 12 and under.
Brian DeVido covers sports for the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River Valley bureau.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB