Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 21, 1993 TAG: 9307210137
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
That is how the Dublin driver leads the Modified Minis division at New River Valley Speedway by 36 points - despite just two victories in 13 races.
"It was about the same way last year, too," Smith said. "The entire year, I won about three races. But mostly it was consistency. We were finishing the races. That was the main thing."
Those finishes translated into a track championship by four points over Bo Howell.
This year, Smith has been out of the top five just once. Since June, he has finished no worse than third. Overall, Smith has four runner-up and two third-place finishes to go along with his pair of victories.
Not a bad performance, considering Smith's 1993 Toyota Celica is a brand-new race car.
"I didn't expect it to be as good a year, because we changed to a different car," Smith said. "I wanted the team to have a chance to get used to it. But it's working a little bit better than we expected. Now we're still trying to make the car a little bit better."
Smith switched Celicas so he would have a car that would be legal to run in the Goody's Dash series. His new car has the required fabricated tube body and the right size engine - about 2.5 liters. The 1981 Toyota that Smith drove to the title last season had a unibody chassis, which is not allowed in Dash racing.
But there has been a lot more than getting the specs right for Smith to be racing right on the track.
"There's been a lot of hard work on that car," said Ronnie Gusler, who helps Smith with the mechanical work. "Charlie, Mark [Smith, Charlie's brother] and I built that car. Together, the three of us put in 500 hours' worth of work."
Early-season overheating was solved by working on the air ducts and fan. Handling problems took care of themselves with tire pressure adjustments that produced better staggers.
But even as things improved, Smith was thinking more about the future than another track title - until something happened in late June.
"We started a couple of races on points," Smith said, "and I was starting on the outside pole two weeks in a row. That's when I made my mind up and decided to go after the title."
It's not surprising Smith took to the car quickly. After all, he took to racing cars quickly.
After racing motocross for a dozen years, Smith gave up that sport in 1985. But the racing bug never left him. When Smith came to the track as a fan in 1988, he knew what he wanted to do.
By the end of that year, Smith had built and was driving a race car in the Mini Stock division. He was a top runner in that division in 1989 and 1990. And in 1991, Smith drove his 1979 Toyota Celica to the division championship.
Smith moved up to Modified Minis in 1992 and won it again. If he hangs on this year, Smith will become the first driver to win points championships in three straight years at the speedway.
In addition to the hard work and racing experience, part of Smith's success stems from his chief mechanic - himself. Smith's full-time job is repairing cars at Shelor Toyota. That means he works on the type of car he races and for the company that sponsors his race car.
"Charlie does real good work," said Mark Smith, Charlie's brother and a former driver at the track. "Since he fixes those cars [Toyotas], he knows them as well as anybody. If it's in the car, he'll make it run stronger, handle better."
All of this success has not gone unnoticed by Smith's sponsors - Shelor, Pilot Homes, Gay's Crafts and Everide Radiators.
"This year, we have the same sponsors that we've had," said Curtis Tast, who works with Smith at Shelor and has been a supporter of Smith's racing efforts since their beginning. "Charlie does a good job. And when something has to be done, it's done right."
With his car running well and another points championship within reach, Smith can turn his thoughts to the future. He has set other goals, among them trying to qualify for the Goody's Dash race at New River on Aug. 21.
Next year, Smith hopes to run part of the Dash series. He plans to concentrate on races that are nearby to minimize the time away from his wife, Rebecca, and daughters Kathryn, 8, and Rachel, 5.
But mostly, Smith just wants to continue to race and be competitive. Both of his victories have come when other top drivers in the division fell out of the race because of accidents and mechanical problems. Perhaps that's why another effort stands out in Smith's mind.
"Winning was my best finish," said Smith the week before his second victory. "But last week [July 3] was my most fun race. I finished second; [Scott] Brawley had us all covered. But I could race with anyone else."
That night Smith was able to do what he wanted to do most - race against other cars. And as the 25-lap race neared its end, Smith outraced then-points-leader Dale Sutphin to finish second.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB