Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 18, 1993 TAG: 9309180039
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEWE RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Consistent running through the first two-thirds of the season allowed the "Ferrum Flash," who turns 62 this month, to build a large lead in the Late Model Stock Car standings at New River Valley Speedway.
Then in the closing races, Radford once again got hit with a season's worth of problems. A flat tire cost Radford a victory Aug. 14. A broken spindle put him out of the race early Sept. 4. And halfway through the second race last Sunday, Radford wrecked and fell a lap back.
But after patching up his car and moving up to 12th place before the end of that final race, Radford got just enough points to claim the championship.
"It [1991] went through my mind several times Sunday," said Radford, who has raced for more than 40 years and won championships at five different tracks.
"I didn't like we were running on Sunday and I didn't like we were running two races. If they went with the regular 100-lapper, I would have been home free. But the second race gave him [Ronnie Thomas] a chance to catch up."
Radford and Thomas entered the season-ending double-header tied. But Thomas wrecked in the first race and Radford opened an 20-point edge by virtue of a third-place finish.
But instead of being content to protect his lead, Radford did what he does best - race. And he and Michael Ritch touched as Radford tried to take fourth place on the front stretch. Then Dick Goodwin careened into Radford, doing major damage to the left front of his Chevrolet Lumina.
"I didn't think I was jeopardizing the championship when I tried to pass [Ritch]," said Radford. "We had been racing close before. But one of us got into the other. I don't know if I got him or he got me. . . . I didn't have to [make the pass]. But I forgot about the championship. I wanted the win. I thought I could win the race."
Only the disqualification of apparent winner Johnny Rumley - which moved everyone in the field up one position in both races - prevented Radford from losing the title to Thomas because of the accident.
Of course, what else could be expected from a man who in 1977 won both ends of the Modifieds/Late Models double-header at Martinsville Speedway. From a man who once won seven races in a 10-day span around the Fourth of July in 1974.
From a man who has won track championships at places as diverse as Langley in Hampton; Southside in Richmond; Bowman-Gray in Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Franklin County Speedway. And from a man who who finished fourth in the national points in the Modifieds in 1974.
And in the end, Radford ended up with yet another accomplishment in his racing career that started before many of his fellow-competitors were born.
However six months ago, Radford had no thought of sitting behind the wheel of the No. 26 car every Saturday night. Clarence Pickeral - Radford's Modified car owner in the mid-1970s - had a car without a driver after the unexpected death of car builder Lou Hennesey.
Pickeral eventually asked Radford to drive the car to see how good it was.
"I told him it was a good car and that it was capable of winning," said Radford.
So Radford, who had retired after the 1991 season, ended up with a ride. And by May 1 he had taken the lead in the points standings at NRVS.
Now Radford is getting ready for his favorite part of racing - the big shows.
And as for next year, Radford is taking a wait-and-see attitude as to whether he will return to defend his track title.
"One year, I'm not going to be able to [physically] race any more," said Radford. "It's getting harder every year. But once I get to the track, I'm fine. It's like getting a shot. It makes you feel important to have everyone coming up to you and wanting to talk.
"But when I'm at home, it's getting harder to get up for a race. And it used to not be like that."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB