Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 24, 1994 TAG: 9403010179
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Long
The turns are barren. The infield is empty. The lights are off.
But in his office above the track, Ronnie Snoddy is getting ready for his first full season as co-owner and promoter of New River Valley Speedway.
Snoddy and John Frazier bought the track last summer and took over its operation shortly thereafter. But the racing schedule already had been set. So this off-season has been the first chance for Snoddy to really put his own touch on a lot of things at the .417-mile oval in Pulaski County.
``I'm just waiting for spring and it's coming fast,'' said Snoddy. ``Fortunately, everything is [almost] lined up for the year.''
Snoddy entered the racing world with some knowledge of what he was getting into. After all, he was a former driver and his business experience was in auto parts stores and racing tires. But he didn't quite expect what he found.
``What hasn't been a surprise?'' he said. ``The work is a lot different than anything I have done in my life. It's an entirely different business.... Here, you have to sell the product, the place, the entertainment. The fan has to be sold them.''
MORE MONEY, MORE RACING: It will cost more to get into the speedway this year. But there also will be more to see.
The admission price will be $10 with a special $1 ticket for children 12-and-under accompanied by a paying adult.
``I'm not doing $10 because I want to,'' said Snoddy. ``I'm doing it because I have to to be successful.''
The ticket price had been $8 for adults the last two seasons. Admission was $10 several years ago but coupons were available for reduced admission.
However, even with the price increase, admission is still as cheap as any other NASCAR weekly track in the state. And unlike some other tracks which change the price depending on the race, the admission change will be the same for all races during the regular track season, which runs from April through mid-September.
That's good for spectators because there will be at least one extra-length (or sometimes in the case of the Late Models, twins) every week. That means some 50-lappers for the Limiteds and 40-lap races for the Modified Minis, Mini Stocks and Pure Stocks, plus more 200s, twin 100s and twin 75s for the Late Models.
SMALL CHANGES, BIG PLANS: Something will be different as the cars go around the track this season, besides the number of laps they run. Goodyear has replaced Hoosier as the track tire for NRVS.
The decision came down to a matter of business practicality for Snoddy, who is a Goodyear distributor. However, Snoddy said he didn't expect the change to be a problem because there is so little difference between the composition of the two tires. He added that the drivers might benefit from the change because Goodyear tires may wear out a little bit less quickly.
Something will be different as fans go shopping. A wall in the food court of New River Valley Mall will feature information about the previous week's racing and upcoming events. And the track's souvenir store has been open for almost three months at Village Oaks Shopping Center in Fairlawn.
And racing may not be all that happens at the track this year. Snoddy hopes to hold concerts and other special events.
LIVE, FROM NRVS: If you cannot be at the speedway on July 30, get to a television set. Because WDBJ-TV (channel 7) will telecast the twin 100-lap Late Model races that evening live.
This will be the first time anything more than highlights of a race from NRVS will be on TV.
``In the long-run, I think it will help us,'' said Snoddy, eschewing the notion that some promoters have about races being broadcast or televised. ``Hopefully people will watch and then [the next week] we'll get a couple of hundred people who haven`t been here before.''
Other media outlets are expected to be involved with the track as well.
WSLS-TV (channel 10) will once again have its ``Racing Reports`` with Tim McGuire. And McGuire is scheduled to race at NRVS the entire season this year.
And at least two radio stations have plans for call-in shows about the speedway.
HALF THE YEAR BEHIND THE WHEEL: Believe it or not, the first open practice at NRVS is less than 30 days away. The cars will take to the track on March 26 and April 1 in two pre-season sessions.
The first race is April 2. And every weekend from then until the season-finale Sept. 17, cars will be going around and around and around NRVS.
Three races will are scheduled for Sunday to avoid conflicts with Saturday night Winston Cup races: May 22 (the Winston at Charlotte), Aug. 28 (the Goody's 500 at Bristol) and Sept. 11 (the MGD 400 at Richmond). Sundays also will be used as the make-up date for races rained-out on Saturday night.
The first 200-lap Late Model race is set for May 14. The Goody's Dash cars make their annual appearance at the speedway on Aug. 20.
And the Southwest Virginia Chevrolet Dealers 250, the post-season Late Model special event, is scheduled for Oct. 22. Snoddy has met with the local Chevy dealers and is hopeful of increasing the purse - with $10,000 going to the winner and increased pay-outs throughout the field.
ENDURO, IF YOU DARE: There will be a new type of racing at NRVS and it's just right for the driver want-to-be - Enduro.
The races, popular at many short tracks, offer nonprofessionals an opportunity to feel what is like to race.
However, unlike ``Any Car'' races held at some places, cars must be of a certain size - stock sedans with V-8 engines - and meet certain safety requirements: roll cage, fire suit and helmet, fire extinguisher in glove compartment.
The race will be 100 laps or two hours, whichever comes first. All laps count in these races. And there is no such thing as a yellow flag. Drivers must avoid accidents and continue to race.
Enduro races will be held March 27, Aug. 7 and Oct. 1. And in conjunction with Lonesome Pine International Raceway in Coeburn, there will be a six-race Enduro Challenge.
DRIVING AROUND: The Late Model field will be even more competitive this season with the addition of several new faces to the crowd of regulars.
All will be vying to become the new track champion as 62-year-old Paul Radford has decided to go out on top. The ``Ferrum Flash'' is calling it quits after his one-year comeback from retirement earned him yet another track championship to cap four decades of stepping on the gas peddle and turning left.
But there will still be a Radford at NRVS. Bobby Radford, Paul's nephew and a former Late Model champ at Franklin County, is scheduled to take over full-time in the No. 5 car owned by the Letchfords and driven by a half-dozen drivers last year. Also moving from FCS is Rick Sigmon, who finished second in the points there. He will be in the No. 88 car, which will be an Oldsmobile this season.
Chad Harris of Waynesboro, one of the top drivers on the dirt track there, will make the move to pavement and NRVS. And Phillip Morris of Quinque (that's near Charlottesville), who competed in the Chevy Dealers race last fall, may return for the regular racing season.
Definitely returning to the speedway for full-time racing will be the McGuire brothers, Kelly Denton and Randy Ratliff. Tim McGuire alternated between NRVS and FCS last year for his TV reports. Tony McGuire destroyed his car in an accident in the first 200-lapper in May and finished the season winning races in an old car at Franklin County.
Denton and Ratliff both started last season at Lonesome Pine. But both finished the year at New River. And they made up the front row in last year's Chevy Dealers race.
However, not all drivers have had good luck this off-season. Kenny Montgomery, the Limited champion, had his owner decide to get out of racing. So instead of preparing for an expected jump to the Late Model ranks, Montgomery is so far without a ride for 1994.
\ M.J. Dougherty covers sports for the New River Valley bureau.
by CNB