Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 10, 1994 TAG: 9405100114
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
David Barton won the first Enduro race at the track. He completed the 100 laps in just 40 minutes. Two hours had been allotted for the race.
"I needed that," said Barton, who has won four previous Enduros at Lonesome Pine International Raceway in Coeburn, including the first one held at that track there years ago.
"There were a lot of good cars here. And this is a lot different track than Coeburn [Lonesome Pine]. The turns are really different."
The racing Walter Mittys and wannabes came to NRVS in cars of all shapes, sizes and styles. Paint jobs ranged from primer to patch work to pretty. Tires varied from Eagles to T/As to Sure Tracs.
The insides of their cars went from being bare to having just racing instruments to still possessing a full dashboard of dials and gauges.
And the cars themselves went from compacts (Chevrolet Novas) to sports cars (Chevrolet Camaros) to intermediates (Chevrolet Monte Carlos) to full-size family sedans (Chevrolet Impalas).
Barton won in a 1974 Chevrolet Malibu.
About the only thing the cars had in common were the engines - V-8s - and the safety requirements. All cars had to have a roll cage, only the driver's seat inside, the doors secured shut and all glass but the windshield removed.
Thankfully, the drivers never had to put any of those safety features to use. There was not a single accident in the entire race, save a couple of spins, a lost tire, and a car coming to rest in turn four.
No incident involved more than one car or blocked the track. And after 100 laps, a dozen of the racing machines that started the event were still running.
"I got hit a few times and there was a lot of fluids and debris on the track," said Barton, who bought his car for $100 and rebuilt it with his friend, Terry Presley. "But this is the second race in a row there hasn't been a red flag. We were racing from the start and never stopped."
Barton had to do a lot of racing to put himself in a position for the victory. He hadn't preregistered for the track and was the last driver to arrive - meaning he got to start last.
"It was raining back home," said Barton, who lives in Bee, which is between Haysi and Honaker in Buchanan County. "We didn't know whether or not to come. I'm glad we did."
From that distant starting position, it took Barton 38 laps to move into the top five. He ran there pretty much the rest of the race and with 17 laps left, he moved into third place.
When Carlos Ray and Teddy Hess were disqualified - the apparent top two finishers - the victory belonged to Barton.
And while Barton has the ability and the equipment to move up to a regular weekly racing division, reality forces him to keep his hobby in perspective.
"I've got the Super Stock car [the LPIR equivalent of Pure Stock] that won the championship in my garage," said Barton. "But I can't afford to run it. My work just won't let me. I can run a car six races and earn a lot more money."
Barton, with help from Presley, Larry Tiller and Ray Gibson, plans to be at Lonesome Pine on July 1 when the green flag drops on the next race in the Enduro series.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB