Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 15, 1994 TAG: 9405150110
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
The first was that Jeff Agnew could be beaten.
The second was that a non-General Motors car could win with the new NASCAR carburetor rules.
Reedy passed Agnew on lap 144 and then drove his Dodge Avenger to a five-second victory in the 200-lap Late Model feature of the Valley Rich/X-Press Markets 300.
Starting seventh, Reedy slowly worked through the field. Then, shortly after a restart on lap 120, he moved into second place.
From that point on, Reedy set his sights on Agnew. On lap 143, Reedy, from Roanoke, pulled along the inside of Agnew. He stayed there for more than a lap, until pulling ahead to stay on the backstretch during lap 144.
"Jeff's a tough competitor," said Reedy, who picked up his first win of the season and the sixth of his career at NRVS. "He must of not hit the set-up right for a long race or slipped on something on the track. When he got loose, my car was tight enough that I could get under him."
Reedy also took advantage of the latest revision of the carburetor rules. Last year, Ford and Chrysler cars could use a carburetor that was larger on top without a weight penality. This year, they have to use the same size carburetor as the GM cars but can weigh 50 pounds less or take a 100-pound penalty for using the larger carburetor.
Reedy used the smaller carburetor and attributed his car's better handling to having less weight.
Agnew had dominated the first 110 laps, opening over a five-second advantage himself. But as the race went into the second 100 laps, his Chevrolet Lumina started getting looser and looser.
"We got a little loose," said Agnew, from Floyd. "It's the first time we've run 200 laps with this setup. We didn't know what it was going to do. In the first 100 laps, the car ran real good. But then it started going away a little bit."
Stacy Compton of Hurt finished third in a Ford. Roanoke's Tim McGuire was fourth in a Chevrolet, followed by Ferrum's Bobby Radford in a Chrysler and Roanoke's Tony McGuire in a Chevrolet.
In other races Saturday night:
Christiansburg's Bo Howell slipped past Rock Harris on a late-race restart to claim the Limited Sportsman race. Harris had a 2 1/2 second lead when a caution flag came out for Dave Belssing's spin just before he was to take the checkered flag. The caution period extended the race to 38 laps and set up the restart that decided the race.
Charlie Miles got around Harris for second place. Tam Tophan and Dean St. John rounded out the top five.
Davis Phillips of Plum Creek took the lead on the start and held on to capture the 25-lap Pure Stock race. It was Phillips' third win in four races. Pole-sitter Robbie Cundiff finished second and Mike Marion third.
Ricky Jefferson of Max Meadows moved past pole-sitter Tony Howell on the fourth lap and went on to win the 25-lap Modified Mini Stock race. Howell ended up second with Jimmy Hinkley third.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB