Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994 TAG: 9406010064
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. Dougherty
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Long
Just before the halfway mark of the 100-lap race, Dillon was pulling away from the field and he appeared to be on his way to his first career NASCAR victory. But then he had to be pulled from the race. The rear end plug fell out of his Pontiac, the car started leaking grease and he had to park it.
"They couldn't have touched us; we were gaining a tenth [of a second] a lap," said Dillon, the track's 1992 Late Model Rookie of the Year who is still better known for his father-in-law (Richard Childress - Dale Earnhardt's car owner) than for his up-and-coming racing career.
"It was a rookie mistake. We'll learn from that. We won't make the same mistake again. We might have it happen on the front of the car but we won't have that happen again on the back."
Dillon's miscue allowed Floyd's Jeff Agnew to win his seventh race in nine starts.
HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY?: The weight-and-carburetor rules have led to several drivers who run Ford and Chrysler products going to non-NASCAR tracks (like Franklin County Speedway in Callaway) or switching cars. But Stacy Compton made a comparison last Saturday and decided to fly with his Thunderbird instead of putter with his Pontiac.
"It was just a little bit quicker," Compton said of his choice before the race.
Compton slipped and slowed coming out of turn 4 on his second qualifying lap and had to settle for the ninth starting position. But he gained positions the entire race and finished fourth.
BACK AT THE TRACK: A couple of former track champions made their first appearances at NRVS last Saturday after a few weeks away from the facility: Ronnie Thomas of Christiansburg and Charlie Smith of Dublin. And a third - Christiansburg's Tommy Allie - made his first race of the year.
Thomas raced his newly converted Buick for the first time. He qualified eighth and ran in ninth place for the first third of the race until his car overheated, the same chronic problem he had earlier in the season when his vehicle was a Chrysler.
"This is a learning experience," Thomas said before the race. "Right now, we're in about the 10th grade. Next week, we'll be in about 12th. We hope to get our diploma the week after that."
Meanwhile, Smith came to get some practice in before this week's Goody's Dash Race at Hickory, N.C., Motor Speedway.
"We changed some things [for Hickory]," said Smith. "But they've made us a little bit slower here."
In his last race in the Dash series, Smith started 26th - "They started all the cars so I made it" - and finished 16th in the race at Caraway Speedway in Ashboro, N.C. Smith was running ninth, just one lap down, late in the race when a flat tire caused him to loose him seven positions and drop six more laps off the pace.
Allie missed the early part of the year as his mother, Sandra Lawson, recovered from a liver transplant. "I had some things I had to deal with first [before racing]," Allie said.
Now with Lawson healthy, she was at the track to watch her son, Allie picked right up where left off last year - literally. He and his crew had not worked on his mid-70s Chevrolet Camaro since the end of last season. And they didn't do much to it after decided to resume racings. They pretty much just took it off the trailer, filled it up with gas and put track tires on it. Then Allie qualified on the pole and won the race.
BUT OF COURSE: Late Model drivers take heart. Only twice in the previous six seasons has the driver who won the most races captured the points championship. Of course, one of those was Agnew in 1992. (Thomas also turned the trick in 1990).
Also, Agnew proved he can have problems when he finished third in the first of twin 40s at Lonesome Pine International Raceway in Coeburn a couple of weeks ago. Of course, he won the second race and it was the first time the Sweeney Brothers team had run their new Chevy Lumina they build for this season.
HOLIDAY TAKES ITS TOLL: The Late Model field of 19 cars this Memorial Day weekend was the first time all season that less than 20 drivers had taken the green flag in that division.
It was also the smallest Late Model field at NRVS since 18 cars started the Aug. 21 race last year.
Last season's smallest LMSC field also came on a holiday weekend. Only 15 cars took the flag last year on July 3.
Ironically, the small field came one week after 27 cars - the largest field of the year - entered the twin 75s brought 27 drivers
POINTS LEADERS HAVE ROUGH NIGHTS: Except for Agnew, who hasn't had a rough night all season, the track points leaders probably wished they had gone to the beach for Memorial Day.
In the Limited Sportsman race, Christiansburg's Bo Howell tangled with Dean St. John as they battled for second place on lap 12. Howell's Chevrolet had to be towed off the front stretch.
In the Pure Stock, Mike "Monk" Marion of Radford spun while trying to make a late race pass of Robbie Cundiff and all but totaled his Monte Carlo.
In the Mini Stock, mechanical problems felled Randy Bell of Galax midway through the race.
And in the Modified Mini Stock, Tony Howell of Christiansburg blew and engine in practice and had to start at the rear of the 11-car field. He finished sixth.
Of the four, only Marion lost the points lead. He now trails Davis "Ducky" Phillips 198-186 in Pure Stock.
Tony Howell fell into a tie at 158 with Jimmy Hinkley in the Modified Minis.
Bell stayed just in front of Gene Duncan, 174-172, in Mini Stock.
And Bo Howell still holds a 196 -182 edge over Charlie Miles in Limited.
THEY SAID IT: "It felt a lot better taking this week the checkered flag." - Mini Stock driver Ray Sowers of Floyd after winning his second straight race. But unlike his first victory, which came after apparent winner Duncan was disqualified, Sowers led most of the race this time and cruised to the win.
"It felt like it was going to bend in the middle" - Late Model driver Tink Reedy of Roanoke about his Dodge Avenger which had handling problems left over from an accident during the May 22 Twin 75s.
THIS WEEK AT THE TRACK: For the second time in three weeks, the Late Models will be racing Twin 75s. This Saturday, the action will be in the Jordan Oil/Marathon/Cloud's Clothing 250. The night of racing action also features a a 35-lapper for the Limiteds and 25-lap events for the Mini Stocks and Modified Minis. The Pure Stocks have the week off.
Before the race, the Hillybillies and Shriner Clowns will be on hand to entertain the crowd with their antics.
Gates open at 2 p.m. Practice starts at 4. Qualifying gets underway at 6:15. And the green flag drops at 8.
Admission is $10 for adults, $1 for children 12-and-under.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB