Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994                   TAG: 9406050118
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

AGNEW NOTCHES 9TH VICTORY

The Floyd driver won both 75-lap Late Model races in the Jordan Oil-Marathon/Cloud's Clothing 250. The victories gave Agnew nine in 11 races this season at the track.

In the first race, Agnew used a traditional short-track maneuver to take the lead - the bump. Agnew nudged Mike Dillon in the second turn on lap 71 and slipped into the lead on the backstretch.

"I had to move him up a lane," Agnew said. "The way I see it, if I were stopping in the center of the turn and the car behind me was faster, I expect him to bump me."

On the left-rear bumper of Dillon's white Pontiac, the evidence of the bump, black paint from Agnew's Chevrolet, was clear.

"We were bumping out there a little bit," said Dillon, who travels from Clemons, N.C., to race here. "He got me in the middle of the curve."

Once in the lead, Agnew pulled away for the victory. Dillon held off the Buick of Ronnie Thomas of Christiansburg for second.

Roanoke's Tim McGuire in a Chevrolet, Rockey Mounty's Rick Sigmon in an Oldsmobile and Roanoke's Tony McGuire in a Chevrolet finished 4-5-6.

The top eight finishers from the first race were inverted for the start of the second.

That put Tony McGuire in the third starting position. But after the first lap, he had taken over the lead.

McGuire stayed there unchallenged until the race's only caution flag came out on lap 60. That bunched the field up and put Agnew, who had moved from eighth to second, directly behind McGuire.

Agnew pulled close on the backstretch during lap 66 and completed the pass one lap later.

"Tony ran a good race," Agnew said. "He gave us a little room to race at the end. We were just lucky to make it back up from eighth to first."

McGuire felt a first-race accident played a part in his inability to hold off Agnew's charge.

"We got in that little mishap in the first race," he said. "And we really cooked the tires trying to get back up to fifth. Maybe if I had hung back a little bit I would have had more left for the end of this race."

Thomas finished third again, followed by Dillon, Tim McGuire and Sigmon.

Mark Akers of Narrows started from the pole and led the entire way to win the 35-lap Limited Sportsman race. It was Akers' first victory of the season.

Dean St. John held off Rock Harris for second. Harris charged from the rear of the field after he was disqualified in qualifying because his roof was too high. Dave Blessing and Wilton Cromer completed the top five.

Tony Howell of Christiansburg avoided four early-race accidents in front of him and held off a last-lap challenge by Jimmy Hinkley to win the 25-lap Modified Mini Stock race. It was Howell's second victory of the year. Wayne Lawson was third.

The 25-lap Mini Stock race was not completed by press time.

Keywords:
AUTO RACING