Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994 TAG: 9406160003
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. Dougherty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
``We've got a brand new car this year,'' Radford said about the Dodge he is driving for the Letchfords this season. ``We were having some problems getting it dialed in at New River, and since it's less expensive to run at Franklin County, we decided to come down here.''
It didn't take Radford long to get the car dialed in at Franklin County though. So far Radford has two Saturday night wins - including one that earned him a $1,000 bounty bonus - as well as a second and a third in three Memorial Day heats. Last weekend, Radford set a track record of 14.02 seconds in qualifying and was leading last week until he blew a tire three laps from the finish.
``The trick here [at FCS] is getting through the turns,'' the Ferrum driver said. ``That's our secret.''
In 17 years of racing at the Callaway track, Radford has 63 career wins. His best season at FCS was 1983 when he captured the track championship.
His plans this year call for more tinkering and then more trips away from the base of his success.
``We're going to stay a few more weeks at FCS,'' Radford said. ``Then we'll go back to New River and see what we can do there.''
Radford has run three New River Valley Speedway events so far this season. His best finish was a fifth in the season's first 200-lap race.
MID-ATLANTIC UPDATE: Going into last weekend, Mike Dillon was the only NRVS regular in the top 10 in the regional Winston Racing Series points. His 2,021 points in 14 starts had him in 10th place.
Despite all his success, Jeff Agnew continues to trail in the regional standings because he races only at one track - New River - while most of the other drivers take to the track two nights a week.
Agnew has 1,595 points and seven wins in just nine starts. His victory total is tied with Barry Beggarly for the most in the region. And he is the top driver with less than 10 starts.
``I'll start catching up when they get to 20 races,'' Agnew said, referring to the rule that only a driver's top 20 finishes count in the points.
Robbie Ferguson of Lonesome Pine International Raceway in Coeburn leads the region with 2,575 points and two wins. Beggarly of Ace Speedway in Julian, N.C., is second with 2,546.
Two drivers who started the year at NRVS but haven't been around and one former track champion are also in the top 50. Kelly Denton, who has returned to Lonesome Pine, is 23rd with 1,385 points and one win. Frankie Pennington, who runs Southside Speedway outside Richmond on Fridays and non-NASCAR Franklin County on Saturday, is 36th with 1,254 points.
And Danny Willis, the 1989 Late Model champ at NRVS, is 49th with 1,166. He drives out of South Boston Speedway.
DASHING AROUND: Charlie Smith failed to qualify for the Goody's Dash Race at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, N.C.
``We changed some things and that hurt us,'' Smith said.
The team's qualifying run was good enough to make the field. But Smith's Toyota Celica was bumped for a provisional starter.
Larry Caudill won the race. Former NRVS Late Model driver Chris Diamond was eighth and named the Rookie of the Race for his performance.
Smith said he might try to qualify for the June 25 Dash race at Bristol International Raceway.
TO SWITCH OR NOT TO SWITCH: Chad Harris is the latest driver who is looking to switch to a GM rather than fight with NASCAR's weight-and-4 rules for Fords and Chryslers.
``With the rule and being a rookie, that was two things against us,'' Harris said. ``With 100 pounds of [extra] weight, we just couldn't do it.''
Meanwhile, Stacy Compton continued to have success in a Ford, running the bigger-on-top carburetor and the extra weight - which has been reduced to 80 pounds as NASCAR and the track continue to experiment to find the right balance.
And Tink Reedy said the Chubby Arrington team, for which he races, plans to stay with Dodge and that the rule change would cause them to look at returning to the big carburetor. However, that was before Reedy blew his third motor in three weeks.
COMINGS AND GOINGS: Several Late Model drivers who had not been at the track for a while - or at all this year - raced at NRVS Saturday.
Dicky Wilson brought the No. 27 green Pontiac that Clay Highberger drove last year and that Wilson has raced some as he returned after a week's absence.
The No. 26 blue Buick that Wilson drives most of the time is still being repaired after being damaged in an accident a few weeks ago. And Wilson couldn't drive the No. 27 car last week because parts needed for the rear suspension were shipped to Florida instead of Salem.
Gary Richards also got the suspension and engine fixed well enough on his car to come back. ``I had to work on the car,'' he said. ``I was tired of running in the back.'' Richards finished 14th.
Jimmy Phillips was also back for the first time since May 22. But the return lasted only until he spun during the second practice and hit the wall in turn 3 with the rear end of his car.
The newcomers last week were a couple of Franklin County drivers - Kenny Wagner and Ronnie Newman.
``We wanted to race at different tracks this year,'' Wagner said. ``And we figured we've been having such bad luck a change might help us.''
Meanwhile, Newman said he had planned to alternate tracks as he has done in the past but hadn't gotten around to it yet. And with the Fords and Chryslers dominating at Franklin County, he thought New River might be a better place to run his Chevrolet.
Wagner's bad luck continued as he retired with mechanical problems on lap 16. Newman finished 12th.
The returns weren't limited to the Late Models - it happened in the Limiteds, too.
Rob Fain of Blacksburg practiced his Ford - the Thunderbird Ronnie Thomas flew last year - for the first time since Fain was cut out of the car during the first race of the season. He plans to enter a race after another week or two of fine-tuning.
Junior Leagans of Max Meadows showed up in a new six-cylinder racing machine. He qualified it on the outside pole and led 17 laps until the engine blew - resulting in an accident that involved taking out the top three drivers.
WATCHING FROM THE STANDS: Mike ``Monk'' Marion was at NRVS as a civilian last week as he served the second week of his three-week suspension.
``So far so good,'' Marion said. ``It looks pretty strange from up here.''
Marion said the suspension really didn't make much difference. His Chevrolet Monte Carlo was so banged up after his May 28 wreck that it may not be repaired by the time he can come back as a driver. He added how much he would race the rest of the season depended upon how well the repairs went on his car and his standing in the points race.
Marion received his suspension for a post-race altercation in the pits.
THIS WEEK AT NRVS: Saturday is the Shelor Chevrolet 300 that features the second 200-lap Late Model race of the year. Also there will be a 35-lapper in the Limited Sportsman division and 25-lappers for the Mini Stocks and Pure Stocks.
Gates open at 2 p.m. Practice begins at 4. Qualifying starts at 6:15. And the green flag drops, and racing begins at 8. Tickets are $10 for adults and $1 for children 12-and-under.
Also, Thursday is the monthly practice for June. Admission is free for spectators as the drivers try to fine-tune their automobiles from 4 to 8 p.m.
by CNB