Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1994 TAG: 9407200005
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M. J. Dougherty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Before Saturday night's 200-lap Late Model Stock Car race, only Christiansburg's Ronnie Thomas had turned the trick.
``That's another record that I've lost,'' said Thomas.
Thomas can't remember exactly how he went down a lap in that race several years ago. But because his car had been dominating the field during that time, he was able to get back into the race and win it.
That pretty much describes Ritch's performance as he won at NRVS for the second straight week.
The High Point, N.C., driver was seventh when he was sent to the pits during a caution period by track officials because of an oil leak in his car's rear end. When he came back out, Ritch was down one lap and all but done for the night.
``When we got a lap down, we were going to pull him in,'' said car owner Clarence Pickeral. ``Then they told me he got to pull along side the leaders. So I decided to see what he could do up there with [race leader Johnny] Rumley.''
When the restart came, Rumley was on the outside while Ritch was on the inside. They raced side by side for 14 laps until Ritch pulled ahead of Rumley and back onto the lead lap on lap 54.
Now Ritch needed a caution to bunch up the field and put him close to everyone else on the lead lap. He got it just nine laps later when three cars spun in turn 2.
Then Ritch started passing people with his Chevrolet Lumina. On lap 75, he was 12th. By lap 100, he was sixth.
``I thought that if he didn't win it, he was going to put on one helluva show,'' said Pickeral.
On lap 119, Ritch made his first appearance on the scoreboard which shows the top four cars. On lap 124, he took over third. On lap 133, he moved into second. And on lap 145, Ritch slipped past Jeff Agnew, gaining a lead he would never relinquish.
``In all my years of racing, I don't know if I've ever had a car that worked better,'' said Ritch, who despite being only 21 is in his seventh year as a race car driver.
MORE ON RITCH: Ritch will be at New River on Saturday if the team doesn't decide to try its hand at the 200-lapper at South Boston Speedway.
``He [Ritch] likes it here and it helps when you like something,'' said Pickeral.
Ritch is two for two in races he has been No. 26. In previous races, Ritch has been No. 28 because Dicky Wilson has been No. 26. But with Wilson using his other car which bears a No. 27, Ritch can switch back to the natural number of the Chevy that Paul Radford drove to the track championship last year.
The victory was Ritch's third career win at NRVS.
MORE ON UNLAPPING: Only once last year did a car get a lost lap back. Chris Diamond won a race to the start-finish line at a restart and went on to have a top five finish.
And it is even harder this year to turn the trick of unlapping oneself as passing is not allowed until after the start-finish line on restarts.
MORE ON SIDE-BY-SIDE: Ritch and Rumley weren't the only side-by-side racing show Saturday night.
From lap 76 to lap 98, Rumley and Agnew put on a demonstration of door-to-door racing. Rumley won most of the battle as only once - lap 92 - did Agnew cross the start-finish line first.
About 10 laps later, they started up again. But this time, Agnew pulled past in less than three laps.
Agnew and Ritch put on their own side-by-side show for a few laps too. But Ritch was just a fender in front when a caution came out on lap 144 and stopped the racing.
ROUGH RACE FOR FAVORITES: After leading for the first half of the race, Rumley darted into the pits during a caution period on lap 117 as his car started to become loose.
He then started experiencing a flutter in the engine and pulled it into the pits on lap 177 and finished 17th.
Thomas was in the top 10 - but not the top five - for most of the middle of the race. However, a spin with Rick Sigmon on lap 144 sent him to the back of the lead lap. And engine problems forced him out five laps from the end.
``I'm going to have to take some time off and regroup,'' said Thomas, as he tried to figure out why his Buick would not run with the leaders.
Tink Reedy, the winner of the first 200-lap Late Model race, was never a factor. The engine problems that he has had over the past few weeks continued to plague Reedy. And he once again found accidents on the track.
Reedy qualified 23rd in the 25-car field. Then an altercation with Boyd Sult on lap 18 caused Reedy to be the first car out of the race.
ESCAPING THE HEAT:Five Late Model drivers had canopies over their cars to try to escape the heat Saturday - Chad Harris, Kenny Prillaman, Reedy, Sigmon and Sult. Also, Wilson and several drivers in other divisions had tarps spread from their trucks in an effort to keep the temperature in the pit area down.
The heat didn't affect the qualifying times as Rumley sat on the pole with a lap of 16.55 seconds (91.49 mph) and a season-high 18 drivers qualified in under 17 seconds (88.09 mph).
Eight drivers had faster first laps in qualifying instead of the usual one or two. And only four drivers improved their lap time around the 0.416-mile oval by .15 seconds or more on their second qualifying lap - less than half the number of big improvements than the week before.
PROTEST IN VAIN: The Pure Stock drivers have had their hands full trying to catch last year's track champion Tommy Allie. Since Allie returned to racing last month, he has two poles and three wins in three races.
Saturday, the Aaron Deplazes team protested the head of Allie's mid-'70s Chevrolet Camaro.
However, the head was found to be legal and Allie got a $200 bonus - the protest fee.
THIS WEEK AT NRVS: It's a regular night of racing with the Area Ford Dealers 200.
A 100-lap Late Model race is the feature event as all five classes are in action. Also running is a 35-lap Limited Sportsman race and 25-lappers for the Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks and Modified Minis.
Admission is $10 for adults and $1 for children 12 and under.
Gates open at 2 p.m. Practice begins at 4. Qualifying starts at 6:15. And the green flag drops at 8.
M.J. Dougherty covers racing and community sports for the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River Valley bureau.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB