Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 27, 1995 TAG: 9504270026
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
So crazy in fact that in three of the five divisions - Limited Sportsman, Mini Stock and Modified Mini - the checkered and yellow flags were waived simultaneously at the end of the race.
The total of 18 in-race cautions was a season-high. And that's not including the three end-of-race yellows.
The Late Model race didn't end with the yellow flag being waived. But the two wrecks in the feature event were so bad that the red flag was brought out each time to prevent too many laps from clicking off, because every lap counts in that division.
After 55 caution-free laps, about a quarter of the field spun between turns 3 and 4. When all was said and done, the cars of Eddie Walls, Harvey Harrison, Hank Turman, Chard Harris, Frankie Pennington and Tony McGuire virtually blocked the turns.
The only car that was damaged was the Chevy Camaro of McGuire. The Roanoke driver's car was loose, the track was slick and when he tried to stop, McGuire spun and hit the wall.
On lap 91, the slower cars of 49 and 51 tangled in turn 1 in front of the leaders. Bob Kormisarski got going but Harrison did not. Ronnie Thomas of Christiansburg navigated his way through the melee but Jeff Agnew of Floyd did not. After trying to go low, high and low again, Agnew ended up stopped next to Harrison and was out of the race.
"That's the closest I've ever been to a wreck without hitting anybody," said Thomas, who went on to win the race. "The first time, I had to go in the grass. That last time, I had to go high. My heart stopped. The adrenaline was definitely working out there."
The chief beneficiary of Agnew's accident was Bassett's Ray Young, who took over the second spot.
"I hate to move up that way," said Young. "We've got to get those lapped cars to stay down."
LOW MEANS LAST: McGuire and Lexington's Pennington ran into the lap 56 wreck because they had to start in the back of the field.
The engine in each driver's Chevrolet was found to be too low in post-qualifying inspections. That meant they had to start in the back of the 25-car field. The two had made it about halfway through the pack when they came upon the multiple-car spin.
McGuire, the wreck's only casualty, ended up 24th. Pennington lost a lap but still managed a 10th-place finish.
RACING REMEMBERS: The New River Valley Speedway community was saddened by the death of Victor Albert. The 34-year old Parrott resident was found dead at his home Tuesday morning.
Albert was one of the unsung stars of the track. Four times he was one of the track's "Gold Wrench" award winners, which is given to the top two or three crew chiefs and mechanics. Albert was the crew chief for Kenny Montgomery in 1993 and Christiansburg's Charlie Miles in 1994 when each won the track's Limited Sportman crown.
At the time of his death, Albert was seeking full-time employment with a Winston Cup or Busch Grand National team. He is survived by his wife, Linda, and children, Steven and Stephanie.
Albert was remembered both in the invocation and in a special tribute in the race program. The drivers also went into the stands to take up a collection for his family.
MODIFIED SCHEDULES: The Modified Mini Stock drivers are getting used to the approximately every-other-week schedule the division is following this season.
"We had all this time to get ready," said Dublin's Charlie Smith, who won the division title in 1992 and 1993. "But now it seems like there is more to get ready to get everything together."
Added Radford's Gene Duncan: "I like the time off. But it seems like on race day there still is a lot to do."
PURE EXCITEMENT: Tommy Allie of Christiansburg made his first appearance at NRVS this season. The 1993 Pure Stock division champ and the winner of a dozen races in the division last year, was in something that looked different though.
The mid-70s vintage Camaro was white with a black No. 24. It was the same make of car and the same number. The paint job was different, however, so no one was sure if it was the really was the same car.
"We like to keep them guessing," said Allie.
SWITCHING WITH SUCCESS: Kenny Prillaman didn't race April 15 because of a blown engine. The Salem driver had a new motor ready for his Chevrolet Lumina, but he was given a chance to drive the Chevy Lumina owned by Eddie Kimbleton of Claytor Lake. Prillaman finished third in a strange car.
It wasn't the first time Kimbleton had loaned out the Chevy for a race. Several drivers took turns behind the wheel last year, including Thomas in the first televised race when he couldn't get his car repaired in time.
This was the first appearance for the Kimbleton team at NRVS this year. Danny Willis of Cluster Springs - the 1989 track champion - was scheduled to drive for the team on a part-time basis this season, but Willis got a ride at South Boston Speedway instead.
ELK CREEK REPORT: Son beat father as a pair from Pulaski squared-off in the Pro Class final at Elk Creek Dragway on April 15.
Rusty Jackson, driving his father's 1995 Pontiac Firebird with a Chevy 454 engine, edged his father, Dennis Jackson, in the semifinal round. Rusty Jackson then went on to win the division.
Corey King of Pulaski won the motorcycle class. King reached 118 mph at the one-eighth-mile strip on his 1979 1100 cc. Suzuki.
LONESOME PINE REPORT: Some of the names were quite familiar as Lonesome Pine International Raceway opened its season April 15.
Bristol's Kelly Denton won the race in his old Pontiac Firebird. Denton was a regular at NRVS in 1993. Also on hand were sometime NRVS drivers Boyd Sult of Wytheville (fifth) and Mike Porter of Princeton, W.Va. (involved in a fifth-lap wreck).
Both Denton and Sult said they may race some at New River this season.
THIS WEEK AT NRVS: The first Enduro race of the year highlights the New River Valley Mall 200/Kool Radio Enduro.
The feature is a 100-lap Late Model race. There are also a 35-lapper for the Limiteds and 25-lappers for the Mini Stocks and Pure Stocks on the schedule.
But the fun will be the 100-lap (or one hour, whichever comes first) race for the Enduros. The Enduros are open to any car with a V-8 engine that has certain safety features installed. The last Enduro of the 1994 season drew 40 entries to NRVS.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $1 for children 12-and-under.
The gates open at 2 p.m. Practice begins at 4. Qualifying gets under way at 6:15 And the first green flag drops at 8.
by CNB