Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 21, 1995 TAG: 9506210094
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
During the week before the Shelor Chevrolet, there was a full moon. Racing folklore states that the full moon brings out the demons in the drivers. And Saturday night saw plenty of that.
For example, the Mini Stock race had seven caution periods. In the six previous races this season, the Minis had averaged just three a race. And while that many cautions is not unprecedented - it happened twice last season - the bunching of the yellows was a bit unusual.
After a caution on lap 3, the cars ran 15 laps without incident. Then a spin on lap 18 brought out a caution the following laps. That started a chain reaction that saw six straight caution periods and forced the race to be extended to 32 laps. That's the first time all season a scheduled 25-lap race has gone that long.
The Late Models had some problems of their own. The 100-lapper in the feature division went 104 because of a late-race caution. In all, there were seven cautions for 32 laps, season-highs for a 100-lap race (although the June 10 race also had 32 caution laps).
Those short caution periods about every 10 to 15 laps also led to some confusion. Lapped cars cannot pull up to the inside lane until lapping has begun on the track. And while there were some lapped cars because of wrecks and spins, no car went down because of lack of speed until lap 41, some two dozen laps later than usual.
Ironically, the Limiteds and the Pure Stocks, two divisions which have featured some of the most interesting racing at the track - and as a result have had more than their share of cautions - were unaffected by the full moon. Both had four yellow flags, about average. However, many of the top drivers got caught up in the accidents in Limited, including Bo Howell, Hank Turman, Jay McCray and Tam Topham.
PETERS PRINCIPLES Tommy Peters, the 14-year-old Legends driver from Providence, N.C., causes a stir whereever he is - on the track or off.
After having the fastest qualifying time, Peters drew the fifth starting position when the track reseeded the top six qualifiers. His move through the field began as soon as the green flag dropped and Peters almost charged into the first-lap spin which took out Fred Brown and Larry Hollifield.
Already, Peters has a Late Model ride, when he is old enough to get a driver's license in a year-and-a-half, and a fan club. Several spectators in the stands Saturday night wore T-shirts showing their support for the young driver.
DOUBLE DUTY DRIVERS: Three drivers ran two races Saturday night. And the best performance was turned in by Stuart Taylor of Cascade. He finished third in the Limited race and was sixth in Late Model. In the Limited, Taylor was behind the wheel of the Pontiac that Peters will one day drive.
Meanwhile, a pair of track regulars took to the Legends as well as another event. Rick Cook of Tazewell finished fourth in Legends while he was 17th in his first Late Model start of the year. Wytheville's Tophan came in fifth in Legends but a wreck sent him home 15th in Limited.
LEGENDS LEFTOVERS: The field for this Legends race was 16 cars, half of what the first race was. A regional points race at South Boston Speedway might have taken some cars away. But none of the finishers in the top three at SBS races at New River in April.
When the list of women drivers at New River was compiled a couple of weeks back, the first woman to race there this year was left off the list. Janice Humble of Bristol has been in both Legends races. She finished 12th Saturday.
HEIGHTS AND WEIGHTS: The fun started after qualifying as 11 cars were disqualified for being either too light or too low or both.
Seven of the disqualifications were in the Mini Stocks: Terry Hanks, Paul Vaught, Danny Crockett, Mike Horne, Shawn Tanner and Larry Waldron. The other four came in Limited: Ronnie Byrd, Brian Pate, Anthony Barnes and Bobby Gillespie.
"We just decided to check all the cars in the other divisions," said Lynn Carroll, the track's chief steward.
Ironically, none of the cars who had their qualifying runs disallowed would have been in the top 10 in Limited or the front four in Mini Stock. And some of the cars might have been helped by being legal. Byrd ended up fifth in Limited while Hanks came back to finish third in Mini Stock.
THIS WEEK AT NRVS: The points battles could get real interesting after Saturday's Dick Price, Holiday, Skyline Ford 200. That's because double points - 100 to win - will be on the line in all five divisions.
As usual, the feature will be the a 100-lap Late Model race. A 35-lapper for the Limiteds and 25-lap races for the Modified Minis, Mini Stocks and Pure Stocks will also be on the racing card.
Gates open at 1:30 p.m. Practice starts at 3:30. Qualifying gets underway around 6. And the first green flag drops at 8.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $1 for children 12-and-under..
M.J. Dougherty covers racing and community sports for the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River Valley bureau.
by CNB