Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 10, 1995 TAG: 9509110031
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-20 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Long
An hour later, Ronnie Thomas, the most prolific winner in the the track's eight-year history, arrives in his new black step-van. The smattering of fans who have arrived to watch racing action that won't begin until 8 p.m. take notice. Thomas was, after all, the 1978 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year.
While nearly every one of the 6,000 fans in attendance on a given Saturday night knows who Thomas is, Godbey maintains a much lower profile. Godbey loves to drive fast cars and race - presumably a pipe dream for most fans. The difference is that the 40-year-old Blacksburg native has a car in which to circle the .416-mile oval.
Godbey, who owns Jerry's Garage, has entered the races, held weekly from late spring to early fall, nearly every week since the track opened. He has missed fewer than five races during that time. Yet he remains an unknown. Such is the life of a man who just wants to be a part of the increasingly expensive world of auto racing.
But the man who drives the banged-up red car No.00 doesn't race to win - though it would be nice. Godbey, who has been racing for 16 years, circles the track only for the love it. Every week, he brings a car to the races that more often than not doesn't have a chance to run anywhere near the leaders. Instead of paying $800 for a new set of tires, Godbey uses someone else's hand-me-downs. This week, driver Tim Zock is the philanthropist.
``These guys have been real good to me,'' Godbey says of his fellow drivers. ``My car actually seems to run better on used tires. We come up here every week, and we just want to race and try to pick up a position.``
The 42-year-old Thomas on the other hand, the track kingpin, is given nothing by his fellow drivers. He has driven in 196 races on the Winston Cup Series and shared the pit area with such stock car racing legends as Richard Petty and Bobby Allison.
Thomas grew up around the sport because his father, Jabe, was a driver on what was then the sport's premier circuit. Ronnie Thomas even considered Allison something of a mentor.
With that sort of background, much is expected of Thomas.
For Thomas, just picking up a position each week is not a feasible goal. If the man who has 57 career victories at the speedway doesn't win, many fans perceive it to be total failure.
Thomas hadn't won a race since July 15, quite a drought for him. Last Saturday, he was eager to turn things around.
Track co-owner Ronnie Snoddy, who commuted here from Charlottesville, has no vested interest in who wins or loses. As the track's promoter, his goal is simple: Show the fans an entertaining race and keep them coming back. But Snoddy, who bought the track along with Johnny Brazier before the 1994 season, runs into various obstacles in pursuit of this goal.
On many days, Snoddy, who arrives as early as 7:30 a.m. to prepare everything from tickets to tires, bears the brunt of crowd criticism as he makes his way toward the track.
Snoddy and chief steward Lynn Carroll see to it that the sport's rules are enforced. In that capacity, many fans consider them to be perpetrators of all manner of evil. That is particularly true when a race patron feels the driver he follows has been given the shaft.
As time for qualifying heats for the field in the feature race approaches, the crowd grows. Spectators begin to pay closer attention to activity on the track. As the cars begin practicing, the whine of the engines becomes louder, though it hasn't reached the deafening pitch that will come later.
Fans range from 2-year-olds wearing hooded jackets, their ears protected against the roar by muffs, to people beyond retirement age.
``We have come here every week since the track opened,'' says 46-year-old Dwight Cox of Bland. ``We are here to see the 98 car [driven by Junior Leagans] and some other boys from Bland. I just like watching local racing.''
Cox's interest is in the action of the track as much as swearing allegiance to any one driver. That is not the case with most of the fans.
All over the track, people wear T-shirts bearing the name of drivers and often that of their sponsors. It doesn't take long to realize that the most popular shirt sports the logo of Thomas Racing.
``I like Ronnie Thomas,'' says Harriet Anderson, a teacher at Pulaski County High School. Her shirt says so, too. ``He is a good driver and a good person. He just makes the races exciting to watch, and I like to see him do well.''
Cora East, sitting beside Anderson and wearing the same Thomas Racing shirt, is just as fervent in her support.
``You can tell Ronnie Snoddy to take everything off of Ronnie's car but four wheels, and he would still be the best driver,'' she says, taking a swipe at Snoddy's decision earlier in the season to make Thomas use a smaller carburetor.
Neither fan had heard of a Blacksburg racer named Jerry Godbey.
Roanoke's Jim Wade had. He's not a Godbey fan, but ``that doesn't take anything away from his ability to drive,'' Wade says. ``You need drivers like him to give you a good selection of cars. He never causes any trouble, either. He seldom finishes first, but he is always around.``
As time approaches for the green flag to drop, the anticipation mounts. Ear plugs are installed, the rest of the fried chicken is eaten. Attention is focused on the paved oval.
In the 25-lap Mini Stock race, the evening's second, the No.18 car, driven by Hillsville's James Hutchens, rolls 11/2 times after an accident coming off of turn 4. The accident brings the crowd to its feet and creates a buzz in the stands. Many sprint to the fence for a better look inside the car. Drivers and their crews come to the inside retaining wall for closer inspection.
Inside the tower, people are worried. Track officials dispatch the rescue unit to the car and order security to shoo curious spectators from the fence. After a several anxious moments, Hutchens emerges from the car unscathed.
After the race resumes, Radford's Wayne Moore posts his eighth consecutive victory, and the crowd turns its attention to the feature event - the 100-lap Late Model race.
Thomas starts on the pole, the best position, after turning a qualifying lap in 16.47 seconds. Godbey qualifies with a time of 17.78, good for the 26th spot on the starting grid. Only one car is behind Godbey, and that driver, Harvey Harrison, elected not to qualify.
Thomas leads the cars around the track during warm-ups, swerving his car back and forth. At the start/finish line, one lap before the beginning of the race, Thomas pulls up alongside the pace car while continuing to swerve. The gesture brings his supporters to their feet in mad anticipation of ``RT's`` feats over the next 100 laps.
Godbey starts next to last, a position he doesn't mind, because it allows him to run the race at his own pace and avoid trouble.
When the race begins, the excitement of the crowd is at its peak, as is the decibel level of 750-horsepower engines. Thomas doesn't disappoint. He leads the first 82 laps and appears to be cruising to his ninth victory of the season. Meanwhile, Godbey circles the track, making sure he doesn't tear up his car or anyone else's.
With the race seemingly in hand, the unexpected happens: Thomas has a tire go down and is forced from the race. It is a struggle for Thomas to avoid hitting the wall when the tire loses air pressure, but years of experience keep him from crashing. In less than 48 hours, he will race again.
As Thomas' car pulls in the pits, his detractors rise to their feet in a mocking ovation.
Despite being in the lead for most of the race, Thomas finishes 22nd. Godbey, who hasn't been a factor all night, finishes 21st, ahead of the New River Valley Speedway's winningest driver.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB