Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, October 22, 1995                   TAG: 9510230136
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                  LENGTH: Medium

CUNDIFF CLIMBS WAY THROUGH THE FIELD TO WIN NRVS RACE

The worst part of the 250-lap New River Valley Chevy Dealers Late Model Stock Shoot-Out race for Rodney Cundiff began after the ignitions had been switched off and the rubber already had begun to cool.

"No more stairs,'' he moaned as he climbed his last flight to the New River Valley Speedway's tower late Saturday afternoon. "I can't take any more stairs.''

As whipped as he was after twin 125-lap tours in his Ford, he could console himself knowing that the race runner-up didn't have an invitation to the track's nerve center.

And as tired as Cundiff was, the prospect of putting his hands on the $10,000 winner's share must have put enough zip in his step to make it back down to the pits and his whooping and hollering family, crew, and friends.

Nice way to take it into the off-season, right Rodney?

"Momentum - are you kidding me?'' the 32-year-old Boones Mill leadfoot said after starring in his own WDBJ televised matinee.

Cundiff will have plenty of momentum as he and his crew shut it down and head for the garage for the winter. Holding off Elliott Sadler and his sweet-handling Chevy was plenty terrific for the tall and bearded Cundiff. It was his first triumph here this year and second of his career, but those two weren't the same, he said.

"This was the biggest victory I've had,'' said Cundiff, a Late Model man since 1990.

Third place went to Tony McGuire, fourth to pole-sitter Jeff Agnew, Greg Marlowe was fifth, and Nathan Buttke was sixth.

Cundiff started sixth and moved up through the field as the race progressed under spotty sunshine and a chill wind. At the break, he had worked his way to fourth.

"We were too tight in the first half,'' he said. "We had too much front stagger. I told the crew to loosen it up a little at the break and after that, it ran great. It was just like a rocket ship in the second half.''

McGuire, in a Chevy, passed Agnew, aboard another Chevrolet, early in the race and those two were still 1-2 at intermission. McGuire continued in front when Cundiff finally passed him going into turn 2 of the 194th lap. Cundiff was in front to stay.

Sadler, meanwhile, was making an even more dramatic charge, motoring all the way from 14th, where he started, to second. "I had the best-handling car here,'' said Sadler, an Emporia driver who races most often at South Boston.

``The car was great in the turns. I kept trying to get inside Rodney coming out of the turns, but he had me on the straightaway and I wasn't going to do it rough.

"Rodney had to pass a lot of cars to get to the front. He did well.''

In the 25-lap Pure Stock race, Tommy Allie was first, Grump Wills second and Sam Sayers third.

Tim Arrington won the Legends race, followed by Steve Smith and Lamont Brown.

Keywords:
AUTO RACING