Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250027
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Eight races at NRVS were affected by rain or other elements (including the fog-out at 1 a.m.) this season. One of those was the WDBJ 250 in July, which didn't start until nearly midnight because of persistent storms that hovered around the track - and almost nowhere else in the valley - for several hours. And even though this was the third race out of five to be telecast that was delayed by rain, it doesn't mean that it gets any easier for the TV people. Because of the delay, Channel 7 re-ran the last half of the July race. That prompted calls to the racetrack wondering if the race was going to be on TV. It wasn't until 4:20 p.m. - an hour and 20 minutes after the race was supposed to start - that it got under way. With the first 125 laps and halftime taking another hour, WDBJ had only one hour and 10 minutes of satellite time left. It bought another 15 minutes, but never had to use it. Instead, a quick second half of the race meant that the telecast crew had to fill about 15 minutes at the end. All in a day at the races.
FORD FLIES AGAIN: The win by Rodney Cundiff of Boones Mill put a Ford in Victory Lane at NRVS for the first time in two years. Ronnie Thomas drove a Thunderbird to a track record 12 wins in 1993, but the Christiansburg driver switched to Chrysler and Buick in 1994 and Dodge this year. It also is the first time anyone but Thomas has won with a non-GM product since Roanoke's Tink Reedy captured a 200-lap race in his Dodge in May 1994.
MORE SIXPACK CELEBRATIONS: The victory was only the second at NRVS for Cundiff. But he had been running closer and closer to the front as the season progressed, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to see him move into the top five in the early laps. Then in the second half, he slowly moved up from fourth. He took the lead for good on lap 211 and held off Elliott Sadler of Emporia, bringing big cheers from the crowd both times. Cundiff becomes the first NRVS regular to win the Shootout as well as the first Virginian. Johnny Rumley of Winston-Salem, N.C., captured the inaugural event. He raced most of the time at New River but also competed at other venues.
That same year, Rumley won his first Busch Grand National race, driving his own car at Hickory, N.C. Last year, Barry Baggerly of Pelham, N.C., took the checkered flag. The 1993 and 1994 Mid-Atlantic regional champion won just about everywhere. He is the only driver who followed up a victory in the October Martinsville race with a win at NRVS.
``If I couldn't win, I'm glad he won,'' said Tony McGuire of Roanoke, who came home third after winning the Taco Bell 300 at Martinsville last week.
MORE RACE NOTES: The first half of the race produced nine caution periods, including the stoppage of the race at halftime. Only one of those involved cars in the top 10, however. Steve Grimes of Star City, N.C., spun in turn two on the restart after the third caution. Ray Young of Bassett was collected in the spin. The drivers were running seventh and eighth at the 35-lap mark when the accident occurred.
The second half featured only two yellow flags. But a tap that didn't bring out a caution slowed Thomas and Reedy. Trying to move into fifth, Thomas had to slow when he could not stay low coming out of turn two. Reedy, who was fighting for seventh at the time, tapped Thomas. After that, both cars backed up. Thomas eventually righted himself for a seventh-place finish, although the track's winningest driver was never a factor. Reedy fell back to 10th and then dropped out with mechanical problems with about 70 laps to go.
Overall, 49 cars tried to make the race. The number would have been even higher had not several tracks in the region, including Langley in Hampton and Tri County and Orange County in North Carolina, had season-ending makeup or special races last weekend.
South Boston Speedway was supposed to have a race last Saturday, but it moved its last event, a rain makeup, to this Saturday so its drivers could compete for the $10,000 first prize in the shootout. Had that not occurred, Sadler would have had to race at South Boston to protect his lead in the points.
IF IT WEREN'T FOR BAD LUCK: The car Grump Wills was in was unfamiliar - the No. 35 driven this season by John McMahan. Still, the Bozoo, W.Va., driver had it in a familiar position: the lead for 24 laps. But just as had happened over the past three years in various other cars - including the 1966 Chevy Chevelle No. 02 that the team sold to McMahan - something broke at the end and prevented Wills from driving to the checkered flag.
NEXT AT THE TRACK: Racing trucks are coming to NRVS in 1996. The new division will feature truck bodies specially built by Townsend Racing Products of Ashland on a late-model chassis. The cost of the truck will be $13,500 - $11,995 if ordered before the end of the year - plus the engine. But before next season comes the celebration of the 1995 campaign. The annual awards banquet will be Dec. 9 at the Salem Civic Center. The social hour starts at 6, dinner at 7, awards at 8 and dancing at 9. Cost is $20 per person. For ticket information, call the speedway at 639-1700.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
Memo: ***CORRECTION***