ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 6, 1996 TAG: 9605060142
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on May 7, 1996.
Rany Taylor won Saturday's Pure Stock division race at the New River
Valley Speedway. The original winner, reported in a Monday sports story,
was disqualified.
JEFF AGNEW quietly extends his season-opening win streak to four races in the Late Model Stocks.
In casual conversation, Jeff Agnew is a painfully modest man, not the type traditionally seen as a leader of many.
But put the Floyd driver behind the steering column of the No. 05 Shelor's Chevrolet type of guy.
Agnew won Saturday night's Wilco 300 at the New River Valley Speedway. Agnew's victory Saturday night in the Wilco 300 was his fourth in four tries to open the 1996 season at New River Valley Speedway.
Agnew led virtually flag to flag after qualifying second behind Kenny Prillaman. The last driver other than Agnew to lead a lap at the Radford track was Phillip Morris - three weeks and 328 laps ago.
``You go up and down pit row and anyone will tell you that you have to have a lot of luck to win races,'' Agnew said. ``Right now, we haven't had any bad luck, and that's allowed us to stay out in front.''
Lucky or not, Agnew's car has been in a different class this season. Following a restart on lap 163, it took him only seven laps to build nearly a four-second advantage over his nearest competitor, Tony McGuire.
But just when it seemed Agnew was going to run away and hide, a spin in turn 3 by Harvey Harrison brought the field under caution, giving McGuire and third-place Johnny Rumley a final shot at the leader.
On the restart, McGuire darted inside Agnew, making contact with his right-rear bumper. McGuire stayed in Agnew's hip pocket until lap 195, when water began pouring from the rear of his car - the result of the collision with Agnew. McGuire was forced to retire on lap 200 of the 205-lap race.
``I was lousy on the restarts all night,'' Agnew said. ``Tony got a good jump on that one, and we had a real battle for a few laps. That's what the fans came to see.''
Agnew held on for the victory, with Rumley second, Prillaman third, Tink Reedy fourth and Rodney Cundiff fifth.
J.D. Gibbs, son of former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, did not run in the race as scheduled. He crashed while racing at another track on Friday night.
In the 35-lap Limited Sportsman race, Tam Topham (Wytheville) picked up his third consecutive victory. Topham led wire to wire in a crash-marred race that knocked out nine of 15 cars.
``Races like this never get any easier,'' Topham said. ``We're really pleased to start the season this way.''
Ronnie Byrd finished second, his fourth consecutive top-five finish. Bo Howell was third.
In the Pure Stock division, Christiansburg's Tommy Allie picked up his third victory of the season, outdueling Randy Taylor. Allie overtook pole-sitter Dean Young on lap 3 and stayed out front for the final 22 laps. John McMahan finished third, his fourth top-five finish of the year.
Christiansburg's Kevin Snyder picked up the first victory of his career in the caution-extended 27-lap Mini Stock race. Snyder led 13 laps, taking the lead for good on a lap 25 restart. Kevin Light finished second, after taking the lead on lap 24. Mike Belcher was third.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB