ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 18, 1996 TAG: 9605200019
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Racing
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS
Despite Jeff Agnew's loss to Rodney Cundiff in last Saturday's New River Valley Speedway X-Press Markets/Valley Rich 100, the Floyd driver still holds a commanding lead over the remainder of the Late Model Stock class in the season points race.
Agnew, chasing his fifth title at the Radford track, is 50 points ahead of the second-place Cundiff's 248. Phillip Morris (230) is third with Chad Harris and Clay Highberger tied for fourth with 218.
Track owner Ronnie Snoddy said Cundiff's victory should spark fan interest in a class that had come to be perceived as a one-car division.
"Jeff has definitely got his stuff together this year and has been tough to beat," Snoddy said. "It hurts your attendance some when you have one driver winning every week. People believe you're playing favorites."
Such a case would have been hard to make last week when track officials sent Agnew to the rear of the starting grid for having an underweight car in qualifying. Highberger was the beneficiary and claimed his first pole of the season.
WINSTON SERIES UPDATE: The NRV Speedway championship isn't the only title on Agnew's mind right now. According to the latest standings, Agnew occupies the second position in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series' Blue Ridge region with a .851 competition performance index. Leading the region is Mike Reynolds (.857 CPI) of the Nashville Speedway.
The series, in its 16th season, is comprised of 10 regions of 10 speedways apiece. Drivers are competing for a $36,000 regional championship purse, as well as a $110,000 prize that will be awarded to the national champion. The Blue Ridge region is made up of the Asheville (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Bowman-Gray Stadium (Winston-Salem), Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway, Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Highland Rim Speedway (Greenbrier, W.Va.), Kingsport (Tenn.) Speedway, Lonesome Pine International Raceway (Coeburn), Nashville (Tenn.) Speedway, Tri-County Motor Speedway (Hudson, N.C.) and the NRV Speedway.
THE OTHER GUY: Somewhat overshadowed by Agnew's dominance of the Late Models is the win streak of Limited Sportsman driver Tam Topham of Wytheville. After losing a close 35-lap race to defending track champion Hank Turman on opening night, Topham has cruised to four consecutive wins, tying Agnew for the season's longest streak at the speedway.
Topham is sitting atop the division with 296 points. Ronnie Byrd is second with 250 and five top-five finishes. Turman, who has had more than his share of bad luck with crashes in this season, is third with 246.
ELK CREEK DRAGWAY: Bo Moxley of Independence won the Super-Pro class event May 4 with a time of 6.350 seconds (106 mph) for the 1/8 mile. Arlis Wolford of Wytheville won the Footbrake class, Kenny Jones of Max Meadows placed first in the Trophy class and Dale Waller of Wytheville won the Motorcycle division.
CAR AND TRUCK SHOW: The Third Annual Special Interest Car Show will be 8 a.m.-4 p.m. today at NRV Speedway. Admission is $4 for adults, $1 for children 12-and-under. Door prizes will be given away throughout the afternoon.
The show features all makes and models of vehicles, including antiques, classics, customs, mini-trucks, motorcycles and street rods. Dash plaques are to be given to the first 150 cars. Also up for grabs is the award of "Most Popular," which is voted on by the show participants, and an overall best in show award. A portion of all entry fees will benefit the Joy Ranch Home for Children.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Sunday's race will be the first of three on that day this season at NRV Speedway. This week's Sunday scheduling was done in order to avoid conflict with tonight's nationally televised Winston Cup race from the Charlotte Motor Speedway, Snoddy said. Gates will open at 10 a.m., with practice beginning at noon, qualifying at 2:15 p.m. and races at 4 p.m.
On May 31st, the speedway will play host to its first-ever IIWA professional wrestling card. Gates open at 6 p.m. with the opening bout beginning at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $1 for children 12-and-under.
Winston Cup driver Mike Wallace will be appearing at the NRV Speedway June 8. Wallace will display his Winston Cup car, as well as sign autographs for speedway fans.
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM. A clean -sweep - It's all part of the routineby CNBas LeRoy Sartin, supervisor for the New River Valley Speedway, comes
through turn 4 while sweeping debris off the track before a race.
color. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING