ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 8, 1996 TAG: 9606090012
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
From motorcycles to race cars, from dirt mountain paths to the asphalt of the New River Valley Speedway, 36-year-old Tam Topham has spent one-third of his life chasing a dream.
At age 12, Topham got his first feel of the road, riding motorcycles with his older friends across the fields, trails and mountains of Southwest Virginia. He raced motorcycles for 22 years before finally climbing off the bike in full pursuit of a new love - auto racing.
Now, after six years on the NASCAR scene, Topham is not just racing one car - he's racing two. After eight weeks of action at the speedway this season, Topham stands atop the leader board in the Limited Sportsman division, and ranks in the top 10 in the points race of the Late Model Stock Car class as well.
"My dad was always a big NASCAR fan and, as I got older, motorcycle racing got a little tough conditioning-wise so I decided to move on and pursue car racing," Topham said. "I like the competitive edge you find racing in NASCAR, and just the thrill that comes from driving a race car."
Topham's first machine was a four-cylinder dirt track car he started driving six years ago. The following year, he moved up to compete in the Late Model Stock division. Topham owns the No.24 car he currently runs in the Limited division and drives the No.49 Late Model car for Kelly Kid Motor Sports of Tazewell. Both cars are 1995-96 Monte Carlos.
Topham said he and Matt Linkous, one of his three crew members, work four or five hours a night four to five nights a week to keep the No.24 car in top form. Motors are provided by Kowalski Racing Engines, but the rest of the work is done by Topham after a day's work at Mark IV Honda, a motorcycle shop, where he is a part owner.
"Matt and I spend a lot of time on the [Limited Sportsman] car doing general repair and setting the car up each week," Topham said. "Sometimes, people assume that if you're winning you just take the car home and leave it as is, but we set it up every week. I do most of the work on the car myself. I guess I'm kind of my own crew chief."
Topham holds a 64-point lead in the Limited standings over second-place Jay McCray. This past Saturday's race was the first of the year when Topham didn't finish in one of the top two spots of the Limited division, dropping from first to seventh in the final eight laps after an unfortunate incident.
"I took the pole and led the first 27 laps, but on the third restart on Turn 1 and 2 [Eddie Wall] got down on the lower line and he tapped me in the back bumper and got me sideways, then I almost had it straightened out when he tapped me again and spun me around.
"It didn't damage anything, just put a few dints in the back bumper ... all cosmetic."
In the Late Model class, the Kelly Kid Motor Sports team takes care of the car in Tazewell and handles its transportation Saturday. Once at the speedway, they work with Topham on the car's setup.
"That car's getting a little better each week," Topham said. "The setups they've used in the past are different from what I'm used to so we're still working on getting those together. We're getting a little bit closer and the car's getting a little bit better all the time, and we feel like in the future we'll be shooting for some top five finishes."
But why go through the trouble of racing two divisions instead of focusing his energies on just one?
"I'm real competitive in the Limited class and I like running my own car," Topham said, "but I want to be a contender in the Late Model division as well. The crowd is a little faster paced and there are a lot of top notch drivers in the Late Model group and I feel that I can learn more running with them."
But Topham admits it's not always easy finishing one race and then having to immediately jump into the second car for Race No.2, especially if it's the Late Model class that runs first.
"I'd really rather run the Limited first because it's only 35 laps and the Late Model is always at least 100," Topham said. "It also helps when there is a class in-between, but so far that's only happened twice this year. Getting out of one car and into another is tiring. Most people don't think you get tired sitting behind the wheel of a race car, but it affects your condition mentally and physically, too."
For now, Topham will keep his sights set on capturing his first track championship this season in the Limited division, and finishing in the top-five in the points race in Late Model racing. But his future goals look beyond the New River Valley.
"I've focused my racing at the New River Valley Speedway thus far because I feel like it's one of the most competitive short track NASCAR tracks around," Topham said. "But in the future I'd like to be a top-notch Late Model driver and also run some Busch or Super Truck races. I hope to run some races in Martinsville and North Wilkesboro this fall."
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM. Tam Topham, chats with one of the trackby CNBofficials while waiting' between warmup laps. Working on the car is
crew member Matt Linkous. color. KEYWORDS: 3DA