ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606240022
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: racing
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
It has been said that much can be told about an athlete with a single look into the eyes. In the case of Christiansburg race car driver Tommie Allie, those judgments may be difficult to obtain because all that can be seen of him most Saturday nights is the bumper of his 1979 Chevrolet Camaro.
It's not that Allie is a standoffish kind of guy, masking a steady glare behind his familiar wraparound shades. It's just that most of his Pure Stock division opponents at New River Valley Speedway are more familiar with the rear end of the No. 24 car than the countenance of the driver.
Allie, 28, has dominated the Pure Stock division this season, winning seven of nine races, six poles, and amassing a 38-point lead over his nearest competitor, Ronnie Vaught of Pearisburg. Allie's victory total is the highest of any division at the speedway - one more than Limited Sportsman driver Tam Topham and two better than Late Model Stock's Jeff Agnew.
"I've been very fortunate this year," Allie said. "We haven't had any engine problems or had to spend a lot of time with repairs. This has been a great car and we've really done our homework this year when it comes to getting it ready for the next race. I think that may be what has separated us from everyone else."
Allie's charmed season has been made all the more enjoyable with the improved health of his mother, who just two years ago underwent a liver transplant. Allie missed a number of races in '94 and '95 to be by his mother's side as she underwent the surgery and dealt with the complications.
"We had just won the [Pure Stock] title in '93 and were having a good season when I found out my mother was going to have the surgery," Allie said. "It may have cost us another title, but her health was more important. Now she's doing really well and she's up on the hill every Saturday night watching me race. We bought a camcorder and she has been taping the races for us this year."
Family has always been a top priority for Allie. His stepfather, Saford Lawson, first introduced him to auto racing - something Allie hopes to do with his 6-year-old son, Michael, and 2-year-old, Joshua.
"I hope they get involved with racing," Allie said. "Michael likes it already and he's growing up quick. He loves getting up on the riding mower and driving it around. I think they'll both get into it."
Admittedly, Allie doesn't get to spend as much time with his family as he would like, putting in a full week's work at Corning Inc. and then working on average another 35-40 hours a week on his U.S. Signs-sponsored Camaro.
"My wife, Stephanie, likes racing to a certain extent, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I spent a little less time with it," Allie said.
Long hours and nights away from the family are something he has grown accustomed to over the last 12 years. Allie's first ride, a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner, came when Lawson instructed him to "take over and see what he could do."
What Allie did was take the checkered flag in Franklin County Speedway's Family Car division in only his sixth race. Since that time, he has gone on to win more than 100 races, mostly in the Pure Stock divisions at FCS and NRVS.
"From the first time I raced I've been in love with it," Allie said. "I had to learn how to drive the car before I started winning races. I used to love to run it hard, go sideways through the turns and burn up the tires. My stepfather taught me the right way to drive a race car.
"I've learned a lot the last 12 years, especially patience. I used to love to get out in front and lead the first lap. I discovered that's how you get your car torn up. Now I just sit back, let the field spread out, then move up. I haven't had nearly as many accidents and bent-up sheet metal that way."
With a second points title firmly within reach, Allie said he would welcome the challenge of stepping up to Saturday night's center stage, the Late Model division.
"I ran some Late Model a few years ago, but we just didn't have the money to be able to buy the really good equipment and compete," Allie said. "If I could find the sponsors or have someone let me drive their car, I'd be glad to move to Late Model. I used to run against Jeff [Agnew] at Franklin County all the time and I know I can beat him, and he knows he can beat me.
"But I've always said it's the car that wins the races, not the driver. Some people don't believe that, but I do. I'd like to run Late Model cars and be competitive."
With the season Allie has had this year, it may not be long before the speedway's top division will be adding a new driver.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Christiansburg's Tommie Allie has had a pnenomenal seasonby CNBso far. "We've really don our homework this year when it comes to
getting it ready for the next race. I think that may be what has
separated us from everyone else," he said. Color. Gene Dalton Staff.