ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 19, 1996 TAG: 9608190155
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
This is how Roanoke's Tony McGuire described his race car after capturing his fifth Late Model Stock Car victory at the New River Valley Speedway on Saturday night: super fast. His opponents would have little objections.
McGuire, who took the pole with a time of 16.51 seconds and led 97 of 100 laps in the featured event of the American General Finance 200, was challenged throughout the contest by only one other driver - Phillip Morris. The pair maintained more than a five-second lead over the rest of the field for most of the night.
McGuire's only slip came on lap 88, when Morris went low coming out of turn 3 and grabbed the lead. But McGuire returned the favor on lap 90, going inside Morris in turn 2 and pulling ahead for good on the back straightaway.
``We just couldn't get it done,'' Morris said. ``Tony was running too good tonight. I had him at that one point but I couldn't hold the inside position. I touched him to pass and he touched me to get it back. I'd say it was fair racing on both parts. He wanted to win and so did I.''
As for his brief lead?
``It felt good for the time I had it - all one-and-a-half or two laps,'' Morris said jokingly.
With McGuire and Morris out in front, Chad Harris and Rodney Cundiff battled for third. Cundiff worked his way past Harris on lap 61, but Harris passed Cundiff on turn 2 of lap 65 and held on for third. Tim McGuire rounded out the top five. (Results in Scoreboard. B4)
``We had a real good car the first part of the race,'' Harris said. ``I don't know if the driver went south or the setup on the car wasn't just right, but we couldn't keep up with Phillip and Tony.''
With four races remaining, Tony McGuire continues to close the gap on class points leader Jeff Agnew, who has six wins this season but has had trouble of late. But McGuire was quick to say that it isn't points he's racing for. He and his crew are focused on October at Martinsville.
In the Limited Sportsman division, Eddie Walls benefited from a wreck on lap 13 that sent Kenny Montgomery to the back of the field. Walls, the pole-sitter, fell behind Montgomery on the first lap and fought past him on lap 12, pulling ahead on the backstretch. Montgomery lost control in turn 4 of the following lap, and he fell to the back of the pack.
The top four spots remained unchanged through the remaining 22 laps, giving Walls the checkered flag in the 35-lap event. Christiansburg's Bo Howell was second and Rob Fain of Blacksburg took third. Class points leader Tam Topham was fourth.
The best race of the night was in the Mini Stock class, where Roanoke's Robert Cox and Floyd's Ray Sowers put on a show. Sowers led laps 4-18, but Cox made his move on lap 19, passing Sowers in turn 2. Sowers regained the lead on the backstretch of lap 20, only to see it disappear again two laps later.
The final four laps of the 25-lap race were almost a dead heat. With the crowd on its feet, the two cars came around turn 3 of lap 25 side by side. A slight slip by Sowers in turn 4 gave Cox the room he needed to pull out the win.
After their thrilling duel, the two drivers exchanged high-fives in victory lane.
"He sure didn't quit - but we don't quit, either," Cox said. "It was a great race."
Christiansburg's Tommy Allie racked up his 16th win of the season in the 25-lap Pure Stock race. Randy Taylor challenged early, but fell to third on the last lap behind Radford's Dean Young.
In a special showing of the Mini Cup division, Jerry King and his modified engine reigned supreme. With the rest of the field using stock engines, King qualified first but was sent to the back of the field by officials who ruled he was eligible to race only if he started last. It didn't matter. King worked his way through the field to win the 25-lap affair, with Larry Johnson taking second and Willie Wines third.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB