ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 17, 1996 TAG: 9611180135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
The New River Valley Speedway announced its year-end awards at the annual Champions banquet Saturday evening at the Salem Civic Center.
Chad Harris (Late Model Stock), Tam Topham (Limited Sportsman), Ray Sowers (Mini Stock) and Tommy Allie (Pure Stock) were each presented with a Jeff Hamilton-designed champion's jacket and a portrait painted by track artist Tom Lintecum, in addition to a bonus check and championship trophy for winning their respective divisions. (Awards list in Scoreboard).
For Harris, who won his first Late Model championship by overcoming a 114-point deficit to defending champion Jeff Agnew in the second half of the season, the evening was the crowning moment on a whirlwind racing campaign. The Stuarts Draft driver won a NRV Speedway-record $12,983.
``Winning the title was just an unbelievable experience,'' Harris said after clinching the championship. ``It's going to take awhile for the whole thing to sink in.''
Awards were also given in each of the four weekly-run divisions for the driver garnering the most wins and starts from the pole. Allie topped the list in both classifications, collecting 19 wins and 12 poles in 1996.
Topham's list of honors also included the Rookie of the Year Award, given to the highest ranked first-year racer in the division's final points standings, for his 11th place showing in the Late Model division. Tony Howell (Limited Sportsman), Carl Finley (Pure Stock) and John Cox (Mini Stock) took top rookie honors in their respective divisions.
Jim Davis, Ivan Lilly and Lawrence Poff were the recipients of the Gold Wrench Awards, given to the track's top mechanics as voted on by the readers of NASCAR News. Poff won the award for the second year in a row.
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB