THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407190156
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE MICHAUX, COMPASS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 123 lines
SEVEN LAPS TO go and all eyes were on the No. 26 Valvoline-sponsored Celica of Cathy Mosier.
Mosier, who started the 25-lap mini-stock feature at Langley Raceway from the pole position, was charging again after tangling with Kevin Harrison betweens turns 1 and 2 on lap 5.
Neither car was seriously damaged, but both drivers, each in the thick of a title chase, had serious ground to make up to preserve some very precious points.
Mosier had spent the next 20 laps weaving through traffic and blowing past cars like they were standing still.
Now with seven laps remaining she had moved into sixth and was right on the rear bumper of eventual third-place finisher Milt Herring Jr. But that was as close as Mosier would get to victory lane on this night.
``We should have won,'' Mosier said. ``If we had had a few more laps. . . ''
Mosier called the incident with Harrison ``a racing thing.''
``Coming down the backstretch I could hear (Harrison), but I didn't see him,'' Mosier said. ``Usually if someone gets up to the door, you give them the line, but I didn't see him there, so I felt like I still had the line going into the turn.
``It was just one of those racing things that happens.''
This hardly sounds like a woman who flipped her car on wet roads when she was 18 and still hates to drive in the rain.
Or a woman whose first exposure to live racing saw her boyfriend slam into the outside retaining wall at Langley.
She met Late Model driver Barry Strathmann six years ago when she took her Saab into the shop and he was the mechanic who worked on it. ``I knew if I was going to be around him I needed to develop an appreciation for racing,'' Mosier said.
Mosier, 29, developed a lot more than an appreciation for the sport. Strathmann got her involved in some of the enduro races at Langley and then the bug bit her and there was no getting her out of the race car.
``I was addicted,'' Mosier said.
Once the decision was made, Mosier needed to find a car.
``I wanted a car that was safe and already built,'' she said. She ended up with former Southside Speedway mini-stock driver Bret Hamilton's old car.
Hamilton, of Richmond, switched to the Tri-Track Modified division three years ago and is in pursuit of his third division championship.
Having a well built car, family support and the desire to race aren't enough. Mosier was then faced with the prospect of securing sponsorship.
``I put together a package each year that talks about the track and appearances on television and radio and at malls and such,'' Mosier said. ``It does help to know people.''
Larry Morris, her crew chief, introduced her to people at Adamson Oil, the area Valvoline distributor. That helped her land solid sponsorship from Valvoline and Adamson Oil this season.
Princess Anne Paving, All Tune and Lube, Judy Boone Realty and a host of others are all a part of keeping Mosier on the track.
Mosier gains a certain amount of exposure just being a female driver, but her sponsorship campaign wasn't hurt at all by the fact that she was involved in a heated championship battle with another woman in just her second season.
Tonya Miller won her second straight mini-stock title last year, becoming the first woman to ever win two titles at Langley. Miller edged Mosier by just two points.
``It was tough,'' Mosier said. ``We were a pretty big rivalry, and the competition got tougher as we went along. When you get caught up in a championship like that it is tough and exciting, but I wouldn't say it was always fun.''
Miller may have won the title, but it was Mosier who won the fans. She was voted the most popular driver in the mini-stock division.
``I think it has a lot to do with attitude,'' said Mosier, who is quick to take the time to talk to and play with her younger fans. ``I think the kids like me because I am just a big kid.
``They come up to me and their eyes get really big and they are all excited that I'm talking to them and that makes me feel really good and I think the parents like that, too.''
While taking time for fans makes her well liked off the track, what about on the track?
``I just try to be one of the guys,'' Mosier said. ``Certainly there are people who don't like having a woman driver out there. But I am a clean driver and I think I have earned their respect for that.''
Mosier is clean, but hardly a pushover, as she demonstrated so well last weekend.
She has come a long way from the woman who 11 years ago preferred to have other people drive her places.
``After my accident I was a very defensive driver and I would brake at the least little thing,'' Mosier said. ``But after you hit the wall the first time, you realize it's not that big a deal and the confidence just builds from there.''
After running so consistently last season, with three wins and 23 top three finishes, Mosier has had some troubles this year.
Three weeks ago she was running second with four laps to go when a car spun her out and four others slammed into her. The car was totaled.
Just two weeks later Mosier was able to capitalize on the misfortune of some other drivers and gain her first triumph of the season.
Mosier was running solidly with the lead pack, when one by one the leaders started falling out of the race. As soon as any one inherited the lead, they were in trouble.
Mosier was right behind Ryan Nichols, the third leader, when his car went up in smoke.
``We were lucky to get by the (number) eight car when his motor blew,'' Mosier said. ``I couldn't see a thing.''
Mosier said her rebuilt car was running OK and she was certain she would have had a respectable third place finish if everyone had stayed in the race.
``I would hate to speculate on doing any better than that, but you saw what happened. It all depends,'' Mosier said. ``We had a lot of luck on our side to get by (Nichols).
``I think racing is in the high 90s percent of luck. You can have the best driver, the best equipment and bad luck will keep you out of it. It's all in who is there at the end.''
Mosier hopes to be there at the end of this season.
With the season just past the halfway point, Mosier is fourth in the standings, 44 points behind leader Adkins. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Cathy Mosier, 29, drives the No. 26 Valvoline-sponsored Toyota
Celica. She was voted the most popular driver in the mini-stock
division.
by CNB