THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506160195
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CAROLE O'KEEFFE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
FOUR SUFFOLK RESIDENTS a father and son, and a married couple - have made it their business to make racing memorabilia available in Hampton Roads.
D. Scott Murphy owns Race World at 1529 1/2 Holland Road in Suffolk, and Larry P. and Beverly J. Brown own a racing shop at Chesapeake Square Mall in Chesapeake.
Murphy, 23, has had several major surgeries, and his doctor said it would be at least a year before he could return to his former job of unloading trucks and stocking merchandise.
He opened his store several months ago. His father, Bill Murphy, helps Scott in the mornings while his son orders merchandise and fills out paperwork.
Murphy displays hand-carved and hand-painted wooden race cars made by Bo Coble of Winston-Salem, N.C. The craftsman makes some 80 car models, averaging $40 each.
Murphy has been interested in racing most of his life. He is a Dale Earnhardt fan and dreams of racing himself.
``It would be cool to ride 200 miles an hour around the track,'' he said. His business is sponsoring a car at the Southampton track this season. Car 90, driven by Jeff Dodson, has Race World on the hood.
Murphy's store carries just about anything to do with automobile racing - hats, T-shirts, flags, welcome mats, even computer mouse pads. ``Anything to do with NASCAR and Winston Cup, I've got it,'' he said.
Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
Racing brought the Browns together. The Suffolk residents have a shop in Chesapeake Square Mall, near Leggett.
They were married on Valentine's Day this year.
Larry P. Brown, 49, was ``fixed up'' with Beverly J. Brown, 52, by his daughter and son-in-law. The younger couple own a racing shop at Pembroke Mall in Virginia Beach.
Beverly Smith Brown ran a kiosk with racing supplies and collectibles at Coliseum Mall in Hampton. Larry Brown went there to see her. He liked her at once, he recalls, but she was dating someone else. Not long afterward, though, they began dating.
Larry Brown's father had been a race car driver and from the age of four, the youngster showed an interest in the sport.
Beverly had been selling racing paraphernalia for several years, first out of a truck and trailer on the circuit and later from the kiosk.
First Larry Brown, a retired Navy master chief, worked with Beverly at the kiosk. Then, slightly more than a year ago, the two decided to open a storefront at Chesapeake Square Mall. The business is named Racetrack Concepts.
Their stock includes jackets, shirts, hats, key chains, autographed items, and die cast car and truck models.
The Browns also sponsor a race car driver: mini-stock driver Jim Adkins, at Langley Raceway. MEMO: Store hours are the same as the mall's: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through
Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Bill Murphy, left, helps his son, D. Scott Murphy, run Race World on
Holland Road in Suffolk.
Beverly Brown and her husband, Larry, run Racetrack Concepts in
Chesapeake Square Mall. Cutouts of Jeff Gordon, left, and Richard
Petty, right, are part of the store decor.
by CNB