THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 22, 1996 TAG: 9604220144
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
No one could have blamed Greg Edwards if he had dozed at the wheel Saturday night in the late, late show at Langley Speedway.
For 99 laps, the Poquoson driver had tried to put to sleep a large crowd of heavy-eyed fans who had waited out a 2 1/2-hour rain delay with his domination in the Pizza Hut 100.
But shortly before 1 a.m., as Edwards was completing the final lap, both he and the fans were rocked awake by Jody McCormick's thunderous charge that resulted in one of the closest finishes in track's history.
McCormick, who finished second when Edwards led all 100 laps to win last week's race, nosed under Edwards in the second turn.
The cars made contact and McCormick emerged with the favored inside lane and a slight lead.
Edwards reacted to his first challenge of the season by gunning the throttle and beating McCormick to the finish line by an inch or two.
It was a photo finish without a photo to prove who won or lost.
McCormick didn't know the outcome when he crossed the line, but he graciously accepted NASCAR's decision without protest.
``During the last caution, I noticed he (Edwards) was moving up the race track and that his car seemed really, really tight,'' McCormick said.
``I told my crew that I thought I could get him. I just ran out of laps.''
Edwards agreed with that assessment, but denied that he was guilty of snoozing a bit on the final lap.
``If the race was another lap longer, he would have had me for sure,'' Edwards said.
``I slipped a little and he tagged me a little to get under me in the second turn. After that, the only option I had was to run into the third turn as hard as I could and just hold him down best I could and try to get a run off the fourth corner.''
Most drivers seemed to have a better grip on the new, softer tires being used this season, but it was evident no one has adjusted better than McCormick.
``He knows how to take care of his tires, and that's why he was so strong at the end,'' Edwards said.
``A couple of times I found myself running harder than I wanted, but I had people, like Sawyer, coming up on me and I had no choice.
``What you have to do is conserve your tires for 80 laps and go racing the last 20.''
Despite the late hour, track officials ran the final two races after the Late Model Stock feature.
Kevin Harrison won his second straight Mini Stock feature and Kenny Phares won his first Pure Stock feature. by CNB