THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 29, 1996 TAG: 9609290243
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BRIAN FRENCH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: 58 lines
To a Langley Speedway newcomer, Mike Buffkin and Bob Shreeves might well have been racing for the Late Model points championship Saturday night.
Truth is, Buffkin had it all but wrapped up during the middle of the race, yet the two still ran side-by-side for 18 laps before Buffkin finally grabbed control on lap 98 and put a layer of icing on his points championship cake.
``The car was really running well for me tonight,'' Buffkin said. ``I was running the pace I wanted to tonight, but the leaders were running a little quicker than I wanted.''
Even if Buffkin never made a serious charge at the leaders, his points win was essentially in the bag. Greg Edwards, 22 points behind Buffkin and the only other driver mathematically alive in the hunt, struggled with handling problems and fell through the field.
Buffkin still worked his way back up the field from sixth, taking second from Craig Eastep by lap 78 and moving into the lead on lap 83.
``When they called that caution on lap 50,'' said Buffkin, ``I decided then to go for the win.''
From there, Buffkin and Shreeves ran neck-and-neck, trading the lead four times in the final 18 laps and crossing the start-finish line in a dead heat at least twice before Buffkin finally passed Shreeves for good.
Shreeves passed pole-sitter Shawn Balluzzo on the outside in lap 33 and held the lead until Buffkin's move.
``If it weren't for that late caution, I don't think Mike would have beat me,'' Shreeves said. ``We'll beat him someday.''
Buddy Malish finished third, followed by Eastep and Jody McCormick.
Buffkin ends the season with 1042 points. Edwards - who placed 12th in the race - ends the year second with 998 points. McCormick finished third in points, while Balluzzo's run Saturday allowed him to pass Roger Sawyer by two points to take fourth in the season standings.
In other races Saturday:
GRAND STOCK: John Hicks clinched the points title with a second-place finish in the 40-lap event. Hicks only needed to finish 16th to officially win the crown. That was assured on lap 13 when Tyrone Miller parked his car for the night, reducing the field to 16 cars and guaranteeing Hicks' season win. Jimmy Kenney won the race after passing Hicks on lap 30 and finished second in the points. Trevor Falls placed third both for the race and season, while Kevin Harrison - in his second Grand Stock race since moving up from the Mini Stock division, finished fourth.
LIMITED STOCK: As it was for nearly the entire season, Paul Lubno and Jerry Scott comprised the top two in the 25-lap race. Though Scott picked up his Langley-leading 12th win of the year from the pole, Lubno's runner-up finish gave him a six-point win in the points race. Lubno and Scott together won 20 of the 23 points races in the division.
MINI STOCK: Joe Lupton, having clinched the points crown weeks ago, took the flag one more time in a wire-to-wire win in the 25-lap race. Mike Gordan finished second.
PURE STOCK: Gary Ferber won his fifth race of the season, beating Woody Vance. Points champion Sam Zoellner finished third.
MINI TRUCKS: Doug Warren broke Sean Hess' streak of five victories, holding off Hess down the stretch to win the 10-lap race. Warren had a sizeable lead which Hess steadily erased but couldn't overcome. by CNB