DATE: Sunday, July 6, 1997                  TAG: 9707060173

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: HAMPTON                           LENGTH:   61 lines

LEWIS PICKS UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF; COLOR SCHEME FAILS WARREN, TOO

Ashton Lewis Jr. made a triumphant return to Langley Speedway on Saturday night while Phil Warren was a little too accurate in his portrayal of Winston Cup star Dale Earnhardt.

Lewis took the lead from Danny Edwards Jr. with 11 laps remaining en route to his fourth Late Model Stock victory of the season. Lewis, who skipped last week's race while his car was being repaired, is now tied with Warren for the most victories in the division.

Warren, who had won the last two races, surprised fans by showing up with a solid black No. 3 Chevrolet, similar in appearance to the one Earnhardt drives on the Winston Cup circuit. Warren normally drives a yellow Chevrolet bearing No. 47.

``I was just having fun for the Fourth of July holiday,'' said Warren, who finished eighth and never led. ``The problem was that it ran like (Earnhardt's) No. 3.''

Earnhardt, a seven-time Winston Cup champion, has not won a race in more than a year.

Warren got the idea to change his number and paint his car black when a fan compared his aggressive driving style to Earnhardt's a few weeks ago.

While Warren was struggling, Lewis showed he was as strong as he had been before severely damaging his car in a major wreck two weeks ago.

He posted the top qualifying speed to start on the pole.

Edwards whizzed around him for the lead on the third lap but never could pull away.

``I knew Ashton had a faster car, and my car really wasn't handling well late in the race,'' Edwards said. ``The car just got too loose when I had to go high to pass a lapped car. I almost lost it. There was nothing I could do to hold Ashton back.''

Lewis, who had been battling Greg Edwards to protect second place, said the slower traffic gave him the break he needed.

``My car was better than Danny's, but I needed something like that to pass without bumping him,'' Lewis said.

Edwards took the points lead with his second-place finish, but he will miss next week's race to compete in Busch Grand National event at Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Once again the race started with a bang - a seven-car crash on the first lap that eliminated Jason Rudd, Shawn Balluzzo, John Hicks and Kevin Adams.

The second caution came out when Craig Eastep spun Mike Buffkin in the third turn on the 31st lap. NASCAR chief steward Butch Lassiter immediately ejected Eastep from the race for rough driving.

``There was no reason for him (Eastep) to do what he did,'' Lassiter said.

In other races:

Beau Broyles took the lead from pole-sitter Paul Lubno on the opening lap and led the rest of the way to win a 40-lap Grand Stock feature. Lubno, the division points leader, held on to finish second. Robert Dozier came from eighth to finish third.

Robbie Paul won his seventh Pure Stock feature after pole-sitter Dude Gibbs experienced a mechanical problem on lap 13. Paul led the remaining 12 laps despite a spirited challenge from Ginger Freeman, who finished second.

Bobby Montgomery took over second place in the Mini Truck points standings with his first victory in a 25-lap feature.

Joe Lupton led all 25 laps to win the Mini Stock feature. It was his fifth victory of the season.

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