Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 22, 1990 TAG: 9004240693
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jeff Motley/Special To The Roanoke Times & World News
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
Rumley went from third to first on a restart on lap 18 and held off a stiff challenge from Ronnie Thomas to win the Late Model Stock portion of the Winston 200. It was Rumley's second victory at PCS in as many tries this year.
"I heard how good all these other guys were on restarts last year," Rumley said. "Well, I went to school on restarts this year and nobody is going to beat me on them. It's a combination of everything. I don't jump the flag, but it sure is an easy way to pass cars."
Thomas, who finished second, agreed that the restarts were the key, but he didn't give all the credit to Rumley.
"It's that Chevy motor," said Thomas, who races a Ford Thunderbird. "From the center of the corner down it is a little quicker. It's only a few ticks of the clock, but that mounts up as the race goes on.
One driver who could have been excused for getting beat on the restarts was pole-sitter Jeff Agnew from Floyd. Agnew ran most of the race without third gear. That enabled Rumley to get by him on the restart and let Thomas pass him on a restart later in the race.
"I told the crew that I thought it was a blessing when Ronnie passed Jeff on that restart," Rumley said. "I knew Jeff had a lot of power because we couldn't pull away from him. But I also knew Ronnie would get him on the restart and that kept him away from us."
In the early stages of the race, it was battle between Joe Lucas and Agnew, who finished third. But on lap 17, a spin involving Boyd Sult, Clay Highberger and Tink Reedy brought the field back together. The accident sent Reedy, driving one of the strongest cars on the track, to the pits for 28 laps worth of repairs.
On the restart, Rumley drove his car low on the track under Lucas and Agnew. The pack followed him the rest of the way. However, things did become interesting on the final five laps.
Sult bumped Highberger, sending both cars spinning and the caution flag flying. That bunched the field, giving Thomas one last shot at Rumley. But the Winston-Salem, N.C., driver was too quick for Thomas on the green flag.
"I had my one shot and just couldn't do it," Thomas said. "Rumley's a smart driver and he's been around a while. He's tough.
In Street Stock action Saturday night, Hank Turman of Indian Valley held off pesky Mason Ayers of Narrows to win the race. Parrott's Kenny Montgomery was third.
Christiansburg's Doug Vaught continued his assault on the Modified Mini class. Vaught won his third race in three weeks by holding off a late charge by Tim Walker of Lenoir, N.C. Bo Howell of Christiansburg was third.
After being disqualified last week, Salem's Kenny Prillaman took the checkered flag in the Mini Stock race. Dublin's Mark Smith, who lost a victory two weeks ago because his car had illegal parts, finished second. Bassett's Robert Cox, last week's winner, was third.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB