ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, September 9, 1996 TAG: 9609090157
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
JOHNNY RUMLEY WINS Sunday's season finale at NRVS, but Chad Harris walks away with the track championship.
In the season finale at the New River Valley Speedway, Johnny Rumley took the checkered flag in the 100-lap Late Model Stock race, but Chad Harris stole the show.
A third-place finish by Harris in the Shepherd's Auto Supply 200 earned him the 1996 Track Championship, something he captured with consistency if not wins. Harris' only victory came Sept.2, but he totalled 15 top-five finishes.
``It just doesn't seem real,'' Harris said. ``I've been a bundle of nerves all day. But we came up here three years ago, busted our cans and got here the hard way.''
Harris' Labor Day victory vaulted him into the points lead after Jeff Agnew, the class points leader all season, was disqualified. Agnew dropped to third in the points standings, ending his two-year reign as track champion. Agnew also won the title in 1991 and '92.
Rodney Cundiff finished second in points.
``Jeff had some bad luck this year,'' Harris said. ``I just hope I can be as good of a champion as he has been.''
In Sunday's race, Harris held the lead through 67 laps when Rumley passed on the inside lane coming out of turn 2. Phillip Morris followed, dropping Harris to third.
The trio ran 1-2-3 the remaining 30 laps, while Tony McGuire (Roanoke) held off Cundiff for fourth place.
Rumley's victory was his second in just nine appearances at NRVS this year.
``I thought Phillip was going to get me at the end,'' Rumley said, ``but fortunately for me he didn't.''
In the Limited Sportsman division, Hank Turman led 29 of 35 laps for his second victory. Turman's trips to victory lane came in the first and last races of the season. Salem's Jay McCray finished second and Kenny Montgomery third.
In the points standings, Tam Topham's 10 wins this year were enough to assure his first track championship despite a fifth-place finish Sunday.
The 25-lap Mini Stock class saw Floyd's Ray Sowers capture his ninth win en route to garnering track champion honors as well.
Radford's Wayne Moore led the first 16 laps before dropping out. Sowers took possession of first, followed by Roanoke's Robert Cox and Christiansburg's Kevin Snyder.
There was no surprise in the Pure Stock class, as Christiansburg's Tommie Allie captured his 19th victory and the track championship. And Allie showed it was the driver - not the car - that was responsible for the numerous victories, switching cars with P.F. Hanks for the finale.
Radford's Anthony Hall led laps 2-22 before slipping in turn 4 as the caution flag went out. Allie took advantage to move into first, with Ronnie Hall and Dan Sutphin following second and third, respectively, for the final three laps. Hanks finished fourth in Allie's No. 24 car.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB