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Hamlet Wins Season Opener

RADFORD, VA-Opening night at New River Valley Speedway was not a disappointment. The large field of new faces and returning champions in the New River Valley/Roanoke Ford Dealers 200 kept the record breaking crowd on their feet.

In the start of the NASCAR Late Model Stock Car division season, winner Butch Hamlet started fourth and moved quickly into second until he gained the lead on lap 61. Shortly after gaining the lead, Hamlet fell back on lap 62, and then went on the regain the lead for the evening on lap 65. This was Hamlet’s second Late Model Stock Car career win.

A mid-race wreck involving pole sitter Phillip Morris, Chad Harris and Steve Lynch forced Morris to leave the race early. Morris had held for the first 60 laps, but the wreck took him out of contention for the win, which the team felt they had a strong shot at obtaining. Chad Harris came out of the wreck to place third in a photo finish with Eric Sartin, who finished second.

Earlier in the evening rookie Jason Lawerence led the first 17 laps in the H&H Carpet/Virginia Race Tire Late Model Truck race. Lawerence was spun out by Joe Lucas; he recovered and went on to finish sixth for the evening. Another rookie in the field was Brianne Cronrath. Her debut run was cut short on lap 28 when NASCAR officials pulled her in to check for a fluid leak. It turned out to be a fuel cell leak, which confided her to pit row for the rest of the race.

After different incidents involving Jeff French, Wilton Cromer and Randy Howard narrowed the competition, the race to the checkered was determined by a close race and the spin out of Joe Lucas. Aaron Deplaze took first place, followed by Bo Howell for second and Rick Sigmon in third.

Mini and Pure Stock drivers started the evening by qualifying in two, ten lap heat races. The addition of heat races to the speedway schedule proved to be a challenge for some drivers, such as David Duncan, who spun out several times during his qualifying run. After two minor caution-filled, twenty-five lap feature races, Dean Sutphin claimed the Pure Stock win and Jeff Roark went on to clench the New River Valley Mall Mini Stock win.

As the old cliche in racing goes, "it was a good day for racing," at the New River Valley Speedway. Racing returns to the speedway next Saturday evening, April 12th, for the Bailey’s 200. Gates open to the public at 4pm and qualifying starts at 5pm. The first race begins at 7pm. Don’t miss out on the return of our crazy UCAR division along with the second set of events for our four NASCAR sanctioned divisions.