Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
|
|
 |
|
|
| Student-built No. 73 car will run in Sunday's Bailey's 300 |
Rodney Sawyers watches the practice runs for the Bailey's 300 at Martinsville Speedway on Sept. 20. Sawyers will drive the No. 73 car, built by students in the PHCC motorsports program. The race is Sunday. |
Thursday, September 28, 2006
By ANDREW STEVENS - Bulletin Sports Writer
Imagine spending more than 800 hours working on something, all the while knowing that, in a matter of seconds, all your hard work could be ruined.
For 80 students involved in Patrick Henry Community College’s Motorsports program, that’s the reality they’ll be facing during Sunday’s Bailey’s 300 at Martinsville Speedway. The green flag is set for about 3 p.m. The college will enter a car driven by former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver and Ridgeway native Rodney Sawyers. It will give the students a chance to show off their hard work.
The No. 73 car is also being used to promote the proposed Interstate 73, which would run through Henry County.
“The students have really worked hard. They’re getting a good experience for racing jobs later in life,” said course director Talmage Thomas. “They’re gaining some valuable experience. They know when they come to the track, they’ve got to make sure everything’s right with the car. They’re putting somebody’s life out there; it’s not just a toy.”
According to Thomas, the program currently has around 80 students enrolled, up from the 60 or so enrolled last year. While there is a strong contingent of local students, the program also has students who hail from other states, including West Virginia. They are tested on participation and are also given weekly written tests.
For second-year student Brandonn Simpson, who’s been racing since he was 13, the program offers him a way to stay active in racing when he’s not behind the wheel.
“I’ve driven dirt cars since I was 13, and I’ve worked on hot rods since I could lift a wrench,” Simpson said. “I currently race dirt super late models during the summer when I’m not in school.
“So it’s racing and then school, and then back to racing again when I’m not studying. Driving is a hobby right now, plus I have had to be a whole lot further along at a much younger age to really get noticed (as a driver). I would really like to get into the business end of racing.”
Simpson’s classmate, A.J. Wheeler, has been going to races at Martinsville Speedway since he was 3 years old. Having attended another racing school in North Carolina, Wheeler says the program at PHCC is much more advanced.
“I went to the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C., and this program here is just so far advanced,” he said. “Down there, you’re working on retired race cars. You pretty much just take a part off of it and put it right back on; you don’t test it.
“Here we’re taking cars and racing them and actually getting on-track experience. Now I know how to put a chassis together, how to build shocks — I’ve learned a whole lot in just one year.”
Seeing his students put in the hard work in the classroom with the college and the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation supporting them, Thomas realizes what they’re capable of doing in Sunday’s race.
The top 22 cars in Saturday’s 1 p.m. qualifying session will make the race. The remainder of the 42-car field will be determined through four, 25-lap heat races, which begin at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
“We hope we can make the top 20 with our qualifying lap or in the heat races,” Thomas said. “We would rather not be in the heat races, but we’ll get in any way we can. This is the biggest race of the year. We’re real fortunate we can even come over here and run.”
As for Sawyers, racing in his backyard at Martinsville Speedway is a treat in itself. After finishing eighth at South Boston in the PHCC team’s only other run, another solid finish would be icing on the cake.
“We’re shooting for a top five or top 10 to give these guys some enthusiasm for next year and the next race we go to,” he said.
As for what a win at the historic short-track would mean to Sawyers, “It would mean everything,” he said with a smile. |
| |
|
|
.jpg)
