SHOOTIN’ THE SHIFT WITH JEFF AGNEW

JW Martin

Jeff Agnew’s line was the longest.

Shortly after 5:45, the gate at the center of the front stretch swung open, and the mass of fans filed through the opening. The majority of them formed another line in front of Agnew’s orange and black number 73.

Some were old friends and a few were locals from Agnew’s hometown in Floyd, Va. Others were simply longtime fans of the driver who etched his name into racing royalty at the .416-mile short track nestled in the New River Valley.

The autograph session preceding the Kmart 250 was not even a half-hour long, and these fans had chosen to spend their time congregated around the local legend, Jeff Agnew.

And everyone had a story to tell. Whether it was grapevine gossip or a memorable maneuver Agnew had put on a competitor to capture the win in a race at the Radford short track, every fan had a memory, and Agnew remembered every one.

At one point throughout the session, an aunt of Brandon Ward –last season’s winner of the Northern Division race at MMS- approached Agnew, thanking him for racing her nephew clean at the finish. Agnew had finished second to Ward in that event, and the veteran joked with a smile that he wouldn’t be so easy on the next competitor that stood in his way of his first Hooters Pro Cup win at his home track.

After a few more autographs and small talk, the chaplain of the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series made a special visit to the car. In a huddle with Agnew and a crew member, the reverend did a pre-race prayer for the men of Team 7 Motorsports.

Then, as quickly as it began, the autograph session was over. Fans filed back through the opening at the center of the front stretch, settling down in their seats, eyeing the number 73 intently through 250 laps at Motor Mile Speedway. Their driver finished fifth that night, running as high as third in the waning laps.

For a four time Late Model track champion, 1998 USAR Hooters Pro Cup Rookie of the Year and Series Champion, it was yet another solid finish for a solid contender. One of the best Motor Mile Speedway has ever had.

JM: JW Martin

JA: Jeff Agnew

JM: What’s it like to come back to Motor Mile Speedway, your home track- how special is it and what would it mean to win here?

JA: Well, it’s real special to come back. It doesn’t really look like the same place where we used to run; David Hagan and all the folks here at the Shelor Motor Mile, they’ve done a great job building this place up and making it look really nice. Like I said, it’s great to be back, and it would mean a lot to us to win here, because there are quite a few people in the stands who come out to see us. We’ve had so many of these won over the years, and haven’t got it done. But we’ll keep giving it another try.

JM: Access the season. Has it been a success- have you met expectations this year?

JA: Well, not really. We’ve had a good car a couple of races; we should have won Mansfield-we were leading it with a half-a-lap to go and we run out of fuel. It hasn’t been the greatest of seasons; we’ve been kinda strugglin’. There’s a lot of new technology out there now and we’re just trying to get on board with all that stuff and just trying to learn.

JM: Reflecting back on the time you’ve spent at Motor Mile Speedway, can you pinpoint one memory that stands out the most in your mind?

JA: Probably the night that Ronny Thomas let off the gas when the caution came out and we passed him for the win under caution, because I thought Ronny was one of the smartest one’s around and I out-smarted him.

JM: Which track title was your favorite?

JA: Really, they were all great. I mean, I think that just shows a lot of hard work from a lot of different people. There were a lot of good people backing me.

JM: Philip Morris recently beat your record of four track titles. Do you have any thoughts on that, and how might he compare to you and your driving style?

JA: You know, I consider Philip to be one of the people that was left out in the cold. He has the talent to move up the ladder and do that deal. But, what can I say; the man wins all the time. You can say nothin’ bad about somebody like that.

JM: Speaking of talent, you’ve had the chance to move up yourself over the years, but instead you opted to stay. What was the defining factor behind that decision?

JA: I really didn’t have much of a shot. If I’d had money, and could’ve put up some money, I’d had a shot. But that’s kinda what that deal’s all about, and I’m happy where I’m at now, and I enjoy what I’m doin’. It’d been nice to have made it that far, but you can’t cry over spilt milk.

JM: In your opinion, how much has racing changed over the years, and how much of it is for the good, and how much of it is for the bad?

JA: Well, probably the majority of it is money. The sport has gotten so involved in money and stuff like that and you’ve gotta keep spending and spending and that makes it tough on everybody. Everybody wants to win, so everybody keeps spendin’.

JM: How tough is it on you guys personally, running an unsponsored car, and how special is it to still run as competitively as you guys do- seventh in the standings- without much help financially?

JA: Right. I think it says a lot for us. You know, we’re unsponsored, and you look around at a lot of these teams- there’s a lot of Winston Cup teams involved in ‘em. So I think it says a lot for us coming out of Bluefield, Va., with this car and running it as well as we do most of the time. I definitely think it’s a feather in our hat.