Stock car racing
Stock car racing can be a lucrative
hobby and profession if you work hard
at it, according to two Griffin stock car
> racing winners.
Roscoe Smith and Leon Archer had
some $34,000 combined earnings last
year for their participation in stock car
racing in the southeastern section of the
country.
Roscoe Smith
Roscoe Smith has been into racing
now for the past 20 years, although it all
began as a hobby.
That has developed into a business
for Smith, for he builds racing cars for
drivers in the southeastern region. He
also distributes racing car parts and
was represented at at least 127 races
last year as a distributor.
Both Smith and Archer are regular
drivers at the Senoia Race Track.
Smith drives almost every Friday at
the track in his specially numbered
Camero, 44.
Smith said the 1973 Camero is special
to him because he always wanted a
double number and 44 was the only one
left.
Making about 65 races per year,
Smith said the greatest speed he has
ever attained was 191 miles per hour in
a dragster.
He averages about 90-95 miles an
hour in stock car racing or around the
track racing.
Drag racing is done in shorter and
straighter courses.
The Senoia track has been open this
season for some three big races and
Smith said he has won approximately
$1,500 on the dirt track.
He won some $14,000 last year in
races at all of the tracks.
Smith said he liked driving on dirt
tracks and does most of his races on
dirt. There are some 15 area dirt
tracks. The only asphalt track is in
Bryon.
“Besides,” Smith said, “if every
driver is running with bad luck he can
get a couple of hundred dollars from
racing on dirt tracks.”
Namath doesn’t think
defenders will be tough
By JACK STEVENSON
AP Sports Writer
FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) -
Joe Namath doesn’t think de
fenders will be any tougher on
him as a Los Angeles Rams
quarterback than they were
during his 12 years with the New
Sports transactions
By The Associated Press
Football
National Football League
CINCINNATI BENGALS -
Signed Wilson Whitley, defen
sive tackle.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS —
Signed Thomas Howard, line
backer.
MIAMI DOLPHINS - Robert
Turner, running back, left
training camp voluntarily;
waived Eddie Snow, running
back.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
— Raymond Clayborn, defen
sive back; Tony Perry, wide
receiver and Dennis Fenton,
defensive end, as free agents;
announced the resignation of
Craig Henneman, defensive
end.
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS -
Waived James Nyers, quarter-
New Class Opening
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T- 1 :
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Starts Tuesday Night July 19,1977 7:00 & 9:00
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3rd. Degree Black Belt Karate
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The winning purse at the stock car
racing tracks usually are between SSOO
and S7OO.
When asked how he felt while driving
30-40 laps around the track at 90 miles
an hour and excess, Smith said he felt
safer there than in his family car.
“Speeds at 95 miles per hour on the
highway would just scare me to death,”
Smith said.
Smith said all of the cars on the track
are going about the same speed and in
the same direction.
An accident will jolt you up but the
greatest danger is with fire, according
to the Griffin racer.
One precautionary measure taken is
to install a rubber bladder in a metal
case which is filled with a sponge to
soak up gasoline if the gas tank is
ruptured.
Smith said that one hardly ever hears
of a racer being killed in a stock car and
he felt it to be a relatively safe sport
and profession.
Smith, who is strictly into racing now
because of the money, has just recently
purchased a new car for $12,000.
He plans to have it painted with the
number, 44.
Being in the race car-building
business, Smith said he builds some 50 a
year and in some races he is running
against the cars he built.
Mrs. Smith said she attends most of
the races as a salesperson for the parts
distributorship.
She said she does not worry about
Smith’s safety because most of the
drivers know each other and respect
each other’s safety.
Leon Archer
Leon archer is into stock car racing
as a profession and races at some
track almost every Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday nights.
Archer said he has had a pretty good
year so far, earning between $5,000 to
SIO,OOO this year.
Last year Archer had winnings that
amounted to $20,000.
“Racing is all that I’m doing now; I
York Jets.
There had been repots that
opponents took it easy on him in
recent years because the Jets
were not in title contention.
“I think they’ve been as
physical on me as they could be
on anyone,” the new member of
back; Perry Nichols, wide re
ceiver and Kevin Feeney, safe
ty.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS -
Signed Ron East, defensive
tackle; Terry Beeson and Pete
Cronan, linebackers; Dennis
Boyd, defensive end and George
Adzick, safety.
Baseball
American League
DETROIT TIGERS — Op
tioned Bruce Kimm, catcher, to
Rochester of the International
League; optioned Bill Van
Bommel, pitcher, to Evansville
of the American Association.
Hockey
National Hockey League
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
— Signed Darryl Sittier and
Lanny McDonald, forwards.
Rams said at a news conference
Monday. “If any man goes light
on any opponent, it comes out in
the films and the coaches won’t
like it at all. The name of this
game is to harass the quar
terback.”
Namath became a free agent
this year and was signed by Los
Angele? May 12.
He worked out with the club
for the first time Monday.
Namath currently is the No. 2
quarterback, behind young Pat
Haden, the former University of
Southern California star who
earned the job last year.
Namath admits he wants to
be No. 1 and will work hard to
become the starter. He also
would like to call his own sig
nals even though he knows the
Rams’ coaches have been doing
it the past three seasons since
John Hadi was traded to Green
Bay.
“I’m trying to do well in a new
situation,” the 34-year-old
Namath said. “This is a new
situation, new numbers and new
terminology. Until everything
becomes familiar, I can’t be
confident.”
Namath even listened in on
conversations between coaches
and defensive linemen in his bid
to become familiar with the
Rams’ system.
Asked if he considered him
self the starting quarterback,
Namath said, “N 0... I’m second
string.
“Pat and I talked last night.
He said he felt strange in this
situation, but as long as I’ve
been playing football, the man
who does the best job starts. We
all have a common goal, to
win.”
Haden agreed it would be an
interesting situation and said he
would learn a lot from the
veteran who has been assigned
as his roommate .during the
early training period.
Horseshoe
deadline
Wednesday
The deadline for entering the
Griffin-Spalding County
Recreation Department’s
Horseshoe League is Wed
nesday at 6 p.m. Entry fees
must be paid by then.
Individuals or teams in
terested in participating in the
Horseshoe League are asked to
file entries before the deadline.
Roscoe Smith and Leon Archer test skills
Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights on dirt tracks
race for a living,” the successful race
driver said.
He said that racing is a lot harder
work than most people think but he
enjoys it enough to let his brother take
care of a jointly owned gravel business
while he devotes all of his time to
racing.
He was quick to point out that $20,000
sounded like a lot of money but the
overhead of stock car racing to a driver
such as he could take a big chunk out of
his winnings.
Archer does not have a sponsor and
all of the work required for keeping his
car in tip-top running condition is done
by himself.
Archer has to rebuild his engine after
50-60 races at about $3,000 per
rebuilding. The rear tires will take
about 100 laps before they need
replacing. The front tires will take
some 200 to 300 laps before they need
replacing.
Archer pays approximately $75 each
for the tires.
On a visit to his home on an off day of
racing, one is likely to find Archer in his
garage tuning his engine and getting his
car ready for the next race.
Archer knows what weights his car
will best take for the respective race
tracks and he is constantly changing
the weights of each wheel accordingly.
As to what he is thinking about when
he is taking his car around the track at
near 100 miles per hour, Archer does
not worry about the accidental
possibilities.
“I don’t have time to think about it; if
there is time to stop and think about it
then its too late,” the racer said.
Mrs. Archer accompanies Archer to
all of the races which sometimes take
her to Alabama, Florida and even into
North Carolina.
When asked is she worried about the
safety of her husband being so often in
contention at race tracks, Mrs. Archer
said she still gets tense but her worries
were lessened because the drivers
know each other.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
SPORTS
McGee’s no-hitter
tops Ft. Benning
The game started late, but
Griffin’s Joey McGee didn’t
mind as he settled into a grove
and pitched a non-hitter for the
Griffin 14 and 15-Year-Old All-
Stars in the first round of the
state tournament in Columbus.
The Griffin team backed
McGee’s pitching against the
Ft. Benning All-Stars with a
hitting attack that produced
seven runs. Griffin had 7 hits.
Griffin won the game which
BASEBALL STANDINGS''
Baseball At A Glance
By The Associated Press
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East
..W...L...Pct....G8
Chicago 53 35 .602 —
Phila 52 38 .578 2
Pitts 50 42 .543 5
S Louis 47 45 .511 8
Montreal 42 47 .472 11%
NYork 37 54 .407 17%
West
LosAng 59 33 .641 -
Cinci 48 41 .539 9%
Houston 43 50 .462 16%
SFran 43 51 .457 17
S Diego 40 55 .421 20%
Atlanta 34 57 .374 24%
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Roscoe Smith
She said she trusts Archer’s driving
and the respect the drivers have for
each other helps to ease her worries
even more.
Archer prefers to drive his numbered
222 Camero on dirt tracks such as at
Senoia over the asphalt tracks.
He said he chose the number 222
ended at 2:15 this morning, 7-0.
Griffin’s defense in the game
was equal to its hitting and
pitching as the team played
errorless ball.
The game was scheduled to
begin at 8:30, but did not get
underway until 12:05 this
morning because of a rain
delay.
The win moves Griffin into
the winners’ bracket.
The Griffin All-Stars will play
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East
..W L Pct. GB
Balti 53 39 .576 —
Boston 51 38 .573 %
NYork 50 42 .543 3
Cleve 41 47 .466 10
Milwkee 41 49 .456 11 •
Detroit 41 50 .451 11%
Toronto 34 58 .370 19
West
Chicago 54 36 .600 —
K.C. 51 38 .573 2%
Minn 50 42 .543 5
Texas 46 44 .511 8
Calif 42 46 .477 11
Oakland 39 51 .433 15
Seattle 41 54 .432 15%
because it leaves little chance for
duplication of numbers for cars at a
particular race.
The number 222 can be used as
number 2, 22, or 222.
Archer feels most drivers choose the
Camero because of its racy style which
is conducive for higher speed with less
North Columbus tonight at 8:30.
North Columbus gained a berth
in the winners’ bracket by
defeating South Columbus.
In other action in the first
round, Newnan defeated
Jackson, 7-0.
The double elimination
tournament will continue
through Saturday.
Record payoff
SALEM, N.H. (AP) - A
record Trifecta payoff of $26,-
955 was set Monday at Rocking
ham Park when an unidentified
ticket holder correctly selected
the 10-2-4 combination in the fi
nal race.
The 10-1 shot Ground War won
the race with Tim Hair in the
saddle, followed by 5-1 shot
Mendelson and 12-1 shot Mar
die’s Boy.
Ground War won his first race
since Sept. 6, 1975.
0 Wednesday Is
DOUBLE
S&H Green Stamp Day
In Spalding Square Shopping Center
We Gladly Redeem
U.S.Govt Food Coupons
Page 11
— Griffin Daily News Tuesday, July 19,1977
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Leon Archer
Rozelle:
Atkinson’s blow
outside rules
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -
George Atkinson’s blow to the
head of Lynn Swann has no
place in professional football,
according to National Football
League Commissioner Pete Ro
zelle.
“I am fully convinced that
there is no place in professional
football for the kinds of fouls
committed by Atkinson,” Ro
zelle said in a statement read in
federal court Monday.
“Such conduct is clearly out
side the rules and calculated ei
ther to disable opposing players
or to ‘intimidate’ them into less
effective performance.
“If there is to be an ‘in
timidation’ factor in profes
sional football, it must be the
kind that results from superior
playing performance—not from
unbridled or calculated vio
lence,” he added.
Rozelle’s comments were
made in a final report on dis
ciplinary action taken against
Atkinson, the Oakland Raiders’
Neu coach
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) -
Theophilus Danzy, an assistant
at Alcorn State in Mississippi,
has been hired as head football
coach at Alabama A&M.
wind resistance.
The outer appearance of his car will,
however, fool you because it is no true
indication of the year of the framing.
The framing of Archer’s Camero
consists of a 1968 for the front half and a
1955 framing for the back half.
defensive back, following the
Swann incident and an incident
in which New England’s Russ
Francis suffered a broken nose
when hit in the face by Atkinson
last year.
Rozelle was not present Mon
day for the sixth day of Atkin
son’s $2 million suit against the
Pittsburgh Steelers and their
coach, Chuck Noll, but his com
ments were read by Steelers’
attorney James Maclnnis.
Rozelle said visual evidence
of the Swann incident is incon
sistent with Atkinson’s claim
that he believed Swann was the
target for a pass from quarter
back Terry Bradshaw.
KING
EDWARD
Invincible Deluxe
