Virginia International Raceway April 15-16, 1972
Raleigh News & Observer Sunday April 16, 1972
DANVILLE, Va. Carson Baird of Long Island, N.Y., cruised to an easy victory Saturday in the B. F. Goodrich Radial Trophy series race at the 3.2-mile Virginia International Raceway course when three contenders were forced out by a series of mishaps.
Baird, driving a Pinto, finished the 100-mile race in 1:20.43 for an average speed of 71.36, miles per hour as he won by nearly a full lap over Jerry Walsh of Englewood, N.J., also driving a Pinto in the International Motor Sports Association sanctioned event.
Amos Johnson of Raleigh, N.C., finished third, Whit Diggett of Durham, N.C., fourth. Both were driving American Motors Gremlins.
Opel driver Steve Coleman of Raleigh overcame an early pit stop to pass Ed Ross, Collinsville, Va., on the last lap for fifth place.
Coleman's finish earned him top honors in the smaller Baby Grand Class A with Ross second in the class.
Baird's victory was worth $350 plus contingency money.
A BMW 2002 driver, Byron Morris of Durham, had been an earlier contender for second, but he slid off the road on a sharp turn and was unable to remove his car from a bog.
Please e-mail me with any additional info about this or any other race. Thanks.
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