Questions were coming from all angles for Jeff Roark.

Some folks wanted to know about tires and rules, others were interested in car count and fuel.

While the pace was fast, Roark maintained his optimistic approach. Such is life for one of the new owners of Lonesome Pine Raceway.

"When I started racing over here in 1990, I never thought about getting into this side of racing," Roark said. "It’s interesting."

Along with track president Harold Crook and three other co-owners, Roark has a personal investment in the scenic short track tucked away in Southwest Virginia’s coalfields.

Caleb Roark, Jeff’s 15-year-old son, is among the regular competitors at LPR in the Challenger division. It also helps that Roark knows about every person in the garage.

"For years, Harold and I talked about how much we would love to have this place because we knew how much potential the track had," Roark said. "Finally, opportunity knocked. We jumped on it real quick."

Nearly everyone at LPR seems eager to speed away from a 2007 season which included the death of a female competitor during a race and various financial woes of the former promoter. Those financial issues included a lack of insurance for the competitors.

The 2008 season begins Saturday night, and longtime track pit reporter James Kincer has been counting down the days.

"The 2007 season was the year that never happened in the eyes of a lot of folks. We’re just trying to forget it and move on," Kincer said.

"Harold and Jeff have been around racing a long time. That means a lot."

Kincer, who began working at LPR in 1991, will be reunited this season with track announcer Freddie Phillips.

During the opening practice session last Saturday, several member of the old gang at LPR spoke of the importance of working with someone they know and trust. Crook is the former general manager of the track.

"We’ve had to put out some fires from last yea. But if the track hadn’t been open, chances are we wouldn’t have been here this year," Roark said.

The goals for the new LPR leaders are universal to short track promoters across the country.

"We want to have good fair racing, bring some rules back into it and make things safer," Roark said. "Things are working out good so far."

Roark would like to have a car count of 20 in the featured Late Model class, along with 15 in Modified 4-cylinder and Street Stock classes and at least five in the new Charger class. There will also be a Pure 4 class.

Events for Legends cars races have been held at LPR in the past, but no event have been scheduled for those old-school coupes this season.

"That’s still kind of up in the air," Roark said. "This track is really fast for those Legends cars, and they are kind of dangerous with the high speeds here."

Few weekly racers in the Mountain Empire command more respect than Clintwood’s Roger Neece.

The 52-year-old, who works as a superintendent at a coal mines has won five Street Stock titles and 129 races with his familiar black No. 22 Chevrolet Nova.

Neece will return to his home track this season, competing in the Street Stock class with his Nova and a Camaro which he drove to five wins last season.

"The track had some trouble year, but we did have a place to race and that was the good part about it," said Neece, who competed in the Frank Kimmel Street Stock Spectacular at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 5.

"A lot of the folks here used to race for Harold, and he just knows how to work with people. Hopefully, that will bring more people back. So far, so good."

With empty seats now becoming more common at NASCAR races due to the slumping economy, Neece feels that true stock car fans will take the cheaper route and find their motorsports fix on the local level.

"NASCAR is getting to be about all about big money and corporate," Neece said. "I think you are going to see fans come back to their weekly tracks."

The 2007 season was especially harsh for Neece, as he dealt with a bout of kidney cancer and the death of his longtime friend in Phillips.

Neece, along with many of his fellow racers, has a memorial sticker in honor of Phillips on his racecar.

"Wanda was a real nice lady," Neece said. "She will be remembered."

Track regulars such as nationally-known racing graphics designer Lynn Peters of Gate City and former LPR racer Darrell Holman also attended the opening practice session.

Holman’s daughter (Lyndsey) and son (Caleb) have also raced in Coeburn. Lyndsey now races in the Limited Class at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, while Caleb divides his time between Motor Mile and the Hooter’s ProCup Series.

"The people running [Lonesome Pine Raceway] now are good folks, and I hope they are able to make this back to the level it once had," Holman said.

"It may take a little while to get the car count back up. But once folks find out they can depend on getting a check every week and know the track will stay open, I think things will go well. There is a good opportunity here."

And Roark has been working overtime the past few weeks spreading the word about the revival at the Pine.

"We’ve heard nothing but praise everywhere we’ve gone around the community," said Roark, who formerly competed in the Late Model and Limited classes at LPR.

"This track was built in 1972, and it’s still one of the most modern facilities in the country.

"My son and I each won our first race here. This is a special place for a lot of people, and we’re going back to basics with a whole new page."

agregory@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2544.

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