Hoke Man Sets Drag Race Record
The new world's record tor a
quarter mile drag speed run is held
by a Hoke County man. Larry Ray
of Turnpike Road.
Ray. who has been drag-racing
the past 15 of his 37 years, set a new
record of 10.54 seconds at a speed
of 128.75 miles per hour April 30
during the 1982 drag races of the
international Hot Rod Association
at the Rockingham International
Dragway. He'd been shooting for a
new record the past four years.
Ray did it in his 1968 customized
Camaro. He said Thursday after
noon the achievement was unusual
because his car has a 327 cubic
inch engine, small for the ac
complishment. He said such marks
usually are achieved by cars with
400-plus cubic-inch engines. His
car also is equipped with a four
barrel carburetor.
He also drove the car to a 1982
Pro-AM Nationals Class victory.
The class is for the Superstock
E-Automatic.
The old drag record that Ray
broke was 10.59 seconds at 126
mph. set two years ago at Darling
ton. S.C., by a Piedmont. Ala.,
driver.
A certificate given him by the
international association calls his
mark the "Official World Record"
for 2 HA Class. It is addressed to
"Larry Ray & Son."
"This record." the certificate
says, "symbolizes an excellence in
mechanical achievement, a per
fection in driving ability and a
valued contribution to the sport of
drag racing."
It bears the signatures of IHRA
President Larry Corrier. and
National Race Director Ted Jones.
The trophy Ray got for his class
victory made his total for his racing
career 56 awards. The largest purse
he won was SI, 000 at the 1980
Fourth of July races in Fayetteville.
Ray said drag racing "is the
hardest job I ever loved."
Ray won 300 points for setting
the new record. His dream is a
national championship, and he's
had it the past four years. The
national championship is given
each year to the racer who gains the
most points in the drag events.
Ray left early Friday morning for
his next races, the Spring National
held at Bristol. Tenn., Friday
through Sunday.
He said if he did well there he
would go to the Norwalk. Ohio,
event, one of the seven major races
on the IHRA circuit. Two each are
held at Rockingham and Bristol,
one at Darlington, S.C.. and the
others at Milan. Mich. Ray has
competed in all but the Michigan
Northern Nationals at Milan.
The national championship
brings a bonus of $10,000.
Ray does his own mechanical
work, at his garage next to his
home and his grocery store with the
self-service gas pumps, but he has
some neighbors who give him a lot
of help as a pit crew, besides his
18-year-old son. Victor, a Hoke
County High School senior, who
also works parttime at nights at
Burlington Industries.
His pit crew consists of Donald
Blue of Five Points, and Larry
Flowers and Thomas Ray (no
relation to Larry) of Turnpike
Road.
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Lurry Ray with his National Class Winner award plaque and his drag race *
that won it and set a new world s record at Rockingham April 30.
Ray's whole family works. His
wife. Patricia, works at Tex-Elastic
in Raeford. and their daughter.
Kim. lb. a Hoke High freshman,
helps her father at the store when
she's out of school.
Ray says it takes him about three
weeks to get his car ready for a
major event, working off and on.
and sometimes till early morning
shortly before a race day. to make
one or two final adjustments that
could make the difference between
winning and not winning.
At Rockingham, he finished in
the top 16 of the 64 cars that
started on April 30. The others
were eliminated on the successive
davs. The races went through Mav
2.
Ray works on other people's
ears, doing regular mechanic work
occasionally to help a friend. He
also racing motors for others.
He said that, so far, his winnings
in races have paid his way. The past
two weeks before the Bristol races
he won S550 -- $400 for a win at
Sanford, and a total SI 50 at
Rockingham, for going through
three rounds. He finished 25th in
the qualifying round of 64 cars
there.
On Thursday afternoon, he was
thinking of the $2,500 he would get
if he took first place at Bristol.
Robann Beach Wins U.S. Award
Robunn R. Beach
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F rom the
Superintendent's Desk
by Rai Autrj
Mental Toughness
The phrase "mental toughness"
is probably as much over worked
as the word "charisma".
Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and
Carter believed they had mental
toughness and they did. It took
mental toughness to stand the
critics of the Vietnam War.
President Nixon showed his
mental toughness in his foreign
policies and the trauma of
Watergate. Carter's toughness was
the Iran affair. Whether anyone
agrees with their decisions or not,
they must admit they had mental
toughness.
Our mental toughness in the
everyday life, whether it be in our
work or our home life, is just as
real to us as the three presidents I
mentioned. When we deal with
toughness on a local level and the
decisions that are made, one of the
best examples that I could possibly
give is the decision that was made
by a former board of education
when they consolidated our
schools. That decision required as
much mental toughness as any one
decision that has ever been made in
Hoke County. That board gave
future boards an example of men
tal toughness.
When a board has made a deci
sion on a particular rule or
discipline problem or on a militant
employee, they will usually imply
and mean for that decision to be
interpreted as mental toughness.
The true mental toughness is tested
when a board sticks by that deci
sion, if it is a fair and just decision.
Many times we say that we exhibit
The United States Achievement
Academy announced this week that
Robann R. Beach, granddaughter
of a Raeford couple, has been
named a 1982 United States Na
tional Award winner in Spanish.
She is the daughter of Lt. Col.
and Mrs. Martin H. Beach of
Fayetteville and granddaughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gatlin of
Raeford and Mrs. Martha. Beach of
Fayetteville and the late Van G.
Beach of Fairmont.
Miss Beach is in the Ninth Grade
of Reid Ross High School in
Fayetteville. She was nominated for
the National Award by Senora
House, a Spanish teacher. An
article about Miss Beach will be
published in the U.S. Achievement
Academy Official Yearbook.
She also was selected and in
ducted recently into the Spanish
Honor Society at Reid Ross.
College News
Brigitta Wilde, daughter ot
James E. Wilde of Raeford, has
been named to the President's List
at Methodist College for the Spr
ing Semester, according to Dr.
Fred Clark, academic dean.
Students are named to the Presi
dent's List for achieving a perfect
4.0 academic average during the
semester.
Methodist College is a four-year
college of liberal arts and sciences
located on a 600-acre campus in
Fayetteville, NC, overlooking the
Cape Fear River Valley.
Mary Kimberly Dees, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Dees of
Rockfish. has been named to the
Honor Roll for the spring semester
at East Carolina University.
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Michael Alvin Peckham, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Dartd Scull of 1109
N. Fulton St., Raeford. received a
degree of Bachelor of Arts in
recreation administration Sunday
from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The degrees were conferred on
the graduates of 1982 at the
university's commencement.
James Michael Bundy of Rt. 2,
Raeford, received an Associate in
Science degree Saturday from Win
gate College at the college's com
mencement.
Windie Sue Shepherd of Todd,
daughter of Richard Shepherd of
Rt. 2, Raeford, will receive a
Bachelor of Arts degree Saturday
from Queens College of Charlotte
at the college's commencement
convocation.
i^TSpOOi
PCFTHER
7=- AMERICA !
mental toughness When we
discipline those who can't fight
back. I don't know of an easier
decision for a board or an in
dividual to make than when they
are dealing with those who can't
fight back. The true test of the
backbone of a board's mental
toughness comes when they deal
with those who can fight back.
Mental toughness is also re
quired of legislators at various
times and unfortunately, we have
never had a great many of those in
North Carolina or any other place
who had enough mental toughness
to stand up and rectify a bad law.
A prime example of a bad law is
the Teacher Tenure Act. This law
was passed by a legislature that ac
cepted the word of an organization
that was primarily looking for a
way to protect an individual in the
teaching profession regardless of
whether they were competent or
not. I would be the first one to say
that teachers need protection but
incompetent teachers or ad
ministrators should not be allowed
to hide behind a bad law.
Anyone who has dealt with the
Teacher Tenure Act in its present
form will admit that it is a bad law.
However, no legislature has had
enough mental toughness to stand
up to the organization that pushed
that law and they certainly haven't
had enough intestinal fortitude to
repeal the law. Study after study
has proven, that this law, for the
sake of children if for no other
reason, needs to be repealed.
One of the greatest concerns 1
have about many administrators is
that, once they have found that
their rules and regulations do not
work, instead of saying 'let's try
something else' they excuse their
unwillingness to admit a mistake
on the grounds that M must con
tinue what 1 am doing because if 1
change now people will interpret
my stand as a sign of weakness.' \
Therefore, more and more
youngsters are made to pay the
price for a bad rule or regulation.
Psychologist call this type of
reasoning insecurity. The lay
public calls it stupidity. There is
nothing that makes more of a
lasting impression on people than
to find out that an individual's
mental toughness has a streak of
compassion built into it.
1 told a group of superintendents
recently that if 1 didn't have to
work with a board of education I
would be an outstanding
superintendent because 1 know
what to do and that when 1 have to
wait for their decisions it tests my
patience to the utmost.
1 was speaking in jest because
any individual is happy to have
someone to share in the joy of a
joint decision that will make things
better for everyone effected by it.
Any superintendent is more than
happy to have someone to share
the painful decisions also.
1 have been painfully aware for
many years of my reputation for
making dictatorial decisions. Time
will judge those decisions on the
basis of whether they were dic
tatorial or mental toughness. Time
will judge decisions that a board of
education makes. Time will judge
decisions made by a principal, or a
teacher in the same manner. Our
school system will be better or
poorer because of the decisions we
make. Our youngsters will profit
or suffer because of our decisions.
If they suffer, we hope the scars
will not be permanent.
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