Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 26, 1994 TAG: 9407270065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``From my own personal standpoint, it happened a few years too late,'' said France, a hint of wistfulness in his gravelly voice as he rose from a gray leather chair in the NASCAR trailer Sunday morning at Talladega Superspeedway.
As France's interview with a half-dozen motorsports writers was coming to an end, he was thinking of his father, William H.G. France, the founder of NASCAR.
The first NASCAR Winston Cup race at the famed track is coming too late for ``Big Bill'' France, who died June 7, 1992, at the age of 82.
Yes, the elder France was alive when the historic race was on the fast track to becoming a reality, but his mind had faded by then.
``He would have loved to have been here to see this thing,'' his son said.
Big Bill actually was escorted out of Indy one May day some 35 or 40 years ago, booted as an unwanted guest. His upstart NASCAR organization had tussled often with the Indy-car folks, and there were hard feelings. But his presence there revealed his true feelings. He loved all types of auto racing.
The creation of the Brickyard 400, of course, has not been without its controversies, and Bill France Jr. addressed some of those Sunday.
It is untrue, he said, that he purposely kept the race's $2.68 million purse less than that of the Daytona 500 purse (which was $2.75 million) because he did not want to see the new race pay more than the sport's Super Bowl.
``I don't see this purse staying the same,'' France said. ``It's going to be bigger than Daytona.
``When we negotiated the event, which was a year ago, nobody had sold nothing'' as far as tickets, he said. ``And we didn't know how the event was going to be received. At that time, we agreed on a purse they were going to run for.''
Every ticket was gobbled up almost instantly. Each of the more than 300,000 seats in the grandstands that encircle the vast speedway could have been sold four times over.
But as to reports speedway president Tony George had wanted to pay $1 million to the winner and was rebuffed, France said, ``There's nothing to that. There was never $1 million discussed.''
He acknowledged some drivers (most notably Dale Earnhardt), have criticized the size of the Brickyard 400 purse, noting the Indy 500 pays more than $7 million.
But France said, ``They've got to look past this event. And I'm sure management will review it after this race.''
Actually, the winner's purse jumped from $245,500 to $445,550 on Monday with the official announcement of a $200,000 bonus to the winner by PPG Industries, which also is providing the trophy.
The other big pre-race controversy has been qualifying, and France indicated he may do something about it.
Time trials are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Aug.4, and drivers fear they'll get an early draw in the lineup and have to qualify in the heat of the day, which may jeopardize their chances of making the field.
With some 80 entries, and each car on the track for two minutes or more during its run, the session is bound to last more than two hours, extending into the early evening, when the track is fastest. Drivers with late draws can expect an advantage, perhaps as much as a second per lap.
``Well, needless to say, all the fellows who normally go to all the events, we'd like to see them make the race,'' France said of the regular Winston Cup drivers. ``If anyone is going to have an advantage, it should be the guys who run all the time.''
One reporter asked him about a reported plan to invert the qualifying order for the second round of time trials Aug.5, giving the later runs to the drivers who ran first in the initial round.
France turned to Les Richter, NASCAR's vice president, and said in mock seriousness, ``We need to talk to [Winston Cup director] Gary Nelson about putting some sound boards around this trailer. Sometimes our thinking gets out of this trailer.''
Then he added, ``If we make any changes, it will not be just for Indy. Anytime somebody doesn't make the race, you hear about it. And it's going to be a big deal - anybody who doesn't make it.''
There have been other Indy-related irritants to some in the NASCAR family. Teams can't get enough passes to satisfy their needs. Children are not allowed in the Indy garage. It costs $1,000 to park an RV at the track, not including connection costs, and drivers can't stay overnight.
``They're used to running their race [the Indy 500] as they have for years, and some of our procedures are different,'' France said. ``They've given some and we've agreed to a few things. I think you'll see that things work out. Overall, there haven't been any major hurdles or stumbling blocks.''
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB