ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996                 TAG: 9604160018
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: 1    EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETH DAY PASHLEY STAFF WRITER

TAKING THE CHECKERED FLAG THE HOMETRACK COLLECTION OF NASCAR-INSPIRED FURNITURE REVS UP HOME DECOR

Move over Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt. NASCAR racing fans can feel like they're in the pole position while sitting in black-and-white checkered-flag-print recliners with racing-tire-shaped arm rests. Heilig-Meyers' HomeTrack Collection puts fans in the driver's seat.

The 17-piece Winston Cup-inspired line, manufactured by Pulaski Furniture, also includes coffee tables that feature genuine Goodyear tires as a base with glass tops, grandfather clocks, hall trees, mirrors, gun cabinets, wall clocks, arm chairs and fabric-covered headboards.

Fans can make fast pit stops with a tool-chest end table that is known as the ``cool chest'' or display racing memorabilia in a curio cabinet. Or they can get in the fast lane with a recliner in a basement game room.

Racing fans in Daytona Beach, Fla., Darlington, S.C., Bristol, Tenn., Anniston, Ala., and Atlanta, Ga., "test drove" the products first. The racing-themed furniture is not available in stores, but during the 1996 racing season, a HomeTrack Collection mobile showroom will be at selected NASCAR Winston Cup events. The showroom will be at Martinsville Speedway's souvenir row beginning Friday. While in Martinsville for the Goody's 500, fans may register to win a curio cabinet to be given at the event.

The products aren't officially licensed through any racing body so the products can't come with official logos. Consumers may add their own driver-specific decals. Heilig-Meyers, a furniture store based in Richmond, sponsors a racing team - the No. 90 car driven by Mike Wallace.

Prices range from $50 for a checkered-flag oak desk clock to $1,200 for a cherry or oak grandfather clock with shelves.

LENGTH: Short :   43 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  Clockwise from left: 1. Wall mirror and curio cabinet, 
          2. headboard, 3. wall clock, 4.  desk clock, 5. chair and 6. 
          tool-chest end table. 7. The HomeTrack Collection includes recliners
          with racing motifs and a coffee table that features a Goodyear tire 
          as a base. color.