Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 18, 1993 TAG: 9304180085
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
CHANGES AWAIT RACING'S RETURN
There is good news, bad news, good news and good news about the new round of improvements at Martinsville Speedway in 1993.The good news is the new 3,000-seat Winston Tower section looming above the first turn of the .526-mile track will give fans a dramatic new high-rise perspective on the racing.
The bad news is you won't be sitting there unless you already have a ticket.
"We put them on sale in the first week of March, and they were gone in less than two weeks," said Chuck Martin, the speedway's assistant public relations director.
Out of that mad rush for the new seats comes the good news that "several thousand" old reserved seats remain available at $35 apiece elsewhere around the track - mostly in the first five rows of the grandstands, Martin said - for next Sunday's Hanes 500.
Martinsville Speedway has grown nearly every year of late. And the 1993 model makes the well-groomed place look less like a country race track and more like the big racing stadium it is becoming. It now has about 55,000 seats. Like Bristol and North Wilkesboro, Martinsville now has more seats than some major-league baseball parks, with more room for expansion.
The short tracks still pack them in because fans know that while these bull rings lack displays of pure speed, they more than make up for it with up-close, non-stop, close-quarters, temper-flaring, helmet-hurling action.
Which brings us to the final bit of good news. This year, even more Winston Cup cars will be on the track to get in each other's way.
NASCAR has increased the size of the short-track fields from 30 to 32 cars, which with the use of provisional starting spots, means as many as 34 or 35 cars will start the 500-lap race at 12:30 p.m.
To make room, Martinsville Speedway increased the size of the front and backstretch pit walls to accommodate 17 rather than 16 pit stalls.
Martinsville always attracts plenty of pre-race testing because it is so close to the many Charlotte-area race shops and because it is so important for drivers to qualify well here to get a front-stretch pit. The crucial first round of qualifying, for positions one through 20, is Friday at 3 p.m.
In the past two weeks, 15 drivers tested at the speedway, including Darrell Waltrip, Davey Allison, Geoff Bodine, Ernie Irvan and Jimmy Hensley, who was testing for Bill Elliott but will replace the late Alan Kulwicki next Sunday.
Also on hand to get ready for his first Winston Cup race was P.J. Jones, 23, the eldest son of 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones.
Jones looped it a few times last Monday on the first day of his two-day test. And he was having some trouble getting through turn 2. By the time he left Tuesday, Jones was getting the hang of it, Martin said.
Jones, who makes his living this year driving an IMSA GTP Toyota for Dan Gurney, was to make his Winston Cup debut at Atlanta, but the snow-out there scuttled his plans.
Car owner Harry Melling says he plans to enter Jones in five to 15 events this year, depending on how things evolve.
Although Martinsville is one of the best tracks for an up-close view of the action, your best chance this weekend to see a lot of drivers close up will be at the "Racin' The Bases '93" softball game at 6 p.m. Friday at Hooker Field in Martinsville, which is off Church Street on Chatham Heights east side of the city.
Almost 20 drivers have agreed to participate, including Kyle Petty, the Bodine brothers, Harry Gant, Ernie Irvan, Dale Jarrett, Rick Mast, Jimmy Spencer (who's better suited for a football benefit), and rookie Jeff Gordon, (who is as small as Spencer is big). Richard Petty and Bobby Allison also will make appearances.
Although the fund-raiser will generate money for the Winston Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary and the trust fund for the late Clifford Allison's children, it won't cost a cent to get in. Charity money will be generated from concessions and souvenir sales.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING