Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 9, 1994 TAG: 9409090065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Rick Mast considers Richmond International Raceway one of his home tracks because he's a lifelong Virginian from Rockbridge Baths.
But he also genuinely likes it, and not only because he won a Grand National race there in 1990.
``I think a lot of it has to do with the schedule,'' he said. ``We just came from Michigan, where you're running 200 going into the corners. Then you go to Bristol - a four-hour nightmare. Then you go to Darlington, where you're basically holding your breath all day.
``But when you get to Richmond, you get back to really working on your chassis and handling and you can really go racing. The surface is real smooth. And you can race two-wide all the way around the race track. Plus, the races pay real good. It's just one of the more high-profile races to run and everybody likes driving the track.''
Mast's sentiments are shared by others gauging from the size of the entry lists for tonight's Autolite 250 Grand National race and Saturday night's sold-out Miller 400 Winston Cup race.
Seventy-three Grand National cars will be battling for 36 regular starting spots in tonight's race, which starts at 7:30 while 45 Winston Cup cars have entered Saturday night's event.
``When we go to Richmond, the drivers always feel like kings,'' Mast said. ``I really feel like the Sawyers [owner Paul Sawyer and family]. They do an awful lot of work for the competitors and fans. One of the best things is they've gotten with all the motels in the area to keep them from gouging everyone with high prices. That means a lot.''
The big entry lists, however, mean more than a few drivers will be going home without making the fields.
Both races will have a maximum of 39 starters, including provisionals, so six or seven Winston Cup cars and at least 34 Grand National cars won't get to race.
The challenge will be even greater for the Grand National regulars because 14 Winston Cup drivers, including Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant, Mark Martin and the Labonte brothers, will be trying to make the 250 field.
What is Mast's secret?
``To really be fast at Richmond, you've got to be real smooth with the steering wheel and accelerator,'' he said.
Rusty Wallace is the defending champion of the 400, which has a purse of $825,161. Martin won last year's 250, which pays a total of $233,079.
Track improvements for this race include 18 additional light towers, nine new suites and a new grandstand with more than 3,000 aluminum seats with backs. Virginia Gov. George Allen is the grand marshal.
All 74,634 seats for the 400 were sold when they went on sale the first week of April, but tickets for tonight's race are general admission. The cost is $30 each, but children 12 and under will be admitted free with a ticket holder.
Tickets are on sale at the raceway ticket office. For more information, call (804) 345-RACE (or 7223). Gates open at 8 a.m.
The track is located at the Virginia State Fairgrounds at 600 East Laburnum Ave. where there are more than 300 acres of free parking.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB