
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, September 26, 1994                   TAG: 9411090015
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITE|
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE                                 LENGTH: Short

MARTINSVILLE CONGESTION QUESTIONED

Drivers' complaints of overcrowding in the garages and pits of the Winston Cup tracks struck a raw nerve with Martinsville Speedway officials, who said they have been working diligently to reduce congestion.

``There are two sides to any story,'' speedway president Clay Campbell said. ``We've tried so hard to cut down on it.''

To help alleviate the crowding, the speedway discontinued pit tours for sponsors this season, Campbell said, but still had to issue almost 1,500 passes with access to the pits.

``For the Goody's 500, the track issued 170 passes to the drivers for people they wanted to get into the pit area,'' he said. ``The track issued 150 passes to NASCAR for the drivers' families.

``The track issued 350 passes for the sponsors of the race cars. We also issued 75 passes for public relations people representing the various race teams.

``And the media, which reports on Winston Cup events and has had a big part in the tremendous growth of NASCAR Winston Cup races, was issued 700 credentials. And that's cut down from what it was in previous years.

``That's 1,445 people in the pits,'' Campbell said. ``We try to accommodate the competitors to the best of our ability, but they have to understand they have helped contribute to the problem.''

Keywords:
AUTO RACING

by CNB