ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, September 2, 1996 TAG: 9609040012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DARLINGTON, S.C.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
The traditional July race at Talladega Superspeedway has been moved to Oct. 12 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup schedule, which was released Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
The schedule also includes the new race at Texas Motor Speedway on April6, the new race at the California Speedway in southern California on June22 and an additional race at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sept.14.
The new races in Texas and New Hampshire replace those at North Wilkesboro Speedway, which is no longer on the schedule.
Bill France, NASCAR's president, said the schedule was being released three months earlier than usual ``to better serve the fans, the sponsors, the media and the teams.''
Although the series makes separate trips to California for the May4 race at the Sears Point road course and the June22 race at California Speedway, France said the two trips could not be combined because the teams will use different cars at each venue.
Meanwhile, R. J. Reynolds' T. Wayne Robertson said including the Brickyard 400 - NASCAR's best-attended, richest race - in the Winston Million lineup is ``something we've looked at and talked about, but it probably won't happen for 1997.''
Here is the complete 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup schedule:
February
9 - Busch Clash, Daytona Beach, Fla.; 16 - Daytona 500, Daytona Beach, Fla.; 23 -Goodwrench 400, Rockingham, N.C.
March
2 - Pontiac Excitement 400, Richmond; 9 - Purolator 500, Hampton, Ga.; 23 - TranSouth 400, Darlington, S.C.
April
6 - Race to be named, Roanoke, Texas; 13 - Food City 500, Bristol, Tenn; 20 - Goody's 500, Martinsville; 27 - Winston Select 500, Talladega, Ala.
May
4 - Save Mart 300, Sonoma, Calif.; 17 - The Winston Select, Concord, N.C.; 25 - Coca-Cola 600, Concord, N.C.
June
1- Miller 500, Dover, Del.; 8 - UAW-GM 500, Long Pond, Pa.; 15 - Miller 400, Brooklyn, Mich.; 22 - Race to be named, Fontana, Calif.
July
5 - Pepsi 400, Daytona Beach, Fla.; 13 - Race to be named, Loudon, N.H.; 20 - Miller 500, Long Pond, Pa.
August
2 - Brickyard 400, Indianapolis; 10 - The Bud at the Glen, Watkins Glen, N.Y.; 17 - GM Goodwrench Dealers 400, Brooklyn, Mich.; 23 - Goody's 500, Bristol, Tenn.; 31 - Mountain Dew Southern 500, Darlington, S.C.
September
6 - Miller 400, Richmond; 14 - Race to be named, Loudon, N.H.; 21 - MBNA 500, Dover, Del.; 28 - Hanes 500, Martinsville.
October
5 - UAW-GM 500, Concord, N.C.; 12 - DieHard 500, Talladega, Ala.; 26 - AC-Delco 400, Rockingham, N.C.
November
2 - Dura Lube 500, Phoenix; 16 - NAPA 500, Hampton, Ga.; 23 - Exhibition race, Suzuka, Japan.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB