ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 30, 1997 TAG: 9703310130
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER
For several weeks now in the Winston Cup garage, folks have been whispering dire warnings about what to expect next weekend in the inaugural Interstate Batteries 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
The absolute worst-case scenario goes something like this: Nobody is going to be able to get to the race because traffic will be gridlocked on the mostly two-lane roads leading to the track. If you actually do make it to the track, and it rains anytime next weekend, you'll have to park in a vast mudhole, since most of the surrounding land has not been paved.
And if you actually get to see a race, it won't be much of one because: A) the track will come apart, and/or B) it's a narrow, one-groove race track and no one will be able to pass.
The most cynical would go further to suggest that some or all of the above was dreamed up by track owner Bruton Smith and his right-hand-man, Humpy Wheeler, both of whom never have shied from promotional opportunities.
But in reality, the inaugural Texas race is fraught with uncertainties, as any inaugural race at a new track would be.
In fact, Smith's last inaugural race at a new track, the World 600 on June 19, 1960 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was plagued with problems, the worst of which was that the track broke up. The 60 cars in that race had to be equipped with protective radiator screens and tire flaps.
As the new race looms, the folks at Texas Motor Speedway have swung into something of an emergency mode.
``This week, we're starting a campaign with [Winston Cup champion] Terry Labonte with radio ads and print announcements asking folks around the area to car pool for the Saturday and Sunday races,'' said speedway spokesman Laura Maready.
Folks in some of the towns near the track have created their own passes to get in and out of neighborhoods. ``It won't allow them to break through traffic, but it will show officials that they are citizens of the town,'' Maready said. The communities hope to quell potential efforts by race fans to search for shortcuts through communities on the two-lane roads leading to the track.
There is no question that some concern is warranted. The tracks with efficient traffic systems have refined those systems over years of trial and error - a process that's just starting in Texas.
As for parking, Maready admitted that the land around the track is farmland that has been tilled and aerated repeatedly. ``It does not make for good parking,'' Maready said. ``But we've had lots of machinery here compacting the soil with rollers. It will make for a more level parking area and also allows the rain to drain to lower lying areas.''
On the downside, the land was saturated by up to 10 inches of rain in early March. It had some time to dry out, but another downpour hit the morning of March 25. It's thunderstorm and tornado season in Texas, and if it rains next weekend, parking could be a big problem.
As for the track itself, Maready said workers were widening pit road by 12 feet last week but other than that, the surface is fine.
It wasn't when Bobby Labonte tested there March 11. The soil underneath the asphalt in turns 1 and 2 had settled, creating dips and depressions that were too bumpy to drive over. The only way through was the bottom groove. Labonte and his team concluded their test early, practicing under the lights until 9 p.m. March 11, so workers could get onto the track to dig up the section, fix the problem and repave it.
``We patched it and everybody at the open practice [March 18-19] got along fine with it,'' Maready said.
The track design has received heavy criticism, as well as strong testaments in its defense. Critical or not, the drivers agree on one thing: It's largely a one-groove race track.
``It's definitely going to be a challenge,'' Bobby Labonte said. ``It's really going to be tough to pass.''
``It's nice, but I think we're going to have a little trouble passing on it,'' Jeff Gordon said. ``It'll be a fun place to drive for qualifying, but it'll be interesting to see what it's like when we're racing around other cars.''
``It appears right now that it will be a one-groove race track,'' said Jeff Burton. ``But you don't ever really know until the race gets started.''
Steve Grissom summed it up: ``The race track, the garage area, the grandstands, are in great shape. The parking lots and maybe getting to the race track and leaving the race track might be a little tough.
``They've got to start somewhere. You can't have it all the first time.''
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: NASCAR Winston Cup drivers Brett Bodine (11) and Jeffby CNBGordon, second, line up for test laps at Texas Motor Speedway in
Roanoke, Texas, earlier this month. GRAPHIC: Chart by RT: Texas
Motor Speedway. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING