ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 4, 1997 TAG: 9704040060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS THE ROANOKE TIMES
Danny Taylor hopes tonight's opener signals a new beginning for auto racing in Roanoke.
Optimistic.
It's the one word that readily comes to mind when Danny Taylor talks about the chances of his Victory Stadium Speedway succeeding in a venue that has, at best, traditionally received a cool reception from Roanoke Valley sports fans.
Taylor, the track's manager and promoter, will be hosting the first of 20 weekly races in Roanoke's aging stadium with tonight's Magic City Ford 200.
"I'm really excited about the opening night," Taylor said. "Of course, I tend to stay excited, but the closer we get to getting this track ready, the more I look forward to it."
Advertisements describe the event as a "grand opening" for the speedway, but in fact, this is the second go-round for auto racing in Victory Stadium in the 1990s. Donald "Whitey" Taylor, Danny's brother and proprietor of Franklin County Speedway, held 10 events in Victory Stadium from 1991-93 despite being under an 11 p.m. curfew with the City of Roanoke.
This time around, it appears as if the tensions that previously existed between speedway management and city council have been eased. Danny Taylor said the track has received a three-year commitment from the city and will operate under a midnight curfew - a time constraint he insists won't be a problem.
"We plan on starting the first race at about 8 p.m. and we want the whole thing to be over by 10:30 p.m.," Taylor said. "Anything longer than that and I think the fans would tend to get bored. Three- or four-hour events mean a lot of seat time for the audience, so we want to move it right along."
Taylor said he even went so far as to measure the surface and study the layout of the legendary track at Bowman Gray Stadium, located in Winston-Salem, N.C., in an effort duplicate as many of its intricacies as possible in Victory Stadium Speedway.
"They average about 5,000 paid in attendance down there and they get as many as 14,000 for special events. I think that in time, Victory Stadium can grow to that level. We're new and just getting established, but that's what we're looking to in the future."
One thing fans can expect to find at the speedway will be close racing in all classes (Late Model Stock, Mini Stock, Pure Stock, Rookie). Accidents and rubbing should be the norm in the flat turns of the tight quarter-mile oval, particularly in the full-bodied Late Model class. Turn 3's wide opening should provide drivers with their best opportunity to pass.
"Fans don't have to worry about someone running away with a race here because this track is going to create a lot of close racing,'' Taylor said.
Gates open tonight a 6 p.m. After qualifying, the first green flag drops at 8. Admission is $10 for adults,with children 10 and under free.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB