THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603010587
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
The recent sales of tracks in the NASCAR Winston Cup series has not rattled Paul Sawyer.
Don't bother to ask him for a sales price on his Richmond International Raceway. It's not for sale. Never has been. Never will be. Period.
``I've been in racing since 1949. I built this track for my sons and grandsons,'' the 79-year-old founder and president of RIR said in a recent interview.
``What would I want to get rid of it for? It's a challenge, and we love it.''
The recent sales of North Wilkesboro Speedway to Bruton Smith and Bob Bahre, and Bristol International Raceway to Smith have prompted speculation that others may go on the block, too.
But not Richmond.
``If I sold it, I'd have to pay taxes,'' he said. ``And when you figure out how much money I've got into this place, I'd end up losing money.''
Besides, Sawyer is too busy planning for the future to even contemplate selling.
RIR will seat about 83,000 spectators for Sunday's Pontiac 400, and in the future it may go to 125,000 - the number of seats Henrico County officials have approved for RIR expansion.
Sunday's race, expected to be held in chilly temperatures, nonetheless has been sold out for more than two weeks.
There are no significant changes from last fall's race except that the starting fields for the Winston Cup and Busch races have been expanded by two positions each.
Both races will now have as many as 41 cars, with 36 regular starting spots (up from 34) and as many as five provisional starters.
Forty-four teams have entered Sunday's race, which has a record purse of $1,250,236. That means at least three Cup teams will go home early.
A whopping 62 cars have entered Saturday's Hardee's 250 Grand National race, which means at least 21 teams, and probably some good teams, will fail to qualify and go home early. The race starts at 1:15 p.m. and will be televised live by ESPN2.
Qualifying for the Hardee's 250 is at 10:30 a.m. Friday, followed by Winston Cup practice at 11:30 a.m. First-round Winston Cup qualifying for the first 25 starting positions is at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets for Friday and Saturday are general admission. It costs $5 for adults Friday and $30 Saturday. Children 12 and under are admitted free Friday and Saturday if accompanied by an adult.
Gates open at 8 a.m. each day, and there are more than 300 acres of free parking at the fairgrounds.
And if you can't make it to the track, the race will be televised live on ESPN. It starts at 1:15 p.m. by CNB