THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 7, 1996 TAG: 9609070437
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 48 lines
The rain from Hurricane Fran had stopped falling at Richmond International Raceway by midday Friday, but the power was still out and the wind was still howling.
So NASCAR and raceway officials canceled all on-track activities and opted to try again today and Sunday. However, the weekend's big event, the Miller 400, is scheduled to run at 7:40 tonight.
Track president Paul Sawyer said NASCAR decided around 12:30 p.m. to postpone Friday night's scheduled Autolite Platinum 250 Busch Grand National race, and he concurred. The Busch race has been rescheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.
``The power went out at 5 a.m. and (Virginia Power) said it was going to be 12 to 24 hours before they got it back on,'' Sawyer said Friday. ``And we didn't want people in the grandstands with the winds as gusty as they have been.''
At noon Friday, the street lights on major roads surrounding the track were still dark and power in the area was still out. Track offices were operating off a generator.
``The demands are such that they had to put their demands somewhere else before they bring us up to speed,'' track spokesman Kenneth Campbell said.
He added that the track sustained no damage from the 2 inches of rain and high winds that began in Richmond late Thursday. The weather shortened the Fas Mart Truck Shootout to 124 of 200 laps on Thursday night.
Winston Cup qualifying, scheduled for Friday, was postponed until noon today, when there will be a single session to fill all 36 regular starting spots for tonight's race.
Fran was a tropical storm by the time it marched into Richmond around 10 p.m. Thursday, but powerful winds blew down many trees and knocked out power to thousands of area homes and businesses.
The grandstand gates open at 9 a.m. today, and Winston Cup practice begins at 10. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Richmond International Raceway
[For complete copy, see microfilm]
Richmond Glance
[For complete copy, see microfilm] by CNB