Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 25, 1991 TAG: 9102250091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In the early 1950s, some of the biggest names in the early days of Southern stock-car racing displayed their driving skills in the stadium, where races were held weekly during summer.
Buck Baker, Curtis Turner, Bobby Myers, Billy Myers and Glen Wood were among the drivers who raced there.
Wood is part of the Wood Brothers Racing Team, based in the tiny town of Stuart, that has been a fixture on the NASCAR circuit for more than two decades.
Bill France, the founder of NASCAR, promoted some of the early races at Victory Stadium.
The early drivers left the flat, quarter-mile asphalt track in the stadium for bigger and faster speedways as racing popularity grew in the 1950s and 1960s.
The stadium has been used mainly for football and other events - including an occasional automobile thrill show - the past 30 years.
Taylor, a racing promoter who owns Franklin County and Natural Bridge speedways, wants to bring racing back to the stadium. City Council has his request on the agenda for tonight's meeting.
Taylor, ever the entrepreneur, says he wants to hold races there mainly because it could make money for him - and for the city. But the stadium's racing history tugs at the heart of Taylor and those who love stock cars.
"I think it would draw some old-timers out of the woodwork," Taylor said. "Some people who became big in NASCAR were connected with racing in the stadium, and some people who raced there are still around."
Charles Williamson, a modified and sportsman car driver in the Roanoke area in the 1950s and 1960s, fondly remembers racing there.
He recalls that France and Curtis Turner, a well-known Roanoke driver who was killed in a plane crash, made $14,000 as promoters of one race at the stadium. He remembers them counting the money after the race.
Williamson, who lives in Roanoke, said some races attracted 8,000 to 9,000 fans.
Stock-car racing is more popular now, but Taylor's request faces tough opposition. Two years ago, council rejected a similar request by Taylor on a 4-2 vote. South Roanoke residents and Roanoke Memorial Hospital opposed racing in the stadium, saying they feared it would create noise problems and disrupt the neighborhood.
Taylor blamed the decision on a clash of two cultures: the affluent vs. the "working class" who like fast cars, he said.
"Basically, I think it is all politics. If it didn't involve South Roanoke, I think it would have been approved," he said in an interview after council's vote.
"It's just rich people and society hill; that's what it is."
Auto racing is among the top spectator sports in the country, and Taylor said races would provide entertainment for people who don't attend concerts, plays and other cultural events.
There is speculation that council might be more inclined now to allow racing because there has been a change in members. Council has a larger Democratic majority now with a more working-class image.
Two members who opposed Taylor's request in 1989 - Robert Garland and James Trout - no longer are on the governing body. James Harvey, a former stock-car driver, and William White replaced them. Neither would commit himself on the issue until details are aired.
"If he can bring in something that will benefit the community and he can ease concerns about safety and other issues, I am willing to listen," White said.
Vice Mayor Howard Musser and Councilman David Bowers, who favored a trial race two years ago, said there seems to be more sentiment now for a test run.
Taylor has proposed three races - the Monday of Memorial Day weekend, the week of July 4 and on Labor Day.
Taylor will continue his weekly races at Franklin County Speedway and wants to use the stadium only three times a year. He hopes to attract cars and drivers from nearby states, as well as locally. "It would be like the Super Bowl of Saturday night races" in a multistate region, he said.
But he said he will ask permission for only one race initially.
"I'm asking for a one-shot deal as a trial. If I am wrong and there are major problems, I will bow out gracefully," he said.
The South Roanoke neighborhood organization is expected to oppose the request again.
"We don't feel that [racing] should be in close proximity to any neighborhood - not just ours," said Barbara Duerk, president of Neighbors in South Roanoke.
Duerk said the neighborhood group had not taken a formal vote on Taylor's latest request. But she expects its board will take a telephone survey before council votes.
Taylor said the neighborhood's fears that racing will be noisy and disruptive are unfounded. The race cars will have mufflers to reduce the noise, similar to those on cars that race at Bowman Gray Stadium in a residential area in Winston-Salem, N.C., he said. Races have been held at Bowman Gray for 40 years in a setting similar to Victory Stadium, Taylor said. That facility also is used for football and other sports events.
The races will cause less noise than the fireworks at the Music for Americans show July 4 or a train passing along the railroad tracks near the stadium, he said.
Unlike most speedways, the stadium track is flat, and Harvey said he is afraid the cars "could end up in the fountain, fences and all over the place" and tear up the stadium and other facilities. But Taylor said he does not anticipate any such problems.
The cars won't be as fast as those at Franklin County Speedway or other banked speedways, Taylor said.
"The cars are going to be bunched up and close together. That will be more exciting for fans because the cars will be so close together."
Taylor said he will install concrete barriers at the turns. He will also install a fence to prevent wheels that come off from rolling into the crowd.
Parking might be a problem, he said, but no worse than at a football game or other major event.
In rejecting the request two years ago, some council members said auto races would conflict with the master plan that calls for the stadium and the city's sports complex to be used only for athletics.
City Manager Robert Herbert recommended two years ago that council reject the request, but it is unclear whether council will ask him for a recommendation on the new request. Stock-car racing has been an economic boon to many cities, "but the question here is whether the stadium is the appropriate place for races," Herbert said.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB