
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 7, 1995                   TAG: 9509070076
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Medium

TRUCKS KICK OFF WEEKEND

After introducing United States Auto Club sprints and Silver Crown cars to Richmond International Raceway this year, track president Paul Sawyer has yet another new twist for his facility.

The NASCAR SuperTruck series joins the Winston Cup series in Richmond for a companion race for the first time. Thus, Richmond becomes the only track in 1995 with NASCAR's three major series - SuperTruck, Busch Grand National and Winston Cup - on the same weekend.

Actually, the trucks will be gone before the Winston Cup cars ever get on the track.

Completing their appointment at Richmond today, the trucks practice in the morning, qualify at 2 p.m. and race at 8:40 p.m. The race is 150 laps in two segments: 76 and 74 laps.

Coming into tonight's FasMart Shootout, the 15th of 20 races in the trucks' inaugural season, Mike Skinner holds the points lead by 46 points over Joe Ruttman. Ron Hornaday Jr. is 94 points behind.

Skinner, an also-ran in Winston Cup and Busch racing, is a standout in the truck series driving for Richard Childress. He's won six races. Hornaday, who is Dale Earnhardt's driver, has five victories. The only other winners, each with one victory, are Ruttman, Butch Miller and Ken Schrader.

The Richmond truck race clearly is one of the big events of the year for the new series.

A record 41 trucks have been entered in the $165,945 race, and 25 teams tested during an open session at the three-quarter-mile oval on Aug.23. Among those entered are Winston Cup regulars Schrader, Terry Labonte, Geoff Bodine, Todd Bodine and Derrike Cope.

The Grand National series also has a huge entry list, with at least 60 cars vying for the 38 starting spots in the Autolite 250. Qualifying for Friday night's race, which begins at 7:40 p.m., will be at 6 p.m. today. Kenny Wallace is the defending champion.

And the Winston Cup race - the Miller Genuine Draft 400 - takes the green flag at 7:40 p.m. Saturday. Terry Labonte was the 1994 winner.

Construction workers have been busy at the track this summer. The backstretch grandstand is now about twice as big as it used to be, with the 8,106 seat Henrico Tower sitting atop the existing stands. The track seats more than 82,000 people.

The track also has built a new 12,000-car parking lot and has added 59 new 2,000-watt lights around the inside of the track.

The Winston Cup race has been sold out for months, despite the new seats, but tickets for the truck race tonight and the Grand National race on Friday night are available.

Tickets are on sale at the raceway ticket office. Call (804) 345-RACE (7223). Gates open at 9 a.m. today and Friday.

The track is located at the Virginia State Fairgrounds at 600 East Laburnum Ave.

Keywords:
AUTO RACING

by CNB