ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 22, 1995 TAG: 9512220034
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
Competition in four NASCAR divisions and 7,000 additional seats highlight Martinsville Speedway's 1996 menu.
In its 49th season, the speedway will play host to Winston Cup, Late Model Stock and All-Pro Series cars, as well as NASCAR's new SuperTruck circuit.
A 7,000-seat high-rise tower, which will raise the facility's seating capacity to approximately 66,000, is under construction between turns 3 and 4. The track's scoreboard located in that area has been torn down and replaced by a pylon scoreboard in the infield.
Also, track officials have decided to lengthen the two Saturday races, both to be held on Winston Cup weekends. The Goody's-Slim Jim All-Pro 200 on Saturday, Apr. 20, will be increased by 50 laps, and the Hanes 250 SuperTruck event on Sept. 21 has been upped by 100 laps.
Late Model Stock Cars will open and end the track's season. The Miller 300 will be run on March 17, with the Taco Bell 300 on Oct. 13.
The track's Winston Cup dates are April 21 and Sept. 22.
Tickets for all the speedway's '96 events may be obtained by calling (540) 956-3151 or writing Martinsville Speedway, P.O. Box 3311, Martinsville, VA 24115.
In other sports in the region:
In a private ceremony Tuesday in Richmond, Dominick Miller of Roanoke and Kathy Roberts of Alexandria were recognized and given a plaque by Gov. George Allen for their being named the 1995 Citgo/National Congress of State Games Athletes of the Year for the state of Virginia.
Millner and Roberts, athletes of the year in this past summer's Roanoke-based Commonwealth Games of Virginia competition, were selected from numerous nominees statewide.
Millner, a graduate of William Fleming High, is a sophomore track-and-field star at the University of Florida.
College Sports Magazine has named Washington and Lee senior tackle Robert Hull as its NCAA Division III college football Defensive Player of the Year. The Lexington All-American had 28 tackles for loss, including 14 sacks, this season.
In Division I, the publication placed defensive end Cornell Brown of Virginia Tech second-team All-America, while Hokies free safety William Yarborough made the third team. The University of Virginia placed three players - twin brothers Tiki and Ronde Barber and kicker Rafael Garcia - on the third team.
W&L's Robert Hull was named the Virginia Sports Information Director's College Division Player of the Year.
Virginia State's Lou Anderson and Emory & Henry's Lou Wacker tied in voting for coach of the year. (Team in Scoreboard, C2)
Hull also made The Associated Press' Little All-America team, made up of NCAA Division II and III and NAIA players, as a second-teamer.
W&L senior Hilary Martin and Roanoke College senior Crystal Wilson were both selected to the first team of the 1995 Virginia Sports Information Directors College Division all-state women's volleyball squad.
Senior Cheryl Taurassi of W&L and senior Kia Williams of Ferrum made the second team. Salem's Shannon Harrison, a junior at Bridgewater, also was a second-team selection.
W&L's Terri Dadio shared Coach of the Year honors with Averett's Danny Miller.
Virginia athletic director Terry Holland said Thursday night that the Cavaliers had sold more than 17,000 tickets for the Peach Bowl.
``That's 17,000 through our office and, we figure, another 3,000 or 4,000 [to UVa fans] down there,'' Holland said. ``We're happy.''
Holland said UVa would return any tickets not sold by the end of the Cavaliers' home basketball Thursday night against Virginia Commonwealth. The game is a virtual sellout.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING FOOTBALLby CNB