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Thursday, March 15
NASCAR tries another two-day show
Associated Press

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Think of it as NASCAR lite.

It may be race time at Darlington Raceway, but it doesn't feel like a Winston Cup weekend.

No massive haulers backing their way into the garage; no handtrucks loaded with newly made tires; and no officials whistling spectators and crew to stay clear as fiery machines roar back to their mechanics as they prep for Sunday's Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.

It's the second go-round for a NASCAR experiment -- compacting three days into two for its drivers and teams.

"There's no doubt you've got to pack a lot of things into a short time," Rusty Wallace said. "But I like it, I really do."

No Winston Cup teams will tour the 1.366-mile layout Friday, the track's traditional pole day. Qualifying will be held Saturday with a two-hour practice following the SunCom 200 Busch race.

The plan worked at Rockingham three weeks ago, Darlington president Jim Hunter said. It will also be tried at Dover. "I think those are the only places we've got it planned for now," Hunter said.

NASCAR says it hopes to relieve pressure for its stars, who often sound off about the demands on their time from sponsors, fans and crews.

"You gain about half a day," Wallace said.

Instead of getting in Thursday afternoon and setting up for the next day's practice and qualifying, Wallace said teams can spend a leisurely Friday unloading and tinkering.

"Then on Saturday, you're wide open all day," he said.

There's one round of qualifying, then the closing two-hour practice. "When you lose that practice time, the two hours we had (at Rockingham, N.C.) seemed to go by in 30 minutes," Wallace said.

That's why he came to Darlington for testing last week. Tony Stewart and Dave Blaney were among Winston Cup drivers running laps a week ago.

"No question that those people who come here to test have an advantage," Wallace said.

The two-day show for Rockingham's Dura Lube 400 worked well for everyone, said Johnny Benson, who finished sixth behind winner Steve Park three weeks ago. "Actually, I wish they would go to two-day shows everywhere," he said.

Benson's crew chief, James Ince, said the shortened schedule allows enough time for teams to effectively move from qualifying to race setup. It also "means a lot of these guys get to spend another night in their own bed," he said.

Darlington's climate did wonders for overworked racers with shorter races in three of its past four events. Jeff Burton swept the TranSouth 400 and Southern 500 in 1999 as both were stopped before the finish because of rain.

Bobby Labonte stole the Southern 500 this past September, taking the lead just before the skies opened with drenching rain.

Only Ward Burton's dominating victory here a year ago -- he broke a five year winless streak -- was rain free. He has not won since.

"We had been heading in the right direction before Darlington, but seemed to put it all together down there last year," Burton said. "We had a good lead in the fall race down there, too, but the rain took that away."

Hunter is not sure if more tracks will follow the leads at Rockingham and Darlington. It will mostly depend on whether drivers push for shorter weekends.

The steady cry the past few years for shorter seasons has gone unheeded. In fact, Winston Cup added two weeks of racing this year with new tracks in Joliet, Ill., and Kansas City.

"Yeah, I think it's too much," said Wallace, sounding a similar note as other star racers. Between tests and sponsor functions and autograph sessions and moving from Rockingham to Las Vegas to Atlanta to Texas next week after Darlington for races, Wallace thinks something should be done.

Shorter shows, he said, are a start.

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