Weekend not what Rockingham needed

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. February 23, 2003; Jenna Fryer writing for the Associated Press (AP) -- Gray skies, high winds, a steady rain and empty seats are not what North Carolina Speedway needed in its bid to keep two races.

Bad weather wiped out all of the on-track action Saturday, as both Winston Cup practices were canceled and the Busch Series race was rescheduled for Monday. That gives NASCAR another reason to take a date away from Rockingham.

Under the realignment proposal NASCAR first brought up last month, tracks could lose races in 2004 for a combination of criteria, ranging from attendance, availability of hotels and restaurants and even Mother Nature.

On NASCAR's checklist, the tiny track in the sandhills of North Carolina would fail in every category: Sunday's race wasn't not sold out, the surrounding area has limited attractions, and abysmal weather limited the Winston Cup cars to just one hour of track time Friday in preparation for the Subway 400.

One area in which the track does receive high marks is driver preference, with most of the field fond of the high-banked, 1.017-mile oval.

"I hope we always run two races at Rockingham -- heck, I'd run 10 races a year at Rockingham if I were in charge of NASCAR," said Johnny Benson, who scored his only Winston Cup win here last November.

Drivers enjoy Rockingham because the emphasis is on skill, instead of how good the race car is. With more than one groove, passing is frequent, and cars are able to easily slice through the field, avoiding the follow-the-leader routine often played out at other tracks.

"I think Rockingham is an awesome racetrack, from a driver's standpoint and from a fan's standpoint," said Ryan Newman. "I'll always say that a real race track is one you don't have to go out and figure out if there is a passing groove or if we can run the outside line.

"A lot of drivers will tell you they can come from the back here with a good race car and pass, whereas at other tracks you get stuck in the back with a good race car."

But Newman acknowledges that the facilities lag behind the new racetracks NASCAR wants to give Rockingham's races to, so regardless of driver opinion, the track probably is in trouble.

"If it was up to me, and if I was a racetrack promoter, I'd build a racetrack like this at a different venue, provided the market was right, just because I think this is a good racetrack," he said.

If it was up to Jamie McMurray, who won the Busch race here in November, NASCAR would leave Rockingham alone and set its sights on other tracks -- like the rough and gravelly Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

"I love this place. This is the best racetrack of any of them to go to," McMurray said. "They could blow up Darlington ... I hate that place."

Like most teams, McMurray used what little track time there was Friday to run the car in its race setup.

So with the rain falling and the realization that there would be no practice on Saturday, it was obvious in the garage who made the right call in eliminating the emphasis on qualifying the day before.

"Good thing we practiced yesterday," said Lee McCall, Sterling Marlin's crew chief. "We don't have any worries for the race, because we already know what we've got."