Rockingham confident of race date in 2005

This year's event won't sell out, GM says

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. -- North Carolina Speedway general manager Chris Browning said Saturday that no one from NASCAR or International Speedway Corporation has approached him regarding the possibility of moving the track's date to another venue, or selling the track and its date to Speedway Motorsports.

	Chris Browning

Rumors have surfaced throughout the week that this weekend's Subway 400 could be the last race at the gritty 1.017-mile oval.

Browning disagrees, saying that NASCAR and ISC understand the challenges of their February race date, and feels confident Rockingham would get the chance to prove their worth with a more favorable date.

"There's only so many weekends, and we understand that," Browning said. "In a perfect world, we'd love April. It's 15 degrees warmer and has a half-inch less precipitation (than February). NASCAR and (ISC) understand that.

"If we get a better date and still can't sell out, then..."

Then the proverbial writing could be on the wall. But until then, Browning is confident that the Nextel Cup Series will be racing in North Carolina's sand hills in 2005.

"There's been nothing said internally, so I chalk it up to a good rumor," Browning continued. "For 10 years, we were supposed to lose a date, and it's just now happened."

Some have speculated that ISC plans to sell the track to Bruton Smith, owner of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., who would then move the date to one of his tracks, likely Texas Motor Speedway.

Shareholders of SMI are currently suing NASCAR, claiming NASCAR officials have failed to follow through with a promise to award Texas Motor Speedway a second Cup date. Subsequently, speculation has arisen that the lawsuit could be settled by selling Rockingham to Smith.

"The Bruton rumors are just rumors," Browning said. "There is no indication of truth."

Browning said ticket sales are already higher than they were for this event last year, due in part to Dale Earnhardt's Jr.'s victory in the Daytona 500, but that the Subway 400 won't sell out.

North Carolina Speedway  Track Page

"You just can't sell out in five days," he said. "That's what we have to do. People are waiting to see that five-day forecast before they make the decision to come or not.

"Monday, it rained. Tuesday and Wednesday there was snow and sleet. We were waiting to see who would win, the weather or Dale Jr."

Browning said track officials are working diligently to book events at the track, such as rodeos, car shows and racing events for other series such as ASA and ARCA. They're also open to the idea of installing lights.

"We'd love to run the Trucks here in a triple-header event," Browning said. "Stand alone events at tracks that have hosted Cup dates have not done very well.

"We've gotten a lot of calls, and support from (Cup) drivers and team owners. We read the papers and turn on the TV. It's on everyone's minds."