All-Star encore

Lowe's to host The Winston again next year

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- As expected, The Winston was awarded to Lowe's Motor Speedway for the 2003 season on Wednesday. After that, it's anyone's guess where NASCAR's annual All-Star event will be held.

The Winston debuted at the suburban Charlotte track in 1985, moved to Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1986, then went back to Lowe's and has stayed there every year since.

NASCAR officials want the race to move around to different venues, but relented when the city officials from the greater Charlotte area promised to pump money and support into the event to turn it into a weekend affair.

"In the past, Charlotte and the surrounding communities have put their best foot forward in hosting the NCAA Final Four and the NBA All-Star Game," said track president Humpy Wheeler. "We're looking for that type of effort for The Winston and plan to turn this into the greatest all-star event in all of major sports."

They've got just one year to do it.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., which sponsors both the Winston Cup series and the all-star race, was able to give Lowe's only a one-year contract on the event.

NASCAR vice president George Pyne would not speculate what the sanctioning body might do with the race in 2004 and beyond.

"The schedule is something we look at year-to-year, and The Winston is something we'll take a look at," Pyne said. "There's a great deal of interest in this event and there are many places that want one (Winston Cup) date, many places that want two dates and there are some that want three. So it's a delicate balancing act that we try to do."

Lowe's has three Winston Cup events -- the all-star race, which will be run on May 17, 2003, the Coca-Cola 600, which runs the week after, and a fall race that will be moved from Sunday afternoon to Saturday night next season.

There's a chance the track could keep The Winston if it does enough to sell NASCAR on the reasons it should not be moved.

For so long, one of the main selling points was that the track is home base to more than half the race teams, meaning one less weekend on the road in a draining 36-week schedule.

"That means everything in the world," said Chad Knaus, crew chief for rookie Jimmie Johnson. "We have three weekends off during the season, so any time the guys can be at home, see their families and sleep in their own beds is a bonus."

Wheeler has done his part to build The Winston into an attraction, adding lights to the speedway in 1992 so it could be run at night, as well as other stunts and gimmicks to make it a draw.

Now, the effort will have to be increased. It's possible the track could be awarded a NASCAR truck series race that could be run the same weekend as The Winston, giving the estimated 150,000 race fans another night of action.

"We're going to promote the living heck out it, and I'd like to see us up our advertising budget another quarter-million or half-million dollars," Wheeler said. "After that, we'll see. Maybe we'll have polo matches on the frontstretch, or monster trucks running."

Wheeler is always pulling stunts, blowing things up and bringing in musical acts to liven the atmosphere at his events. It hasn't gone unnoticed by anyone in NASCAR, including the drivers.

"The hot topic this summer was where is The Winston going to run and I thought moving it was something worth looking at," driver Jeff Burton said. "But I changed my opinion when I realized what they had done to make it so special. If they're going to keep doing all those things, then I'm all for it staying at Lowe's."

Charlotte city leaders, still waiting to see determine the economic effects of losing the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, were scrambling to make sure they also didn't lose The Winston.

The event pumps more than $100 million into the local economy and city leaders did not want to lose it.

"When you think of The Masters, you think of August," said Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. "When you think of The Rose Bowl, you think of Pasadena. We want it so when you think of The Winston, you think of the Charlotte region.

"I promise this to RJR and NASCAR, we are working as a team ... to not just host a race, but we are going to take this to another level. We want to make this the greatest sports spectacle in the United States."

 

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