NASCAR Circuit Stays Red Hot During Short Winter Offseason

The motorsports world has been in high gear since the finalcheckered flag flew on the 1995 season. The short offseasontraditionally has been a time for evaluation and preparation for thenew year, but NASCAR has been especially busy this winter.

With an eye toward the NFL and the NBA's global marketing plans,NASCAR announced it would present a series of Winston Cup-style racesin Suzuka City, Japan, over a three-year period beginning inNovember, 1996. The series features an invitational event with 30Winston Cup, Busch Grand National and Winston West teams at thehistoric Suzuka Circuit road course near Tokyo.

"For the first time in our history, we will be presenting oursport to a worldwide audience," said Bill France Jr., NASCAR'spresident and CEO. "The events at Suzuka will provide a tremendousopportunity for American automobile manufacturers and corporatesponsors to showcase their products in Japan."

Many close to the sport believe the Suzuka events will be thefirst step for Japanese auto manufacturers to participate in NASCARracing. Presently, only U.S. nameplates compete on the Winston Cupcircuit.

Also, series sponsor R.J. Reynolds announced it would increasethe points fund another $500,000 to $4 million in 1996, making nextyear's Winston Cup circuit worth an estimated $50 million in prizemoney.

NASCAR's popularity was reflected in this year's record-settingattendance and television viewership numbers. More than 5 millionfans attended the 31 Winston Cup races in 1995, an average of morethan 161,000 per event. And through the coverage of CBS, ABC, ESPN,TBS and TNN, another 91 million viewers watched at home.

When Jeff Gordon collected his record-setting, $1.8 millionWinston Cup championship check, it capped an impressive year forNASCAR racing. The '95 Winston Cup season was worth a total of $45million, the richest in all of motorsports. In addition to hischampionship dollars, Gordon set a single-season mark in winning morethan $4 million in race purses and prize money.

"It sounded kind of crazy at the beginning of the season, but wereally believed we had a chance at becoming Winston Cup champion,"history's second-youngest NASCAR champion said.

"To win your first championship is such an incredible feelingand something I hope we can build on as a team."

The countdown to 1996 already has begun, with only 10 weeks leftuntil the season-opening Daytona 500.

PIT STOPS: The 1996 NASCAR Craftsman SuperTruck Series scheduleincludes 24 events and a major increase in prize money. New racesinclude the season-opening event at the Homestead (Fla.) MotorsportsComplex as well as stops at New Hampshire International Speedway,Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International Raceway, Nashville (Tenn.) SpeedwayUSA, Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway and the new Las Vegas Motor Speedway.The Las Vegas event will close the season and feature a record purseof $600,000. All SuperTruck events will receive live televisioncoverage. . . . The American Speed Association's 1996 scheduleincludes 21 events, the majority to be televised by The NashvilleNetwork. The ASA season opens and closes at the new USAInternational Speedway in Lakeland, Fla. . . . The fledgling IndyRacing League completed its first testing session this week at thenew Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla. Buddy Lazier postedthe quickest speed on the 1.1-mile "Mick-Yard" oval at more than 180m.p.h. The IRL has received more than 30 entries for its inauguralevent, on Jan. 27.