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Fan Waits In Line Nine Hours To Buy Martinsville Tickets

19 August 1997

Martinsville, VA---Martinsville Speedway's 1998 Winston Cup tickets
went on sale Monday morning and Don Bowman of Richmond,
Va. demonstrated just how important the right seat is to a race fan.

Bowman arrived at Martinsville Speedway at 11:30 Sunday night to
ensure he could get the seats he wanted in the Hanes tower for the
1998 season when the ticket windows opened at 9 a.m.

"I was able to get the same exact seats I had this year," Bowman
said. "I can see all of the action and it feels like I'm sitting right
on the end of pit road."

The second person to arrive at Martinsville Speedway came to the
ticket window at about 4 a.m. so Bowman said, "I did get to sleep."

Troy Rust of Danville, Va. was another who came to the ticket windows
early Monday morning.

"I wanted to make sure I could get the best possible seat," he
said. "I love NASCAR racing. I'll always come to this race."

Martinsville Speedway will again host two NASCAR Winston Cup races in
1998 with the 43rd annual events in April and September.  Ticket
windows are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and
tickets can be purchased by phone at (540) 956-3151.

Fans have the opportunity to take advantage of the preferred seating
system which allows ticket buyers to purchase the same seats each
year. If fans purchase the same number of tickets, at the same time,
for the 1998 spring and fall events, they can qualify for the
preferred seating system.

Seats in the Bill France, Goody's, Hanes, Winston, Richard Petty and
Clay Earles towers will be $55 each. Chair seats are $50 and the
concrete bleacher seats are $35 to $40 each.

The speedway still has good seats, for $35 to $40, available for next
month's Hanes 500 on Sunday, Sept. 28 beginning at 12:30 p.m. The
Hanes 250/500 weekend includes the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Busch pole qualifying for the Hanes 250/500 weekend will begin at 3
p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26 with the Winston Cup Series followed
immediately by time trials for the Craftsman Truck Series. Tickets for
qualifying day are just $10 and children under age 12 are admitted
free with a paying adult.

The Hanes 250 Truck Series race begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27
and tickets are $25 each for adults and tickets for children ages six
to 12 are $5. Children under six years of age are admitted free with a
paying adult.

The 8,000 unreserved seats that go on sale race morning at 7:30 for
the Hanes 500 are $30 each. Children ages six to 12 can sit in the
unreserved section for $5.

By: Martinsville Public Relations