04/02/2004

PRE-SEASON PRACTICE GOES GREEN AT RIVERHEAD THIS SATURDAY

    All the months of waiting and preparing will come to an end this Saturday afternoon April 10th at Riverhead Raceway when Barbara and Jim Cromarty will host the first of two pre-season practice sessions. All six NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series divisions, along with the track's Enduro class will take part in the daylong sessions starting at 12 noon.
    Free grandstand admission will again be offered to fans wanting to take a sneak peak at what lies ahead for the 2004 race season, which promises to be one of the most competitive ever at the quarter mile. The NASCAR stock cars will hit the track at 12 noon and run until approximately 4:30 pm at which time the track will then be turned over to the teams from the popular Enduro series for the remainder of the day.
    "The practice days are a great opportunity for fans to come out and enjoy the cars in all their new attire for 2004 and we encourage them to bring their camcorders and cameras," Bob Finan stated. "The two warm-up days are the only dates of the year where everyone works at a leisurely pace before the pressure of the regular season kicks in.".
    With a large crop of rookie drivers registered for the NASCAR Modified division, track officials urge those teams to get to the track at
9:00 a.m. for safety inspection if they did not go through that process during the three dates prior to practice day. That holds true for freshman drivers in any of the other five classes as well.
    "We encourage all rookie drivers to spend as much time on the track as they can" stated Bill Denniston, "Seat time is a very valuable commodity for a new driver and they should get as much track time as they can".
    After the initial warm-up session on April 10th, as second test and tune afternoon is set for Saturday April 17th, with the same time format in effect.
    Opening day weekend 2004 will unfold Saturday April 24th with a six for one NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series card, which will be followed the next afternoon by the Enduro series-opening day April 25th.

Sources:  Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR
Posted:  April 2, 2004