FONTANA, Calif. - As work crews deal with flooding at and around Richmond International Raceway in the wake of Tropical Storm Gaston, crews at Daytona International Speedway are "battening down the hatches" as Hurricane Frances approaches.
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Gaston dumped a foot of rain on Richmond, Va., on Monday, forcing local officials to condemn several blocks of the downtown area. At the speedway, there was flooding and a loss of power for about a day.
"We're surviving," said Keith Green, the track's director of public relations.
"We had no power and there was some flooding. Those pictures you saw of cars floating in the flooding was less than six blocks from here. We were lucky, track-wise. But it's still an absolute mess, an absolute mess."
Green said many of the roadways leading into the speedway were still closed Wednesday as the raceway continued to prepare for next week's Busch and Nextel Cup series races. Also, many of the buildings in the infield of the three-quarter-mile speedway were flooded during the storm.
While the speedway was without power Tuesday, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett and Terry Labonte still managed to complete a test session for the Chevy Rock N Roll 400 on Sept. 11.
Daytona International Speedway was spared major damage from Hurricane Charley three weeks ago, but the racetrack wasn't dropping its guard as Frances looms. If the storm continues on its current track, it should make landfall in Florida between Vero Beach and Jacksonville on Saturday morning. That puts Daytona Beach in the middle of the projected path.
THE CHASE: The Chase for the Championship, which includes a furious battle among 10 drivers for the final five qualifying spots, has been so popular it's not likely there will be any changes for the 2005 season.
Brian France, NASCAR chairman, said he loves what the made-for-television program has done for the sport - and what it can do against the National Football League on competing networks during the final 10 weeks of the season.
"I hope everybody else does as much as I do," he said. "I'm a little biased but it's been everything we could have ever hoped for - and maybe a little more."
There have been four changes in the 10th and final qualifying spot in the past four races. With only 50 points separating positions eight through 15, France expects more changes in the final two races before the Chase begins.
Reach Don Coble at doncoble@bellsouth.net.
