2000 T. Wayne Robertson
NASCAR Winston Cup Preview
planned for January 15

            Click here for Preview Fact Sheet   

              WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The 11^th annual T. Wayne Robertson NASCAR Winston Cup Preview will be the first official NASCAR Winston Cup event of the new millennium.  The event is set for Saturday, January 15, 2000. 

               Every NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers is scheduled to attend the event named in memory of its creator, T. Wayne Robertson.  Robertson, the president of R.J. Reynolds’ Sports Marketing Enterprises for 13 years, was killed Jan. 14, 1998 in a Louisiana boating accident.

            The T. Wayne Robertson NASCAR Winston Cup Preview is the largest single-day charitable event in North Carolina.  In the 10-year history of the event, the Winston Cup Preview has raised more than $1.8 million for charity.  The 1999 event raised $220,000.

            “The T. Wayne Robertson NASCAR Winston Cup Preview is a very important event for a couple of reasons,” Rich Habegger, Winston Cup Preview Director said.  “This event gives all of us an opportunity to give something back to our community.  All of us involved with the NASCAR Winston Cup Series are very grateful for the success our sport has enjoyed. 

“It’s also important to us because it allows us to remember T. Wayne Robertson, the founder of this event.  He was a great friend to just about all of us who are involved, including the drivers.  We’re fortunate to be able to honor his memory with this great event.”

The charities that will benefit from the 2000 T. Wayne Robertson NASCAR Winston Cup Preview are Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem, Speedway Children’s Charities, the Winston Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary and the T. Wayne Robertson Memorial Fund.

Perhaps the biggest attraction at the Winston Cup Preview is the annual auction of racing apparel, equipment and sheet metal.  Most of the items for auction are autographed making them valuable NASCAR collectibles.

“The auction is one of the most popular parts of the event,” Habegger said.  “The NASCAR Winston Cup teams and tracks are extremely generous in their contributions for the auction, and that’s what makes it so successful.  The auction provides a major portion of the money we raise for charity each year.”

Each year, race fans from some 30 states across America attend the Winston Cup Preview.  Last year, 25,000 people attended and had an opportunity to see a showcar from nearly every NASCAR Winston Cup team.  Those showcars will be there again this year along with many souvenir trailers. 

In addition to the Winston Cup drivers, the top-three finishers in the 1999 NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division will be in Winston-Salem to sign autographs.  1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Jack Sprague is also scheduled to attend. 

The 2000 T. Wayne Robertson NASCAR Winston Cup Preview is being presented by Hayes Jewelers of Lexington, N.C., Coca-Cola, Food Lion and the Ford Motor Company.

Doors open at 8:30 a.m.  The event ends at 6 p.m.

            Tickets for the 2000 T. Wayne Robertson NASCAR Winston Cup Preview are available through the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum at (336) 725-5635 or Ticketmaster at (336) 722-6300.  Tickets are $15 for adults.  Children under the age of 12 will be admitted free with a paying adult.