Winston Race Shortened

The NASCAR Winston Cup race scheduled at Dover (Del.) Downs next September will be shortened to 400 miles and will be the first Winston event shorter than 500 miles to be held at the track.

“There now seems to be a large enough contingent that’s convinced a shorter race will be more exciting, so we thought now would be a good time to try it and find out,” track president Denis McGlynn said.

NASCAR drivers have been critical of the 500-mile races that often approach 5 hours around Dover Downs’ 1-mile oval.

Damon Hill’s dream of winning the Formula One championship came true abruptly early today when his only challenger, Jacques Villeneuve, spun off the track and out of the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Japan.

Villeneuve’s Williams-Renault skidded off the track in the 36th lap in a spoon curve, with his rear tire flying into the air. He was not injured, but his car was too damaged to continue the race.

That meant that no matter where Hill finished, he would have garnered enough points to win the coveted title his late father Graham won twice. The race was still being run at press time.

Dave Dion took the NASCAR Busch North title, and Butch Leitzinger extended his mastery at Lime Rock Park by winning his third straight race on the 1.53-mile road course in the Dodge Dealers 200K at Lakeville, Conn.

Dion finished 13th in a Ford to beat out Andy Santerre for the title. Santerre wound up 25th in a Chevy, with an accident limiting him to 80 of 87 laps.