NASCAR Display Cars

They are like magnets. Regardless of age, gender, or level of interest in the sport, people have to stop and look when they see a race car sitting in a place where race cars don’t normally sit. The chance to see a race car up close is just too good to pass up. The great majority of the world will never get a pit pass to a NASCAR Winston Cup race and only a select few will get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to tour a working garage.

So when a car arrives at your local auto dealership or turns up for a grocery store opening, you've got to see it up close. These cars don't just materialize, though. There's a lot of planning and preparation that makes a show car appearance a reality. There are so many things behind the scenes and the responsibility for much of it falls on the person delivering the car.

The keepers of the show cars come from all walks of life with backgrounds as different as those who stop to look at the car. They are just as much in the entertainment business as the drivers themselves and their work is certainly appreciated by racing teams and sponsors.

One agency handling show car promotion, scheduling, and other logistics is the system in the Cotter Group of Harrisburg, North Carolina. Through show car coordinator Jerry Milem, we were introduced to a few of these road warriors and got to know just what goes on with these show cars. The show cars on the road today fall into two basic categories. First, there's the show car itself. It is usually a retired race car that carries the features of the cars you'll see in today's Winston Cup races. The newest form of show car is the simulator, which is a hands-on version of the show car and, since it carries a racing video game inside, is generally quite popular with the younger fans.

Bret Morris unloaded a two-seat simulator in front of the Bob Evans Restaurant in Daytona on July 3. With the help of manager Richard Stock, the 29-year-old Morris went to work setting up the display in front of the restaurant. From the moment the car saw daylight from within the enclosed trailer, a crowd gathered. "I'm a big race fan," understates Morris. "I raced at a dirt track when I was in Wyoming. I've been to a few tracks and saw an article about doing this job and thought it would be fun, a chance to do a little traveling."

The car, a former warrior on the Busch Grand National circuit, was painted in the colors of Randy Lajoie's Bob Evans racer for the '99 season. There have been plenty of modifications. For one thing, the "real" steering wheel is outside the body. The two steering wheels inside are connected to the video game and have no effect on the car's wheels. Under the hood, you'll find a very powerful, high tech...Sony Playstation.

"Some of the people who come up to the car are a little disappointed there's not an engine in there," says Morris. "But, there's a lot of people who don't care because they want to play the game. It's gotten a wonderful response. Two guys will get in the car and they'll each crash, they don't care who wins. The kids can get in it and the gas button is on the wheel, so there's no pedals for the little kids to worry about." Visitors try their skills at the EA NASCAR '99 game.

Morris will be spending much of his time at Bob Evans restaurants across the country. For Morris, that means some of the logistics at the site have been arranged. Generally, unless there are special needs, Morris is aware of the location where the car is to be displayed on the restaurant property and a power supply for the game system is provided. There is seldom a need for a tent or stanchions to ward people off. This is, after all, a hands-on experience. Through the course of a typical day, Morris stands near to help people get into the simulator. He also answers any questions visitors have about the car. "I get a lot of questions about the wheels and the roof flaps," he points out. "Sometimes, I'll prop up the roof flap for the display so people can get a better feeling for it."

Across the street, a large tent is connected to the Daytona USA attraction. Inside that tent are a number of vehicles on display, all in conjunction with the sponsoring Ford Motor Company. Part of the display was put together with cars brought to the site by Jim Mecone and Labe Abernathy, both inside in director's chairs at the perimeter of the display at the time of our arrival. Mecone has been doing this job full time for about six months. He did a little bit of work the previous year because he wanted to see if it might interest him. The Williamsport, Pennsylvania, native found he liked it.

"I've always been in the customer relations business," Mecone says. "I was service manager for a Chrysler dealer before and I've been involved in racing since I was 14 years old." Mecone started out with the simulators before going to the static car display. He and Abernathy set up the tent and brought half the displays into the large, enclosed tent. In this case, stanchions and banners had to be set up since these displays do not encourage touching. For the most part, people respect the idea and stay behind the barriers. Occasionally, a child will break through or an inconsiderate adult will cross the line, only to be politely sent back. Everyone is usually in awe of the cars.

"We don't want any damage done to these and usually you don't have problems," says Mecone. Unfortunately, though, there are times when vandals strike. The night before, someone worked their way into the tent and stole some of the operating materials. Fortunately, nothing was taken from the cars. Thieves target hood pins and lug nuts and will often try to peel away stickers. Guards generally keep watch over the cars if they are on display for more than one day. According to Mecone, displays run anywhere from a single day to many days at a time. One of his biggest was a car show in Cleveland that spanned 10 days.

He is also expecting to become part of a unit with three haulers and five cars that will see an ambitious 50 shows in 52 weeks beginning this summer. His love of racing and customer service background make Mecone a natural for this job. "You just have to keep up with what's going on," he says about the education process. "With me being involved in racing before, it's like second nature. You have to have a general knowledge to be able to answer all the questions."

Labe Abernathy is amazed at the level of knowledge he's seen at some of his stops. "The kids get real excited, more so than the adults," he says. "They are very knowledgeable and really keep up with Winston Cup racing. I've had kids from five years old on tell me what they know about this team or that race. It's pretty interesting." The 46-year-old Abernathy is the veteran of the group we met. His experience stretches a little over a year and he, too, came from the world of auto dealerships. The North Carolina native is married, so his time on the road takes him away from a loving family at home.

"She's really understanding and supportive of me," says Labe of his wife. "She sees how much I enjoy this. Sometimes, she'll travel with me if she can. She works for First Union Bank, so it's hard for her to get away sometimes." Abernathy has been gone for as long as seven weeks at a time. "There were a lot of two and three day shows," he recalls. "At the end of the last day, you'd just tear down and move on." For Alicia Campbell-Szeredy, the job of driving a show car rig has added a little more excitement to an already exciting life. As one of few female show car caretakers, Alicia, a descendant of speedster Sir Malcolm Campbell, enjoys the road and life behind the wheel of the big rig. Last year, she drove the transport rig for the Phelon entry on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. When the team moved locations, Alicia chose not to go and had to find alternative employment. With a Commercial Driving License and plenty of experience, the 28-year-old lined up her new position.

When we caught up with Alicia, she wasn't in a tent at Daytona or perched in front of a restaurant. She was calling from a location in Oklahoma, having left Tennessee after spending time in Pennsylvania. You do see the USA when you're driving the rig carrying the Valvoline/Mark Martin simulator. "I grew up in racing," she says. "I raced competitive karts and got to know some racers pretty well. I raced against Rob Moroso, but I knew if I wanted to stay in the sport I'd have to do something different."

To hone her skills as an over-the-road driver, Alicia went to work for North American Van Lines and Reliable Car Carriers. She learned about life on the road and put that to work for Phelon. Now, associated with Cotter's show car troupe, she really appreciates the effort made by the company to do the job right. "After being in trucking, I've learned how important it is to have the tractor-trailer rigs run by DOT regulations," says Alicia. "It's a great comfort going up the road knowing we do things the right way. We work with the regulators. We keep the log books and do the paperwork. If they get audited by the DOT, there's no concern because everything is done correctly."

The life of the show car driver is more complex than the general public will see. The miles are part of it, though Cotter tried to schedule the appearances within reasonable distance, giving the drivers a fair amount of time to get to their destinations. Drivers are responsible for the appearance of the car and rig. The appearance of Morris' car will change periodically. He carries a different hood for certain occasions and, like the rest of the team, is constantly shining the car. Fingerprints and the occasional spilled food are cleaned quickly. It's clearly not an eight-hour-per-day job in any way. Drivers spend as much as 8-10 hours at a display, then there's the set-up and tear down usually done quickly. After that, there's the matter of what to do when the car isn't being viewed. For Mecone, trips to nearby short tracks have been frequent. Abernathy likes to take walks or watch television that has nothing to do with racing. "You need to have an outgoing personality," adds Morris. "You have to be receptive to everybody--adults and children. I can't tell you how many times I've answered the same question." Ah, yes, patience. You have to have plenty of that because you are in the public eye. Your conduct can have an effect on the image of a race car driver, team, and sponsor, good or bad. There are plenty of stories from the road and each show car caretaker has one. One of the best comes from Abernathy who found himself with the McDonald's car in Bennington, Vermont, when the temperature dropped to 12 degrees and snow was falling. Yes, it was an outdoor display. True to form, the show went on. "The way I see it, I'm in charge of the ultimate collectible," Abernathy sums up. Wherever they go, they're certainly the center of attention.