The highlight of Bill Lester's...
The highlight of Bill Lester's season, and NASCAR's and Dodge's diversity program, was when Bill Lester put his Truck on the pole at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Dodge folded its on-track support in late 2003. What will NASCAR do in 2004? Courtesy of Dodge Motorsports
Lester says he has "been made to feel welcome in NASCAR. I haven't had a single negative experience."
What about Confederate flags that flutter at many races? "I understand that many people in the South consider that flag a symbol of their heritage, and nothing more," says Lester, a native of California. "Seeing those flags flying at the tracks doesn't bother me, as long as they aren't waved in my face."
While most agree that NASCAR's heart is in the right place in its minority effort, there have been some pitfalls along the way. NASCAR created a firestorm when it made a contribution to an organization headed by Jesse Jackson. A large segment of NASCAR's mostly conservative fans disagrees with Jackson's liberal politics and lets NASCAR know it. NASCAR quickly distanced itself from Jackson.
Another sticky issue: Toyota's '04 entry into the Craftsman Truck series. Critics contend that NASCAR is an American sport for American-made cars, and feel there is no place in the sport for Japanese imports. Bobby Hamilton, a veteran NASCAR racer whose Dodge-backed program fields entries in the Truck series, disagrees. "A lot of Toyota trucks and cars are built right here in this country," Hamilton says. "Toyota plants and dealerships provide jobs for a lot of American workers, so the suggestion that it's a foreign company doesn't bother me.
"The way I look at it, Toyota is going to pump a lot of money into the sport and create a lot of opportunities for drivers, mechanics, and everybody else who works on a race team," Hamilton adds. "The Craftsman Truck series, in particular, will benefit from that."
Nevertheless, the Toyota transition won't be smooth. In addition to running NASCAR, France may be forced to play the role of Japanese diplomat.
The great Junior Johnson, retired racer and team owner, put it this way: "How do you make a million dollars in racing? Start with two million."
Johnson was joking, of course; he parlayed his racing/business savvy into a fortune. But with the nation's economy wobbly and the cost of racing skyrocketing, some NASCAR teams feel they are running a financial figure-eight race-and at some point they are going to get nailed at the intersection.
"The cost keeps going up each year, and there's a limit to how many times we can keep going back to the sponsors and asking for more money," says one Winston Cup team owner who estimated he was pumping $12 million a year into his team. We can't continue at this rate. NASCAR has to find ways to cut expenses."
A NASCAR executive, asked to respond, had this suggestion: "He could start by selling off some of his mansions, yachts, and private planes." In other words, NASCAR believes it's up to team owners to impose some financial self discipline and rein in their costs.
"It's not that simple," says Clarence Brewer, owner of Brewco Motorsports, which competes in NASCAR's second-tier Busch series. "You have to spend money to keep up. You have to have top equipment and top drivers and other personnel if you're going to compete. I'm not sure what the answer is-I don't see how NASCAR can impose spending limits-but I think there are areas where it could step in and help out."
Brewer says, for example, he would like to see NASCAR compel tracks to increase purses in the Busch series, and also limit how many Winston Cup drivers are allowed to double-dip in the series. "It's not just the purse money they're taking out, it's also the sponsorships," Brewer says. "Every sponsorship that a Winston Cup driver gets for his Busch car is one less that's available to us Busch regulars. Every year sponsorships get harder and harder to come by, and if NASCAR doesn't do something, I'm afraid the Busch series is going to be in trouble."
NASCAR fans are feeling the pinch, as well. While most tracks have done a commendable job of containing ticket costs, motels shamelessly price-gouge fans during race week-often tripling and even quadrupling room rates. NASCAR shrugs and says it can't tell motels what to charge; but there are ways it can exert influence. A subtle hint that a price-gouging city might lose its race, for example, would get the attention of the local Chamber of Commerce. Bullying? Nah, NASCAR would just be asking for a little friendly cooperation from local politicians-just like Big Bill used to.