Abandoned Racetracks - Dark Clouds On The Horizon

Now Brian France has given him what may be the most difficult job in his career. When he recites his marching orders, Hunter barely slows to catch a breath. It is a long-range plan, and he knows that working with 1,000 independent racetrack operators-with an emphasis on independent-makes it a formidable task.

Hunter isn't talking only about the ovals that host a NASCAR series. "We're talking all tracks," he says. "I don't care if they run only sprints and midgets on clay. Every one of them is important. Basically, he asked me to unite the short-track industry in America, whether it is NASCAR-sanctioned, or an open-wheel or sprint car, or they run midgets."

Why does France-who already holds the deed to America's motorsports money-making machine-even care?

"In moving around the country, Brian got experience with short tracks at Tucson Raceway Park," says Hunter. "It is an old fairgrounds track and it was going to go out of business, and he talked us into buying it.

"He went out there to run it for a few years, and it became a really nice facility. He never lost his passion for short-track racing, and he knows how important it is to the industry. When he took over NASCAR, he said, 'We've got to do something.'

What he accomplishes could become the legacy of the France family's third generation. "His idea is that grassroots racing is what made NASCAR and other sanctioning organizations," continues Hunter, "and without it we have no feeder system, from fans, to drivers, to crewmembers, to engine builders.

"We want to assist every track in the country and enlist their participation in all aspects of the business and share our knowledge with them in every respect."

Hunter sees NASCAR's new Research and Development Center offering guidance "on how to make tracks as safe as possible." And, he says, "We'll use all the resources we have available. We'll work to train officials and work with operators on ways to control costs. There are things that are unique to our industry, and Brian's idea is that we should share our knowledge with every grassroots track and try to make it better, and in the process that will help continue the normal progression of our sport. We've got to have people who can drive race cars and work on race cars and fans to watch them."

He's hoping the first step will be seminars at trade shows for the short-track industry "that can provide a wealth of information and interaction to everyone in the industry.

"We're not doing this because we want to sanction more weekly tracks," he stresses. "There are a lot of tracks running on such a short margin, they couldn'tafford to be a NASCAR-sanctioned facility. We don't care. And we don't care what they run. A race fan is a race fan, and a race mechanic is a race mechanic. If they are interested in racing, they are interested in almost all forms of racing."

Hunter says there are really two types of fans today. The first go to their local ovals and may attend one or two Nextel Cup races a year. The second is the fan who watches racing on television.

"We hear numbers like 75 million fans," he says. "If they are out there, we need to get them to a short track in their home town. If they are fans of racing on TV, we've got to figure out a way to get them to a local track.

"The more successful local tracks are, the more successful we are going to be. We are not going to grow by turning our heads on short tracks and the grassroots efforts that got us where we are."

Hunter hears the criticism from track operators who say they may as well turn out the lights on any Saturday night NASCAR runs a Nextel Cup race.