What is the link between racers, fans, and businesses potentially involved with sponsorship in racing? That is the link that racers need to determine when looking to secure funds from any business. It may be an obvious user-defined link such as a racing vendor supporting a car or a home improvement center sponsoring a NASCAR team. The sponsor is looking to get its name in front of a specific set of customers and associate the company name with racing. It is an act of associating multiple passions with a need and a name.

Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, may owe its survival to one woman's passion for racing. Mary Ann Naumann rescued the track when it was in danger of closing so that her race series, Texas Super Racing Series (TSRS), would have a track to race on.

You wouldn't think that his 12 years experience racing Karts would have applied to his excellent Dirt Late Model career, but Chris Madden will tell that it certainly did.

Sixth In A Series
Chuck Carruthers watched as the two busted-up MJ2 Racing cars disappeared into the attic of a team hauler. He sighed with disgust and frustration.

It's been a magnificent career of 23 years and there are no signs of slowing down. For Wendell Wallace, 42, retirement from driving is not even a remote thought at this time

When Dennis Erb Jr. was born some 35 years ago, there was little doubt about what he'd be doing down the road. His father was a dirt stock car racer of some note, winning a track championship at Sante Fe Speedway in Illinois, and as long as Dennis Jr. could remember, that was the direction he wanted to take too.

Charles "Chick" Stockwell was the man at the now-defunct Danbury Fair Race Arena in Connecticut. Chick raced there from 1952 through the final year of the track's operation in 1981, with the exception of the '56 and '57 seasons when the track was closed.

Second In A SeriesChuck Carruthers tries to run his finger between the top of the tire and the underside of the right front fender of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Then he slides beneath the car and measures the gap between the spring's coils, using a feeler gauge.

Want to really know the level of skills of a particular Dirt Late Model driver? Check with the builders of the cars that he has driven.

Starting as a support division in many areas in the late '80s, the pavement Economy Modifieds have quickly evolved into a prominent weekly division at just about every paved track in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. This division of racers has been widely accepted by both race fans and race promoters.

During the course of last year, there were many times where my spotter, whether it was my father or someone else, heard me complain about something that happened on the track. It is a fact that drivers are going to complain to someone about what is happening around us. That's not to say that I ever "chewed out" my spotter, but there were times where I was upset about the situation that was happening around me, and I felt the need to complain.

Throughout my racing career there have been tracks that are my favorite ones to race. Tracks like Pipestone County Speedway in Pipestone, Minnesota, or Monett Speedway in Monett, Missouri. But one question arises whenever I start to reminisce: What are the best tracks in the country?

The asphalt snobs sometimes like to say something like, "Dirt's for farmers," but those are the same people who have no idea just how much fun they are missing out on. Dirt racing isn't simply a hobby for those not "complex" enough to understand how to race on asphalt. In fact, racing on dirt adds several dynamics that you simply do not find on asphalt tracks. Not to take anything away from asphalt racers, but that may be why dirt tracks greatly outnumber asphalt ovals at the Saturday night level.

Fifteen minutes before practice begins for the 29th running of the Bobby Isaac Memorial 200, Leila Phillips sits on a lower level of the grandstand at Hickory Motor Speedway. It is 9:45 a.m. on a sunny, already warm, Labor Day.

Turn on your TV on a weekend during racing season and a vast majority of what you see is being run on pavement tracks. You name any particular series--Nextel Cup, Craftsman Trucks, ARCA, Hooters Pro Cup, and Trans Am--and most times the action is on asphalt. If you check your television listings, you might be able to find a taped Dirt Late Model race, but that's about it.

So you have a young son or daughter you want to develop into the nextTony Stewart. What's that? You aren't quite sure how to go about it, yousay. In fact, you've harbored this dream of conquered Victory Lanes forso long that you have cold feet and can't quite take that first step.But your young Tony--or Toni as the case may be--is getting older by theday, and you need to get started. Hey, don't fret--3 years old isn't toolate.

Sarah Fisher leaned against the concrete wall, looking like a youngsteron the wrong side of the playground. In front of her, the first practicesession for the NASCAR Grand National West cars was underway, and hercompetition was already getting seat time at the short half-mile oval inRoseburg, Oregon.

In just as many seconds as it will take you to read this paragraph aloud, he can perform his principal duty on a 16-second, four-tire pit stop during NASCAR Busch Series competition.

BIO

Concord, N.C.--Toyota ended months of rumor and speculation within the motorsports community when it announced Monday that it will begin competing in NASCAR's Nextel Cup and Busch series in 2007.

If you're building a car and going racing for the first time, then StockCar Racing wants to hear from you. We are particularly interested inhearing from racers who have been motivated to go racing by stories inthis magazine. This also applies to former racers who have been on thesidelines for a while but who have decided to get back in the sport.Here's how it works: Send us photos of your car as it's beingbuilt--preferably photos with people actually working on the car--andinclude a short summary (150-200 words) explaining how Stock Car Racingmagazine helped you get on track. We'll follow along with your periodicsubmissions all the way through the car's completion.

The written partis critical. This can include specific examples of Sleepy's hands-ontech that motivated you, or tech examples from some other magazinecontributor, or you can simply give us details on how our focus on entrylevel racing has inspired you to hit the track. The images can be 4"x 6"color prints, as many as you want to send via U.S. Mail, or you canemail jpeg images (highest resolution possible), along with your writtensummary, to larry.cothren@primedia.com.(If you choose to email the material, though, limit the submission totwo images plus the written portion. If you email more than two images,we'll reject your submission.) Send print photos and written summariesto:

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Memorial ScholarshipFund awarded a record $120,000 in scholarship to students workingtowards careers in the automotive industry earlier this year. Seventy-two young adults were awarded scholarships between $1,000 and$3,000.

While working with Jon Richardson and Ron Liddell on the previous storyabout the daily lives of engine builders and tuners, we were givenamazing access to Richard Childress Racing's engine shops. Housed inthree buildings (Production, R&D, and a dedicated CNC machining center),RCR's engine program is one of the most technologically advanced in thebusiness. There were a few things the people at RCR wanted to keep tothemselves in the name of competitive secrecy, but the rest we give toyou in this photographic tour of the RCR engine department.

Editor's Note: As this story wasbeing prepared for publication, RCR announced major changes to itsengine program. The most significant change was the hiring of NickHayes, formerly technical director at Cosworth, who will lead thecompany's engine R&D in his role of engine research and developmentdirector at RCR.

The engines are still. The grandstands are emptying. Jeff Gordon's voiceis filling the infield with yet another description of how he just wonhis third Daytona 500. It's all just white noise to Jack Roush.