NASCAR Home Track promoters from across North America opened their 2009 season with a trip to Daytona International Speedway. A variety of activities were held during the DirecTV Speedweeks leading up to the 51st running of the Daytona 500.
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and NASCAR Touring track operators were welcomed to their annual conference gathering by NASCAR President Mike Helton. Guest speakers included NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer, a 2002 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series regional champion, and six-time championship NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car owner Richard Childress – who was a track peanut vendor as a child.
“That’s what got my opportunity,” said Childress of growing up around his home track. “Without the short tracks, I wouldn’t be here today. A lot of guys wouldn’t. That’s how we build our stars today. The drivers today all came up through the short-track series.
“It’s so important to have the short tracks. They put on great shows.”
Also speaking was Phil Kurze, vice president of motorsports for Whelen Engineering. Whelen sponsors three of the NASCAR Home Tracks series – NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
The visit centered around the NASCAR track operators meeting at the Daytona 500 Club, which overlooks pit road at “The World Center of Racing.”
New NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track operators were also welcomed to the series.
They include Donny Reuvers, Raceway Park, Shakopee, Minn.; Cliff Baldwin, Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa; Kevin Piercy, Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway; Adam Scherba, Delaware Speedway, Delaware, Ontario, Canada; Butch Erickson, Superior (Wisc.) Speedway; Bob Livingston, Thunder Raceway in Show Low, Ariz.; Betty Hosta from Kil-Kare Speedway in Xenia, Ohio; and Gus Campbell of Monroe (La.) Motor Speedway.
Delaware, Superior, Thunder and Monroe are additions to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series in 2009.
Track operators also were the first to view the new 2009 NASCAR Home Tracks television commercial, which began its season-long airing on NASCAR racing telecasts during Speedweek and debuted during the Budweiser Shootout
Other key discussions surrounded The NASCAR Foundation, Drive for Diversity and Public Relations strategies and media website updates, and the series’ new Rookie of the Year Award program.
Since its inception, NASCAR’s local racing series has served as a springboard in the careers of many top-tier NASCAR drivers. Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Kurt and Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers all began their careers in the NASCAR short-track program.
