NASCAR’s 50th Is Less Than Nostalgic for Founder’s Son
NASCAR is making a big deal out of its 50th anniversary celebration this season. But don’t expect to see Bill France Jr. get dewy-eyed talking about the good old days.
France, the 64-year-old president of the stock car sanctioning body, is the son of Bill France Sr., whose vision, persuasive powers and hard work started what has become a billion dollar business.
He was 14 when his father incorporated NASCAR, which held its first race in 1948.
“I was a typical teen-ager,” France Jr. said with a smile. “I knew my dad was involved in a lot of different things and I really didn’t care all that much. I was mostly thinking about girls, like most teen-age boys.”
NASCAR and its holding company, International Speedway Corp., which also owns and operates several racetracks, are still a family enterprise. But the business has grown so much that France doesn’t look at it with great nostalgia.
“In some respects, the better things become, you might say from a financial standpoint, the barracudas start coming, the lawyers,” he said. “You spend half a day trying to make a buck and the other half trying to keep somebody from taking it away from you. It never quits.”
During a tour of Daytona Beach last week, pointing out the historic places in NASCAR’s history--like the old beach race courses and the former Streamline Hotel, where NASCAR was formed--France pointed out the house where he spent most of his youth.
“I can remember laying in that house as a kid,” he said. “There was no air conditioning, and those damn sand flies would come through the screens and you couldn’t sleep. Sometimes, it was so hot I’d lean against the wall because it was cooler than the rest of the room.
“I miss them (the old days) a little bit. But, as I got older, I didn’t miss them too much.”
ENGINE DATA: So far, so good for the General Motors Winston Cup teams using the new SB2 engine.
Right out of the box, the Labonte brothers took the front row positions for today’s Daytona 500 with Bobby’s Pontiac on the pole and Terry’s Chevrolet alongside. Several other drivers of GM products were among the favorites for the season-opening race.
Doug Duchardt, the engine manager for GM Motorsports since April 1996, said, “This is the biggest change in the small block for racing since 1955. It’s a lot different from what GM or anyone else has ever raced.
“At the same time, GM made a change in production with the small block, too. The gen 3 engine is in the new Corvette. It has some of the same ideas behind it as the race engine--spreading the two ports apart rather than the two Siamese ports.”
Duchardt says a big reason for the engine change was a need for more durability.
“We were cracking cylinder heads,” he said. “Bobby Labonte cracked one in the second Charlotte race when he was leading. A year ago, Jeff Gordon cracked one in the second Charlotte race when he was racing Terry Labonte for the championship.”
Duchardt said he and his staff are also hoping to make the engines easier to put together and race.
“It took a lot of finessing with the old 18-degree (engine) to get it competitive,” he explained. “Now, with the SB2, we’re hearing that they’re pretty good when the guys put them together. They can take the piece out of the box, put them together and they are as good as they were before.”
COMEBACK KID: Bud Moore, one of the pioneer team owners in Winston Cup, is hoping to make a comeback this season.
His team, Bud Moore Engineering, missed all of the 1997 season because of lack of sponsorship. Now, the team is poised to get back into competition, but an injury to driver Tim Steele has delayed the return.
Steele, a three-time ARCA champion, is recovering from the lingering effects of a concussion and an ankle injury from a crash during testing last October at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“Not competing in the Daytona 500 is a disappointment to all of us,” said Moore, who withdrew his entry at Daytona last week. “But the most important thing is that when Tim is ready, that the team be ready as well.
“We, like every other Ford team, have been working hard to make the changeover from Ford Thunderbirds to the new Tauruses. We are determined to return to the NASCAR Winston Cup series with the best effort we can possibly field, and we have a solid plan to do that.
Everything hinges on Steele’s recovering, since he is also bringing sponsorship to the team. The driver had a setback when he tried to test last month at Daytona and reportedly became dizzy when the car picked up speed.
“As soon as Tim is ready, we will undertake a full-scale testing program to enable us to learn about what the new Taurus needs,” Moore said. “The full testing program and running a limited schedule of major events later this season will be the best way to prepare for a full-scale assault in 1999.”
STATISTIC OF THE WEEK: Should Bobby Labonte or any other Pontiac driver win the Daytona 500, it would be the first victory by that GM brand at Daytona since now-retired Richard Petty won the July race in 1984.