New Stock Car Series? UPDATE 2- Yep in 2003: The formation of a new stock-car racing series will be announced Tuesday at a news conference at Spirit Square in uptown Charlotte. While the founders of the Team Racing Auto Circuit, or TRAC, plan to position the series as a “complementary” series to NASCAR’s Winston Cup circuit, a certain degree of rivalry seems inevitable. The new circuit hopes to attract national television exposure and plans to race on at least some of the same tracks at which the Winston Cup cars compete. Pritchett said he preferred to reserve the details for Tuesday’s announcement, but he did provide some of the framework for the new series. The circuit would run on oval tracks, he said, both at some where no Winston Cup race is now held and at some where there now are Cup races. It would seem unlikely that any TRAC event would be staged at a track owned by International Speedway Corporation, NASCAR’s sister company. Pritchett said NASCAR has been told that Tuesday’s announcement is forthcoming. While Pritchett said Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman Bruton Smith will not be a stakeholder in TRAC, it is more likely that his tracks, like Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, would be part of the new venture. Pritchett said TRAC races would be scheduled with an eye toward avoiding conflicts with Winston Cup dates. He said the new circuit’s season would not be as long as the 36-race Cup schedule but would include enough events “to be a significant product.” The Observer has learned that at least two former Winston Cup team owners, Cale Yarborough and Michael Kranefuss, are among those involved in the TRAC project. Another person involved in the deal is Robert Wussler, who has been president of CBS Sports, CBS Television and Turner Broadcasting System(That’s Racin’)(5-14-2001) UPDATE: A group of notable executives from the sports, entertainment, media and business industries convened today in Charlotte to announce details of a new stock car racing league. The league, to be known as Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC), is the creation of Maxx Motorsports Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Team Sports Entertainment Inc. (TSEI). Among the key individuals involved in the announcement were: Robert J. Wussler, former president of CBS and co-founder of CNN; stock car racing legend, Cale Yarborough; Wendell Starke, former chairman of Invesco; Michael Kranefuss, former director of Ford Motorsports; Carroll Campbell, former governor of South Carolina; Charlie Bradshaw, former chairman of Spartan Foods International and president of Trans World Corp.; Danny Ford, former ACC coach-of-the-year; and 25-year NBA executive Carl Scheer. Seeking to expand the existing base of stock car fans, TSEI has designed TRAC to provide highly desirable content on tracks and television screens across the United States. Initially, the league will consist of multiple car teams that will be strategically positioned in U.S. television markets located near major motorsports venues. Each team will represent the city or state where it is located and will participate in a season long schedule including a post season with a championship race.(more at the TRAC Site) and an AP story at CNN/SI: New rival? NASCAR to have competition in stock-car racing which includes – A new stock-car series hoping to capitalize on the popularity of NASCAR plans to begin racing in 2003. TRAC plans to have 8-12 two-car teams and concentrate on racing at oval tracks. Organizers do not know how extensive the schedule might be, but say they have been in contact with track owners and with ABC, CBS and ESPN. NASCAR spokeswoman Danielle Humphrey declined comment on the group’s plans UPDATE 2: during ESPN2’s RPM 2Night as items were listed about the new series: There will be two conferences – National and American, Revenue Sharing, a Salary/Team Cap and a Playoff System where a driver/team has to qualify for the playoffs during the regular season races. Cale Yarborough was interviewed and mentioned a few things about the cars: they will be fuel injected, have the same Aero and Engine packages and would be equipped with Black Boxes(5-15-2001)
