NASCAR Plans New Safety Test Center: The Charlotte Business Journal says NASCAR plans to open an expanded safety research and testing operation in Concord, N.C., next January with a staff of 20 technicians and administrative personnel. Sources told reporter Ken Elkins that the NASCAR Research and Development Center will cost up to $8 million. Employment could eventually double to 40 as the sanctioning body develops ways to make the sport safer and refines its race car of the future, Kevin Triplett, NASCAR managing director of business operations, told the paper. A Conover, N.C.-based NASCAR R&D center that opened in January 2001 will remain in operation, but the bulk of its work will shift to the Concord center.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(5-7-2002)
