Mobilian Rick Crawford is returning to NASCAR racing in a place where an American has never been NASCAR racing. Crawford has been tabbed to be part of Americas Team, which will race on July 6 and 7 in the NASCAR Euro-Racecar events at the new Tours Speedway. The Euro-Racecar Series uses NASCAR-style cars on European circuits. It started in 2009 and raced mainly in France. After being sanctioned by the Federation Internationale de lAutomobile, it expanded in 2011, and last year it reached an agreement to be sanctioned as a NASCAR circuit. Crawford will be joined by Giles Thornton, a 15-year-old NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver from Whitefish, Mont., whom Crawford has been mentoring. Theyll stay in Paris while in France. Crawford said they would drive Nationwide Series-type cars that carry a wing like the one used on the Sprint Cup Series old Car of Tomorrow. The cars are in France waiting for the drivers. NASCAR is sending the drivers to its European circuit for the debut of Tours Speedway, which is the series first track designed with input and guidance from NASCAR officials. The series held a race in Tours last year on a temporary track, but the new layout is an asphalt, D-shaped stock-car racing oval. The European circuit is six races into a season that ends at Le Mans in October and includes a six-hour race at Motorland Aragon in Spain. Crawford, who is a member of the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame, has not raced this season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he holds the series record with 336 starts. Hes spent this year managing Montana Raceway Park, a one-quarter-mile paved oval near Kalispell, Mont. He spent 2011 and 2012 as the manager and promoter of Mobile International Speedway.( AL.com )
