TRAC Series Info

WHAT IS THE TRAC SERIES?

TRAC = Team Racing Auto Circuit

  • What Makes TRAC Different? (then from NASCAR, etc)
  • Home city based affinity (community pride)
  • Fuel-injection engines
  • League qualifying format
  • Team based sponsorships
  • 2- to 3-hour races
  • Single entity league structure
  • Appeals to a broader base of sports enthusiasts, civic-minded fans and professionals
  • Captures existing perpetual geographic rivalries (e.g. Dallas vs. Washington, Boston vs. Los Angeles)
  • Will create an exciting post-season system with conference standings awarding its champions through a championship race
  • Affordable ticket packages designed with families in mind

PAST STORIES/COLUMNS

  • Remember TRAC? so do these shareholders: Four shareholders have filed a lawsuit against former executives of Team Sports Entertainment Inc., which failed to create a stock-car racing league that would compete with NASCAR. That effort, Huntersville-based Team Racing Auto Circuit for the past news about it], was abandoned in August. Its first season was supposed to begin this spring. The suit alleges breach of contract, wrongful conversion of company monies, mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud. Named in the suit are William Miller, former chief executive of Team Sports, and Jon Pritchett, former president.(more at the Charlotte Business Journal)(3-5-2004)
  • TRAC Gone: Team Sports Entertainment [TRAC] announced today, effective immediately, it has discontinued its efforts to develop, own, operate and sanction an automotive racing league. As previously discussed, the Company’s business plan provided that its ability to continue to pursue the creation of a racing league and begin racing in May 2004 would depend upon its successfully selling operating rights for six teams and sufficient league sponsorship packages by September 30, 2003. Following extensive and ongoing discussions between management and the Company’s various consultants, the Company’s Board of Directors has concluded that such sales are not possible within the necessary time period.(TRAC Site/Yahoo)(8-26-2003)
  • Raycom Rolls on TRAC Sponsorship Drive: Team Sports Entertainment, Inc., parent company of Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC), retained Raycom Sports of Charlotte, NC in April, 2003 to sell and market all of TRAC’s in-house and league-wide sponsorships including television. Since that time, Raycom has contacted, had discussions with, or met with over 70 potential sponsors in over 20 different advertising categories. They are taking a vertically integrated package to the market that not only launches sponsorships, but can also guarantee category exclusivity.(TRAC PR)(5-30-2003)
  • TRAC News: Team Sports Entertainment, Inc. announced the addition of two individuals to its Board of Directors. Terry Hanson is the current President and Chief Operating Officer of Team Sports Entertainment, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC). Dr. Jay Klompmaker is a former member of Team Sports Entertainment Inc.’s Board of Advisors, former Academic Program Director of the Kaiser-Permanente Leadership Program, and retired Professor of Business Administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Team Sports Entertainment, Inc. Chairman of the Board, Robert Wussler, announced the additions and stated, “Terry Hanson has served TSEI and TRAC well over the last two years and has been vital to cementing our relationship with ESPN, Raycom and all our other partners.” Hanson is a seasoned sports executive with over 30 years of experience in sports television. During his career, Hanson has held senior executive posts at Turner Broadcasting, the PGA Tour, and Raycom Sports, who has recently been retained to sell and market all of TRAC’s in-house and league-wide sponsorships including the television advertising package. He also owns and operates Hanson Enterprises, a consulting company in sports marketing and broadcasting. Team Sports Entertainment, Inc. Chief Executive Officer, Charlie Bradshaw commented, “Having Jay Klompmaker join the Board of Directors will add the marketing expertise that this company needs to begin to build and manage the TRAC brand.” Klompmaker brings over 30 years of marketing and educational experience to the company. He is extensively published in many business and marketing trade publications and currently serves as an ad hoc reviewer on several editorial boards. Klompmaker serves on the Boards of Directors for Harriet and Henderson Yarns, Inc., Scott Madden and Associates, L.P. Thebault Company, On Target, Inc, and serves as an Ex officio member of the Governor’s Commission for Sports Development. Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) is a newly formed national motorsports league that will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN2 beginning in May, 2004.(TRAC PR)(5-19-2003)
  • TRAC gets some funding: Team Sports Entertainment, parent company of Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC), announced today that it has completed a private placement of $900,250 in convertible notes. To date the company has received $376,000 of the $900,250 financial commitment with the balance due on May 31, 2003. The notes can be converted, at the holder’s option, into common stock at a conversion price of $0.20 per share. The financing announced today was completed under the same terms as the note holder agreement announced on August 26, 2002. With the financing announced today and the amount raised last August, the total raised pursuant to the convertible notes is $3,170,250. The net proceeds of the offering will be used to fund working capital requirements of the company pending the anticipated receipt of cash proceeds from the sale of team operating rights over the next several months. Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) is a newly formed national motorsports league to be televised live on ESPN and ESPN2 beginning in May, 2004. By combining the best qualities of traditional motorsports with the best attributes of traditional team sports leagues, TRAC is creating a new and exciting form of stock car racing designed to reach the mainstream sports fan. Initially, the league is expected to consist of six, four-car teams that will be located in major U.S. cities with motorsports venues in the area. Each team will represent its city or region and will participate in a season long schedule of races, and conclude with a season-ending championship race.(TRAC PR)(5-13-2003)
  • TRAC announcement UPDATE: TRAC – Team Racing Auto Circuit is expected to make a major announcement today.(4-15-2003)
    UPDATE: Team Sports Entertainment, Inc. through its wholly owned subsidiary, Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC), announced that it has reached a multi-year agreement with ESPN to be the exclusive network for all TRAC races beginning in May of 2004. The two companies have been in negotiations for over a year on the deal, and TRAC National Spokesman and stock car racing legend, Cale Yarborough, stated, “ESPN made stock car racing what it is today. They are the perfect partner for us. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” The specific schedule is expected to be released in the near future, and the circuit’s inaugural race is expected to be in mid May of 2004 culminating in a season ending championship event in mid August. The thirteen event package will air live on ESPN or ESPN2 primarily on Saturday afternoons and evenings. Plans are for the races to be conducted in a two hour window. In addition, TRAC President and Chief Operating Officer, Terry Hanson, announced that Raycom Sports has been retained to sell and market all of TRAC’s in-house and league-wide sponsorships including the television advertising package. With these new television contracts in hand, Moag & Company, one of the nation’s leading sports and media investment banking firms, will initiate the sale of area team operating rights.(TRAC PR)(4-15-2003)
  • TRAC Launch Delayed: Team Sports Entertainment Inc. is pushing back the date it plans to start its TRAC stock car racing league until the second quarter of 2004, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal reports. Reporter Bill King says the information appears in documents filed with securities regulators last week. The publicly traded company blamed “adverse business conditions” for the delay, saying it had been unable to land a national television contract and therefore was unable to sell franchises. SportsBusiness Journal is published by Scene Daily’s parent company, Street & Smith’s Sports Group.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(11-25-2002)
  • TRAC Retains Sports Investment Banker UPDATE: Team Sports Entertainment through its wholly owned subsidiary, Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) announced that it has engaged Baltimore-based investment banker, Moag & Company to head up efforts to sell a limited number of operational rights to TRAC teams. Moag & Company is one of the nation’s leading sports, media and entertainment investment banking firms. TRAC has engaged Moag & Company as their sole and exclusive agent for sale of the local operating rights for the ten-city racing league. The company will identify potential ownership groups, advise TRAC concerning those investors and will assist in the negotiations on the sale of operating rights for each city. Moag & Company has been involved in major transactions involving the sale of the Baltimore Ravens, the private placement of equity in Montreal-based Field Turf, the sale of Minor League Baseball and Arena Football League teams and the sale of National Hockey League and Major League Baseball franchises to name a fewTRAC PR)
    UPDATE: The Team Racing Auto Circuit this week received at $2.5 million funding commitment from a shareholder group led by South Carolina-based Godley Morris Group, bolstering its financial footing as it considers whether to delay its inaugural season from 2003 until 2004.(ThatsRacin)(8-31-2002)
  • TRAC Lands Financing: Team Sports Entertainment Inc., the parent company of the Team Racing Auto Circuit series, said today that it has received a $2.5 million funding commitment from a shareholder group led by Godley Morris Group LLC. TRAC hopes to launch next year with a league that will consist of 10, three-car teams located in major U.S. cities with motorsports venues in their area. The Charlotte Business Journal reported last week that the startup venture has encountered a number of problems and was reporting debts of $1.8 million and telling the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had less than $20,000 in cash on hand.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(8-27-2002)
  • TRAC still on track: The Team Racing Auto Circuit may not be ready to get on the track next year as planned, but the stock-car racing series’ new president said Friday he believes TRAC is “on the way to the right direction.” Terry Hanson said TRAC will emerge from what he admitted was a severe cash-flow situation that led to Indianapolis-based Riley & Scott halting production on the race cars it is building for TRAC after the racing series fell behind on payments. Hanson said the series is talking with a potential television partner about whether the series should start next year, as originally planned, or wait until 2004.(ThatsRacin)(8-24-2002)
  • TRAC News – news hires and production of cars stopped?: Veteran South Carolina business executive, Charlie Bradshaw, has been named as Chief Executive Officer for Team Sports Entertainment, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary TRAC. Bradshaw, who has been a member of the Team Sports Entertainment, Inc. Board of Directors since July 2001, brings over 40 years of business management experience to Team Sports Entertainment, Inc. Bradshaw currently serves as President of Bradshaw Investments, Inc., a family holding company. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Sonoco Products, Linville Resorts Inc., Textile Hall Corporation, and Spartanburg Regional Medical Center Foundation. In another management change, long-time Sports executive Terry Hanson has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of TRAC. Pritchett has left the company to pursue other business interests. Hanson has been serving as Executive Vice President at TRAC and has held top executive positions with Turner Broadcasting, The PGA Tour and Raycom Sports in his 30-year sports career. Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) is a newly formed national motor sports league.(TRAC PR)
    AND ….as of August 14, 2002, the Company had approximately $1.8 million in accounts payable and less than $20,000 in cash. Of the $1.8 million in accouunts payable, $1.5 million relates to the production of the TRAC racing cars. In the event TRAC’s inaugural season is 2004, the car production payments would be resheduled. The Company has been seeking to raise additional cash,as debt or equity, to fund its operations, but to date has been unsuccessful. As a result of non-payment by the Company, Riley & Scott has stopped production of TRAC’s racing cars. The Company will continue to seek to raise cash to continue its operations and complete its business plan, but there can be no assurances it will be able to do so. If the Company is unable to raise the required cash in the next few weeks, it may be forced to terminate its operations. Even if the Company is successful in raising the required funds, it may be forced to delay its races until the 2004 season.(Yahoo Biz)(8-23-2002)
  • TRAC Having “Normal Start-up Challenges”: Here’s the latest news from Humpy on TRAC: “Team racing is having normal start-up challenges and we’re going to announce a television contract, but have not yet done so. I don’t know exactly what the future holds for that, though it would help us in 2003. I believe that if you look at the flatness of the economy today, you have to really have something going on to get people out today. You have to promote the heck out of it. You have to have a great product. If it’s not up to par, it’s going to be tough. We’ve done fairly well in Texas.” Also, the SMI CFO said the company has incurred no expenses to date on TRAC.(MotorsportsTV)(8-14-2002)
  • Trouble at TRAC? UPDATE: TRAC executive resigns: William Miller, chief executive officer of the new Team Racing Auto Circuit, quit seven months before the start of the new racing league. TRAC plans to start its inaugural season with a slate of 20 races (including a tentative June date at Fairgrounds Speedway).(Tennessean)(8-7-2002)
    UPDATE: Team Sports Entertainment announces that Bill Miller is no longer the company’s Chief Executive Officer or a Director of the company’s Board. Team Sports Entertainment, Inc. Chairman, Robert J. Wussler said, “We have been anticipating that Mr. Miller will want to focus his efforts on developing a TRAC team in Atlanta. This should not affect our daily operations.”(TRAC)(8-8-2002)
  • TRAC series tests at Lowes: earlier this week, TRAC series cars tested at Lowe’s Motor Speedway with Boris Said and Tony Ave driving the cars. It was reported that the series is on track for its April 2003 debut.(ESPN2’s RPM 2 Night)(8-2-2002)
  • TRAC TV: Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) is believed to be close to completing a major TV package for next season and as soon as it is finalized Nashville will be announced as one of 20 host cities. Fairgrounds Speedway already has been assigned a tentative race date of June 28. Track president Dennis Grau is optimistic about the new racing league’s chance of succeeding and will do whatever necessary to make sure his track’s part of it. Grau said TRAC has agreed to install some 25,000 temporary seats for the race to boost capacity to the required 40,000. The largest crowds at the 44-year-old track came during its heydays as a host of NASCAR Winston Cup races. Crowds regularly approached 20,000, and parking was a problem. If 40,000 fans show, where will they park? ”We are already planning for that,” Grau said. ”We are checking into using parking space at an elementary school across the street, as well as running a park-and-ride shuttle from the 100 Oaks shopping mall parking lot. Parking will not be an issue.”(Tennessean)(6-20-2002)
  • TRAC at Nashville? Nashville yesterday took a step closer to hosting a race in next year’s new Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) when Fairgrounds Speedway President Dennis Grau was given a guarantee that the track will be available. TRAC tentatively had assigned Grau the date of June 28, 2003. And in a meeting yesterday, the Fair Board voted to reserve that week next season for Grau’s use, whether he continues to operate the track’s weekly racing program.(Tennessean)(6-5-2002)
  • TRAC and Nashville – Fairgrounds Speedway? First-year Fairgrounds Speedway president Dennis Grau is exploring the possibility of hosting a Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) race next year. That would necessitate expanding seating capacity to 40,000. Nashville Superspeedway has 25,000 permanent seats. The number of temporary seats fluctuates from race to race. Dover Motorsports, the track’s parent company, does not release attendance figures, but crowd estimates at the Superspeedway’s various races so far have ranged from 45,000 for last year’s inaugural Busch Series event to 15,000 for a Craftsman Truck Series race. Grau said Fairgrounds Speedway seats 15,688, and TRAC requires a minimum of 40,000 seats for one of its events. Grau said additional seats can be installed to meet that requirement if the track gets a race. If Fairgrounds Speedway expanded to 40,000 it could surpass Nashville Superspeedway’s seating, depending on how many temporary seats are in place at any given time. TRAC official Charlie Jeter said the association hopes to place one of its 10 teams in Nashville, and said he ”is very interested” in Fairgrounds Speedway as a potential racing site. The new league has already secured the use of some of the nation’s top tracks: Las Vegas, Atlanta, Bristol, Texas and Lowe’s (Charlotte).(Tennessean)(5-30-2002)
  • TRAC news: Team Racing Auto Circuit [TRAC] recently announcing five of its tracks for next season. Darlington Raceway will not be one of the venues. Darlington Raceway President Andrew Gurtis said his track, along with the 12 other major International Speedway Corporation tracks, will take a wait-and-see approach before housing a TRAC event. TRAC kicks off its first season next April. “I haven’t been contacted about Darlington Raceway in particular,” Gurtis said. “I do think they talked to ISC. But, like all motorsports tracks, we want to bring out fans, have safe competition and we want to add value for our stockholders. We look at all of those things. We’re open to it, just taking a wait-and-see approach.”(Florence Morning News) AND A new racing league that will field three-car teams representing host cities hopes to place a team in Nashville, and is exploring the possibility of running a race next year at Fairgrounds Speedway. Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) is scheduled to open its season April 5, 2003, and plans to have a team — the Tennessee Express — headquartered in either Nashville or Knoxville.(Tennssean)(5-14-2002)
  • No TRAC at Nashville: Nashville Superspeedway said thanks but no thanks to a radical new racing league that wanted to compete there. Officials from Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) met recently with Dover Motorsports to discuss the possibility of holding some races on the Superspeedway when the new series starts next year, but were turned down.(Tennessean)(5-2-2002)
  • TRAC News: The group of investors who are trying to organize a stock-car racing series under the moniker TRAC, with franchises and city locations around the country, may have some big names involved and some good money to play with. But, so far, the word out of Detroit is that TRAC has had no serious conversations with racing executives at either Ford or General Motors about involvement in the series. Ford officials have told TRAC that the use of the Mustang name – as was announced earlier this week in Charlotte as one of the cars that would be racing in the new series – had not been authorized by Ford Motor Company. There were tentative discussions between Ford and TRAC last year about Ford providing engines for the new series, but those talks went nowhere.(Winston Salem Journal(4-27-2002)
  • TRAC Cars UPDATE 2: TRAC officials will unveil their three new race cars and there will also be several other major announcements followed by a question-and-answer session at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Wednesday, April 24th.(4-17-2002)
    UPDATE: hearing the car makes are a Viper, Mustang and a Corvette.(4-18-2002)
    UPDATE 2: The Team Racing Auto Circuit [TRAC], which nearly a year ago announced its intentions to start a new stock-car racing series in 2003, will unveil three prototypes of its cars at a news conference on Wednesday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway at Charlotte. TRAC has completed a pair of tests on the cars, which were built by Indianapolis-based Riley & Scott. Drivers Tony Ave and Andy Hillenburg tested them at Atlanta Motor Speedway this week. One of the cars was tested at the five-eighths-mile track at Indianapolis Raceway Park last week. Riley & Scott officials and former Winston Cup champion Cale Yarborough are scheduled to be at Wednesday’s media event to talk about the development of the cars and the series, which will initially consist of 10 three-car teams located in major cities in which motorsports venues are located. Each team will represent its city or region in the TRAC series season.(ThatsRacin)(4-21/24-2002)
    UPDATE at Texas in 2003: Texas Motor Speedway will hold two Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) races during the stock car series’ debut season in 2003. The events are scheduled for May 3 and July 19 at Texas. TRAC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Team Sports Entertainment Inc, announced today an agreement to race at five major facilities owned by Speedway Motorsports (NYSE:TRK). In addition to the two Texas Motor Speedway dates, the series will also appear twice each at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. TRAC’s complete 2003 schedule is expected to be announced in the next few months. TRAC announced the new series in spring of 2001. Although categorized as a stock car series, instead of the traditional sedans, fans will see Corvettes, Mustangs and Vipers representing the three major automakers. Initially, the league will consist of 10, three-car teams that will be located in major U.S. cities with major motorsports venues. Each team will represent its city and region and will participate in a season-long schedule of team races in addition to an all-star event and concluding with a season-ending championship race.(TMS PR)(4-24-2002)
    Las Vegas: Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the only facility that will host three TRAC events during the year [2003]. In a joint announcement, TRAC and Speedway Motorsports officials announced Wednesday that the new racing series will conduct 11 events at five SMI facilities during its first season. Three of those events will be held on LVMS’ 1.5-mile tri-oval. Dates have not been announced.(LVMS PR)
    Bristol: The inaugural 2003 TRAC season will include two events at Bristol Motor Speedway. Dates have not been announced.(BMS PR)
    Atlanta: Atlanta Motor Speedway will host two Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) races in 2003, the new series announced Wednesday. The series has already tested at Atlanta, running a Dodge Viper in a three-day session April 16-18. The Viper reached speeds comparable to a NASCAR Winston Cup car, with a best lap at 29.70 (186.666 mph), Dates have not been announced.(AMS PR).(4-25-2002)
  • Images see more images at Onlineracin.com.(4-26-2002)
  • TV Contract: At the TRAC news conference [Lowes Motor Speedway – April 24th], Robert Wussler, chairman of TRAC and former president of CBS Sports, said he was working on a TV contract with an unnamed network and expected 15 races to be broadcast on Saturday afternoon and the rest to appear in prime time. That would put most of TRAC’s races on at the same time as the Busch series, putting the new league in direct competition with NASCAR — something founders say they don’t want. “We don’t consider them competition at all,” Pritchett said. “We want to broaden the fan base. We have no interest in alienating NASCAR or its fans or stealing its market shares. I don’t think we’re going to be a breeding ground for NASCAR,” Pritchett said. “We just want to become the next major sports league.”(Associated Press/Yahoo)(4-25-2002)
  • TRAC Cars UPDATE: TRAC officials will unveil their three new race cars and there will also be several other major announcements followed by a question-and-answer session at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Wednesday, April 24th.(4-17-2002)
    UPDATE: hearing the car makes are a Viper, Mustang and a Corvette.(4-18-2002)
  • TRAC News: With the season set to begin in a little over a year, TRAC has begun the search for qualified crew members to compete in the new motorsports league’s inaugural year. TRAC is interested in all potential candidates, and invites any potential crew members to contact them. For more information on the hiring process, they ask that potential candidates e-mail their VP Competition, Charlie Jeter. Jeter will provide you with the requirements for application and will guide you through the process. All applications must be received by July 1, 2002 in order to be considered eligible.(TRAC Series site)(3-26-2002)
  • TRAC News: Wind-tunnel testing for Team Racing Auto Circuit [TRAC] cars was conducted recently at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. The testing was supervised by Riley & Scott Race Car Engineering, which is designing and manufacturing the cars for TRAC. It also was announced Jan. 16 that an agreement had been reached with Dallas-based Drew Pearson Marketing Inc., which will make the former all-pro wide receiver’s company an exclusive licensee for headwear for the league and its teams. DPM holds or has held licensing agreements with virtually every major sports league in America, and has exclusive agreements with ESPN, Disney, Lucasfilm (“Star Wars”), the X Games and Mattel’s Hot Wheels and Matchbox lines.(Winston Cup Scene)(1-31-2002)
  • TRAC picks car manufacturer: Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) announced that it has signed an agreement with race car manufacturer, Riley & Scott Race Car Engineering to design and manufacture the cars to be used for its motorsports racing league debuting in 2003. The development and production of the cars will begin immediately at the Riley & Scott manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, IN. Since the announcement of TRAC five months ago, league officials and consultants have been researching various car designs and manufacturers. It has been TRAC’s desire to engineer the safest possible race car while incorporating designs that have broad-based visual appeal. Research indicated that these two requirements could best be achieved with versions of America’s current “muscle-car” offering. After an exhaustive and comprehensive search, TRAC has selected Riley & Scott Race Car Engineering to design and manufacture these cars. The first three prototypes will be completed within 20 weeks, and Riley & Scott will produce approximately 100 race cars for TRAC for the 2003 season. Stock car legend and TRAC National Spokesman, Cale Yarborough commented, “As soon as I saw these cars, I knew we were on to something. The fans and drivers will love them.” The cars will be designed to the highest available safety standards and go through numerous tests including crash-testing and other scientific verifications. TRAC anticipates that at least three major automobile manufactures will be represented in the 2003 season.(TRAC PR)(10-24-2001)
  • General Specifications of the TRAC Stock Car:
    Riley & Scott will wind-tunnel test cars for matching the drag/down force.
    Riley & Scott will develop bodies with lift-off prevention systems.
    Bodies will consist of a composite material.
    Riley & Scott will build cars with a tubular steel chassis designed to be raced on multiple types of oval tracks.
    TRAC will use sealed, fuel-injection engines.
    Air Jacks will be integral to the car.
    Riley & Scott will design cars with a digital dash read-out system and data acquisition.
    Riley & Scott will build cars to weigh approximately 2800 lbs.
    Center lock wheel nuts with safety dogs.(10-24-2001)
  • TRAC Opens Office: Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC), the startup stock-car racing series, opened its new 5,000-square-foot headquarters this week at Huntersville Business Park. President Jon Pritchett says the new league — whose board includes TV executive Robert Wussler, former NBA exec Carl Scheer, racing vet Michael Kranefuss and retired driver Cale Yarborough — will benefit from being in the “home of racing’s intellectual capital.” The TRAC office is in the same business park that houses NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing and industry consultant Don Hawk. TRAC is scheduled to launch in spring 2003(The Business Journal)(7-30-2001)
  • TRAC News: Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Team Sports Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSEI), announced today that it has signed an agreement with NASCAR merchandise leader, Sports Design, Inc. to design, develop and administer a national merchandise licensing program for its new stock car racing series set to begin in 2003. The program will feature a limited line of officially-licensed merchandise to be available over the internet at traczone.com, via direct mail through Sports Design’s catalog, through participating retail outlets and at a multitude of motorsports events where Sports Design sells other licensed motorsports products.(TRAC PR)(7-10-2001)
  • 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.(TRAC Site/AP/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)
  • What is TRAC? TRAC stands for “Team Racing Auto Circuit.” TRAC will own, operate, and sanction a stock car racing league designed to provide high quality race content for television and tracks while working hard to attract new stock car fans.(.TRAC Site)(5-15-2001)

For more information on TRAC, contact:

Team Racing Auto Circuit, L.L.C.
Attention: Terry Hanson, Executive Vice President
Phone: (704) 992-1290