Nascar Raceways

Father’s Day race at MIS is next up

Administrator — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 22:32:44 +0000

The start of the 2006 race season at Michigan International Speedway is only days away.

Tickets are still available for the 3M Performance 400 presented by Post-it Picture Paper on Sunday, along with all events at MIS during Father’s Day weekend, including Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Con-way Freight 200 and tomorrow’s ARCA RE/MAX Series Hantz Group 200.

As we count down the days, here are 10 notable facts to ponder as the beginning of the MIS race season quickly approaches.

• In six starts at MIS, Carl Edwards has never finished out of the top ten. Last year, he finished fifth and fourth, respectively, in the June and August NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races, and also had a third-place finish in the NASCAR Busch Series. Edwards finished tenth at MIS in the first NEXTEL Cup start of his career in August 2004 and also has two top-tens in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to his credit.

• Erin Crocker will drive the No. 98 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ Con-way Freight 200. The race will be her first at MIS in the Craftsman Truck Series. Crocker will also race in the ARCA RE/MAX Series Hantz Group 200 tomorrow, where she placed seventh last season to become the second-highest female finisher in MIS history.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet, will run a special Father’s Day paint scheme for the 3M Performance 400. The paint scheme is based upon the No. 8 cars driven by his grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, and father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., during their NASCAR careers. On Aug. 20, 2000, Earnhardt Jr., Earnhardt Sr. and Kerry Earnhardt all raced in the NASCAR Cup Series race at MIS. It was the only time in history that all three raced together in NASCAR competition. They finished 31st, 6th and 43rd, respectively.

•Seven-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Frank Kimmel comes to MIS for tomorrow’s Hantz Group 200. In June 2005, Kimmel won the Hantz Group 200 in a 1.733-second decision over Chad Blount to notch his second MIS victory.

• After being just the sixth African-American to qualify for a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event when he made the starting field in Atlanta, Bill Lester comes to MIS this weekend where he will pull double duty and attempt to qualify for both the NEXTEL Cup 3M Performance 400 race on Sunday and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Con-way Freight 200 on Saturday. If successful in qualifying for the Cup race, Lester will be the first African-American in the Cup field at MIS since Willy T. Ribbs started 37th and finished 39th at MIS in June 1986.

• MIS has seen five different winners in six NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races since the first event took place at the two-mile oval in 1999. After Greg Biffle repeated his 1999 win in 2000, Robert Pressley (2002), Brendan Gaughan (2003), Travis Kvapil (2004) and Dennis Setzer (2005) have all steered their trucks to Gatorade Victory Lane. Setzer’s victory gave Chevrolet its first Craftsman Truck Series win at MIS.

• If you don’t win the pole, you may want to start fourth at MIS. Since NASCAR’s top series began racing at MIS in 1969, 12 drivers have won races starting from the fourth position. Most recently was Ryan Newman in the June 2004 NEXTEL Cup event. Fourteen drivers have won from the pole at MIS since 1969, including four by Cale Yarborough. Just eight drivers have won from both the second and third starting positions in MIS history.

• Ryan Newman, who has won races at MIS in each of the last three seasons, will look to extend his streak to four when he races in the NEXTEL Cup 3M Performance 400. Newman won the NASCAR Busch Series race in August of 2005 after winning NEXTEL Cup races in 2003 and 2004. Newman’s three wins, along with a victory in the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series race, makes him the winningest driver at MIS this decade.

• NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series regular David Stremme, who pilots the No. 40 Lone Star Steakhouse/ Coors Light Dodge, will make the second ARCA RE/MAX Series start of his career when he takes over for Steve Wallace in the No. 61 Nu South Lemonade/ Hantz Group Dodge in Friday’s Hantz Group 200. Stremme’s ARCA debut came at Talladega in 2003.

• Mark Martin will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at MIS when he competes in the Con-way Freight 200 on Saturday. The long-time NEXTEL Cup regular, in his final season of competition in NASCAR’s highest series, is driving the No. 6 Scotts/ Miracle-Gro Ford in the Craftsman Truck Series. Martin will look to win at MIS in his fifth different series after posting victories in the NEXTEL Cup (4), Busch (2), IROC (1) and ASA (1) Series at the two-mile oval.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. scores the NASCAR win at Richmond

Administrator — Mon, 08 May 2006 19:12:02 +0000

Kevin Harvick made just one mistake in two days of racing at Richmond International Raceway, but that was enough to send Dale Earnhardt Jr. to his first Nextel Cup victory of the 2006 in the Crown Royal 400.

"It feels great," Earnhardt Jr. said after his first victory of the year, which was his first win since his lone victory of 2005 at Chicagoland Speedway in July.

"I’m glad to be back in victory lane. This is really going

to help our team. We’re having a great season and we’re really enjoying ourselves."

Harvick, who won the Busch Series race that ended early Saturday morning at this 0.75-mile track, was enjoying himself, too, for much of Saturday night’s race. He took the lead on Lap 50 and was in absolute control until a pit call turned things around.

When Martin Truex Jr. lost an engine on Lap 281 to bring out a yellow, Harvick stayed on the track while his closest challengers came in for fresh tires. It took a while after the restart for that decision to have its ultimate impact, but by Lap 322 Earnhardt Jr. was rapping on the leader’s rear bumper.

As they battled, rookie Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Jeff Burton moved in to challenge, too. It was Hamlin, on Lap 330, who eventually made a strong move to the low side to surge into the lead.

But when Robby Gordon cut a tire and hit the wall to bring out a yellow on Lap 346, Busch and Earnhardt Jr. beat Hamlin off pit road.

It took Earnhardt Jr. just four laps to get around Busch, bringing more than 100,000 in the stands to their feet, to take the lead.

Harvick, now on fresh tires, too, clawed his way back up to second, but he couldn’t catch the No. 8 Chevrolet and fell to third behind Hamlin just before a crash involving Scott Riggs and Brian Vickers in Turn 3 brought out a yellow on Lap 386.

That lined the leaders up for a restart with 10 laps remaining, with Earnhardt getting a good jump on that green flag. But Burton, who’d erred by coming in when pit road was closed under a previous yellow and lost major ground, spun on the backstretch to bring out another yellow.

The green flew with seven laps to go, and this time Hamlin got a good restart. He pulled nearly alongside the No. 8 in Turn 2 on Lap 395, but Earnhardt Jr. powered away and pulled away.

Hamlin, who’s from only a few miles away in Chesterfield, Va., grabbed second with Harvick holding on for third. Greg Biffle, who’d been trapped a lap down when he pitted under green just before a caution early in the race, fought all the way back to finish fourth with Kyle Busch fifth.

"We had a great car," Earnhardt Jr. said. "The people back at the shop made this weekend easy because we were good when we got here. …When I come to the track I know I have the best I can ask for. …I couldn’t ask for any position on this team or in the shop to be better."

Harvick swept to victories in the Busch and Cup series races at Phoenix two weeks ago, and looked like he was going to do the same thing here. He led for 272 laps Saturday night, but the decision not to pit when his challengers did kept that from happening.

"We would have been short on fuel if we’d stopped there," Harvick said. "We got tight there at the end and just lost a little speed."

Harvick picked up two spots in the Nextel Cup standings, moving from seventh to fifth. Jimmie Johnson, who rallied from a lap down to finish 12th, held the lead by 55 points over Tony Stewart, who finished sixth.

Hamlin, who raced despite having 19 stitches in his left hand to mend a cut he suffered while goofing around with his team after a test Wednesday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, said he would have done anything he could to pass Earnhardt Jr. to try to win at the end.

"I went to victory lane and Dale Jr. asked me why I didn’t lean on him," Hamlin said. "I told him I would have if I had a good enough car to get to him."

Still, it was a big night for the 25-year-old rookie running in the Nextel Cup series at what is virtually his hometown track.

"I’d rather finish second here than in the Daytona 500," Hamlin said. "I heard the crowd cheering there at the end, and maybe they were cheering for Junior, but in my mind those cheers were for me.

"When I took the lead from the 29 car I could literally feel my heartbeat in my foot on the accelerator. This is by far the biggest race of my career. It’s special to have so many family and friends here. I can’t tell you how I feel. I will be riding this wave for weeks and months to come."

Busch Series could race in Canada as early as ‘07

Administrator — Sat, 06 May 2006 18:32:04 +0000

NASCAR officials were ecstatic with their midweek visit to Montreal and are moving forward with plans to expand the Busch Series into Canada - perhaps as early as next season.

The contingent of seven NASCAR representatives found the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a temporary street course, to be in race-ready condition with very few alterations necessary, said Steve O’Donnell, managing director of events and operations. The only glaring need at this time is a short extension of pit road.

"The track and facilities were in great shape and really have a lot to offer to NASCAR," O’Donnell said. "And it meets a need for NASCAR, which has targeted road course races in the Busch Series as one of the areas we’d like to grow."

It’s possible to get Montreal onto the 2007 schedule as a third road course race for the Busch Series. It would join Watkins Glen and Mexico City, which hosted its second event in March and has proved that NASCAR can be a huge success beyond U.S. borders.

Normand Legault, promoter of the Montreal track, has long been lobbying NASCAR to move into Canada. He currently hosts two races a year at his facility, which is temporarily erected on a man-made island for each event.

The track can accommodate 125,000 fans a day, and about 95 percent use public transportation to reach the facility. Legault has maintained that few changes would have to be made to the setup, other than finding a way to house the large transporters that NASCAR teams travel with.

It’s not clear how NASCAR will find room on its schedule for Montreal. The Busch schedule already has 35 races on it, and adding another date would put it at the maxed-out number NASCAR considers its Nextel Cup schedule to be at.

So it’s possible that for Canada to get a race, another facility would lose a current Busch date.

What Goes Around Comes Around - Black is Back!

Administrator — Sat, 06 May 2006 18:12:06 +0000

I am psyched! Blood is pumping! Heart is racing!

Look out, everybody. That black machine is back on the track this weekend at none other than… Talladega, baby!

I cannot imagine anyone not getting chills thinking about it - thoughts of the intimidator. It’s mind-boggling. How many drivers had the fortune (or misfortune) of seeing that black machine in their rear view? How many spectators had the thrill of watching Dale win the Daytona 500? How many lucky people had the privilege of shaking Dale’s hand and hearing what he had to say in the garage area?

Not enough.

I could probably go on forever. Dale had a presence. An aura. There’s not ONE person who could ever replace him, as a human being or driver.

But, the unthinkable has happened, I believe. I see that black number 8 getting ready to race in Alabama, and I realize that there’s a new star rising, and it’s not just Junior. Junior has a lot riding on his young shoulders. He’s the legend’s son, and he carries the weight with finesse.

But the star is comprised of many, key personalities on, and off the track. It has given me so much hope in the past few weeks knowing that the spirit of stock car racing will strongly live on in the drivers who have really stepped up to the challenge of leadership - whether they know it or not.

Being a successful driver is not just about going fast. It’s about other things, like being strong, having courage, tethering wits, patience, racing intelligence, prayer, friends, gratitude, knowing when to shut up, AND going fast.

I see the current strength of NASCAR in so many faces now. They are, to name a few, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.; Kevin Harvick; Jeff Burton; Matt Kenseth; Tony Stewart; Jeff Gordon; Bobby Labonte; Joe Nemechek; Robby Gordon; Kyle Petty; Jeremy Mayfield; Elliott Sadler; and Michael Waltrip.

When I see that black number 8 out there this weekend, I will be reminded that Dale’s presence is always with us. I will also be reminded that the leadership in NASCAR is strong.

I hope all the younger (experience-wise) drivers see that black car and know that they are being watched and weighed - heavily. There’s not just a new sheriff in town.

There’s a whole posse! And, they’ve got itchy trigger fingers. (And apparently, softer bumpers.)

Junior, thank you for running that black machine. May you have wings this weekend. May you drive that hot rod home to Victory Lane at Talladega.

From AC/DC

Back in black, I hit the sack,
I’ve been too long, I’m glad to be back
Yes I’m let loose from the noose,
That’s kept me hangin’ about
I been lookin’ at the sky ‘cause it’s gettin’ me high,
Forget the hearse, ‘cause I’ll never die
I got nine lives, cat’S EYES
Usin’ every one of them and running wild

Black was never really gone.

Who Will Be First in NASCAR Hall of Fame?

Administrator — Sat, 06 May 2006 18:08:45 +0000

Now that we know where NASCAR’s much-ballyhooed Hall of Fame is going to be built, the bigger question remains: Who will be the building blocks of its legacy?

It was announced this week that the $107.5 million hall, expected to lure hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, will open by 2009 in downtown Charlotte, the heartland of the stock car sport. It beat out Atlanta and Daytona Beach in the final showdown of big plans and big dollars.

But no one knows how the first class of inductees will be picked, or by whom. Whatever the process, there is going to be a debate of enormous magnitude.

After all, when the Baseball Hall of Fame opened its doors in 1936, not even Babe Ruth was a unanimous choice of the baseball writers.

The Bambino wasn’t even the top vote-getter of the five players in that first class: Ty Cobb was on 222 of 226 ballots, while Ruth and Honus Wagner each appeared on 215 ballots. Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson also made it into the horsehide shrine in that first vote.

Of course, things could be easier for the NASCAR voters.

I mean, how could any voter fail to mark an X by the name of William Henry Getty "Big Bill" France on that first ballot?

Without Bill Sr., there would be no NASCAR.

The somewhat redundantly named National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing was invented in 1947 in France’s fertile mind - a way of giving the competitors a fair shake on purses and pursuing standards for racetracks.

The tough-minded, hands-on France oversaw construction of Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, the two tracks that personify the sport. His family continues to run NASCAR through a benevolent dictatorship that has seen the sport expand and flourish into a behemoth with an estimated 75 million fans.

So where do you go after picking a dictator?

How about a king?

Richard Petty is NASCAR’s Babe Ruth, a towering figure who dominated the sport for three decades. He won 200 races, seven championships and the undying loyalty of a majority of NASCAR’s early fans.

"Stock car racing wasn’t exactly a part of everybody’s household back then, especially since it wasn’t on TV a whole lot early in his career," said son Kyle Petty. "But, everywhere we went, people knew who he was. He was The King - and he still is."

It wouldn’t be much of a first class with only two members, though.

How about adding the driver who surpassed even Petty in popularity?

Dale Earnhardt came from a hardscrabble, lunchpail life to become not only stock car racing’s biggest star, but also its best salesman in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Intimidator was the first driver from the Southern-based sport to earn far more from souvenir and clothing sales than from winning on the racetrack. Before his tragic end in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Earnhardt had won 76 races and matched Petty’s seven season titles.

And it would be hard to leave David Pearson out of the first group of inductees. "The Silver Fox" was Richard Petty’s nemesis. Pearson only won three championships, but his 105 race wins were second only to Petty and the debate about which was the better driver raged for years.

If, like baseball, the first class of inductees numbers only five, the next pick is by far the toughest.

How do you choose among longtime stars like Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Neil Bonnett, Davey Allison, Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker, Harry Gant and LeeRoy Yarbrough?

Then there are some of Earnhardt’s contemporaries, driving greats like Darrell Waltrip and Benny Parsons, both now TV commentators and ambassadors for the sport. Add to that Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Tim Richmond, Alan Kulwicki, Dale Jarrett and Terry Labonte, the sport’s all-time Iron Man.

We can’t forget the pioneers, like Petty’s father, Lee, the winner of the first Daytona 500 and one of NASCAR’s first real stars. Then there are more early luminaries like Red Byron, Junior Johnson, Buck Baker, brothers Tim and Fonty Flock, Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Fred Lorenzen, Ned Jarrett, Bill Rexford, Herb Thomas, Joe Weatherly, Curtis Turner, Rex White, Tiny Lund, Bobby Isaac and Wendell Scott.

Even with all the names mentioned above, somebody is going to get mad because their favorite driver wasn’t included. Think about the ruckus when that same driver is left off the first ballot.

In baseball, a veterans’ committee was formed in the second year of its hall to make sure deserving old-timers made it in. Such a group will probably be a must for NASCAR’s hall, as well. Memories are sometimes short.

It’s too soon to put current stars like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the ballot, but we can’t forget the great team owners, crew chiefs, car builders and series officials from the first half century-plus of NASCAR.

Don’t envy those first voters.

Edwards Tests Silver Crown Car

Administrator — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 19:02:28 +0000

Carl Edwards took his first laps in a new-generation USAC Silver Crown car Monday in testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The NEXTEL Cup Series competitor – who is also a car owner in the Silver Crown ranks – had one seven of the new cars on hand preparing for the March 28 event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, during the Toyota Indy 300/Grand Prix of Miami weekend. That event will be the first race for the series on a 1.5-mile speedway.

Among the drivers also testing were Dave Steele and Shane Hmeil, in the No. 1 C&R; Bryn Gohn, No. 8 DRC; No. 21 C&R, Brian Tyler; No. 26 Riley, Aaron Pierce and Thiago Medeiros; No. 96 Stealth, Rodney Weesner; and No. 00 Stealth, Wayne Reutimann Jr.

Edwards had finished 16th in Sunday’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, but flew to Homestead Monday morning to “relax” on his day off.

“This is a whole new thing – it’s different,” Edwards said after making two runs in the No. 99 C&R Ford. “I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to get a feel for it.”

Edwards co-owns the car with Roger Johnson. Jerry Coons drove the car in the season opener at Phoenix. The team is undecided on who will drive the car at Homestead, but tested young Canadian Peter Shepherd in the car on Monday. Shepherd was part of Roush Racing’s “Racer X” series, where he finished fifth.

“Right now, it’s pretty wild with these new cars,” Edwards said. “They’re real fast. We’re going to keep working on them. By the end of the day, we hope to have a good feel for this track, and know what direction to take for when we come back. The car feels a lot alike the old Silver Crown cars. The difference for me right now is running on this big race track. This is an awfully big race track compared to what we’ve run the Silver Crown cars on before.”

While Edwards unofficially had the fastest lap of the day – 31.86 seconds, 169.8 mph – Hmeil was close behind, at 31.93.

“I respect Carl Edwards’ driving and his skill, and for him to say it’s pretty scary out there is pretty good,” Hmeil said. “I’m excited. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time is to run Silver Crown cars, and now they’re at bigger tracks and with bigger crowds. It’s something that I think is going to grow. It’s something I’m proud to be associated with.”

Steele won the only race for the new generation car in the season-opening Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway. He left the test early to compete in a winged sprint car race at New Smyrna Speedway in Samsula, Florida – where he had won a race Sunday night. After he left the test, Shane Hmeil tested in Steele’s No. 1 car.

“This is definitely a nice track,” said Steele, visiting Homestead-Miami Speedway for the first time. “It’s a little different from the short track stuff I’m used to. I’m going to run around and get in a few laps, trying to get comfortable. I think USAC has some issues with the car they need to deal with, so I’ll try to give them some feedback and see how it goes.”

Edwards was not the only to race at Daytona on Sunday and test at Homestead on Monday. Tyler competed in Sunday morning’s ARCA 200. He was racing with the lead draft but lost a lap after he was bumped into the wall. He came back and chased eventual winner Bobby Gerhart, but could not get his lap back and finished 22nd.

“This is like a combination of the old car and a stock car,” said Tyler, the pole winner and third-place finisher in the season opener at Phoenix. “We’re searching for a shock and spring package, and find the attitude of what the car likes. Right now, the front end is stuck and the rear end wants to be loose. We need to find a happy balance.” Edwards agreed.

“Right now, it’s a little bit uncomfortable going into the corners at the fastest point of the race track, and we can’t tell what’s making it do that. We’re working on that.”

The Silver Crown race will be one of four events during the March 24-26 weekend, joining the IRL IndyCar Series, Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve and IRL Indy Pro Series

PIR Announces New Schedule Change For Subway Fresh 500 Race Weekend

Administrator — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 18:42:04 +0000

Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announced today the new schedule change for the Second Annual SUBWAY Fresh 500 Race Weekend. The most dramatic change to the schedule of events is the addition of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Qualifying on Thursday afternoon, April 20.

“Working with NASCAR, we are pleased to announce that NEXTEL Cup Qualifying for the SUBWAY Fresh 500 will take place on Thursday afternoon,” said Sperber. “The pole-sitter for the Saturday evening NEXTEL Cup race will be crowned prior to the running of the Casino Arizona 150, NASCAR Grand National race under the lights.”

Gates open to fans at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 20 and race fans will enjoy an exciting day of on-track action that includes practices in all three race divisions, the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series, the NASCAR Busch Series and the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. NASCAR Grand National qualifying is set for 3:35 p.m., prior to the 8 p.m. green flag in the Casino Arizona 150. NEXTEL Cup qualifying will get the green flag at 5:40 p.m.

On Friday, April 21, gates open at noon and race fans will enjoy two sessions of NEXTEL Cup practice from 1 – 2 p.m. and then again from 4:05 – 4:50 p.m. The NASCAR Busch Series will start qualifications at 2:35 p.m. prior to the 6 p.m. start of the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200.

The excitement builds when gates open at noon on Saturday, April 22 for the 5:25 p.m. green flag of the Second Annual SUBWAY Fresh 500, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race. Fans arriving to the track early can enjoy many of the tracks amenities including the Raceway Club, Trackside Club or any of the interactive displays located on the midway, behind the grandstands.

About NASCAR

Administrator — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 18:36:24 +0000

NASCAR racing has been a staple of the American culture for over five decades. When Bill France started NASCAR in 1949 he had a vision of ordinary guys racing ordinary every-day cars. Thus stock car racing was invented and Americans took notice. Only on a NASCAR track would you be able to watch your family sedan tear around a track rubbing paint with your neighbor’s new Ford. In the beginning stages of NASCAR anyone could race as long as he qualified, with any car he could find (including rental cars).

Up shifting into the next generation of NASCAR is anything but ordinary drivers and ordinary cars. Today’s "stock cars" are highly modified racers with million dollar sponsors and professional drivers. With heavy regulation on aerodynamics, materials, and engine displacement it’s up the drivers and their pit crews to win races with driving skill and car analysis. Whether drafting to stock pile horse power for the straight-away, monitoring tire wear and wedge angles or getting your car out of the pit quickly, the new NASCAR is a sport of millimeters, seconds and lightning fast reflexes.

Proving that NASCAR is one of the top sports in the country is the amount of raceways spread across the country. Misperceived as only popular in the south, NASCAR stages races in Chicago, Denver, California, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio to name a few. With over 12 percent of the television audience tuning in on race day, it’s no wonder why NASCAR has grown from an obscure American enigma into a legitimate sport… if not a national pastime.

Lawmaker Hopes Plates Drive Fans Wild

Administrator — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 18:20:02 +0000

State lawmakers might be on the verge of an unexpected monetary windfall if proposed legislation goes through, enabling Illinois drivers to order specialty license plates featuring the logos of their favorite professional sports team or NASCAR drivers.

Rep. Kurt Granberg, D-Centralia, is behind the proposal, hoping Illinois can cash in like other states have on the loyalty of their sports fans. Illinois law allows for specialty plates bearing pro sports teams’ insignias, but none are currently offered. Authorized teams for Illinois would be the Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Black Hawks, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Rams and St. Louis Cardinals.

There would be a $30 fee for a pro sports or NASCAR-related logo.

"I think this would be a great way for people to show their pride and support their favorite team or NASCAR driver, while bringing in greatly needed revenue to the state," Granberg said.

Ten states are either offering the program, or will be beginning next year. One of those states with an existing license-plate plan, Mississippi, has collected $2 million alone on its NASCAR plates over the past three years.

"We should expect a tax break after all of the money the state will make off race fans from this plan, if it is approved," said Jeff Scott, assistant general manager at Quincy Raceways. "NASCAR fans would miss two meals in order to get those plates. They’re a little different. They don’t think like other people."

Scott said his wife, Shari, is a prime example.

"We’d definitely have Jimmie Johnson plates … definitely," Scott said.

Scott emphasized this would be a natural moneymaker because of sports’ fans devotion to their favorite drivers and pro teams.

"This could be huge," Scott said.

Dick Chapin of Quincy, who owns Diamond Cards, 3626 Maine, is a longtime Chicago Cubs fan and also thinks the license plate proposal is a gold mine waiting to happen.

"That’s easy money for the state, a no-brainer," Chapin said. "It would be a great, great moneymaker. I would think 90 percent of the cars around here would have Cubs or Cardinals license plates. The $30 fee wouldn’t hurt anyone."

John K. Potts of Quincy agrees with Chapin — sort of. Potts is a diehard Cardinals and Rams fan and thinks the majority of plates will bear the logos of those teams, not the Cubs or Bears.

"I imagine the state of Illinois will be surprised to see the Missouri teams on so many of its license plates," said Potts, the director of public relations at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo. "People will stay away from (supporting) the epidemic of losing teams in Chicago."

All kidding aside, Potts said he thought the idea "was great" and would further whet the appetite of the state’s sports fans. Potts said it would not be a problem choosing between the Cardinals and Rams for a license-plate logo.

"We have two vehicles," he said. "We’ll get the Cardinals for one and the Rams for the other."