One of Bill France Jr.’s few business blunders was his failure to produce a Denver-area, big-league NASCAR race in his lifetime.
At least France died Monday at age 74 knowing that plans were still in the works.
There is no question that the former NASCAR chief yearned for a Front Range event that would have further stamped his legacy as the most important and influential NASCAR person of all time.
France, a sports marketing pioneer, was responsible for NASCAR’s expansion into Southern California, Las Vegas, Texas, Phoenix, Chicago, Indianapolis and Kansas. He struck out in Colorado, but NASCAR will have another plate appearance without him.
Nearly 10 years ago, I met with France and his son, Brian, NASCAR’s current CEO, for the first time at the now-retired Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain. The second-year facility – Colorado’s first big-league superspeedway – was hosting a minor-league stock-car race about a month after the inaugural (and forgettable) Indy Racing League event.
“It’s a first-class facility, as nice as anything there is in the United States,” France said of PPIR on July 27, 1997. “Everything is first class. It currently would definitely be considered state-of-the-art.”
Problem was, state-of-the-art wasn’t as important as user friendly. A huge traffic jam developed northbound on Interstate 25 after the IRL race. It took some Denver residents five hours to get home.
That’s not a big deal if you attend Cup races in Daytona Beach, Fla.; Bristol, Tenn.; or Richmond, Va. – longtime NASCAR venues where bottlenecks are accepted – but it wasn’t OK for 37,000 Front Range fans simply sampling PPIR without much concern about who was racing.
France knew a Colorado Cup market would have to get 80,000 or more fans in and out as well or better than a Broncos game. But because PPIR was located south of Colorado Springs, the majority of the crowd would be traveling north – into the Colorado Springs I-25 corridor that sometimes makes T-REX seem tame.
“The main thing is, you have to be able to handle the people,” France said.
Eight years after telling me that, PPIR’s case for a Cup race was history, when the 1-mile oval was bought and closed by International Speedway Corp., the company the France family founded and operates.
It was another sign from France, ISC’s chairman, that a Colorado Cup race had to be closer to the state capital.
France has been trying to bring the big boys to Denver at least since 1999, when ISC merged with Penske Motorsports. A poor economy and political upheaval – partly stemming from the former owners of PPIR – have squashed previous plans by Penske and ISC.
ISC announced Feb. 13 it is looking at sites in Commerce City and Aurora. The Commerce City project has been abandoned, but Aurora or another Denver-area site could still finally become home to Bill France Jr.’s Mile High dream.
Footnotes
Services for France are Thursday at Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach. The public is welcome before the ensuing burial. … Kudos to Dale Earnhardt Jr. (or his publicist) for delivering the most poignant statement on the heels of France’s death. “Mr. France was the backbone of our sport,” Earnhardt said in a release. “He was a true friend to the Earnhardt family, and someone I always looked up to. We will do our part in continuing his legacy, racing hard, and putting on a good show for the fans. I think that’s what he would want us to do.”
SPOTLIGHT: TONY STEWART AND KURT BUSCH
Bigmouths pave the way
Their feud began at the season-opening Daytona 500, when they crashed each other out while running for the lead and finished far back. It continued Monday when they failed to control their emotions at Dover, Del. This time, Stewart appeared to get upset at Busch’s pass, and Stewart intentionally wrecked Busch, and both crashed. Busch then tapped into Stewart on pit lane, nearly hitting one of Stewart’s pit crew. Busch, going from the victim to the co-culprit, was disqualified. “I don’t have problems with 95 percent of the guys out there. It’s only a couple,” said Stewart, who seems to have a problem with everyone who passes him. Said Busch, who seems to use this excuse every time he wrecks, “I raced the guy all day long, and for some reason he just didn’t give an inch.”
ON THE MOVE: MARTIN TRUEX JR.
Sophomore gets win for DEI
The two-time Busch Series champion on Monday finally got his first Cup win for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the three-car team that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is abandoning after this year. Truex won the Busch crowns in 2004 and 2005 and was expected to deliver immediately for DEI as a Cup rookie last year. He had only two top-five finishes and ended 19th in the standings, leading some to believe Earnhardt Jr. was right – that DEI is no longer one of the top teams. Truex proved otherwise at Dover.
THIS WEEK’S RACE: POCONO 500
Hamlin looking to three-peat
11 a.m. Sunday, TNT
Where: Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa. (triangle, 2.5 miles, 14 degrees banking in turn 1, 8 degrees in turn 2, 6 degrees in turn 3).
Distance: 500 miles, 200 laps
Qualifying: Friday, 1:30 p.m., Speed
Last year: Rookie Denny Hamlin won the first of his two consecutive races at Pocono.
FOLLOW THE LEADER
Jimmie Johnson has the most checkered flags this season, but Jeff Gordon is atop the Chase leaderboard. Contenders after 13 of 36 races:
(Driver Pts. Wins)
1. Jeff Gordon 2,059 3
2. Jimmie Johnson 1,907 4
3. Matt Kenseth 1,869 1
4. Denny Hamlin 1,842 0
5. Jeff Burton 1,704 1
6. Carl Edwards 1,584 0
7. Tony Stewart 1,573 0
8. Clint Bowyer 1,525 0
9. Kevin Harvick 1,518 1
10. Kyle Busch 1,471 1
11. Kurt Busch 1,439 0
12. Mark Martin 1,435 0
(SOURCE: NASCAR)
