NASCAR Home Tracks

Track Operators Enjoy Fun Weekend

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – More than 50 track operators from across the United States and Canada converged in Daytona Beach last weekend for the annual NASCAR Whelen All-American Series sanctioned Track Operators meetings.

The popular event is designed to bring all track operators, NASCAR officials and sponsors together to announce plans for the upcoming season and any new programs specifically designed for licensed members.

Among the new programs announced was the UNOH Ultimate Mechanic Challenge. This program will reward registered NASCAR Whelen All-American Series member mechanics based on their driver’s performance and points acquired at member tracks.

Each track will reward a mechanic with a $300 prize and award while the overall national champion mechanic will pick a $1,000 prize courtesy of UNOH and will also win a trip to the series’ 2012 postseason awards banquet in Charlotte, N.C.

Also announced last weekend were the new programs with Scorpion Racing Products and Mobil 1.

Scorpion Racing Products will become a new contingency partner in the NASCAR Whelen Modified and Southern Modified Tours, while Mobil 1 will participate in an event night program and will present the first division crew chief award at participating tracks.

The award will be presented during a luncheon at Stewart-Haas Racing during banquet week in December.

In a continuation of the highly successful program instituted by NASCAR several year ago, member tracks, Limaland (Ohio) Motorsports Park, Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway, Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway, Langley (Va.) Speedway and Houston Motorsports Park also were selected to participate in the NASCAR Green Tree Planting Program in 2012.

The 2012 NASCAR Home Tracks commercial also debuted during Saturday’s meetings for all track operators featuring NASCAR K&N Pro Series East graduate and current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. The spot also debuted nationally Saturday night during FOX’s broadcast of the Budweiser Shootout.

Keynote speakers for this year’s meetings were defending Daytona 500 champion and former NASCAR Home Tracks participant Trevor Bayne and Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III.

“We appreciate the commitment UNOH continues to provide for our NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program and welcome our new partners for this season,” said Bob Duvall, Director of Weekly and Touring Business Development for NASCAR. “We anticipate another great season and want to thank all of our track owners and promoters who work endlessly to provide great family entertainment with NASCAR racing.”

For more than 25 years, racing at short tracks throughout the country has provided the foundation for NASCAR. That tradition continues in 2012 as the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series will crown champions at the track, state and national level.

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series is NASCAR’s national championship program for short-track racing. Connecticut-based Whelen Engineering, a leading manufacturer of automotive, aviation, industrial and emergency vehicle lighting, is the series sponsor. More than 10,000 drivers compete at NASCAR-sanctioned short tracks throughout the U.S. and Canada.