Editor’s Note: Each month in recognition of SPEED SPORT’s 90th anniversary, the SPEED SPORT Insider will use the National Speed Sport News archives to look back at what happened in the racing world 25 years ago.
Top Story
France Taps Mike Helton: Bill France Jr. took the first step toward the door in the Benny Kahn Infield Media Center at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
The president of NASCAR since 1972, France named Mike Helton senior vice president and chief operating officer of the stock car sanctioning body and turned over the day-to-day reins of power to him.
“As the sport of NASCAR continues to grow, we felt it was important to expand the scope of our management,” France said. “Mike Helton has the unique experience of being involved with all aspects of the organization, including marketing, public relations, licensing and most importantly, our core business, which is racing. I cannot think of a better person to fill this position.”
Helton, who has been involved in the sport for 18 years as a track operator, official and administrator, said there would be few changes.
“Personally, there’s a lot of neat things about today’s announcement as far as I’m concerned, but the neatest one is, and the most important one that everybody should understand is, there’s nothing broken with the system, and there’s not necessarily a need for a change in direction, just a continuing management of NASCAR to go forth. There’s no agenda that has to be accomplished other than managing the growth of NASCAR the way it is today.”
It marks the first time in NASCAR’s 50-year history that someone not of the France family has had day-to-day control of the organization. It also marks the first step in passing the torch from Bill France Jr. to the next generation.”
Other News
CMS Sells Naming Rights: Lowe’s Home Improvement Centers entered into a 10-year, $35 million agreement with Speedway Motorsports to rename Charlotte Motor Speedway as Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
The announcement made the 1.5-mile speedway the first motorsports venue to sell its name.
“The new trend in sports marketing has been selling the naming rights at various venues,” said Lowe’s Motor Speedway President H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler. “I think it is significant for us to be the first in the motorsports industry to do this.”
Helio In, Lehto Out: J.J. Lehto was released from his contract to compete with Hogan Racing in the FedEx Championship Series and was replaced by Brazilian rising star Helio Castroneves. However, two weeks later, Lehto filed suit against Hogan Racing for “breach of contract.”
Ownership: International Hot Rod Ass’n President and General Manager Bill Bader completed his purchase of the drag racing sanctioning body and now owns 100 percent of the organization.
Big Winners
Jeff Collects $2.1 Million: Jeff Gordon drove to a $2.17 million victory in the 41st running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona Int’l Speedway. It was the largest single-day payout in motorsports history.
A million dollars of that money came courtesy of Winston’s No Bull 5 program, which also made race fan Ray Grimm and instant millionaire.
Dale Earnhardt, Kenny Irwin, Mike Skinner and Michael Waltrip followed Gordon under the checkered flag.
Besecker Shocks: When the checkered flag waved over the 15th edition of Thunder in the Dome at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, youngster Kevin Besecker had put together 100 laps of hard-nosed racing and survived when others stumbled to score a surprising victory.
Copper Classic: Brian Tyler (USAC Silver Crown), Jason Leffler (USAC midget), Jim Inglebright (NASCAR Southwest) and Troy Regier (supermodified) claimed feature victories during the 22nd U.S. Tobacco Copper World Classic at Phoenix Int’l Raceway.
Bobby Edges Shawna: Years of perseverance paid off for Bobby Gerhart Sunday at Daytona Int’l Speedway. The Pennsylvania veteran beat Shawna Robinson to the finish of the ARCA 200.
It was Gerhart’s first victory in 113 ARCA starts, while Robinson showed no rust after three years on maternity leave.
Martin Wins At The Rock: A lightning-fast pit stop during the closing laps propelled Mark Martin and the Roush Racing team to victory in race No. 2 of the NASCAR Cup Series campaign at North Carolina Speedway.
The Advertising Department
This full-page advertisement placed by Eagle Chassis in the Feb. 24 issue of National Speed Sport News is the perfect example of racing manufacturers using advertisements to tout their success on the race track.
