Nascar Faithful Descend Enmasse On An Unbuilt Track

The T-shirts went almost as fast on Sunday as the race cars will move later this year at the Texas Motor Speedway.

One size - large - had to fit all by late afternoon, so brisk were souvenir sales at the track’s open house. Though NASCAR fans come in all sizes, their appetite for their sport comes mainly in extra-large, which is why their sport has raced to prominence.

In addition to a welcome mat, a caution flag might be in order as North Texas braces for a brand of avidity that will leave the intensity of other sports’ enthusiasts in the dust. And that is a promise.

Not since Stonehenge, or maybe the Galleria, has a mere construction site so entranced observers, teasing them with magic to come. Not since Miami Beach has a massive arrangement of dirt attracted so many serious gawkers.

It had to be North Texas’s biggest non-event since last month’s Cotton Bowl. But the turnout Sunday proved that NASCAR fans are a breed apart, willing to support their sport’s future even as it is under construction.

The chance to inspect what will be one of the earth’s largest sports facilities drew 26,383 fans. They waited in line to take a bus ride around what will be a 1.5-mile speedway that will add thousands of jobs and millions in economic impact regionally. They paid $5 each just to be there, though the casual observer concluded the only “there” there consisted of tall cement posts that tour guides explained were drilled into bedrock.

NASCAR’s bedrock is its commitment to its fans. And many of them might surprise you, especially if you have been guilty of stereotyping them.

“If I tried to build an engine, I’d have a few parts left over,” NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said by phone from Daytona Beach on Monday. “I’ve always been a fan, but I still can’t change the oil in my car.”

Triplett wants to let the air out of the notion that the mechanically challenged do not follow stock-car racing.

“Everybody can relate to it,” he said. “Not everybody can throw a ball like Troy Aikman. But everybody thinks they can drive a car. At 48 years old, it is new as compared to a lot of sports. But a lot of people are just discovering us. Since 1980, attendance has gone up every year.”

NASCAR Winston Cup races attracted 5,326,721 spectators in 1995, up from 4,896,000 the previous year. Triplett said the five networks that show the races - CBS, ABC, ESPN, TBS and TNN posted a ratings increase.

It helps that the drivers take the time to meet and please their fans. The human element, in fact, far exceeds the mechanical charms in popularizing NASCAR.

Drivers such as Ernie Irvan provide the series with inspiring storylines. Irvan, the 1991 Daytona 500 winner, recovered from near-fatal head injuries suffered during a 1994 practice. He won the outside pole and will start second only to Dale Earnhardt in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

“We have good, close side-by-side races most of the time,” Triplett said. “People come for the speed, the color and the noise.”

The Texas Motor Speedway promises all of the above. Though it lacks a race date, a late-September or October event appears a good bet, if the construction stays on schedule. Track officials dislike the idea of going up against the Dallas Cowboys, but autumn weather is appealing.

The 1996 Winston Cup schedule, released last December, could be changed to accommodate the new speedway. That fans came from distant states for the Sunday open house, with proceeds going to charity, indicated the track already figures in the hearts of the faithful.

Triplett said NASCAR faces the strange predicament of being almost too popular for its own good. The Winston Cup can’t expand in the same way as the NFL or NBA.

“For us to expand would mean our schedule would grow,” he said. “The NBA can add franchises and still play 82 regular-season games.”

More sites want races than there are races to be had. The fans that fuel the demand do not want to miss, well, even a view of some concrete posts pointing skyward.

Dallas-Fort Worth has seen nothing yet, according to Triplett.

“It’s going to blow everybody’s minds,” he said. “Even people who don’t go fast, want to.”

Even people who don’t build engines - and don’t want to - will get a load of what it means to be an avid sports fan when NASCAR comes to North Texas.