Motorsports Unlimited

[Seminole Red]

Retired driving vets are returning in 10-race series
Old School Racing Champions Tour to debut in May '08
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
December 10, 2007
11:18 AM EST

type size: + -If you never had the opportunity to see some of NASCAR's legendary drivers go door-to-door with each other at a short track, Gene Weaver hopes to give you that chance, starting in May.

Weaver and his brother, Norm, are racing veterans who are in the process of starting the Old School Racing Champions Tour, a 10-race series that culminates in a championship race at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida.



harrygant.comHarry Gant"Going back and forth to the races, the question always comes up, 'Where is this driver and where is that driver. And the drivers that we grew up watching, what's happened to them?' said Weaver, one of the managing partners of the proposed series.

"Why aren't they racing? One [issue] is safety. Two, the schedule is grueling. It's a tough, tough schedule in any NASCAR touring series. So I kind of answered these questions and came up with the ground rules for what our series is now. So that's really how it happened."

Weaver envisions something like the International Race of Champions on a smaller scale, with veteran drivers choosing a maximum of six races in which to compete. The cars will be based on NASCAR's regional touring series specs.

"Our first vehicle is out of production already," Weaver said. "Our vehicle manufacturer is in Mooresville, N.C., and right now, there's an assembly line of vehicles being produced. We should have a full team of cars by the time we reach our first race.

"We wanted to stay at arm's length from that, so we could have them built all identical. That way, there's no one who could say, 'Well, you built this car better than that one.'"

The debut race is scheduled for May 18 at Concord Speedway in North Carolina, one day after the Sprint Cup all-star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Weaver outlined the expected race event schedule. The cars will arrive at the track the day before -- and tested to make sure they are identical. Then on race day, drivers will randomly draw for cars. After a practice session, there will be a two-lap qualifying, followed by an on-track autograph session where fans can purchase tickets to meet their drivers.

Weaver said all the money from that will go to the Retired Racers Foundation, a charity set up to assist former drivers who find themselves in financial straits.

"When we first started this, we wanted a charity," Weaver said. "The one thing that we found, these drivers who pioneered the way for modern-day racing, are not doing as well as we thought they were, financially or otherwise.

"What they've done is poured their life savings into this industry that didn't really repay them. And now the guys who are coming up on their coattails are getting the rewards for it."

The 100-lap feature will be broken into two 50-lap segments. The winner of the first half will win a purse for their favorite charity. And following a short break for pit work, the final 50 laps determines the payout, with all drivers earning more than their travel expenses, according to Weaver.

Weaver said drivers can ask for minor setup changes -- but the cars will be as identical as possible to bring the skill level into play.

"If a driver comes in and says, 'This thing's pushing,' we'll fix it," he said. "But they'll need to tell us what to do. And there's only a couple of things that we're going to be able to adjust because we don't want them to be major changes. Tire pressure, wedge in, wedge out, something like that."

"These drivers who pioneered the way for modern-day racing, are not doing as well as we thought they were, financially or otherwise."
GENE WEAVEROld School Racing unveiled the first car at the Performance Racing Industry trade show earlier this month in Orlando, Fla.

"[I'm shocked] by the overwhelming interest by everyone that even finds out about that," Weaver said. "We're averaging 10,000 hits a day on our Web site. The word is just getting out there and we haven't done any advertising, per se."

Weaver said when the idea was first bandied about, he was surprised at the number of veteran drivers who came forward, including David Pearson, Harry Gant, Geoffrey Bodine and Dave Marcis. More than two dozen drivers are listed on the series Web site as participants.

"We've signed a letter of commitment, basically," Weaver said. "It's not a legal, binding contract by any means, but what it's done is showed them all the rules of the series and given them an idea of what they're signing up for.

"Inclusive of that is the schedule. The maximum is six races that they can compete in, in any one given year. There are a couple of drivers there on verbal commitments, but it's just a matter of time to be able to get in front of them and have them sign."

The biggest issue facing Old School Racing is coming up with the cash to cover the overhead. However, Weaver said the total cost of the series is less than running one car for the entire Nationwide Tour.

"We have a very small budget, comparatively, when you look at racing overall," Weaver said. "But right now, no one knows who we are. We really waited to start marketing because we wanted to get the drivers first.

"It's coming out of our own pockets. Yeah, it's scary but we've had so many people contact us as investors and say, 'This is a hell of an idea. Why hasn't someone thought of this before?' and want in. Well, we're not letting them in unless we have to."

Weaver expects interest from television as the series moves forward.

"There are a couple of different avenues we could pursue here," he said. "We could have a television company come in and say, 'We want this and we'll produce it.' Or we can produce it ourselves and then sell it to them. We've hired somebody that has experience in production of NASCAR races. So we're going to trust their judgment."

For more on the Old Racing School Champions Tour, click here.

http://www.osrct.com/