| Where do yesteryear's race cars belong? | | | | the theory. It hasn't yet worked out. We're |
| Obviously, they no longer belong on the race | | | | confident it can work out." |
| track. Race drivers and experts narrate what | | | | He added Roush will save the cars that cannot be |
| they want to do with their soon-to-be obsolete | | | | sold or converted into Car of Tomorrow show |
| cars... | | | | cars (at a cost of about $25,000) "in the hope |
| Chip Ganassi jokes of affixing one of his Nextel | | | | that we can find a racing use for them in the |
| Cup team's Dodge Chargers as an anchor on the | | | | future." |
| yacht of partner Felix Sabates. Ray Evernham | | | | Evernham, on the other hand, intends to use his |
| says he has enough soon-to-be obsolete cars | | | | cars as driver development tools in minor-league |
| (about 50) to start a media-only circuit. Richard | | | | ARCA. "We were getting $30,000-35,000 for |
| Childress hopes his outdated fleet can fulfill a fan's | | | | them, and I think you'd be lucky to get |
| dream, reported USA Today. | | | | $10,000-15,000 now, there'll be so many of them," |
| "If you want a car to sit in your living room, | | | | he said. "You don't ever worry about recouping |
| now's the time," said Childress. "It's certainly a | | | | money in this business because that doesn't |
| buyer's market." | | | | happen. I know there's going to be some darn |
| NASCAR's shift to the Car of Tomorrow full time | | | | good ARCA fields next year." |
| in 2008 has paved the way for the stock car fire | | | | Richard Childress Racing has sold about six of its |
| sale of the century as teams rush to unload | | | | cars to ARCA teams, a dozen to a driving school |
| inventories of cars that are too pricey to | | | | and all of its road-course vehicles to a hobbyist |
| manufacture. | | | | who dabbles in "country club racing" at tracks |
| After Sunday's Ford 400, Homestead-Miami | | | | such as Virginia International Raceway, the report |
| Speedway could pass for a salvage yard because | | | | added. He also is saving a few for his grandson, |
| none of the Camrys, Fusions, Chargers and Monte | | | | Austin, who moves into Busch East next year. |
| Carlos can be raced again in NASCAR's premier | | | | "We'll end up with maybe 20 or 25 we don't know |
| series after a 25-year run with the 110-inch | | | | what we're going to do with yet," said Childress, |
| wheelbase vehicles. The cars cannot be converted | | | | who also is trying to unload about 100 outdated |
| to meet the specifications of the bigger and | | | | engines. "We'll put them in auctions or donate to |
| boxier next-generation model, which made its | | | | charity." |
| debut in 16 races this season, and NASCAR would | | | | Other historical cars are headed for the museum |
| not allow teams to shorten the cars to fit the | | | | next to RCR cars shop in Welcome, N.C. Hendrick |
| 105-inch wheelbases used in the Busch Series, the | | | | Motorsports is planning on hanging on to some of |
| report continued. | | | | its history, too, by keeping every race winner. |
| Geoff Smith, the Roush Fenway Racing president, | | | | Rick Hendrick is mulling building a new museum on |
| estimates that that leaves approximately 600 | | | | Speedway Boulevard near Lowe's Motor |
| cars ticketed for extinction. He said Roush has | | | | Speedway to showcase legendary storied relics. |
| 100 cars and will have to write off about 70 at a | | | | But most of the 80 in surplus are not such |
| loss stretching well into seven figures. | | | | keepers. "We have a lot of fans calling up and |
| "I call it a Car of Tomorrow tax," Smith stressed. | | | | e-mailing," Hendrick said. "We might let them have |
| "We hope to recover it over a period of time | | | | a lot of them, too. That might be the best way |
| because we should need fewer cars. We should | | | | to get rid of them." |
| be able to apply (a) more standard manufacturing | | | | Now fans could enjoy more than just Dodge ball |
| process thereby making it easier to build. That's | | | | joints - there are more to grab. |