NASCAR TRACKS FOCUS ON FANS OF THE FUTURE INFIELDS COULD OFFER ADVANTAGES OF SMALL CITY (NASCAR explores the next generation of the sport via its new millennium celebration -- NASCAR 2000)

"I see a future where seats have small televisions that give fans their choice of views from in-car cameras, sounds from the radios and the ability to switch back and forth," said Greg Penske, International Speedway Corporation Senior VP Western Operations. "Instead of thinking of things that will never happen, you have to think like they will. We have to continue to grow the sport, offering more to the people who come to the track for a race."

"Now that we have achieved parity with the other major sports, we have to find ways to give fans the complete experience at the tracks," Byrd said. "The competition for spectator dollars is fierce and facilities that find ways to best entertain the fans will be the ones that succeed."

"Each motorhome spot could have a pedestal with a television hook-up, Internet access and the ability to order food or merchandise delivered right to your door," Penske said. "You could tap into concerts or drive-in movies right at your site.

"One of the great things about NASCAR is that we have our fans at the event for three or four days. I see infields turning into small cities, where people don't need to leave the track for any reason."

"What a great place for companies to test new products," Penske said. "What better place for feedback on everything from rollerblades to bicycles. I can see movie companies testing the early director's cut or premiering a film for 20,000 people at the track, and the fans getting merchandise from the film. It's that kind of out-of-the-box thinking that we need to be doing."

"The kind of racing we have now is great racing, so I don't see any reason for too many changes with the tracks," Penske said. "The one thing that I see as a possibility is tracks running in and out of a stadium, combining the benefits of the infield with the excitement outside the track, giving more people the ability to be a part of the show."

"Our idea is to create an identical half-mile track right next to the current track at Bristol," Byrd said. "Then we create a tunnel connecting the two tracks and drivers use both tracks during the race. Instead of 150,000 people seeing the race, we'd have 300,000 seats. Maybe then we could fill all the requests for tickets."

"In the future, I think it would be fun to race on figure-8 tracks," Sabates said with a smile. "If we had see-through tracks, we could put television cameras and seats below the track and sell sponsorships on the tailpipe."