Team Racing Auto Circuit

Last updated
Team Racing Auto Circuit
Category Stock cars
Jurisdiction United States
AbbreviationTRAC
Founded2001
Closure date2004
Official website
www.traczone.com
Flag of the United States.svg

Referred to as "the Best idea in Motorsports in 75 years", Team Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) was a proposed American stock car racing organization founded by entrepreneur Hank Durschlag and co-founder Charles Jeter that was scheduled to begin operations in 2003. TRAC was proposed by a group called Team Sports and Entertainment Inc., whose shareholders included Cale Yarborough, a three-time winner of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series season title, television executive, former CBS Sports President and co-founder of CNN Robert Wussler; and former national championship college football Clemson University football coach Danny Ford. Additional board members included Former TransWorld CEO Charlie Bradshaw, Former NBA Executive Carl Sheer, Former South Carolina Governor Carrol Campbell, INVESCO Financial founder Wendell Starke, and former NASCAR Winston Cup team owner Michael Kranefuss. [1]

Contents

Bill Miller was named chief executive officer of Team Sports Entertainment Inc. and its subsidiary, the Charlotte-based Team Racing Auto Circuit. Miller is the chairman of Miller Industries Inc., a national provider of vehicle towing and recovery equipment and services. Miller was slated to own Team Atlanta [2] Sports executive Jon Pritchett served as the company's President, and negotiated the ESPN television relationship, and venue relationships with Speedway Motorsports race tracks. On April 26, 2002 TRAC reached an agreement with Speedway Motorsports Inc. to host races at five tracks (two races per track): Bristol, Lowe's, Texas, Atlanta and Las Vegas, though Vegas later announced the series would host three races there, instead.

The company secured in excess of $10M in investment capital.

Premise

The concept of TRAC was to establish city-based teams consisting of 2 cars per team, with 8–10 drivers per team, [3] in identically prepared cars that were said to be similar to the muscle cars produced by Detroit. Some of the cars that were scheduled to compete included the Chevrolet Corvette, the Dodge Viper, and the Ford Mustang. All entries were to be equipped with Riley & Scott-designed chassis and fuel-injected V8 engines supplied and sealed (to prevent tampering) by a designated vendor. The race tracks planned were primarily ovals with capacities of at least 50,000 people. [3]

Teams, representing various tracks throughout the country, would accumulate points in each race for each driver, presumably based on the order of finish. The plan called for regular season races, playoffs, and a championship.

TRAC had a contract from ESPN to televise it full season of races. Raycom Media handled marketing and sold advertising, and Yarborough was the league's spokesman. The company was represented by Proskauer Rose, LLP, a leading US sports law firm.

The series held a test at Atlanta Motor Speedway in April 2002 with Andy Hillenburg and Tony Ave driving the cars. Four months later, at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Ave and Boris Said tested the cars. [4]

Fall

TRAC's debut season was postponed to 2004, but due to internal conflicts the league ultimately folded without conducting a single race. The end of TRAC was officially announced on August 26, 2003. [4]

In 2004, Team Sports and Entertainment was sued by four shareholders for "breach of contract, wrongful conversion of company monies, mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud." [4]

References

  1. ↑ "New racing series revved up for 2003". Spartanburg Herald-Journal . May 16, 2001. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ Charlotte Business Journal January 22, 2002
  3. 1 2 "New Racing Series Set for 2003". Los Angeles Times . Associated Press. May 16, 2001. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "TRAC Series Info". Jayski's Silly Season Site . Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.


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