MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Penske Racing already is the Eighth Wonder of the World, with a 400,000-square-foot facility large enough to land a 747 and host a Summer Olympics.
Apparently, there is enough land around it to build a test track, something no other Nextel Cup team has.
Owner Roger Penske said he'd like to have the track built on the 70 acres outside this state-of-the-art monstrosity within the next 12-18 months. Blueprints haven't been made, but according to Penske it's nothing more than laying a highway on the red clay.
OK, knowing how slow they build highways around here, that's not a good analogy. But the fact that the project is part of the daily conversation means it's closer to reality than ever.
The cost likely would range from $2 million to $10 million, depending on how extravagant Penske wants to get with things such as garages and soft walls.
It likely will pay for itself in a couple of years with Penske estimating he spends $1.5 million a year on transportation and track rentals for testing at places such as Kentucky and Nashville.
The track likely will be similar to the three-quarter-mile facility in Richmond, Va., which many drivers consider the best in Cup.
The infield will consist of a skid pad where cars can make tight turns and test G-forces and a road course. It will be designed to benefit not only Cup cars but the Indy cars that Penske has moved from Reading, Pa., so he can eliminate North and South from the name of the shops.
There will be noise ordinances that will restrict use at night, so unless Lowe's Motor Speedway president Humpy Wheeler gets involved, the track won't have lights. There will not be a need for grandstands since the sale of beer won't be allowed.
Penske said the facility also could host a driving school and be a place to entertain sponsors and clients. It potentially could be rented to other teams with most of the Nextel Cup community within a 50-mile radius.
"It could be huge," fellow Dodge owner Ray Evernham said. "My only hope is that if Roger can afford it that he'll let us use it."
Penske driver Ryan Newman can't wait for the track because it will give him more time to stay at home and play with his the new $10,000 log splitter. Kurt Busch can use the spare time to get a second job to pay for last year's wedding that cost as much as the track.
Newman said the track will be a competitive advantage.
"Knowing Roger, he wouldn't build it if it wasn't an advantage," Newman said.
The team could use a few advantages after a season in which Newman and Busch both missed the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
• Defending champion Tony Stewart said he still is talking to IROC officials about hosting an event at his dirt track, Eldora Speedway, in Indiana.
The International Race of Champions is on hold because no sponsor has stepped forward since Crown Royal pulled out. The traditional opener at Daytona already has been canceled.
David Newton
