Local Look: Charlotte

Event: Coca-Cola 600

Local papers covering: Charlotte Observer, Winston-Salem Journal, Raleigh News and Observer, Gaston Gazette

Roush: Kenseth is the new David Pearson

The deal: Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal says Jack Roush sees Matt Kenseth as the new David Pearson. That's a heady comparision, indeed.

"Matt reminds me more of David Pearson than anybody that I've worked with," Roush told the paper. "He's calculating. He doesn't test worth a damn. You have no idea how fast your car is until it's time for the checkered flag to really drop."

	Matt Kenseth

Kenseth's plan starts early, says Roush.

"When the green flag drops you start to see what you have to work with. A good indication of the kind of race you're going to have is if Matt gets himself halfway through happy hour and he tells Robbie and the guys 'You know, I'm out of ideas. If you guys have something you want to try, let's try it. I'm pretty happy.'

"That's going be a real bad day for the competitors as seen by me.

"On the other hand -- and he's done this a couple times -- when he says halfway through that 'I want to park the car. We're done. I've got no interest in trying anything else,' they can cancel Christmas, because it's pretty much over.

Why we care: Pearson, the Silver Fox, was Richard Petty's chief rival for a generation. He won three championships and 105 races. What's more, he was the consummate poker player each weekend at the track -- even his own team never knew just what they had until it was time to turn over the money cards.

For more news about Matt Kenseth, click here.

'It's all on Martin's shoulders'

The deal: Jim Utter of the Charlotte Observer says Martin Truex Jr. has made many critics look foolish during his brief Busch Series career, already showing a remarkable amount of resilience, patience and maturity.

	Martin Truex Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Many thought getting the nod as the driver for the Busch Series team co-owned by NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, might be too much for the 23-year-old native of Mayetta, N.J.

Hardly.

Why we care: After 11 races in his first full season in the series, Truex Jr. has four wins -- including last Sunday at Nazareth, Pa. -- and leads the series standings by 31 points over fellow rookie Kyle Busch.

As he prepares for Saturday's Carquest 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Truex Jr. finds himself in the midst of a championship battle, sharing a spotlight also held by his team owner Earnhardt Jr., who leads the Nextel Cup Series standings.

For more news on Dale Earnhardt Inc., click here.

Stock car racing North Carolina's to lose

The deal: David Poole of the Charlotte Observer says North Carolina motorsports industry and government leaders don't like to see NASCAR move Nextel Cup races out of the state, taking tourism dollars to other parts of the country in the process.

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Since NASCAR ultimately controls those dates, however, that leadership has turned its focus toward what it can control, keeping the Tar Heel state a logical and comfortable place for companies in the racing business to call home.

Why we care: Westward expansion of the Cup schedule has even led to speculation that teams might open a second base of operations in the Midwest, or move their headquarters altogether to a more centralized location in Tennessee or Kentucky.

While the specialized labor pool that racing has attracted to North Carolina and the clustering of support businesses here prevents that from happening overnight, McLean said the attention generated by the loss of racing events has served a purpose.

"The visibility of the events we've lost has served as a wake-up call," he said. "At least we're talking now about how this is an important industry."

For more news from around the nation, click here.

Older drivers keep on truckin'

The deal: Monte Dutton of the Gaston Gazette says it's hard to believe that Jeff Gordon's first victory occurred 10 years ago in the Coca-Cola 600.

	Jeff Gordon

It's also hard to believe that Gordon will turn 33 in August. Isn't he kind of, well, "forever young"? The "Wonder Boy" nickname has long been passé, but it's still hard to think of Gordon as a veteran, despite the fact that he's won 66 races, 47 poles and four championships.

Why we care: Even if he doesn't win another race this year -- unlikely -- Gordon will have averaged 5.5 victories a year since he arrived on the scene. In 34 years, Richard Petty won 200 times, meaning that he averaged 5.88 victories a year over the almost unimaginable length of his career.

Gordon has been at his best at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He's won seven poles at the 1.5-mile track, not to mention four points races and three all-star races.

For more news on Jeff Gordon, click here.