Local Look: Charlotte

Events: Nextel All-Star Challenge, Quaker Steak & Lube 200

Local papers contributing: Christian Science Monitor, Dallas Morning News, Charleston Post and Courier, Winston-Salem Journal

	Inside the Numbers Ricky Rudd's Cup career Category Stat Starts 850 Wins 23 Top-5s 192 Top-10s 366 Poles 29 Laps Led 7,833 Avg. Start 14.8 Avg. Finish 16.0

Rudd plans up in air after season

The deal: Terry Blount of the Dallas Morning News says Ricky Rudd's contract with Wood Brothers Racing ends after the 2005 season. At age 48, Rudd doesn't know if he will sign a new deal to drive the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford, sign with another team or retire.

"Sometime this summer they need to know some answers for their race team," Rudd said. "Maybe you guys won't bug me after that, but there are some real issues coming up that I've got to address."

Why we care: Rudd made his 850th Cup start Saturday night at Richmond. He made his Cup debut in 1975 at Rockingham, N.C. Rudd has made a record 763 consecutive starts, dating to 1981.

"It doesn't seem like that long ago I was 18 years old and starting my first race," Rudd said. "I was in this sport when young wasn't cool. Now I'm on the other end of the spectrum."

NASCAR has female hearts racing

The deal: David Kirby of the Christian Science Monitor says leading NASCAR's charge in popularity -- both through the turnstiles and with the TV clicker -- is a fan subset that seems, well, counterintuitive for such a He-Man sport: women.

An ESPN Sports poll shows that 42 percent of racing fans are now female, and more women watch NASCAR on network TV than watch Major League Baseball or the NFL, Nielsen Media Research found in 2003. In fact, women 18 to 34, many of whom attend the races with children in tow, are the fastest-growing segment of NASCAR's TV fans.

Casey Mears spends time with some female fans. Credit: Autostock

Why we care: The rising female attraction is having an impact on the raceway in ways both subtle and overt -- and is not happening by accident (though industry insiders are reluctant to admit it).

Aggressive marketing is driving the fan explosion, and marketing often works well when the faces the public sees are movie-star handsome.

In a recent episode of "The West Wing," the president's wife is asked to put in an appearance at a NASCAR race. "Why would any woman attend a stock car race?" the first lady asks.

"Because of the drivers," replies an aide. "They're all hotties."

Stock-car tour's all-star race past its prime?

The deal: Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal says it's all-star week at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, but if the truth be told, most drivers would rather be doing something else this weekend.

The all-star event, created 20 years ago by the late T. Wayne Robertson, the head of Reynolds' sports marketing division, has been a splashy affair, with plenty of fireworks and hoopla -- too much at times, according to some drivers, who worry that the promoters are much too interested in wild, zany finishes than in just a good, straightforward race.

Matt Kenseth says hello to the fans just before last year's Nextel All-Star Challenge. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

However, since the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, the event just hasn't had that much sizzle, to be honest. And the crowds aren't sellouts.

Driver Kenny Schrader said that a real points-race might be preferable -- and more logical.

"Personally, we'd rather be points-racing," Schrader said. "But if they're going to continue having the all-star race - which is really an exhibition, an event for the series sponsor and the fans - then hopefully they'll continue running it in Charlotte.

"Charlotte is a great venue. They do a great job promoting the event; they fill the place up, and it's close to what the majority of us call home."

Why we care: NASCAR executives have been not-so-quietly promoting a move to Richmond International Raceway, which is owned by the France family's International Speedway Corp.

So LMS promoter H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler and his boss, Bruton Smith, have enlisted every North Carolina politician they can to help keep the event right here in the Tarheel state.

Of course, there is the long-running debate about why NASCAR even needs an all-star race such as this, which is open to so many drivers that it really is no all-star event at all.

NASCAR again avoids Congress' drug-testing spotlight

The deal: David Caraviello of the Charleston Post and Courier says officials from various leagues will return to Capitol Hill this week for another round of hearings on drug and steroid use in professional sports. Commissioners from the NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball, and even Major League Soccer are scheduled to appear before the House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee.

There are no representatives from NASCAR on the agenda. That's because the nation's largest auto racing series would not be directly impacted by the Drug Free Sports Act of 2005, which this week's hearings are being convened to discuss.

Why we care: Introduced by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), the bill would standardize drug-testing policies for most pro sports, and impose heavy penalties for offenders or leagues that fail to comply. Every athlete would be tested randomly for prohibited substances at least once each year.

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Violators would face a two-year suspension for a first offense and a lifetime ban for a second offense. Noncompliance by a league would result in a $5 million initial fine, and an additional $1 million for each day until compliance.

But NASCAR catches a break. As far as the Drug Free Sports Act is concerned, the term "professional sports associations" refers only to those five leagues whose commissioners have been summoned to Washington -- NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS and Major League Baseball -- plus the Arena Football League.

For any other pro sports league (like NASCAR) to become involved, the Secretary of Commerce would have to expand the scope of the law.