If attractive, scantily-clad "umbrella girls" show up on the grid of a NASCAR race any time in the near future, don't blame Antonio Perez, because all the Mexican youngster wants to do is race stock cars.

But there's no question that with the ambitious, aggressive plan that Perez, 22, and his American team owners Troy Williams and Sean Watts have in place this year may eventually result in a new look to NASCAR.

Antonio Perez

“

We're going to change the culture in NASCAR, maybe just a little bit at a time, and we think Antonio is something special.

”

JOSE SABATES

Williams and Watts' Telmex/Chivas Racing ensemble is outside Los Angeles this weekend, where Perez, the 2008 Corona Series champion in his native country, is a guaranteed starter in Saturday night's Toyota All-Star Showdown at the Irwindale Speedway.

"This is an amazing opportunity for me, I want to take it and make the most of it," Perez said. "To do well [in the Showdown] will help us get the budget we need. So many people have been trying to help, from Troy Williams and Sean Watts to everyone from NASCAR, Jose Sabates, Carlos Slim, Jimmy Morales -- all the people from Scuderia Telmex and Chivas have been working hard.

"I think we can get a top-10, but that would be an amazing result because we've not had a chance to test, but my team, my crew chief Mark Tutor and all of them have been doing their best to give us a competitive car."

Hollywood's broken many hearts, but for Perez, a native of Guadalajara, his brief time on this trip to California has been like a dream. A Thursday meeting with Z-Line Designs founder, CEO and president Jim Sexton resulted in a sponsorship package for Perez's Camping World East season.

The Telmex/Chivas group's program for 2009 is primarily the 12-race Camping World East Series, but NASCAR consultant Sabates, who coordinates and facilitates some of the team's country-to-country activity, said they would also like to do a limited slate of Nationwide Series races with Perez if he can overcome a couple Camping World schedule conflicts. He might also attempt to defend his Corona Series crown.

Sabates said soccer is the No. 1 sport in Mexico and Chivas is like the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball or the Boston Celtics of the NBA. Motorsports is the second-most popular sport in Mexico, Sabates said, and the Corona Series is the most popular series, racing in front of large crowds and at several newly built facilities.

Sabates said the cross-promotional possibilities "has no limit," and how much the soccer team is behind Perez is borne out by the fact that three of Chivas' players and their official cheerleading squad are in Irwindale.

"We're going to change the culture in NASCAR, maybe just a little bit at a time, and we think Antonio is something special," Sabates said. "The governor of Jalisco, Guadalajara's state, is in full support of Antonio and what he's doing."

For Perez's part, he's most in tune with the racing end of things and he's glad he didn't have to race his way into the Showdown.

"Coming to Irwindale as the Corona Series champion, with the experience I gained last season, makes a big difference," Perez said. "My crew's been working day and night to give me a competitive car and I think we have a big chance for a top-10 finish, which would be a great entrance into our 2009 season, and to prove I have the experience to be racing here in the United States." (Continued)