Bobby Labonte got his start in racing when he was a kid, tearing up quarter midget tracks in and around his hometown of Corpus Christi, Tex.

Well, that's not quite true. Sometimes he and older brother Terry had to venture far away from home to run their quarter midget races because that's where the tracks and the competition were located. That's why when Bobby's son Tyler first started racing several years ago and there was no local track at which Tyler could try his hand at quarter midgets, the 2000 Sprint Cup champion took matters into his own hands and had a quarter midget track built within short driving distance from their North Carolina home. Labonte talked with NASCAR.COM about his passion for quarter midgets and the benefits of having built the facility, and what he learned from it.

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I know how important it is for the community and the parents for kids to have an opportunity not only to go play baseball or soccer or tennis or golf.

”

-- BOBBY LABONTE

Q: When did you build the track for quarter midgets, and where is it located exactly?

Labonte: It's in Salisbury, North Carolina, right off Interstate-85, Exit 72. I probably built it five years ago, maybe six.

Q: And the quarter midgets were how you got your start in racing, too, right?

Labonte: That's how I got started. My dad built the local track there in Corpus, and we traveled all over the country racing until I was 10. We met some great people. We're still great friends with some of them. That was our start to racing.

There was not a track for my son to go to when he started racing a few years ago. We had to travel all up and down the East Coast to find places for him to race because there wasn't a place for him to race locally. It was kind of a Field of Dreams thing; you know, build it and they will come?

Now my son outgrew it and he's not racing anymore. ... But I know how important it is for the community and the parents for kids to have an opportunity not only to go play baseball or soccer or tennis or golf. Here is another thing kids can do if racing is their passion.

Q: So the season there already has started. How long will they run?

Labonte: The last race is Thanksgiving. It ends up with Fall Nationals. They stay busy, and I say 'they' because I've got good people who run the place. I don't go down there like I would if my son was racing. It's like a club with all the parents involved. ... This year we're with USAC, which is a little different deal than the QMA (Quarter Midgets Association) thing. Obviously USAC is a sanctioning body that is well known, and it's nice that they're helping out. (Continued)