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.

Q: Do you gain satisfaction that this track will remain part of your legacy in racing?

Labonte: [Last] Tuesday at the [NASCAR] Hall of Fame, I ran into Ernie Irvan and he said [his son] Jared was still racing quarter midgets. He raced there for awhile. Jeff Burton's kid races there. The ages are from 5 to 15. They can race there until they're 15. Obviously some of them, when they're 10, 11, 12, they might go do something else. But it's an opportunity to race and it's great for character building, developing skills, meeting people.

It's no different than my daughter [Madison], who plays volleyball and softball. You meet people. It cultivates relationships between families, and it's the same sort of thing in racing with the quarter midgets. The competition is still there, and with the popularity of our sport, for that kid who wants to be a race car driver in 10 years, it's their ladder to grow. The families and parents make friends with other families and parents along the way, and the kids who are racing learn how to be nurtured in the right way. It's not an outlaw thing; it's a good thing.

Q: How old is your son now and what is he doing since he's not racing any longer?

Labonte: He's 16. He plays in a recreational softball league and he's taking flying lessons and he had his first gig in a band last [Friday] night in a coffee shop in Lexington [N.C.]

Q: What's he play in the band?

Labonte: Bass guitar. They videotaped it for me.

Q: As a dad you just have to let him do what he wants to do, right?

Labonte: I actually pushed [the racing] to start with. He didn't really want to do it. So after awhile I said, OK, let's take a few weeks off -- and I was OK with that. Some parents have one kid who wants to race and one who doesn't, or one who wants to play softball and one who doesn't. Because he decided not to do it, that didn't hurt my feelings.

I mean, he's vice president of the Guilford County [Young] Republicans Committee. If he was racing quarter midgets and winning all the trophies and ribbons or whatever, or if he's doing what he's doing, I'm just as proud of him. You have to let them do what they have an interest in doing instead of trying to make them do what you want them to do. I learned that lesson. It took me a little bit, though. Meanwhile, the track is still there for others to enjoy and I'm proud of that as well.