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PERSONALITY

NASCAR's PRESIDENT, MIKE HELTON, TALKS WITH TRAILER LIFE

There are those who know from firsthand experience that a million-dollar luxury motorcoach can be a necessity. Case in point is the president of National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), Mike Helton. During the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup season (February through November), his presence and leadership are mandated at the 37 Winston Cup events held from Florida to Illinois, from New Hampshire to California.

A typical Winston Cup event spans Friday, Saturday and Sunday Participating each weekend are approximately 45 Winston Cup teams, sometimes an equal number of Busch racing teams, a large contingent of NASCAR officials and an entourage of administrative staff. Then, on a Saturday night or during the day on Sunday, as many as 200,000-plus Winston Cup fans converge upon the scene and enjoy what has come to be known as "one of the greatest shows on earth."

During the Napa Auto Parts 500 at the California Speedway, Trailer Life magazine caught up with Mike Helton to talk with him about the Featherlite Vantare bus conversion he uses at each of the speedways. We wanted to know how it facilitates and accommodates his most unique and demanding lifestyle. With his high-visibility role at the speedway and with more RV enthusiasts than ever attending Winston Cup races, we also took the opportunity to ask Mike some questions about the sport.

Trailer Life: How does your Featherlite Vantare lend itself to your demanding lifestyle at the speedway?

Mike Helton: My Vantare is part of the glue, if you will, that helps hold things together. Spending as much time on the road as I do, the continuity of where I end my day is as important as if I worked all week at one location and went home at night. Having a home that follows me helps maintain that continuity and comfortably gets me through each three-day race weekend. It would be e2=mely difficult to house in a different and unfamiliar environment every night. Being able to have an environment at the speedway that is a haven, a home that yields all the creature comforts regardless of where I'm at, contributes directly to my ability to operate well during the day.

TL: You were in Talladega last Sunday. Now you're in California. What does a typical "week in the life of Mike Helton" look like?

Helton: Leaving Talladega last Sunday, I flew back to Daytona, Florida. Yesterday (Thursday) I arrived in Southern California. I arrive at the next race venue the night before we open for business on Friday We're the first to get here and the last to leave Sunday night after the race and car inspections are complete.

TL: Matt Visbaras is your coach driver. How does he help facilitate all of this?

Helton: When I walked into my coach last night here in California, it was justlike it was when I walked out of it in Talladega last Sunday. The continuity I spoke of exists in great part because of Matt. I'm fortunate to have that kind of support system, where I can walk out of this coach at one location and, 2,500 miles and several days later walk back in and it's just like I left it. Matt is a key component in that continuity He makes it all work.

TL: Between 5, 000 and 15,000 RVs show up at each Winston Cup event. We understand you have owned and enjoyed recreational vehicles, so you understand the appeal the RV lifestyle holds. Care to comment?

Helton: Yes. My father was an outdoors kind of guy. He raised us that way. Often, we would sleep out under the stars or tent-camp along a riverbank. Those childhood experiences that led me to enjoy the great out-of-doors eventually led me into the RV lifestyle. I've had and enjoyed all kinds of RVs, from pop-up campers to motorhomes.

TL: The popularity of NASCAR continues to grow. What doyou attribute this to?

Helton: We don't want to give away our secret recipe and tell how we've done this, but generally speaking it comes down to the character of the sport. The drivers are the ones who are the attraction. It's these people behind the wheels and the extraordinary things they do that captures the imagination of the American people. NASCAR fans recognize that the drivers and their teams are cut from the same fabric they are. They are hardworking people who, just like the folks in the stands, conduct themselves in a morally acceptable fashion. The drivers are America's modern-- day folk heroes.

TL: On the Fox Network, Michael Waltrip often refers to the young successful drivers, such as Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson, as "the young guns." Is there a difference between the young drivers of today and the previous generation of greats, such as Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott and Ricky Rudd?

Helton: NASCAR is very reflective of the world we live in today. Bill France Jr. once told me, "You're going to change whether you want to or not, because the world changes around you." What works for NASCAR is for us to understand the current issues and the current times. I think the drivers speak to that same issue. Matt Kenneth, for example, has the same character as Bobby Allison or David Pearson, but this is 2002 instead of 1962 or 1972. They are different, but they are also the same. They have the same heart and soul that today's veteran drivers or yesterday's heroes have. However, the culture they inherited is as different to them as the culture that we inherited from our folks was different to our generation.

TL: As president of NASCAR, you're at the apex of the motorsports pyramid. How did you get there?

Helton: My background in the sport is anchored at the speedway. I've done everything from painting walls to running concession stands, to public relations, to eventually running racetracks as general manager. While I was general manager of the Atlanta Motor Speedway, I had the opportunity to come to work in marketing for the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) at the Daytona International Speedway. The first racetrack I ran for ISC was the Talladega Super Speedway, where I was the general manager and president. From there, I moved over to the NASCAR side as the vice president of competition.

My career in NASCAR began in the garage area. At the racetrack and the garage area is where I'm most comfortable. My strength is there. Competition is the heart and soul of this sport, and what happens in the garage area, along pit road and out on the track, directly affects the quality and fairness of the competition.

TL: At the speedway you make tough decisions. You're the police department, the judge and the jury. The buck stops with you, so to speak. When an infraction occurs on the track or along pit road, what is the process for resolving it?

Helton: There's a well-defined chain of order, an organized and documented set of procedures and protocols the series director begins with. He then informs me of the infraction, all the elements surrounding it, plus he makes a recommendation. This first step is critical. There are key players who I then discuss the entirety of the situation with before making a final decision. If it's a large and complex issue, it can carry with it a great deal of conversation.

For guidance, I also have the benefit of going to Bill France JL, an individual who knows this sport better than anyone can know anything. He can pull from his vast experience in the sport, experience that spans more than half a century.

TL: During the past couple of years, you have addressed and resolved important safety issues. How does NASCAR craft a prudent safety policy?

Helton: We have a very strong group of specialized consultants that bring us a vast wealth of technical experience and knowledge.

We have our own internal staff of safety specialists at our tech center near Charlotte, North Carolina. This center is staffed with engineers, aerodynamics specialists and metallurgists who help us on a daily basis. Decisions concerning safety are not arrived at lightly. NASCAR is a business, and to operate it effectively requires that we make sound, prudent decisions. That can be achieved only if we have a clear and comprehensive understanding of the issues and what our options are.

TL: Currently there are 37 Winston Cup events held at 17 different speedways. Will the sport continue to grow?

Helton: We've been very lucky. We've been able to grow Winston Cup and Busch racing from a rural sport into an urban sport. We've done this over the past few years by entering big markets, like Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Miami. For us, the year 2001 was a breakout year because of the new TV package that splits televising the Winston Cup season between Fox and NBC. Doing this has given us the ability to expose our product (racing cars on racetracks) to the public at a level never before achievable.

As for growing the sport in new markets, there is one venue we are all around but not in the heart of, and that's New York. It's the No. 1 market out there. We're looking at it, but we're not in it. However, for right now our challenge continues to be making what we have workwell and ensuring that ultimately the fan is satisfied.

Copyright T L Enterprises, Inc. Sep 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

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