Maybe they will keep them over there
NASCAR's China initiative may be on the verge of bearing fruit.
A four-person NASCAR group, including chairman Brian France, was scheduled to depart April 22 for a week-long visit to China to discuss possible projects with government, sports and business officials in Beijing, the country's capital.
NASCAR has no plans to race its Nextel Cup series in China. The trip is likely to involve discussions about lower-level NASCAR-type events or series at Chinese racetracks and business relationships that might include NASCAR and Chinese interests. It was not known if any contracts or agreements might be signed on the trip.
Scheduled to make the trip, in addition to France, were NASCAR senior vice president Paul Brooks, NASCAR international managing director Robbie Weiss and Ken Clapp, a NASCAR consultant and formerly NASCAR's West Coast director.
NASCAR officials have been discussing possible involvement in China for more than a year.
The Summer Olympics are scheduled in Beijing in August 2008, marking a major step forward on the international stage for the Chinese.
NASCAR has had serious international aspirations for more than a decade.
From 1996 to '98, NASCAR ran three exhibition races in Japan, shipping its Cup cars across the Pacific to introduce the sport to the Far East.
In 2005, the Busch Series raced for the first time at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez course in Mexico City. The series also raced there in 2006 and this season with generally mixed results.
NASCAR also has launched an initiative north of the border. A Busch Series race is scheduled in Montreal at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Aug. 4.
NASCAR's China initiative may be on the verge of bearing fruit.
A four-person NASCAR group, including chairman Brian France, was scheduled to depart April 22 for a week-long visit to China to discuss possible projects with government, sports and business officials in Beijing, the country's capital.
NASCAR has no plans to race its Nextel Cup series in China. The trip is likely to involve discussions about lower-level NASCAR-type events or series at Chinese racetracks and business relationships that might include NASCAR and Chinese interests. It was not known if any contracts or agreements might be signed on the trip.
Scheduled to make the trip, in addition to France, were NASCAR senior vice president Paul Brooks, NASCAR international managing director Robbie Weiss and Ken Clapp, a NASCAR consultant and formerly NASCAR's West Coast director.
NASCAR officials have been discussing possible involvement in China for more than a year.
The Summer Olympics are scheduled in Beijing in August 2008, marking a major step forward on the international stage for the Chinese.
NASCAR has had serious international aspirations for more than a decade.
From 1996 to '98, NASCAR ran three exhibition races in Japan, shipping its Cup cars across the Pacific to introduce the sport to the Far East.
In 2005, the Busch Series raced for the first time at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez course in Mexico City. The series also raced there in 2006 and this season with generally mixed results.
NASCAR also has launched an initiative north of the border. A Busch Series race is scheduled in Montreal at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Aug. 4.