On the first edition of NASCAR America presents Motormouths, Kyle Petty, AJ Allmendinger and Rutledge Wood fielded phone calls from across the country on a range of topics.
A call from Bill in Dallas, Texas, addressed what NASCAR can do to help ensure the survival of local short tracks.
“What makes a short track work is not necessarily NASCAR,” Petty said. “It’s the fans. It’s the fans that come out to that grassroots racing. That’s where the Richard Pettys came from, that’s where the Dale Earnhardt Sr.s came from. That’s where the Jeff Gordons came from. ... We all came from a short track somewhere to find our way to the upper level. But it’s the fans. If a track doesn’t make it, it’s not because of NASCAR. It’s because of the fans.”
Allmendinger believes something helpful NASCAR can do is promote short tracks that are in the vicinity of where the national series compete each weekend.
Watch the above video for more fan calls and analyst discussion.