NASCAR NOTEBOOK

updated 10:06 p.m. ET Feb. 18, 2005

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The guy with the biggest grin at Daytona International Speedway earlier this week was longtime racing star Mario Andretti.

Andretti, who will be 65 on Feb. 28, was in Daytona Beach on Tuesday to take part in a round table of former Daytona 500 champions. Afterward, thanks to International Race of Champions president Jay Signore, the only man to have won NASCAR’s biggest race, the Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One event in Monaco took a fast spin in an IROC car on the 2½-mile Daytona oval.

“When Mario came out, I said, ‘Hey kid, you looking for a ride?”’ Signore explained. “Mario said, ‘Yeah sure.’

“We said hello and I said, ‘Mario, seriously, you’re welcome to take one out if you want. I’ve got extra gear in the truck you can borrow.’ And he didn’t hesitate.”

Andretti strapped in and was immediately flat out and up to speed, clocking the same lap times as the current series drivers, who had been practicing for several days.

“I really wanted to see what the latest cars are like,” the 1979 IROC champion said. “It was awesome.”

“They do a marvelous job at setting these cars up,” Andretti said. “They really, really drive well and this race will be loads of fun for the drivers in the IROC series.”

Series competitors Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski, Helio Castroneves, Max Papis, Scott Pruett and Sebastien Bourdais, along with members of the IROC crew, all gathered around and had their pictures taken with Andretti after his ride.

Asked what the reaction was when Andretti came down South and won the 1967 Daytona 500 in one of only a handful of stock car starts, he said, “Not good. It wasn’t supposed to happen.

“I was driving for Holman and Moody and my teammate, Freddie Lorenzen, was the Golden Boy of NASCAR. He was the one who was supposed to win,” Andretti said. “I didn’t have much drafting experience and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay with those guys, so I set my car up to be fast out front. I got out there and stayed in front as much as I could.

“Freddie was right behind me and second place was the spot to be in on the last lap. It was almost a certain victory. But there was a crash with five laps left and the race finished under yellow. I took that trophy and got out of there.”

Museum price
The final list of sites vying to host the NASCAR Hall of Fame includes Atlanta, Birmingham/Talladega, Ala., Charlotte/Concord, N.C., Kansas City, Richmond, Va., the state of Michigan and Daytona Beach.

All received requests from the stock car sanctioning organization for proposals and have agreed to submit bids for the project. The site selected will partner with NASCAR to build the new Hall of Fame.

“NASCAR’s overriding goal is to have a world-class Hall of Fame,” said NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France. “We want it to be a special place that brings NASCAR’s history to life. Our hope is for longtime fans to have the opportunity to relive NASCAR’s greatest moments and for new fans to learn about them.”

There are several independent racing Halls of Fame in the United States, but none is affiliated with NASCAR.

The proposal sent to the seven bidding groups is intentionally vague. There are no specific requirements for size, shape or cost. It is NASCAR’s hope that each community will view this as an opportunity to be creative in design, development and timing.

The deadline to submit proposals is May 31.

Media choice
Jimmie Johnson, last year’s NASCAR Nextel Cup runner-up, has been selected by members of the media as the favorite to win the title in 2005.

Johnson, who lost the 2004 championship to Kurt Busch by just eight points — the closest finish in NASCAR history — received a total of 1,765 points and 87 first-place votes. Just 25 points behind was Jeff Gordon, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsport teammate and four-time series champion. Gordon had 1,740 points and 65 first-place votes.

Third went to Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 1,355 points and 25 first-place votes, followed by Tony Stewart with 1,030 points and seven first-place votes and Busch with 1,022 points and five first-place votes.

The rest of the top 10 included Ryan Newman, last year’s top rookie Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and sentimental favorite Mark Martin, beginning his final full season of Cup racing.

A total of 213 votes were cast in the balloting, which began Feb. 3 and ended on Feb. 13. Drivers received 10 points for first place, nine for second and so on down to one point for 10th place.

All but Kahne and McMurray were part of the inaugural 10-man, 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup championship playoff last fall.

Stat of the week
Officials at Daytona International Speedway say all of the approximately 165,000 grandstand seats for Sunday’s Daytona 500 have been sold.

Another 15,000 to 20,000 people in the infield will raise the crowd for the 47th “Great American Race” to about 185,000.

The 500 will pay a purse of more than $17 million, with more than $1.5 million expected to go to the winner.