Motorsports Fabrication had matured its reputation as a turnkey car builder, spring of 1990 was very busy with a number of turnkey projects,1990 included facilitating over 12 touring series races, with a full late model stock championship run with GC. We were approached by Circle Track magazine to push the Training Center, Butch Bass was selling adds, befriended my dad, was amazed at the facility and our approach to enhancing existing racer talents/skills into quality employees. Butch Bass called my dad’s vision “aligning the stars”. The premise was simple identify a given individuals skills, mature the direction they are challenged in based on what they needed to know to be a NASCAR team employee, then offer them the skills they wanted to mature their careers. Most walked in and checked off multiple boxes, only had a few required a total education. Need to Know/ Want to Know. As always in our adventures we didn’t have unlimited funding to buy pages of adds but we did enhance the direction of industry magazines with everyday racers getting jobs. This gave us print in a major publication, stories are better than adds by 10x. In the fall off 1990 our relationship with Circle Track had matured to a point of confidence that we both shared a common interest in a defined workforce. Jeff Smith Hot Rod Magazine Editor had entered a discussion with Butch Bass and my dad about a series that centered around metal shaping/skills, this expanded to a curiosity CJ Baker had about the NASCAR Sportsman series. I was included and pitched a series where students built and raced a NASCAR Sportsman car. The logistics of building the car with students became the elephant in the room. Our training curriculum was systematic, at best it allowed us as car builders to perfect our craft. Being engineers/ machinist/ metal body/ chassis builders and racers, the turnkey assembly process was more than defined. I use the same process in the FSAE program at TN Tech every day. The approach was so written in stone, every component in the super assembly is systematically prepared, the manufacturing process divided into several skills’ specific tasks, each car starting from a bare chassis takes about 2000 hours in a seasoned shop, with 10 students we had 3000 hours. My proposal included having all the parts and material on campus day one for the car. 30-day schedule, deadline October testing and race,10 students, lead instructor, Mark Davis, machinist, Carl Smith, technician, GC Campbell, shop support, Scott Davis. Will Handzel was Circle Track tech editor and assigned to cover the build, lead time on first issue was 6 months. Will and Butch chased the 30 day build, a number of professionals told them it couldn’t happen, like the little boy at the fair that eat the giant watermelon for a $100 was asked how he knew he could do it, his answer I eat one just like it an hour ago, Scott, Carl, GC, and myself had just finished an identical car in 40 days by ourselves. As all parties agreed to the build details Bob Raynor’s ego went into overdrive and in a surprise move as dad and I continued to struggle with who was the fearless leader, Bob Raynor decided he no longer wanted just to sponsor the program but with owning the Training Center and in his mind that included owning Motorsports Fabrication. We both were caught by surprise, but both agreed on that day as the pressure of the build had dad’s BP up, and that Bob needed to be the big dog, and if there were in fact fleas, they were his problems. Technically the Circle Track build was the last joint venture for the Motor Sports Training Center and Motor Sports Fabrication, with owners Cal Davis and Mark Davis. My dad had no desire to own the car at the end of the build in fact days before the build started he collected his check from Bob and left for Florida. The Circle Track build will probably be one of my crowning moments, (articles are attached) the irony with the time line of magazines, by the time the articles hit the stands, our three way had split the sheets. Bob Raynor instructed Will Handzel and CJ Baker not to give Cal Davis, Mark Davis, Scott Davis, or Carl Smith any recognition. Will contacted me, I told him don’t forget the students they know who lead them through the build and made them winning car builders. The build was pulled off without a hitch, every deadline was met without issue. At the end of the day, I still have relationships from the Circle Track build, it reinforced my position with the manufactures involved, I still deal with many of them. The idea that under my direction my team could take students, many of the eight although young were seasoned racers and/ or craftsman and build a racecar capable of leading a NASCAR Sportsman race at Charlotte seemed impossible at best, the magazine tells the story. There was a controversy over driver/ sponsor, our crowd wanted Robert Huffman a Hickory Speedway Champion, after a little dealing with the editor, Robbie Faggort was given the ride, in fact the undisclosed Faggart/ Hanzel deal gave the car to Faggort the car against the contract of the build. After Bob’s lawyers made a few calls, the car came home, and the engine went back to Mike Jackson as agreed.
Note: Bob sold the car late in 1991 to Tim Bender a snowmobile racer from New York and a NASCAR Sportsman regular, Tim won races 3 and 4 of the 1992 Sportsman Races and won races 1,2,3, and 5 of 1993 before moving on to the Busch Grand National Series, proving that the Circle Track Monte Carlo built by “8 students” was not only a winner but dominant.
Read the articles
Every Racers Dream Part 1 You can build this NASCAR Sportsman car and race with the big boys on Winston Cup tracks. Here’s how.
Every Racers Dream: Part 2 Construction continues on the Cobra Electronics NASCAR Sportsman project car
Every Racers Dream: Part 3 The drivetrain for the Cobra Electronics NASCAR Sportsman car goes together
Every Racers Dream: Part 4 The last details are taken care of and the car is run at the track.
How to Build a Sportsman Engine: Engine theory meets the reality of NASCAR’s restrictive rules.