Now that the sport has network coverage, promoters say, all it needs is a Tiger Woods. He'll have a background in music, shoot golf in the 70s, go to college, know how to deal with the media. Easy for him to say, feeling like Earl Woods. But I trust him. Outside the car, he's an eighth-grader, but something happens when he gets in.
Parents dream, too.
He hung around tracks but never raced seriously because he saw too many drivers with talent go broke. But he took the family to races, talked speed and was not surprised when Jon, at 9, bugged him to race Go-Karts. And that's not counting travel, hauling and pit crews. Jon Denning or some other Junior Youngblood, the next hero does need to be smooth and media savvy. The Dennings are consciously grooming Jon for that role.