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NASCAR WCUP: Traveling north of the border to Canada

5 January 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
HARRISBURG, N.C.-- When most people think of NASCAR racing and its fans, they tend to imagine cars racing around some of the largest and most spectacular raceways in the United States. When Tom Cotter and his fleet of showcar representatives think of NASCAR this week, quite a different place comes to mind --St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Transporter driver Ron Howell will make the 4,400-mile round trip from North Carolina to the most northeastern part of the North American continent with Cotter Promotions' No. 97 John Deere Ford racing showcar. Howell left the Cotter Group offices at 11:00 Tuesday morning and will return January 20. On hand to wish Howell farewell were NASCAR Winston Cup driver Jerry Nadeau and Charlotte Panther's defensive back Kevin Greene.

This will be the longest trip ever by a Cotter Promotions driver in the company's 11-year existence. Cotter knows this means not only that NASCAR is growing, but the desire of fans to be close to the sport is growing as well.

In his travels, Howell likely will face some inclement northern weather but none worse than he will encounter once entering the frozen air of Newfoundland, which has an average temperature of approximately 20 degrees Fahrenheit during the month of January.

After crossing the United States/Canada border in Houlton, Maine, Howell will journey to North Sydney, Nova Scotia, where he will take an eight-hour ferry ride across the Atlantic Ocean to the island of Newfoundland.

Once on the island, Howell's trip is far from over. The next leg of the trip will take him 600 miles across land to St. John's where he will set up for a two-day show presented by Hickman Equipment, a John Deere dealer. After passing through nine different states, Howell will stay in St. John's, just miles away from where it is said that the iceberg broke off of Cape Race, Newfoundland on its own date with destiny -- sinking the Titanic on April 14, 1912.

The 4,400-mile trip shows just how much the boundaries of NASCAR have grown since the early days of Bill France Sr., and his time of racing on the sand in Daytona Beach, Fla. The most northeastern part of North America is approximately 1,960 miles from the origin of NASCAR.

"This has to be proof of NASCAR's far-reaching appeal," said Tom Cotter, CEO and founder of Cotter Group. "If I had the time, I would personally like to take the trip with Ron (Howell), especially with it being the furthest you can drive in North America without being in Europe."

Howell's trip to Newfoundland is an example of just how much the span of the Cotter Group's coverage has grown as well. While he braves the cold and snow, Cotter Group's Mercedes representative, Glenn Hudson is enjoying the sunshine in Kapalua, Hawaii preparing for the Mercedes Golf Championship, Cotter's span across the continental United States could reach no further.

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.