NASCAR in New England

There was a time when NASCAR officials thought New Hampshire was about five miles from the North Pole.

That was before the Southern sport - along with the culture, dollars, and perhaps even the so-called "NASCAR dads" voting block - revved across the United States to stop off right here in Loudon, home of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a track that can seat 105,000-plus people.

As local racing fans gear up for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 this coming Sunday, industry insiders are thinking about the future of NASCAR. Track attendance is down, corporate sponsors may be pulling out, and gas prices are at an all-time high, affecting the race teams as well as fans who trek in from across the country to hear the engines roar.

Charlie Pierce wrote about the foothold NASCAR now has in New England for The Boston Globe Magazine, and he joins Word of Mouth to talk about NASCAR's financial crunch - and its identity crisis.

(Photo by pocketwiley)