Does Indianapolis Claim Racings TitleTown USA?

ESPN’s popular program Sportscenter is currently touring the country to find what city is the top sports town. Fans will be able to vote from 20 cities that have been named finalists for the claim of “TitleTown USA". Cities such as Ann Arbor, Boston, Chapel Hill, Green Bay, Gainesville, Lawrence, New York and others are among the “stick and ball" cities that are in the running. But, what city can claim the motorsports title? Is it Reading, Pennsylvania, the former home of Penske Racing and 11 open wheel championships? Is it Level Cross, North Carolina, where Petty Enterprises made history, or is it Brownsburg, Indiana, the home of John Force Racing with 15 team titles? With championships produced from stables all over the country, who deserves the crown of being the motorsports true “TitleTown USA"?

Marc Mitchell, driver of the #15 Ergon Tundra and Raybestos Rookie of the Year Contender:
“The state of North Carolina has grown to be the heart of NASCAR. So many championships have come from towns within the Tar Heel State, but there’s one in particular that sticks out to me – Kannapolis. Dale Earnhardt has seven championships and was one of the best drivers ever. He won just about everything there was to win in our sport. He was a threat to win at every race the circuit traveled to and definitely was one of the most respected drivers on tour. Pound for pound, I don’t think there was ever a better driver than the “Intimidator," so my vote for racing’s “TitleTown" is for his hometown, Kannapolis.

Bobby Labonte, Sprint Cup Series Driver:
There’s one name and town that sticks out when you discuss success in motorsports – Petty and Level Cross. There are a lot of deserving cities in America, many with deep racing roots and championships. Owensboro, Kentucky and maybe even Corpus Christi, Texas (smiling) could be considered, but it’s hard not to pick the place where the Petty’s were born. For me, it’s the one place that would deserve a title like this. There are a lot of trophies collected in that area. Richard (Petty) won seven championships, 200 races and Lee (Petty) won three championships. That’s an amazing feat for just one small, rural town. So, it’s a pretty easy decision for me. Level Cross, NC is definitely racing’s “TitleTown".

John Andretti, Open Wheel and NASCAR Sprint Cup Veteran:
“I think Indianapolis is auto racing’s “TitleTown". The Brickyard is hallowed ground as far as I’m concerned, and it’s the track that everyone wants to win at. Whether it’s Formula One, IndyCar, NASCAR; I don’t care if it’s go karts or golf carts, everyone dreams of racing at Indianapolis. There aren’t many places like that in the world. It definitely brings the “best of the best" to the area every year."

“Also, drivers migrate to Indiana to race. In USAC, they want to race against the best sprint car, midget and champ dirt car drivers there are. Some are born there, but the talent is so strong in the area that drivers will move there to compete. Indianapolis has such a talented pool of drivers for all racing series. They get started young and develop into some of the best drivers in the world. It is definitely a racing town, and I think the true “TitleTown"."