toledoblade.com --

BROOKLYN, Mich. - The five Cornerstone Schools in Detroit are surrounded by every filthy stereotype that haunts urban America. They are an oasis of challenging curriculum and a safe, healthy learning environment, wrapped in a desert of crime and decay.

While the youths on the streets around the area often sport the look of their favorite NBA player, a popular NFL star, or some rap impresario, NASCAR is no where to be found.

Tim Brown thinks he can change that.

The former Heisman Trophy winner from Notre Dame, who ended his 17-year NFL career as the No. 2 all-time leading receiver, is starting a racing team that he hopes can bring a flush of diversity to the sport and make NASCAR a player on its final domestic frontier - the inner city.

That seed has already been planted with the kids from Cornerstone. Six of them visited Michigan International Speedway here on Friday, and if they were not NASCAR fans when they arrived, they were when they left.

"Our children's eyes are wide open," Cornerstone president Ernestine Sanders said. "They see all that goes into this sport, and they are fascinated with the engineering, the science, and all of the people and elements it takes to make these cars perform so well. NASCAR wants to show the sport to kids in the cities, and I think the kids are going to love it."

The Cornerstone children showed a fascination NASCAR hopes is highly contagious. And if Tim Brown's diversity push pans out, this megasport could saddle up alongside the NFL as top dog in the American sports market.

Brown admits it is an ambitious undertaking. He has a degree in sociology and a minor in business, and he is probably going to need them both, and then some, to make this all work.

"There's an opportunity for me to come in, take the NASCAR beast and in some kind of way put it together with the urban community," Brown said. "We think we'll be able to do that, to bring people in who maybe have not been in NASCAR. You know, it's not cool to wear a Dale Earnhardt jacket in the neighborhood. You just can't be cool and wear that jacket. But what we want to do is to make that cool."

What Brown hopes will make his push different than similarly
minded past forays into stock car racing by former NBA great Julius Erving and late NFL star Reggie White is money and know-how. Brown is in the process of recruiting African-American corporate sponsors to provide the financial foundation, and he will have a technical alliance with the defending Nextel Cup championship team, Roush Racing, to get him up to speed.

"Obviously, this opportunity would not be happening if not for the support of Roush Racing," Brown said. "NASCAR is a very difficult sport to get into. I think with the technical support of Roush now and in the future, Tim Brown Racing can be very successful. Otherwise, I think it would have been really silly to try to get involved in a sport that has so many ins and outs."

Brown wants to identify the best minority prospects in the driving ranks, and put them behind the wheel. He does not think he needs a black or Hispanic Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart to be successful, but he is optimistic that such a star can be found eventually.

"NASCAR is a very successful venture, but one of the things that has been missing is, obviously, the diversity issue," Brown said. "And I think the only way to do that is to put a different face on it. I want everyone to understand, we're not trying to change the face of NASCAR. There's obviously nothing wrong with NASCAR. All we want to do is add to what's going on."

Brown, who is working in conjunction with NASCAR's existing diversity programs, said sponsors have walked away from the sport in the past due to concerns over the lack of diversity. He said an African-American-funded team, with a woman, Hispanic or black driver, will quickly remedy that, without disrupting the sport's foundation.

"There will not be any rallies in the middle of any tracks, no NAACP rallies or anything of that nature," Brown said. "I don't want anyone to think we're coming in here trying to uproot something. We're just here to try and make this all better."

Bowling Green State University graduate Jamahl Brown, a producer for NASCAR Images, said stock car racing has to hit the critical 18-35 male demographic in the cities to really make the venture work.

"When I grew up, golf wasn't cool at all with the black kids," the Cincinnati native said.
|"Tiger Woods changed all that. It doesn't have to be that dramatic a presence, but NASCAR needs to find that person or people to really grab the urban community's attention and draw them in. With Roush backing Tim Brown, this is the perfect opportunity to make it happen."

Brown said the Danica Patrick phenomenon on the open-wheel racing side has given some people the incorrect impression that she got a chance and burst onto the scene, without knowledge of the years she spent overseas serving her driving apprenticeship.

"I think there are some very good minority drivers out there, but are they ready to race in Cup? I don't think so," Brown said. "They can't just grab someone and throw them in a Cup car. This sport is a lot more difficult and complicated than that."

Roush also cited the need to find minority talent and put in the time and resources to
develop it.

"The problem is not getting people who are interested in doing this, it is getting people who can clear the bar," Roush said. "There is only one bar. There is not an African-American bar and a female bar, there is only one bar."

Roush said the reality is that many of the young minority kids who might show a rabid interest in the sport are lacking the background of many of their counterparts.

"One problem we've had with bringing young minority kids in and bringing females in, is that they don't spend enough time driving Go Karts and putting in the time working at these skills," Roush said. "A lot of the most successful drivers out here were racing in Go Karts when they were 6 or 7 years old. There's a lot of catching up to do."

Brown said he hopes to have the finances, the facility, the team and a driver in place for next season, but is unsure about which series he will compete in, although he would like it to include a Nextel Cup team.

"I'm not Tiger Woods," Brown said, "but it's possible to have the same kind of impact on racing as he has had on golf. That is something to shoot for. But we'll have a rookie driver, and people who haven't worked together, so it will be a challenge."

The head of the Cornerstone Schools thinks exposure to NASCAR will jump-start the diversity effort. A NASCAR trailer with a racing simulator will visit her schools this year, and she plans to bring more students to MIS for next season's races.

"Kids love cars, and they are just enthralled with the sights, the sounds and the speeds at the race track," Sanders said. "From a personal standpoint, once I've seen the organization involved in this, the business side, and the discipline and commitment they make to try and be the best, I think it makes perfect sense for NASCAR to have a presence in the urban areas."

The troop of Cornerstone Schools kids left MIS in bright red and white leather No. 9 Kasey Kahne jackets, all donated by the manufacturer and signed by the young NASCAR star. They will be the first ones in their neighborhoods to sport those colors in that configuration. A lot of people are betting they won't be the last.

Contact Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6510.

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