Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Nascar stock car racing, the second- biggest sport in the U.S., may be coming to Staten Island, the fastest-growing borough in New York City. Residents of what was long known as the city's forgotten borough say they already have all the cars they can handle.

``It's the hottest issue right now,'' says Brian Laline, editor of the Staten Island Advance newspaper. ``The majority of the response is negative. We do get some positive letters, but everybody's focused on the traffic.''

International Speedway Corp., the owner of a dozen tracks including the site of last weekend's Daytona 500, wants to build a $550 million, 82,000-seat raceway to gain a presence in the country's top media market. Opponents contend the plan would bring an increase in the traffic that's already a constant aggravation to the island's 444,000 people.

The track would put Nascar, with sponsors including Home Depot Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp., Coca-Cola Co. and Bank of America Corp., a 25-minute ferry ride away from Wall Street. New York sports fans, who now root for Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Giants quarterback Eli Manning, would get a chance to cheer on third-generation driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and four-time Nextel Cup champion Jeff Gordon.

Stock-car racing -- featuring 850-horsepower autos based on production models from Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler AG and, starting next season, Toyota Motor Corp. -- was once thought of as primarily a Southern sport. Since 1997, it has added races in Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco and suburban Los Angeles, site of Sunday's Auto Club 500.

National Football League

Among sporting events, only the National Football League has a bigger television audience in the U.S. A record 37.2 million viewers watched Jimmie Johnson drive to a $1.5 million victory in last Sunday's Daytona 500, according to Nielsen Media Research Inc.

Nascar, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, is the sanctioning body for stock-car racing. It's controlled by the France family, who also run International Speedway.

``To have a true national sport, you have to play in New York,'' spokesman Andrew Giangola says. ``The entire industry -- drivers, teams, tracks, sponsors, licensees and media partners -- will benefit when Nascar begins racing in New York City.''

Daytona Beach, Florida-based International Speedway will be asked to address Staten Island traffic issues, as well as noise and environmental concerns, at a public hearing tentatively scheduled for April.

`Bald-Headed Stepchild'

Staten Island, the birthplace of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, was for decades known as New York City's forgotten borough, says Cynthia Copeland, a curator with the New-York Historical Society. The designation grew out of its geographical separation and islanders' belief that city officials paid more attention to Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

``Staten Island was treated as a bald-headed stepchild,'' Copeland says. ``Residents became annoyed and believed that they were overlooked.''

Today, Staten Island is the fastest-growing county in New York state. Median household income is about $55,000, highest of the city's five boroughs, with Manhattan second at $47,000.

``The track will bring Staten Island out of the shadow of the other boroughs,'' says Jimmy Collins, an island resident and chairman of the pro-track group Staten Island Nascar Hopefuls.

The proposed 3/4-mile track would be built in the island's Bloomfield neighborhood, just over the Goethals Bridge from New Jersey. International Speedway, which would pay for the track, spent about $100 million to buy the 675-acre tract that used to be home to an oil-tank farm.

Entertaining Clients

Related Cos., the New York-based developer that built the Time Warner Center across from Central Park in Manhattan, is a partner in the project and plans to build a mall on the site.

Having Nascar in New York would ``give us an opportunity to complement our relationship with the Yankees,'' says John Berry, the senior vice president for sponsorships and market planning at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America. The second- largest U.S. bank has a sponsorship agreement with the New York Yankees baseball team.

The bank, which gives its name to October's Bank of America 500 in Charlotte, would welcome the opportunity to host clients at a Nascar event in New York, he says.

International Speedway has been addressing fears of residents who see the track as an unwelcome burden to their already traffic-laden roadways. Project manager Michael Printup, who bought a house in the island's Tottenville neighborhood when he took over the job, gives as many as three presentations a day to local groups.

`Mistruths'

``There are a lot of mistruths out there, like eight race weekends a year or 80,000 people driving their cars,'' says Printup. ``We're not doing that.''

The proposed plan would allow 8,400 cars to park at the site. The bulk of fans would arrive via 643 buses or 83 ferries, all rented from private companies for use on race weekends, from remote park-and-ride and park-and-sail sites.

Some officials say such plans don't go far enough.

``There's no thought or concern about how Staten Islanders will get around,'' says Michael McMahon, one of three members of the New York City Council from the borough who have expressed skepticism about the plan. Council approval is needed for zoning changes required to build the speedway.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said last month it was ``too early at this point to say whether the project will or won't happen,'' the Staten Island Advance reported. ``Obviously, in the council we are very respectful of the local members' feelings on issues,'' she was quoted as saying. ``That said, it's not a litmus test.''

Changed His Mind

Approval would be just fine with Vincent Pompa, a lifelong Staten Islander and a member of a local community board.

The 78-year-old retired chemist was opposed to the track before International Speedway took him to a race in Richmond, Virginia. Pompa says he was surprised that 100,000 race-day fans were gone in two hours and that noise from the track could barely be heard half a mile away.

Now Pompa says a racetrack on Staten Island would be ``the lesser of three evils,'' better than adding manufacturing or housing.

``People don't like change, but the island has already changed,'' he says.

To contact the reporter on this story: Larry DiTore in New York at lditore@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 24, 2006 00:47 EST