NASCAR’s Roush Racing is setting up a driver-development program that will concentrate on young minority drivers.

Under the guidance of Roush chief diversity officer Sam Belnavis, Jack Roush’s team, which has five entries in Nextel Cup and also races in the Busch and Craftsman Truck series, will run youngsters in the Hooters Cup series, Legends and late model stocks.

Already signed are Jason Simmons, 17, of Philadelphia; Mark Davis, 15, of Mitchellville, Md., and Kevin Pollard, 14, of Jamestown, N.Y. Belnavis said at least one more youngster would be signed before the program began in 2006.

“We’re calling it our ‘Young Stunnaz’ program,” Belnavis said Sunday at Chicagoland. “It’s a way to identify talented young drivers and move them into the pipeline to the top levels of the sport.”

¢ Working hard: Bruton Smith, president of Speedway Motorsports Inc., the company that owns several racetracks, including Atlanta Motor Speedway, said the tornado-battered track outside Atlanta would be “as ready as possible” for the Cup race scheduled Oct. 30.

A tornado estimated at a half-mile wide swept through the speedway last week, leaving an estimated $40 million of damage in its wake.