Bart Simpson takes to NASCAR

It is a sunny, crisp Sunday in Southern California and one of Hollywood's most influential set of vocal cords is being drowned out by the rumble of a stock car.

"Today was amazing," Cartwright grins. "I have been taking theory classes with NASCAR driver Kenton Gray for a little bit, but today, having driven three wide, oh my god."

The voice of racing
Cartwright is taking her racing ambition seriously. This hasn't been her first time behind the wheel of a stock car, as she drove 158 mph around California Speedway with the Richard Petty Driving Experience.

But now Cartwright has been spending a significant amount of study time with Gray to understand the concepts behind the way the racetrack, the car and even the engine all work together.

"You have to know what makes the thing work in order to go out there," Cartwright explains. "I tend to think that if a driver doesn't know what it is he is driving, you don't have a lot of affinity for the vehicle you are sitting in. So you need to be educated."

Her education has been put to the test all afternoon while trying to remember the two simplest rules of racing: Watch your speed and communicate.

"(Race coordinator) Frank Alvis was an amazing communicator because all I know is that at some point I wasn't just hearing my number 24, I was hearing about me in relation to the other cars," Cartwright continues.

"I was hearing things like 'OK, 17 is going to the front, 27 he is going to be in the middle and 24 you are going to follow up in the rear.' Or '24, you have to move up, move up, you are going too slow,' and 'OK, 17, 24, slow down, let her catch up, let her catch up.'

"Frank talks really, really fast, so you have to be right there at that moment as it is happening — and that is one of the keys to successful driving."

Putting the pedal down
Kenton Gray, an instructor at the Los Angeles Racing Experience at Irwindale Raceway here in Irwindale, California, says, "Nancy has been one of the most naturally talented students I have ever had."

"She came here and just put the pedal down. She was extremely consistent, which you don't usually see from new drivers. They usually want to hot-rod around, put the pedal down and get squirrelly, and she didn't."

Cartwright's real test came in the setting afternoon winter sun when Alvis, Gray and a fellow instructor placed Cartwright in all three grooves around Irwindale, going three wide the entire time.

After this exercise, Cartwright commented that she didn't find the low line in the corners very difficult because she could hug the painted line at the inside of the track, and that the center line was actually more fun because she had learned to use her peripheral vision to focus on the outside car and maintain her position.

But the outside groove? That was another story.

Gray says, "She did everything we asked of her — when she could hear us — and only when the sun was in her eyes did she try to cut people off." He laughs. "So, other than putting the other instructor in the wall twice, she did really, really well!"

Cartwright jokes right back. "Riding at the top of the track at 3:30 p.m. with the low winter sun in Turns 1 and 2, you are totally blind," she says. "And they asked me how I did that and where I spotted myself, but are you kidding? It is called blind faith, baby!"

Teaming up for racing
What isn't blind faith is the team Cartwright has put together for her racing — and entertainment — endeavors.

While she is best known for her voiceover work as Bart Simpson, she formed an Internet animation development and production company in 2000 and launched an animated series in 2001 about professional stock-car racing called The Kellys — a series that now finds its logo on the hood of Gray's No. 27 ARCA stock car.

"The idea is to create a cohesive partnership where everybody — Kenton, FMG Racing, Team Kelly Racing and Turner Sports New Media — all benefit," Cartwright says. "The Kellys is the first thing that I have ever produced in terms of animation and I think the potential is fabulous."

Kenton Gray has been racing since the age of 10, and he's an instructor at the Los Angeles Racing Experience while he is gearing up for the upcoming racing season, planning to drive the No. 27 on March 24 at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida.

"As an adult kid, this is the best!" Gray exclaims. "Driving racecars and playing with cartoons, what could be better? The animated series is awesome, and when we saw it, I thought it was just a natural fit. It was really great they thought the same thing, and we are really excited about the opportunities."

"When you form partnerships, it is real important to know the guys you are working with," Nancy Cartwright concludes," and I feel like that with this particular group, they want to take care of me because first of all, I am a chick, and second of all, I am a mom. And I am a celebrity.

"But you know what? These guys, they care, and that makes it really fun."

Credits: nikolaiski