When the VP of Special Projects as the National Speedways Directory contacted me about redesigning their site, my initial reaction was that I might not be the right person for the job. Despite my love of sports, I didn’t know a thing about racing, and I doubted whether the main feature of the site–a directory of 1500+ race tracks, searchable by state, track type and track length–was even something I could build. But once again, after 5 minutes of thinking about it, I said, “Oh right–Wordpress.”

After 3 solid months, I succeeded in creating a sophisticated, comprehensive and easy-to-manage listing of all the race tracks in North America, stretching WordPress to its limit in the process. In addition to some nice modules for searching and filtering results, I also created integrations with Google Maps and Google Weather to offer real-time information on each track that’s automatically generated by reading a WordPress custom field. I also outfitted the site with intelligent ad modules, so when a site visitor is looking at, say, the dragstrip listings, they will see ads for, oh, I don’t know, Racing Strip Magazine. Actually, I think Racing Strip Magazine might be porn. Whatever.