When the cell phone rings, Jim Naylor is aboard the water truck.

As he circles the track at Ventura Raceway, the motor is running and the water is spraying down the dirt surface. So, naturally, the connection is nearly impossible to hear.

He brings the truck to a halt in order to return the telephone call.

Welcome to Naylor’s world.

When you operate a motor car raceway and it’s two days before the Saturday night race card, what else would you be doing but some manner of preparation? If it’s not watering the track or grading the surface or attending to the race schedule, there are a myriad number of details to oversee each and every week of the competitive season.

“I spend lots and lots of time here,” Naylor says in somewhat of an understatement.

It’s the hands-on approach that has made the 63-year-old Naylor the owner-operator of the only enduring sports franchise in the history of Ventura County since 1978. It’s also made for a Hall of Fame career.

For the onetime tennis player and student body president at Hueneme High, it becomes official Sunday. Naylor will be among the five newest inductees of the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame to be honored at the organization’s annual banquet set for 6 p.m. at the Ventura Beach Marriott.

The Class of 2010 also includes Jerry Stone, the former three-sport star at St. Bonaventure; Brian FitzGerald, the track and field coach and athletic director at Rio Mesa; George Hurley, the longtime football coach at Newbury Park; and Keith Smith, the former star quarterback at Newbury Park.

For Naylor, it’s an honor he treasures.

“It’s a major deal for me,” said Naylor, who also attended Ventura College and now lives in Oxnard. “There may be no bigger honor than to be recognized by the community where you live and work. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Ventura County’s racing community may have no more important a figure than Naylor.

He grew up with racing oil in his blood, since his dad Jesse operated race tracks in Ventura and Port Hueneme. Racing began at an early age.

“From age 7 to about 12, I spent a lot of time in midget racing,” Naylor said. “It was so much fun. I looked forward to the races every week.”

It wasn’t until his early 30s when Naylor made a life-changing decision. With land and opportunity available at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, Naylor decided to finance construction of a county dirt-track raceway that could be used for all manners of motor sports.

“I really thought my dad would want to be involved in the operation,” Naylor said. “But it turns out, he didn’t want to be. I stayed with it anyway. Racing was so important to so many families in our area. I just saw the need for a permanent raceway here.”

The raceway, of course, has since become home to a legion of drivers and their vehicles, including motorcyles, dwarf cars, midgets, modifieds and sprints. Esteemed drivers such as Cruz Pedregon, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt and Kyle Busch have all competed on the dirt in Ventura. The nearly year-around schedule features races from February through November.

Naylor has no trouble identifying his most important connection to racing.

“It’s the people,” he said. “I’ve gotten to know so many good friends from the sport, whether it’s the drivers or all the other people who are involved. I think it’s the ideal family sport, since the whole family can come out and have a great time.”

Independent tracks have come and gone in Southern California, including the Saugus Speedway and the dirt track Ascot Park in Gardena. But the popularity of prime-time racing circuits such as NASCAR demonstrates that a sport and track managed well still has a future.

“It’s like any other business,” Naylor said. “You have to be smart and you have to give people good value.”