Should Nascar race at more road courses?

[TheStang00]

that 13 mile track in germany!! lol jk starts with an N, dont even want to try and spell it

[One_Ball_Hung_Low]

Originally Posted by TheStang00

that 13 mile track in germany!! lol jk starts with an N, dont even want to try and spell it

If the Ferrari Enzo coulnd't handle the "Ring" Nascar's would die.

If anything they should race the German Super Speedway. It's like a mix between the old Homestead and Kansas. Not alot of banking, but enough, and they could get to 185-190 there.

When the IRL went there they were getting up around 210. That was the race right after 9/11 where Alex Zinardi last his legs.

[Layla's Keeper]

Except that it was CART that raced at Lausitzring, not the IRL.

And as far as NASCAR stock cars not being able to handle the classic Nordschleife layout of the Nurburgring, it's no surprise. Modern LMP prototypes and Formula One cars aren't able to tackle the classic 'Ring either.

If anything, with their higher ride heights and relative lack of downforce, stock cars would be more suited to the ring than most would think.

Besides, if you really want to watch stock cars on road courses, catch a Trans-Am race now that they've expanded the rules to allow former ASA late model stock cars.

[kfoote]

Agreed that a Nextel Cup car would be better at the Nurburgring than a high downforce open wheel car. They're surprisingly easy to drive when set up for road courses, and they're softly sprung enough where they should have no problems with the bumps.

As far as potential other road courses, Road America would probably be the best candidate if they built garages. In current form, Mid-Ohio's pit lane is long enough and they have garages, and that could work. Laguna Seca may also work, but it's only about 2.5 hrs from another road course that Nextel Cup runs on, and doesn't have the spectator capacity of Sears Point. Sebring is a bit furhter down the list, having no garages and 2 Nextel cup tracks within 4 hours.

[TheStang00]

yeah i was jk about the ring... lol. pretty cool info on trans-am though.

[Iron]

I think they need add another road course race and they need to put it in the final 10 races, they have every type of track except a road course in those last 10.

[street_racer_00]

Back on topic, I'm a California boy, and it just so happens I just got back from the Infineon race tonight...the road courses are much more enjoyable for me because the atmosphere is different up there than at an oval track and the race is more interesting(I've been to a few NASCAR races at fontana, stopped going because they were downright boring)...I think I couldn't hurt to have two more road course races...my vote would be Road America and Sebring...granted, I don't think either one of those tracks were built to handle 100k+drunken lunatics.

[kfoote]

Originally Posted by street_racer_00

...my vote would be Road America and Sebring...granted, I don't think either one of those tracks were built to handle 100k+drunken lunatics.

Having been to the 12 hours of Sebring the last several years, it is plenty capable of handling 100k+ drunken lunatics. The two problems I see with Sebring are lack of garages and location. There are already 3 Nextel Cup races within a 4 hour drive of Sebring (Daytona and Homestead). Road America is certainly big enough to handle 100k+ drunken lunatics, and its nearest Nextel cup races are further away (Michigan) the issue here would be Garages again, though that would be a lot easier to realistically do there than at Sebring.

[TheStang00]

i would love to see mid-ohio added. thats really close to me. nascar doesnt have any races in ohio yet...

[theFREAKnasty82]

it was mentioned before, but why not race at Indy's road course? Or even Daytona's? How about that airport in Clevland that the Toyota Atlantic guys race on? I'd rather have more road racing than more 1.5 mile tri-oval garbage. It gets so boring that I don't even watch the race, just catch the highlights on Speed Channel, if any.

[Layla's Keeper]

Well, Burke-Lakefront Airport DEFINITELY does not have the crowd capacity for a NASCAR event. It was strained in CART's heyday, and even then, that wasn't that many people.

Besides, NASCAR is already testing the waters for a return to Ohio through Mansfield Motorsports Speedway in Mansfield, OH. A 1/2 mile oval a bit like an all asphalt Bristol. Once Mansfield develops the crowd capacity and better traffic patterns (they currently sell-out the whole track, plus extra temporary grandstands, with a 25,000 seat capacity and have Crall Road completely gridlocked for the Craftsman Truck Series race).

As far as the road course at Indy, WHY? Seriously, the Brickyard 400 is an astonishing success with one of the richest payouts in racing AND great racing to boot. It helps that Indy is so unique amongst ovals in that it has the "short chutes", 90 degree corners, and is nearly flat.

Why jeopardize all of that to put the race on Indy's road course?

I'll agree that NASCAR is boring as all hell on the 1.5milers, but that just means we have to support tracks like Darlington, Mesa Marin, Rockingham, Mansfield, Martinsville, Pocono, Milwaukee Mile, and Bristol.

If you can't race a sprint car (or supermodified) there, it's not worth racing at.

[theFREAKnasty82]

ok, I see your point and it makes perfectly logical sense. I agree with you that we need to support the tracks that have been around for a while. I think NASCAR should go back to its roots like North Wilkesboro, Thompson Speedway, Ontario, Greenville-Pickens, Bowman-Gray. You mention some of these old tracks that were raced on over 30 years ago to today's new crop of fans, they just look at you like your crazy. Why did Homestead-Miami have to redesign the track just to accommodate NASCAR? Why was Richmond redesigned (though that has been over 15 years ago) or Atlanta? I don't know about anyone else, but I know, the NASCAR that I fell in love with as a kid had short ovals and a few speedways. At the rate that they're going, Bristol, Martinsville, and Richmond are in jeopardy of being cut off the schedule like North Wilkesboro & Thompson.

[TheStang00]

i agree also, the nascar i started watching was totally different, i recently watched a race on espn classic at riverfront in 1988, a road course for those of u that dont know. now i normally wouldnt watch an old race, but it was awesome to see those cars running how they used to, you can really forget how different they were. they were actually legit stock cars, now its a hot rod with a shell over top. nascar has totally gotten away from their roots. i have a question too, has daytona always been a tri-oval. i could have bet on my life that it used to be a regular oval, but other people have told me otherwise. but yeah its pretty cool to watch those old nascars sliding around the corners, they didnt stick like they do now.

[theFREAKnasty82]

Yeah, Daytona has always been a tri-oval ever since it was opened back in 1959. Riverside is another old road course that NASCAR used to run. You hear old timers like Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin and others talk about how they loved that track. You mention those tracks to guys like Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and all these other babies, they have nothing to say b/c they've never raced at those tracks.

[Layla's Keeper]

Kasey Kahne is far from a baby, bucko.

He might not have raced at Riverside, but his roster of tracks he's raced at includes Eldora, the Indiana State Fairgrounds (mile dirt oval), Terre Haute, Anderson, IRP, and Knoxville.

Kasey's an open wheel guy who's as steeped in the open wheel traditions as any other. He's one of the few West Coast drivers who actually could run heads up with the Pennsylvania Posse and not embarass himself.