Should Nascar race at more road courses?

[Jaguar D-Type]

The only road courses that NASCAR races at include Watkins Glen and Infineon.

http://www.theglen.com/

http://www.infineonraceway.com/

I think they should race at more road courses.

[TheStang00]

i absolutely 100% agree. i think the road courses and short tracks are the tracks that show who the real drivers are.

[500]

Which races are you going to drop to add your road courses ? The teams are stretched to the limit with the current number of races.

What road course are you suggesting ? Road Atlanta is too dangerous. Laguna Seca is too tight. Road America is too dangerous. Brainerd is WAY too dangerous. I don't know if VIR is wide enough. Barber might be doable.

500

[Jaguar D-Type]

Infineon is narrow.

I'm not sure which race tracks I would drop.

[TheStang00]

drop half of the damn cookie cutter tri-ovals, way to many of those. i would personally love to see laguna seca added, thats my #1 choice, theres also the road course at indy. you also didnt mention mid-ohio. i think the to dangerous thing is bullshit. theres a bunch of possible road courses though, vancouver and cleveland are 2 more.

[z33guy]

I would like to see ATLEAST 4 different road courses add, and some of these 1.5 miles taken off.

[TheStang00]

i think some city races would be cool, it would be something different too. vancouver is one and i think they have one in new york? and they have one in jacksonville.

[Layla's Keeper]

I don't know why people are labeling Road America at Elkhart Lake as dangerous especially since the Trans Am boys have raced there for years and they've decided that ASA late models now qualify for Trans Am racing.

As far as putting NASCAR on a street course, however, I must say it simply wouldn't work. NASCAR puts 43 cars on track, and I cannot think of a street course you could lay out that'd be wide enough for 43 stock cars.

[TheStang00]

Originally Posted by Layla's Keeper

As far as putting NASCAR on a street course, however, I must say it simply wouldn't work. NASCAR puts 43 cars on track, and I cannot think of a street course you could lay out that'd be wide enough for 43 stock cars.

that of course is true... good point. some of those 43 cars arent in points contention tho are they? or if they had the race after the chase started in the last 10 races then they could narrow the field down to like the top 20 or 25

[Layla's Keeper]

Except that NASCAR still has a contractual obligation to the promoters, teams, television package, and sponsors to field 43 cars.

They simply cannot halve the field to run road courses. As such, the only road courses that can hold NASCAR races are the ones with long pit lanes, fairly wide corners, few to no "bus stop" style chicanes, and at least 2 miles of racing surface.

[TheStang00]

well your right on top of things it seems... but talking normal road courses... there has to be more that they can add, there are quite a few to look from. this kinda crap is why im starting to hate nascar, they are getting way way to corporate and political. its pissin me, and other people i know off. i have a feeling indy car is gonna make a comback. lucky for me i already got my tickets to the 500... if people would just go to indy races theyd realize how much better they are then nascar races.

[Layla's Keeper]

The way I view the corporate/political angle of NASCAR is this: NASCAR is a corporation. NASCAR is a bureaucracy. Ergo, NASCAR is inherently corporate/political.

As far as a rebound in Indy car racing is concerned, it's not going to happen anytime soon. While Danica has given the general population a likable hero, the fact of the matter is that there's no disputing the power of NASCAR's "Cult of Personality".

In many cases, an Indy driver is 100% non-descript once they've climbed into the car. There is no three-foot tall number in a distinctive font that fans can use to determine their driver from the myriad of others.

Face it, at 225mph, can we tell if it was Helio Castro-neves or Sam Hornish Jr. who just flew by?

Couple to that the fact that Indy car racing severed its ties to the roots of American racing way back in the 80's when CART was formed. It used to be that local open wheel short track drivers would start in modifieds or midgets at local tracks, then move up to sprints or super modifieds, then Silver Crown, then the big Indy cars.

These were the days of Tom Sneva, Mel Kenyon, Gordon Johncock, Swede Savage, Timmy Richmond, and Bobby Unser.

All of these drivers not only have left an incredible legacy at the Brickyard, but are a part of the fabric of short track racing all across this country. They were "small town folk" who made it big. People associated with them, grew up with them, and felt a personal connection with them.

NASCAR fosters that by now snatching up the short track stars left and right. In just the past few years, J.J. Yeley, Kasey Kahne, Jason Leffler, Mike Bliss, and Tracy Hines have all been scouted and placed into NASCAR development programs. It's one of the biggest causes of the gradual erosion of open-wheel racing in America.

Our hometown heroes never get the chance to show their stuff at Indy and add to the legacy of the great drivers from their tracks and towns who conquered the Brickyard. Sandusky Speedway, my home track, has sent dozens of drivers, including two-time winner Gordon Johncock, to the Indy 500.

Basically, once upon a time, Indy heroes were the people's heroes. Taking short track drivers out of the picture changed that, and until Indy realizes they need to look at series like USAC, ISMA, All-Stars Circuit of Champions, SCRA, NEMARS, HOSS, AVSS, and the World of Outlaws as driver farm systems instead of British Formula 3000, Toyota Atlantic, and Barber Dodge, Indy racing will continue to fade from the public's mind.

Let the wannabe F1 drivers go play in F1's playground. It's the young gun at Anderson or Oswego or Volusia County or Winchester or Irwindale who wants Indy the most.

[TheStang00]

yep u deffinatly know what ur talkin about... props to ya lol. but just to find something to disagree on... i can see the number when they go by at 225 lol. i was just there yesterday

[One_Ball_Hung_Low]

Originally Posted by Layla's Keeper

The way I view the corporate/political angle of NASCAR is this: NASCAR is a corporation. NASCAR is a bureaucracy. Ergo, NASCAR is inherently corporate/political.

As far as a rebound in Indy car racing is concerned, it's not going to happen anytime soon. While Danica has given the general population a likable hero, the fact of the matter is that there's no disputing the power of NASCAR's "Cult of Personality".

In many cases, an Indy driver is 100% non-descript once they've climbed into the car. There is no three-foot tall number in a distinctive font that fans can use to determine their driver from the myriad of others.

Face it, at 225mph, can we tell if it was Helio Castro-neves or Sam Hornish Jr. who just flew by?

Couple to that the fact that Indy car racing severed its ties to the roots of American racing way back in the 80's when CART was formed. It used to be that local open wheel short track drivers would start in modifieds or midgets at local tracks, then move up to sprints or super modifieds, then Silver Crown, then the big Indy cars.

These were the days of Tom Sneva, Mel Kenyon, Gordon Johncock, Swede Savage, Timmy Richmond, and Bobby Unser.

All of these drivers not only have left an incredible legacy at the Brickyard, but are a part of the fabric of short track racing all across this country. They were "small town folk" who made it big. People associated with them, grew up with them, and felt a personal connection with them.

NASCAR fosters that by now snatching up the short track stars left and right. In just the past few years, J.J. Yeley, Kasey Kahne, Jason Leffler, Mike Bliss, and Tracy Hines have all been scouted and placed into NASCAR development programs. It's one of the biggest causes of the gradual erosion of open-wheel racing in America.

Our hometown heroes never get the chance to show their stuff at Indy and add to the legacy of the great drivers from their tracks and towns who conquered the Brickyard. Sandusky Speedway, my home track, has sent dozens of drivers, including two-time winner Gordon Johncock, to the Indy 500.

Basically, once upon a time, Indy heroes were the people's heroes. Taking short track drivers out of the picture changed that, and until Indy realizes they need to look at series like USAC, ISMA, All-Stars Circuit of Champions, SCRA, NEMARS, HOSS, AVSS, and the World of Outlaws as driver farm systems instead of British Formula 3000, Toyota Atlantic, and Barber Dodge, Indy racing will continue to fade from the public's mind.

Let the wannabe F1 drivers go play in F1's playground. It's the young gun at Anderson or Oswego or Volusia County or Winchester or Irwindale who wants Indy the most.

I completely agree. In Toney Stewarts' book he talks about wanting to race Indy since he was a kid, but it seemed impossible during the CART era.

[pissboy]

well road courses are fine but remember where nascar came from, oval tracks. if you goto any road course tracks its not very good for the fans you can't see enough of the track you might see a 1/4 mile if your lucky.
if you watch on tv then its great. I would like to see a bigger track than the daga, and take the plates off. just my thoughts