Road Course Nascars

[TheStang00]

So who likes when they race on teh road courses. i for one do like it and i would actually like it if they raced on a couple more. heh but it helps if your favorite driver is good on them (mark martin).

[CarInfoGuy]

I would love to see NASCAR race on Laguna Seca...but I hear they won't because LS doesn't have the proper facilities to handle a NASCAR-size crowd.

Also, I'd love to see them on Daytona's road course, like the IROC is trying this year. But the Daytona 500 is absolutely unchangeable, and the 400 in July is another old-school tradition, and I don't see a track ever getting three dates, even if it is Daytona.

Of course, NASCAR could also try to bring the Cup down to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

[wrightz28]

One should be in the chase.

[CarInfoGuy]

Originally Posted by wrightz28

One should be in the chase.

Oh, heck yes. And a restrictor plate race, too.

[TheStang00]

i agree that one road course and restrictor plate race should be in the chase. i also believe that they should find a way around restrictor plates, aka- smaller cube or carb. ive heard that mid ohio raceway has enough facilities for nascar, it would be a cool track to see them race, very difficult. it is also pretty close to me so it would be perfect for me. i also think road america might be a possibility, they actually did hold one race there a long time ago. and of course i think it would be cool to bring back riverside but thats not gonna happen unless they fixed that place up a lot. i remember the last race, 89, a car went through the wall lol.

[CarInfoGuy]

Originally Posted by TheStang00

i also believe that they should find a way around restrictor plates, aka- smaller cube or carb.

Not to get too far off the original thread...but I think Ethanol is the answer there. It's made here in America, so it should fit well with NASCAR's core audience. It has less energy per gallon, which translates into less milage on the street but in racing should translate into slowing the cars down some. And it can help NASCAR's environmental image.

The IRL is going to Ethanol soon, so it can be done.

I think there are homes sitting on Riverside's old location, so it really isn't gonna come back, unless they design a similar track and put it somewhere nearby.

[TheStang00]

Originally Posted by CarInfoGuy

I think there are homes sitting on Riverside's old location, so it really isn't gonna come back, unless they design a similar track and put it somewhere nearby.

oh that sucks, i didnt know that. its actually still the road course nasr has raced most on, something like 43 races, second is watkins glen with something like 23 races.

[drdisque]

California Speedway is actually pretty close to where Riverside once was, and it has an infield road course.

That being said, Cup isn't getting any more road course races any time soon as they're in such high demand and owned by the tracks that have been given them. However, the Busch Series may be going to Montreal next year and replacing the Champ Car date at the F1 track.

A big problem is that not many road courses have 43 garage stalls and pit lanes that can accomodate 43 cars.

[TheStang00]

Originally Posted by drdisque

A big problem is that not many road courses have 43 garage stalls and pit lanes that can accomodate 43 cars.

yeah thats what i was going on before, i think mid-ohio and road america have the garage area though and pit lane. do you know if laguna seca does? i know thats a very famous track.

[drdisque]

the problem is Laguna Seca doesn't have proper road connections for a crowd bigger than 30000 or so. That's a big reason why Champ Car doesn't race there anymore. Also, NASCAR already races on the road course at Infineon, which is only a few hours away.

Mid Ohio has a lot of facilities and it's big, but the course and its grounds aren't very "nice" if you know what i mean and the whole track needs repaving.

Road America is too long for the NASCAR cars (it would burn out their brakes too much). It also doesn't have enough permanent seating and is located too close to Chicagoland considering how few people actually live up near Elkhart Lake.

Both are great circuits if you're a driver, but not great circuits if you're hoping to have an event and make money.

If they add road courses to the truck series, look for a return of Heartland Park Topeka, since they just re-did all of their facilities this year.

[CarInfoGuy]

It's too bad we can't rebuild Meadowdale. Close to I-90 and other major roadways, close to the Chicago market and close enough to draw fans from Milwaukee. The track is still there, but over the decades of neglect it has become more suitable to a rally-prepped Subaru than a NASCAR Monte Carlo.

I've heard rumors of a second Chicago date because of how fast Chicagoland Speedway sells tickets.

But now that people have houses nearby and have become accustomed to quiet, and because there are something like 4 governments with jurisdiction over different parts of the land, it's not going to happen. And there's no land left for parking...just the track.

But it was a heck of a track in its day, from what I've heard. And it has a great location for what NASCAR wants, which emphasizes markets over racing quality.

[TheStang00]

i hate chicagoland, its a damn circle. have you ever seen the track layout? there are to many cookie-cutter 1.5 tracks. but i dont even know if chicagoland qualifies as one, its just a circle.

[CarInfoGuy]

Originally Posted by TheStang00

i hate chicagoland, its a damn circle. have you ever seen the track layout? there are to many cookie-cutter 1.5 tracks.

Well, this cuts right to the heart of what NASCAR is doing lately. From TV, Chicagoland is yet another 1.5-mile tri-oval, just like about a half-dozen others.

From the perspective of a fan going to the race, the track is wonderful. There are no bad seats, you can see almost all the way around the track even in the front row. I'm looking forward to going to the season-ending IRL race in Joliet this September.

If you've ever been to Indianapolis, and watched just a small section of the track, or two turns if you get seats between 1 and 2, you see the difference. I imagine going to a road course race is worse. But those tracks make for some of the best racing action on TV.

The Chicago area, from Chicago itself, its suburbs, the rural areas around here all the way to Rockford, includes millions of NASCAR fans. Chicagoland Speedway has tons of seats, and room to add more. Road course tracks traditionally don't have as much seating, or maybe that's just because they weren't built for the NASCAR size crowds.

So it depends on perspective. NASCAR, with these strategically placed fan-friendly tracks is catering to the crowds going to the races, but as you bring up, at a cost to the fan watching on TV.

By the way, in the Encyclopedia link in my signature, I'm going to have online a satellite shot of Chicagoland and one of Lowe's/Charlotte online by the end of the day today.

[TheStang00]

i agree they are good to be at the track, ive been to kentucky speedway a few times and ill be back there to see the IRL this year. im against having so many of them, but thats not a real big deal to me. im more against chicagoland in particular. i think that track is retarded.

[wrightz28]

Actually, what really irritated me with the Chicago market, was the ill fated Chicago Motor Speedway when I was living in Cicero. There was talks of running the trucks there which woud ahve been cool. They just never promoted the track very well, and it seemed catered to the Indy cars.