Road Course changes?

[enemy-ace]

Originally posted by muggle not
Mosport would fill the grounds. The Canadians love road racing and everyone in Toronto would be there.

You've got that right.I'm not neccesarily a NASCAR fan but I do make a point of watching the Sears Point and Watkins Glen races each year. I've also been to Mosport to watch the CASCAR series run on the road course there and have thoroughly enjoyed it. If the NASCAR boys came up here I would definitely go and I know the local NASCAR fans would go in a heartbeat. I still might not become a regular NASCAR fan, but i do enjoy a good motor-race!

[Speeddemon555]

Hmmm, Nascar should put a date for the Virginia International Raceway.

[muggle not]

VIR has many Winston Cup teams and drivers doing their testing there and i believe it would be a great WC track with some fan improvements.

[Asp]

I've just seen the Transam race from VIR (I know, I'm *very* behind) - and it looks great. Facilities look fine, track looks great, I may even cross the pond if they race there!

[bcobbus]

Does anybody know why NASCAR does not use the "FUll" Watkins Glen Course? I don't think they have evet used The Boot section of the track?

I've been going to Sears Point for many years now, and the place has changed beyond belief! What you all have to take into consideration is what NASCAR is all about this day in age, MONEY. Sears Point/Infineon Raceway at Sears Point as the powers at be would like for us to say, is owned by the International Speedway Corporation. The same corporation that owns the majority of the other tracks that NASCAR races at, and incidentally is owned by NASCAR. I would love to see more road races on the schedule as replacements for the cookie cutter S**t tracks we have now, but that will never happen unless more money can be made. I doubt that even a proper run road race could out draw 1.5 mile tracks.

NASCAR will never race in the rain, could you imagine all the guys that would loose it and end up in the gravel traps! It would be one continous full coarse caution flag after another as getting a stock car out of a wet gravel trap would require more effort then would be safe for a local yellow in the corner. Go sit in turn 2 at Sears Point, and watch all the guys spin on a perfectly dry track, now imagine it wet! There are a few good road racers in NASCAR, however I would laugh my a$$ off watching many of the guys trying to race in the rain!

[24thunder]

Originally posted by bcobbus
Does anybody know why NASCAR does not use the "FUll" Watkins Glen Course? I don't think they have evet used The Boot section of the track?

I've been going to Sears Point for many years now, and the place has changed beyond belief! What you all have to take into consideration is what NASCAR is all about this day in age, MONEY. Sears Point/Infineon Raceway at Sears Point as the powers at be would like for us to say, is owned by the International Speedway Corporation. The same corporation that owns the majority of the other tracks that NASCAR races at, and incidentally is owned by NASCAR. I would love to see more road races on the schedule as replacements for the cookie cutter S**t tracks we have now, but that will never happen unless more money can be made. I doubt that even a proper run road race could out draw 1.5 mile tracks.

NASCAR will never race in the rain, could you imagine all the guys that would loose it and end up in the gravel traps! It would be one continous full coarse caution flag after another as getting a stock car out of a wet gravel trap would require more effort then would be safe for a local yellow in the corner. Go sit in turn 2 at Sears Point, and watch all the guys spin on a perfectly dry track, now imagine it wet! There are a few good road racers in NASCAR, however I would laugh my a$$ off watching many of the guys trying to race in the rain!

Nice post!I do seem to recall that the NASCAR curcuit ran Infineon Raceway(Sears Point)course with the boot in the layout till around 1997,I'm not sure,any info please?
NASCAR still has wet tires on had at both road courses & a couple of years ago almost used them at Sears Point,but the weather cleared in time & so We missed a lot of drivers sliding all over the place,LOL,just thinking about that one!Dale Jarrett went off course & into the sand trap twice at Watkins Glen in 2001 season & it was perfectly dry,a race in the rain would indeed make for some hilarious moments!

[Dick Blom]

Originally posted by bcobbus
Does anybody know why NASCAR does not use the "FUll" Watkins Glen Course? I don't think they have evet used The Boot section of the track?

I've been going to Sears Point for many years now, and the place has changed beyond belief! What you all have to take into consideration is what NASCAR is all about this day in age, MONEY. Sears Point/Infineon Raceway at Sears Point as the powers at be would like for us to say, is owned by the International Speedway Corporation. The same corporation that owns the majority of the other tracks that NASCAR races at, and incidentally is owned by NASCAR. I would love to see more road races on the schedule as replacements for the cookie cutter S**t tracks we have now, but that will never happen unless more money can be made. I doubt that even a proper run road race could out draw 1.5 mile tracks.

NASCAR will never race in the rain, could you imagine all the guys that would loose it and end up in the gravel traps! It would be one continous full coarse caution flag after another as getting a stock car out of a wet gravel trap would require more effort then would be safe for a local yellow in the corner. Go sit in turn 2 at Sears Point, and watch all the guys spin on a perfectly dry track, now imagine it wet! There are a few good road racers in NASCAR, however I would laugh my a$$ off watching many of the guys trying to race in the rain!

Nice post bcobbus, but I'm pretty sure Bruton Smith own Sears Point, at least that is what they say when they brag on all the "improvements" they have made. I will admit the changes make watching the race better at the track, as opposed to TV, but I don't think it has done any good for the racing itself.

[RaceFanStan]

Watkins Glen used to run more of the course,
in a Winston Cup race 1991, there was a crash,
2 cars went off the track and into the tire barrier,
the 1st car hit the tire barrier & lifted on it's rear up into the air,
the 2nd car slid in, under the 1st car,
the 1st car came back down, on top of the 2nd car,
J. D. McDuffie was in the 2nd car (#70),
he was pronounced dead on the scene with a crushed skull,
we lost J. D. McDuffie that day in a freak accident !

starting in 1992 that part of the track was coned off
and was not used by the Winston Cup Series ever again.

[BMWfan]

I've seen a few guys say that Laguna Seca is too narrow for the Cup cars. How is Infinion Raceway any better? The NASCAR Winston West series now runs at Laguna Seca, and they put on a pretty good show when I saw them. So it's not unlikely that they could run there. I just don't know if they'd put another road course on the schedule in the same market as an existing road-race event (Sears Point).

Besides, I think Laguna Seca has bigger things in mind. Like petitioning Uncle Bernie again.

[Lee Janotta]

I'm not big enough of a NASCAR fan that I'd presume to make suggestions here, but I must say the cup cars put on a spectacular show on the road courses. It's my personal opinion that they should always at least have a few, with their great history of road races, including those great races of the '60s at Riverside and VIRginia.

[racer69]

Originally posted by bcobbus
NASCAR will never race in the rain, could you imagine all the guys that would loose it and end up in the gravel traps! It would be one continous full coarse caution flag after another as getting a stock car out of a wet gravel trap would require more effort then would be safe for a local yellow in the corner. Go sit in turn 2 at Sears Point, and watch all the guys spin on a perfectly dry track, now imagine it wet! There are a few good road racers in NASCAR, however I would laugh my a$$ off watching many of the guys trying to race in the rain!

I recall in 1992 i think, when we had a round of the Australian NASCAR Championship on the Gold Coast street circuit as a support race to the Indycar race, that it was run in the rain.

[OVERSTEER]

How about we add another oval, i've got a suggestion, Rockingham............... UK!!! Don't think it would happen, but not seen an awful lot of NASCAR up to now, but would definetly go and see them if they did come over to Britain!! either that or Brands Hatch!!!! That's even less likely to happen