there was a Busch race at Road Atlanta in the 80's...I'd love to see NASCAR go back there. Atlanta Motor Speedway only has one race each year (down from two), so who knows...
all these second and third generation NASCAR kids need to get their asses kicked (Elliot, the Dillons, etc). no respect.
I was watching them practice at Sonoma and they would hit the curb and get about three feet in the air. I would love to be able to shoot some action like that. I really need to get myself to some tracks with elevation changes. So far I've been stuck with this flat Florida stuff. Not Stock Cars but I did get to see the very last IROC race on the Daytona road course in 2006 Image Unavailable, Please Login
You didn't honestly think they'd let that little Canadian with the furrin' soundin' name win the race instead of the melancholy, feel good story do you? Of course, he screwed himself by running out of gas near the end but in NASCAR you're never out of it until the guys up in the locked booth say so. And, how many times did the announcers use the phrase "very interesting" during the race? BHW
for what purpose? garage art? they auctioned pretty much everything when IROC disbanded. my guess is a lot of the bodywork now resides in indoor karting facilities, racing themed bars/ restaurants, etc.
cool. I'm going to make a gametime decision on the race (pending weather, which has been schizophrenic as of late). If I go I'll shoot you a message.
Have been keeping up with racingnomics.com (NE: NASCARnomics.com) lately and it is always interesting to note that any mention of the NASCAR business model is censured so Maness has to tippy-toe around mentioning of NASCAR per se and as we see here, he delves into the business of the teams. Since NASCAR obviously doesn't want anyone poking around their inner workings with a fine tooth comb, he's had to change the name of his domain and back off any language pertaining to the way NASCAR in itself does business. Maness brushes on the extra expense involved with the addition of the "Car of Tomorrow". There was more to this than just producing a new evolution of the standard NASCAR car. There was also the instillation of the $1+B NASCAR Technical Center in Charlotte. The Technical Center was a new revenue stream for NASCAR as each time one of the COTs crashes and is rebuilt, it has to go through an intensive re-certification process in the form of inspections by the staff at the Technical Center which the teams pay for. So, essentially, it is in NASCAR's business interest to see lots of torn up cars which not only generates their news but is also a valuable revenue stream for their $1+B investment. The news about a major sponsor like Home Depot leaving NASCAR at the end of the year is a clear indication that they're not getting the ROI that they were expecting (or had been led to believe they'd be getting). With dwindling TV and ticket buying audience numbers, NASCAR is in consolation mode thus the "merging" with ALMS and adding to their monopoly of U.S. motor sports. It would be fun to have a few beers with Maness and discuss a lot of the other aspects which he is clearly no longer comfortable putting out for general consumption per NASCAR's "request". BHW
$1b for the technical center?!?! source? you could build a freakin' clean room microchip facility for that! the Home Depot thing is interesting....a company based in the South (ATL), selling products to NASCAR's core audience (DIY-ers, small business owners, laborers), says "no thanks" not just to re-upping with their current team but to the sport altogether. I think that says A LOT. granted, they probably got their ROI years ago with Tony Stewart, but still. also makes you wonder what Lowes is going to do, particularly if/when the JJ/Knaus juggernaut ends. and yes, I'd love to buy Maness an icy cold Budweiser at Outback Steakhouse <----see what I did there
Okay, $10M (not $1B, which is a figure that a colleague who is based in Charlotte told me) but it got your attention right? NASCAR Research & Development Center | NASCAR Home Tracks I was thinking a beer at Hooters, but Outback has Fosters on draught so that works too. BHW
What's $900M between friends? In NASCAR terms, thats about three season's worth of licensing, TV deals and t-shirt sales. BHW
$900mm would buy a year's supply of mashed potatoes for Larry McReynolds to eat while he attempts to commentate on NASCAR!
In other news........... Not enough cars have entered this Saturday's night race at kentucky to fill the field for the Sprint Cup race. M&Ms hasn't decided whether they want to resign with Joe Gibbs Racing and Home Depot is leaving for sure. NASCAR is not scared of the graphs and pie charts from Racingnomics and has taken another step towards building a huge entertainment complex across the street from the Daytona complex with the first phase completed in 2016. The first phase of the Speedway's $400 million renovation is on track to be ready for Speed Weeks in 2015. They sure are making huge investments in their future. I know I'll be at the track next week having another good time just like all the others NASCAR has given me over the years. I have no complaints Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
NASCAR are shoring up their future no doubt. That includes reducing seating capacity for the home of their blue ribband event. Sure, the $400M investment into their grandstand seating and infotainment centers will be nice but they see the future and the future includes less people watching live and on TV. The teams seem to be the ones affected by the downturn in the viewing numbers than NASCAR itself as their licensing and TV deals are long term. The manufactures have been quietly complaining about their ROI now for years and all it would take is one of them to decide to pull out without a new one stepping forward and it becomes a house of cards. BHW
Bingo. This is my position as well. If the France crime family is listening...bring n. Wilksboro!!! Nascar's greed will come back and bite. Pcb
Rough that NASCAR has soo choked up their media that there isn't enough to talk about to keep this in the first few posts anymore. :\ I que-ed up race buddy at about lap 80, decided to ride with the furthest back car to get the best view(Danica). She was making an impatient move on the highside with a hypercar, that was gonna get her steamrolled when no one went with her, and uh, it all blew up in front of her. Fortunately, with no room on the outside wall, she could brake/lean on the wall, made minor contacts it seemed, and the banking pulled the field down from in front of her. What a freakin' ride. I guess with the rain moving on, and getting to over half race distance, everyone knows the race could end with a red flag anytime, so no more typical 'plate hang back driving. interestingly,an admin was deleting all comments that linked to weather info/radar that showed race postponement as imminent.
