Interest builds around possible changes to NASCAR schedule

Charlie Spencer said:
Why do you think it moving it to March will cause it to fail? Too close to Daytona's date?
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my guess is no matter what is happening in the racing world, some continue to think that attendance at a racetrack is running the show like it does at the small tracks. Nascar has many revenue streams besides people sitting in the bleachers.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Why do you think it moving it to March will cause it to fail? Too close to Daytona's date?
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Ok, I get what StandOnit says and don't disagree. From an attendance perspective, I think a lot was previously driven by the Championship weekend. I live a little north of the track and March is snowbird season and spring break. Hotels are already at a premium, and just like November, there are a ton of entertainment options as alternatives to the race. Frankly, Miami is not really a sports town and even less when it comes to racing. There really isn't another track in the area, except 100 miles away at Hendry County which on a good night has attendance of around 500.
 
DIDIT said:
Ok, I get what StandOnit says and don't disagree. From an attendance perspective, I think a lot was previously driven by the Championship weekend. I live a little north of the track and March is snowbird season and spring break. Hotels are already at a premium, and just like November, there are a ton of entertainment options as alternatives to the race. Frankly, Miami is not really a sports town and even less when it comes to racing. There really isn't another track in the area, except 100 miles away at Hendry County which on a good night has attendance of around 500.
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So is the problem that it's in March or that it is no longer the championship race? If it had been moved back a couple of weeks to the round of 8, would the impact be the same?
 
DIDIT said:
Ok, I get what StandOnit says and don't disagree. From an attendance perspective, I think a lot was previously driven by the Championship weekend. I live a little north of the track and March is snowbird season and spring break. Hotels are already at a premium, and just like November, there are a ton of entertainment options as alternatives to the race. Frankly, Miami is not really a sports town and even less when it comes to racing. There really isn't another track in the area, except 100 miles away at Hendry County which on a good night has attendance of around 500.
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When you own as many tracks as Nascar does, you lose here, you gain there, and shifting things around can create interest. And like you are saying, it's not that great of a market, but then you never know how bad or good it will be until they do something different.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
So is the problem that it's in March or that it is no longer the championship race? If it had been moved back a couple of weeks to the round of 8, would the impact be the same?
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It wouldn't surprise me if 50% of the attendance was due to the championship race. The thing is for a race fan it can be a great destination. When we used to live in Orlando we would go down and stay in Key Largo for the races, then stay in the keys for a few more days. Good times. But it is a long trip for most everybody.
 
Okay, I don't know jack-squat about civic planning, project development, local zoning, or Nashville local politics. Wasn't it obvious the property for this MLS facility was too close to the existing track before the developer bought it?

"Oh, hey, look; there's a big ol' honkin' building already a couple of hundred feet away! Maybe this isn't a good spot?"
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Okay, I don't know jack-squat about civic planning, project development, local zoning, or Nashville local politics. Wasn't it obvious the property for this MLS facility was too close to the existing track before the developer bought it?

"Oh, hey, look; there's a big ol' honkin' building already a couple of hundred feet away! Maybe this isn't a good spot?"
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It makes no sense when Nissan Stadium is not far away from the fairgrounds. Just use what's already available and not have to use more tax payer money to pay for a new stadium.
 
Kiante said:
It makes no sense when Nissan Stadium is not far away from the fairgrounds. Just use what's already available and not have to use more tax payer money to pay for a new stadium.
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That isn't the way it works with stick n ball, they build and then build again leaving a big mess for the city to clean up for the most part. Thru all I have read about the brand spanking new soccer field forcing it's way in, I haven't read a thing about who is footing the bill. There are one or two politicians who sure seem to be getting kickbacks. IMO there isn't room for both and anybody who had half a brain can see that.
 
DewChaser988 said:
Actually I did some research, they operate the track but the city of Homestead are the actual owners
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I don't know why that is listed on the track's Wikipedia page, but it is inaccurate. The city never owned the track. It was originally owned by its founder, Ralph Sanchez and business partners. Then Penske and ISC came on board as partners, then ISC bought everyone else out and became sole operators from 1999 onward. ISC is the Speedway's parent company, the same as the other dozen major NASCAR tracks they own. The city holds no ownership stake.
 
FLRacingFan said:
NASCAR and stick & ball :D

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Street courses suck like a drunken pit lizard in the Talladega infield.

With that clear, wouldn't it make more sense to run one of the existing courses in a town that's demonstrated it already knows how to put one on? Successful experiments only test one factor at at time. Gods forbid, maybe run in conjunction with another series?
 
A week after the Super Bowl and wondering how or if they will get in the Clash, and the Duels before the 500 in a weeks time. I think they will do so, and clumping them together closely saves money for the crews I would think would be the reasoning behind it. :idunno:
 
NASCAR did race inside Soldier Field back in the day. I am intrigued by a stadium race, I cant fathom what that would even look like. It'd be Bristol on steroids I would imagine. A street race around Soldier Field I cant see see happening at all because of how in debt the city/state is as well as the Chicago Park District (they own Soldier Field. Not the Bears)would get involved and that adds a whole different level of difficulty ( the Bears couldnt even get a properly sodded field at one point). If they do a street course I would be up for Cleveland Burke Airport, those CART races were amazing. This is interesting concept since I dont think they will be going to any new tracks besides Gateway, it will be fun to see how it shakes out. I will say though if they race around Soldier Field, what will happen to Chicagoland Speedway I cant imagine them having 2 races in this market
 
I mean if you really want space around a stadium to let you have room for a race track Philadelphias would work. There are 3 stadiums and parking lots in 1 complex.
 
so yea if they race inside Soldier Field I'll be there...... this looks insane.
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gnomesayin said:
Earlier reports are it was unlikely to continue.
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I'll move into the (not so) bold prediction category and state that it will be off the schedule next year. I think the writing has been on the wall and people are failing to recognize it. The demolition yesterday would only solidify that decision. With the rush to get the Gen 7 ready, will either the teams or the sanctioning body be willing to bring 20 of them as sacrificial lambs for the Clash? The 500 is a different matter, but with the new mantra of cost efficiency, I bet the prelude exhibition race is no longer viewed as worth the trouble.

As for a stadium race, that's...odd. But they are trying to shake up perceptions of a staid schedule, and it doesn't seem like a 'normal' weekend of quality stock car racing is enough anymore. I don't quite get what the stadium and parking lots setting provides over a normal city street course.

I would certainly be willing to entertain any street course race and give it a chance. The lackluster quality of open wheel street races isn't necessarily predictive of what a NASCAR street race would be.
 
kkfan91 said:
I've always said a stock car street race would work much better then open wheel because you can bump.
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For sure. They have been running them for years on the streets in Canada and IMO they are much better than the delicate IndyCars. They actually have far less cautions because of that.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Interesting. Obviously an attempt to end the season earlier. Will this move the Clash to the Saturday of the SB weekend?
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In 2010 the Shootout was the Saturday the day before the Super Bowl, not sure how many other instances there are but there may be a few. Qualifying was also scheduled for earlier that Saturday and the dates that year were the same as next year's (Super Bowl 2/7, 500 2/14). That said, they've already kicked around the idea of getting rid of the Clash entirely as @gnomesayin mentioned. ARCA and 500 Qualifying on Saturday may be the outcome.
 
gnomesayin said:
I'll move into the (not so) bold prediction category and state that it will be off the schedule next year. I think the writing has been on the wall and people are failing to recognize it. The demolition yesterday would only solidify that decision. With the rush to get the Gen 7 ready, will either the teams or the sanctioning body be willing to bring 20 of them as sacrificial lambs for the Clash? The 500 is a different matter, but with the new mantra of cost efficiency, I bet the prelude exhibition race is no longer viewed as worth the trouble.

As for a stadium race, that's...odd. But they are trying to shake up perceptions of a staid schedule, and it doesn't seem like a 'normal' weekend of quality stock car racing is enough anymore. I don't quite get what the stadium and parking lots setting provides over a normal city street course.

I would certainly be willing to entertain any street course race and give it a chance. The lackluster quality of open wheel street races isn't necessarily predictive of what a NASCAR street race would be.
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My guess is they want to minimize use of public roads as much as possible so as not to get tied up with local government. F1 in Miami was being held up by the proposed use of one street in particular and now the revised circuit proposal is entirely within stadium bounds.
 
I guess it could happen for any reason they won't have the Clash next year with the new car. On the other hand, the big boys would want every second of track time they can get with the new car in a race situation
 
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