Interest builds around possible changes to NASCAR schedule

All I have to say is, they are attempting to change the approach.

Me as a millenial and maybe some gen Z members of the forum can speak on this as well. I do not have the disposible income to travel everywhere. I go to many of events, however the costs add up with my budget. Bringing the race to the people os a better move in this aspect because many tracks we know and love like the Rockinghams and North Wilksboros were let go due to different reasons. However, both are sparcely populated areas, I went down to Rockingham and its a ghost town. It sparks interest from not only fans, but think of all of the massive corporations that are located downtown? Small businesses get a boost, fans who may not be interested may become interested after getting a feel for the fans and sounds of the sport.

Does it suck to lose Chicagoland as of right now? Absolutely it does, but for years outside of the 2018 race, how many can say they really LOVED the racing there? Be honest, Chicagoland was OK. At the same time, it came on the back end of the intermediate boom.

I just think bringing the race to the fans in these areas is an awesome idea.
 
Kiante said:
All I have to say is, they are attempting to change the approach.

Me as a millenial and maybe some gen Z members of the forum can speak on this as well. I do not have the disposible income to travel everywhere. I go to many of events, however the costs add up with my budget. Bringing the race to the people os a better move in this aspect because many tracks we know and love like the Rockinghams and North Wilksboros were let go due to different reasons. However, both are sparcely populated areas, I went down to Rockingham and its a ghost town. It sparks interest from not only fans, but think of all of the massive corporations that are located downtown? Small businesses get a boost, fans who may not be interested may become interested after getting a feel for the fans and sounds of the sport.

Does it suck to lose Chicagoland as of right now? Absolutely it does, but for years outside of the 2018 race, how many can say they really LOVED the racing there? Be honest, Chicagoland was OK. At the same time, it came on the back end of the intermediate boom.

I just think bringing the race to the fans in these areas is an awesome idea.
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If you or someone travels in for the race in Downtown Chicago and you're tight on disposable income.......wait till you see the prices for parking, food, and hotel stays in the city.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
If you or someone travels in for the race in Downtown Chicago and you're tight on disposable income.......wait till you see the prices for parking, food, and hotel stays in the city.
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Absolutely, I agree with that.

I'm saying it from a prespective of if I lived in Chicago and was local to the area. As on lookers, but going to places like Bristol and such. Man, even in that small town hotel prices are ridiculous. It's just supply and demand, also there is more to do. We've seen how Nashville has taken on and how Los Angeles embraced it, just all of the action is there and I'm fine with that.

I can deal driving into the city and I also have family that lives in the area. So, lodging would not be much of an issue for me. Just I like the idea of going where the eyes will be on it. Now, the racing product has to be on point there.
 
Kiante said:
Me as a millenial and maybe some gen Z members of the forum can speak on this as well. I do not have the disposible income to travel everywhere. I go to many of events, however the costs add up with my budget. Bringing the race to the people os a better move in this aspect
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Jorge De Guzman said:
If you or someone travels in for the race in Downtown Chicago and you're tight on disposable income.......wait till you see the prices for parking, food, and hotel stays in the city.
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Living in central Ohio, I need to travel at least three hours to see any Cup race. Hotel prices are insane when NASCAR comes to town, and camping isn't always a great option unless you have a camper/RV, and then you're there all weekend at minimum. Factor in other expenses like fuel costs and taking extra days off of work, and then suddenly watching the race on my big flatscreen from the comfort of my couch with my fridge and bathroom just a few steps away sure seems like the way to go.

But if NASCAR had a race on the streets of Columbus right down the road from me, or IMSA like they did for a few years back in the 80's, I would absolutely make sure I was in attendance.
 
2 Sweet said:
Living in central Ohio, I need to travel at least three hours to see any Cup race. Hotel prices are insane when NASCAR comes to town, and camping isn't always a great option unless you have a camper/RV, and then you're there all weekend at minimum. Factor in other expenses like fuel costs and taking extra days off of work, and then suddenly watching the race on my big flatscreen from the comfort of my couch with my fridge and bathroom just a few steps away sure seems like the way to go.

But if NASCAR had a race on the streets of Columbus right down the road from me, or IMSA like they did for a few years back in the 80's, I would absolutely make sure I was in attendance.
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I've traveled 9 hours to Bristol to see a race and I've traveled the 4 hours to Louisville, KY to see a race at Kentucky. Also been been to Daytona a bunch. The hotels were high but I knew that going in, that wasnt a problem. We stayed in Johnson City TN when I went to Bristol and there was plenty to do. Daytona is Daytona......the beach was all we needed. I found stuff to do in "These in the middle of nowhere places" as the trendy thing is to call these tracks now, its all what you make of the trip I guess. If I had to go to Rockingham or Wilkesboro, I'd stay in Charlotte or Asheville NC. Thats just me though, I've always planned these races out knowing its going to be a pricy trip. My thoughts are if fans or folks going to the street race in Chicago think its going to be cheaper than going to a track like Chicagoland....... I think they might be sadly mistaken. Prices in Chicago are always high, regardless of whats going on.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
I've traveled 9 hours to Bristol to see a race and I've traveled the 4 hours to Louisville, KY to see a race at Kentucky. Also been been to Daytona a bunch. The hotels were high but I knew that going in, that wasnt a problem. We stayed in Johnson City TN when I went to Bristol and there was plenty to do. Daytona is Daytona......the beach was all we needed. I found stuff to do in "These in the middle of nowhere places" as the trendy thing is to call these tracks now, its all what you make of the trip I guess. If I had to go to Rockingham or Wilkesboro, I'd stay in Charlotte or Asheville NC. Thats just me though, I've always planned these races out knowing its going to be a pricy trip. My thoughts are if fans or folks going to the street race in Chicago think its going to be cheaper than going to a track like Chicagoland....... I think they might be sadly mistaken. Prices in Chicago are always high, regardless of whats going on.
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Yeah, I'm just under 6.5 hours from Bristol, and we stayed at a Super 8 in Kingsport (about 35 minutes from the track). But paying $400/night for a motel that's normally like $60 just rubs me the wrong way.

You make a good point though. Unfortunately for me, all of the tracks I'm willing to travel to would end up being a true vacation. Having the opportunity to attend a Cup race and it only costs me a day would be a lot more feasible at the moment.
 
2 Sweet said:
Yeah, I'm just under 6.5 hours from Bristol, and we stayed at a Super 8 in Kingsport (about 35 minutes from the track). But paying $400/night for a motel that's normally like $60 just rubs me the wrong way.

You make a good point though. Unfortunately for me, all of the tracks I'm willing to travel to would end up being a true vacation. Having the opportunity to attend a Cup race and it only costs me a day would be a lot more feasible at the moment.
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yea we've made vacations out of them, my wife and I. She actually enjoyed the vacations planned around races more than the bigger vacations we've taken, which I thought was surprising. We're trying to plan for Bristol in September but Im not sure its gonna work out.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
yea we've made vacations out of them, my wife and I. She actually enjoyed the vacations planned around races more than the bigger vacations we've taken, which I thought was surprising. We're trying to plan for Bristol in September but Im not sure its gonna work out.
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I won't make a race this year, but the goal is Bristol in September '23 and Daytona in February '24. We'll probably stay in New Smyrna or St. Augustine that week, but I haven't done any planning yet.
 
2 Sweet said:
Living in central Ohio, I need to travel at least three hours to see any Cup race. Hotel prices are insane when NASCAR comes to town, and camping isn't always a great option unless you have a camper/RV, and then you're there all weekend at minimum. Factor in other expenses like fuel costs and taking extra days off of work, and then suddenly watching the race on my big flatscreen from the comfort of my couch with my fridge and bathroom just a few steps away sure seems like the way to go.

But if NASCAR had a race on the streets of Columbus right down the road from me, or IMSA like they did for a few years back in the 80's, I would absolutely make sure I was in attendance.
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Were you able to make the truck race at Mid Ohio this weekend?
 
Back when we were traveling to races more often, we rarely went for just the race. We'd stay four or five days and seeing other stuff in the area. We often stayed 60 - 90 minutes drive away from the track to keep the hotel rates down. We included a day or two after the scheduled date in case of rain.
 
Now that I live in Utah my buddies and I are going to the fall Las Vegas race. No price gouging there. Found a nice hotel/casino 15 minutes from the track in downtown LV for I think $120 a night. And there's a bus that runs to the track (well, have to walk the last half mile). Of course ticket prices for the race its self was absolutely ridiculous...$220 for Xfinity, ARCA, and Cup in view-obstructed seats on the frontstretch.
 
DIDIT said:
Were you able to make the truck race at Mid Ohio this weekend?
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Unfortunately not. The Goodguys show was here and I already had plans. I'll make it a priority next year, though. Mid-Ohio is just over an hour from me which is nice and easy.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
Now that I live in Utah my buddies and I are going to the fall Las Vegas race. No price gouging there. Found a nice hotel/casino 15 minutes from the track in downtown LV for I think $120 a night. And there's a bus that runs to the track (well, have to walk the last half mile). Of course ticket prices for the race its self was absolutely ridiculous...$220 for Xfinity, ARCA, and Cup in view-obstructed seats on the frontstretch.
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It's funny, I went to the spring Martinsville race a few years back and somehow managed to get a couple nights at the Hampton Inn (15 minutes from the track) for $140/night, I couldn't believe it.

I called that same hotel last year, the day the Cup schedule was released, and they were already booked up. I'm assuming people within the sport with early access to the schedule already made reservations.
 
2 Sweet said:
Unfortunately not. The Goodguys show was here and I already had plans. I'll make it a priority next year, though. Mid-Ohio is just over an hour from me which is nice and easy.
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We went both days. Nice crowd on Saturday, rain made Friday interesting. Columbus Goodguys is quite the show!
 
2 Sweet said:
It's funny, I went to the spring Martinsville race a few years back and somehow managed to get a couple nights at the Hampton Inn (15 minutes from the track) for $140/night, I couldn't believe it.

I called that same hotel last year, the day the Cup schedule was released, and they were already booked up. I'm assuming people within the sport with early access to the schedule already made reservations.
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It's on the wrong side of the track for you but Greensboro hotels are a great option for M'ville races.
 


Yeah, Cup isn't coming back to North Wilkesboro,

NWS with the seats in the turns and backstretch sat 40k, those seats are gone, and will be replaced by track side camping. Meaning NWS will now seat 20k, too small for Cup
 
DewChaser988 said:


Yeah, Cup isn't coming back to North Wilkesboro,

NWS with the seats in the turns and backstretch sat 40k, those seats are gone, and will be replaced by track side camping. Meaning NWS will now seat 20k, too small for Cup
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Could see them getting a Cup All Star race with a ARCA/Xfinity/Trucks weekend mixed in there.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
IMSA ran at Canadian Tire a couple of weeks ago. I assume if they can, Trucks can.
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They had reduced car counts and staffing issues even among the teams that did make the trip. Lots of teams were asking for it to be a non-points race or for one “drop” race in the championship. I just can’t imagine that Truck teams would want to deal with that, it’d likely be even worse among that series.
 
DewChaser988 said:


Yeah, Cup isn't coming back to North Wilkesboro,

NWS with the seats in the turns and backstretch sat 40k, those seats are gone, and will be replaced by track side camping. Meaning NWS will now seat 20k, too small for Cup
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I have been to a number of Cup races in recent years where the attendance was probably below 20k. Prices, sponsorship and TV could make it possible. But I am in the camp of " it won't happen too."
 
Efisher131 said:
Where was there less than 20k people?
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I have been to Michigan where it was pretty barren, no traffic in and out. Also include New Hampshire a few years back. The Atlanta spring race has had poor attendance over the years depending on the weather. Finally the Daytona Roval. Never been, but Auto Club has had some very lean attendance too.
 
DIDIT said:
I have been to Michigan where it was pretty barren, no traffic in and out. Also include New Hampshire a few years back. The Atlanta spring race has had poor attendance over the years depending on the weather. Finally the Daytona Roval.
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New Hampshire was decently packed in 2019 with some empty patches. Michigan has had empty spots with 2 races, but 2021 with 1 race it looked very full.

Also the Daytona Roval was during COVID capacity restrictions & were temporary races on the schedule.
 
AuzGrams said:
New Hampshire was quite full in 2019. Michigan has had empty spots with 2 races, but 2021 with 1 race it looked very full.

Also the Daytona Roval was during COVID capacity restrictions.
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Go back to around 2017 for New Hampshire and probably 2014 for Michigan.
Yeah, I couldn't sneak that Roval by you I see. :)
 
DIDIT said:
Go back to around 2017 for New Hampshire and probably 2014 for Michigan.
Yeah, I couldn't sneak that Roval by you I see. :)
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Both of those races look decently attended even if the stands are somewhat empty, I bet there’s 40-45K. New Hampshire had like 76,000 seats before the Laconia grandstand in 3-4 was torn down (probably 60K now).

Michigan in 2014 looks even fuller than New Hampshire in 2017.
 
AuzGrams said:
Both of those races look decently attended even if the stands are somewhat empty, I bet there’s 40-45K. New Hampshire had like 76,000 seats before the Laconia grandstand in 3-4 was torn down (probably 60K now).

Michigan in 2014 looks even fuller than New Hampshire in 2017.
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New Hampshire at the flag stand.
20220716_174812 - Copy.jpg
 
DIDIT said:
You got me on that one...I was there for the 2016 and 2017 race. I am pretty sure this is the picture of the 2017 race. I seem to recall sitting in turns 1 and 2 with mostly open seats.
View attachment 64050
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So probably 45-50K at a 76,000 seat venue like I said in a previous post. 25-30,000 empty seats is a lot for what it’s worth.
 
AuzGrams said:
So probably 45-50K at a 76,000 seat venue like I said in a previous post. 25-30,000 empty seats is a lot for what it’s worth.
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That's a tough call. If it seats 76,000, there is no way it was close to half full. At best 30%.
OK, I went through my actual pictures and this is a photo I took in July, 2017.
20170716_151659.jpg
 
This has gotten a hellova lot more granular that I care for...

For the record Loudon held 95k-100k at its peak. The main stand also has drink rails in it's entire upper half, and they widened the seats about 15 years ago. So the true capacity of the main stand is half of what it was in the heydays.
 
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