DARLINGTON: Moving back to Labor Day ... or off the NASCAR schedule entirely?

HoneyBadger

HoneyBadger

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http://www.thestate.com/2014/04/12/3385202/darlington-a-move-to-labor-day.html

Darlington told me years ago they don't want the Labor Day date back. I wonder if this is a deal where NASCAR's trying to give Darlington a crappy date they don't want to force them to take Labor Day back. One of the things I've heard being thrown around was that NASCAR is considering a deal where they'd race on Saturday night (on Labor Day Weekend) at Richmond and then head to Darlington on Labor Day (Monday) and run the Southern 500 in the afternoon or evening.
 
Hell, swap the date with Martinsville or Bristol. It'll probably eliminate the weather issue.
 
I think helton's remarks where kinda saying I don't want to promise anything and anything is possible. I think the double labor day deal is an interesting thought. what if they did that and added a second race back at darlington.
 
hidesert cowboy said:
I think helton's remarks where kinda saying I don't want to promise anything and anything is possible. I think the double labor day deal is an interesting thought. what if they did that and added a second race back at darlington.
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They'd give Atlanta the Spring race back. Which they need to. The date wasn't the problem with Atlanta. Having two races in what is proven to be one of the worst, if not the worst, sports market in the country -- that was the problem. Atlanta sports fans suck. You'd be lucky if the Atlanta Braves sold 80% of their seats in a World Series game.

Personally, that's one track I'd be fine with dropping from the schedule but they'd just give Kentucky or Las Vegas a second date so it wouldn't help anything.

Darlington off the schedule? Not happening. NASCAR and ISC have done everything in their power to kill that place off and it just keeps hanging on. Same can be said for Martinsville as well. The expansion era is over and the fans aren't showing up to all the shiny new brobdingnagians in metropolises like Chicago, Los Angeles and Kansas City. Hell, even Dallas/Ft. Worth is in a rapid attendance decline in the middle of one of the largest sports markets in the world. Makes no sense to remove Darlington or Martinsville from the schedule now.
 
I'm all for a double header weekend.. But I might self-combust from excitement with those two racetracks. You would almost have to make a vacation out of it and hit both venues.

Very unrealistic though.. The possibility of weather alone is a huge problem.
 
DUN24 said:
I'm all for a double header weekend.. But I might self-combust from excitement with those two racetracks. You would almost have to make a vacation out of it and hit both venues.

Very unrealistic though.. The possibility of weather alone is a huge problem.
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ARCA did something similar one year. A few years ago, they ran a race at Toledo on Friday night and then ran their traditional Labor Day race at DuQuoin on Monday afternoon.
 
NASCAR would be totally stupid to take Darlington off the schedule. It's one of the few places to be full or nearly full so far this season.

Their schedule this year as been asinine. Bristol in mid March when it's typically cool, Texas the same weekend as the Final Four in Dallas, Darlington the same weekend as The Masters.
 
Only a fool would deny that NASCAR's schedule needs a shakeup and this is the kind of outside-the-box thinking they need. Will this happen, probably not, but it's nice that it's even been thrown out.

NASCAR could get away with running a race on weekdays in the summer or running two races in one week. And honestly, I think they should. By doing stuff like a Labor Day Weekend doubleheader or running a race on a Wednesday or something, they're freeing up a weekend here and there on the schedule which could serve as built in rain dates or a desperately needed off weekend or something. And you can get away with stuff like weekday races in the summer.
 
I don't see anything in that article that looks like the date is moving anywhere. I don't recognize the writer as being part of the regular NASCAR media either. Looks like much ado about nothing.
 
Not sure how it would do from a TV standpoint, going up against a marquee college football game on opening weekend, but I'd like to see it anyway.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Only a fool would deny that NASCAR's schedule needs a shakeup and this is the kind of outside-the-box thinking they need. Will this happen, probably not, but it's nice that it's even been thrown out.

NASCAR could get away with running a race on weekdays in the summer or running two races in one week. And honestly, I think they should. By doing stuff like a Labor Day Weekend doubleheader or running a race on a Wednesday or something, they're freeing up a weekend here and there on the schedule which could serve as built in rain dates or a desperately needed off weekend or something. And you can get away with stuff like weekday races in the summer.
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I would think Nascar would want a few extra weekends for rain dates. It amazes me that they are able to get all their races in each year for as many weekends that they race in a season.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I would think Nascar would want a few extra weekends for rain dates. It amazes me that they are able to get all their races in each year for as many weekends that they race in a season.
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I like the way they do it now. Get that race in as close as they can following a rained out event. It's a huge investment of time and money for a majority of those attending an event. Many times people are taking a weeks worth of vacation wrapped around an event. That's not something that can be easily repeated 3 weeks down the road or whenever the next open weekend happens to be. It don't mean jack to us if we're at home watching. It's just another few hours to go sit on the easy chair on a different day.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I like the way they do it now. Get that race in as close as they can following a rained out event. It's a huge investment of time and money for a majority of those attending an event. Many times people are taking a weeks worth of vacation wrapped around an event. That's not something that can be easily repeated 3 weeks down the road or whenever the next open weekend happens to be. It don't mean jack to us if we're at home watching. It's just another few hours to go sit on the easy chair on a different day.
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I agree 100%. But, with them having so many races back to back i am surprised that they haven't had more problems getting all their races in. It also costs a lot of money for the teams when they have to come back for a rain date. It is by far better to get it done the first time. It's a good thing they don't race in Seattle.;)
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
ARCA did something similar one year. A few years ago, they ran a race at Toledo on Friday night and then ran their traditional Labor Day race at DuQuoin on Monday afternoon.
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NASCAR did it last year with the K&N Pro Series West. They ran at Iowa on Friday and Sunday at Lebanon, MO. And this year with the K&N Pro Series East, Sunday at New Smyrna and Tuesday at Daytona.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I would think Nascar would want a few extra weekends for rain dates. It amazes me that they are able to get all their races in each year for as many weekends that they race in a season.
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NASCAR can't run away from football, pro or college. IndyCar did that and lost credibility even among open wheel diehards by running away from football.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I agree 100%. But, with them having so many races back to back i am surprised that they haven't had more problems getting all their races in. It also costs a lot of money for the teams when they have to come back for a rain date. It is by far better to get it done the first time. It's a good thing they don't race in Seattle.;)
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It's going to be comical the first time they end up having to push a race back. Can you imagine a tropical storm in Atlanta in September forcing them to postpone a race for several months because they don't have an open weekend? Homestead ticket holders would be pissed because suddenly, the final four ticket they paid for has become meaningless.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
They'd give Atlanta the Spring race back. Which they need to. The date wasn't the problem with Atlanta. Having two races in what is proven to be one of the worst, if not the worst, sports market in the country -- that was the problem. Atlanta sports fans suck. You'd be lucky if the Atlanta Braves sold 80% of their seats in a World Series game.
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Get rid of Atlanta and run Road Atlanta instead NA$CAR needs another road coarse on their schedule.
 
Atlanta is near and dear to my heart just because of the history. For years it was the season finale, the site of the magical 1992 fall race, more story lines than I need to mention..
Earnhardt/Labonte photo finish in 2000, Harvick/Gordon photo finish in 2001 featuring Chocolate Meyers bawling like a baby(as well as most of us).... That's just the biggest off the top of my head. A lot of very emotional and memorable moments. As mundane as some events there might seem, the place deserves a spot on the schedule and you're bullsh!tting and quick to forget history if you disagree.

That said, Road Atlanta would be epic. I don't think the region is too oversaturated for a race there. They can fit both. How many southern fans have never seen a NASCAR race on a road course?
 
Darlington would be foolish to give up their only weekend date . Too hard to get it back if the Monday thing doesn't work out.
 
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