Hometown tracks?

[buckaroo]

We all have heard the announcers talking to different drivers and calling tracks close to their birthplaces their "hometown track", but I think that PRN's calling Texas Motor Speedway the hometown track of Justin Labonte just a little bit a stretch. While his father and uncle were both from Corpus Christy, Texas, Justin was born and raised in Trinity, North Carolina, and I do believe that his hometown track, one that he won his first track championship at, would be Caraway Speedway. BTW, his uncle Bobby also wont that title before he ventured up to the upper echelons of NASCAR.

Now please, I do understand the implications here, one that the Labonte's are really a Texas family and that's what they meant, but let's get serious here for a minute, Justin is not a Lone Star boy, but a Tar Heel, born and bred.

And while I'm on this subject, let's just find out how far the Texas Motor Speedway is from Corpus Christy? Hmmm, according to Mapquest dot com it's roughly 406 miles. So let's see, any track that is as close or closer than 406 miles must be a hometown track and that would make Martinsville, Bristol, Richmond, Darlington, Charlotte, Atlanta, not to mention Rockingham and North Wilkesboro, all hometown tracks for Justin Labonte. You can't rule out some of the older tracks that the Busch series used to run as well such as Hickory, Myrtle Beach and South Boston.

So, what really is Justin Labonte's hometown track?

 

[RaceChick]

I have got a headache now with all this geography. The same thing bothers me about Martin Truex too. They always say New Hampshire is his home track, but I have also heard them call Dover a home track for him. The last time I checked he was from New Jersey. I know these states are close to each other, but when you have to cross state lines i think it is no longer a home track.

 

[kat2220]

I'm so confused! Maybe Home really IS where the heart is??? Where did so and so start racing? Win first? Earn a bunch of money? Closest Nascar sanctioned track to birthplace?
IF I were a race car driver, mine would be a track that no longer exists (Norwood).
Oh, my head......need aspirin!

 

[Magnethead]

My birthplace home track would be fontana..my current home track would be..well, check the sig

 

[kelloggs5TLfan]

I don't remember who all claims Bristol. Sterling lives down the road.
This is my home track. (Bristol)

 

[Lap3Forever]

A home track would be class as. the place where you started racing, and done most of you racing at. My home track would be Ky. Lake Motor Speedway and Paducah International Raceway.

The olny way a driver in nascar can call a track there home track is if they live with in an hour of the track, or done a lot of race orther then nascar there.

racechick, i think you can cross state lines and still call a track ur home track but you have to race there a lot, everywked ect.

 

[buckaroo]

A home track would be class as. the place where you started racing, and done most of you racing at. My home track would be Ky. Lake Motor Speedway and Paducah International Raceway.

The olny way a driver in nascar can call a track there home track is if they live with in an hour of the track, or done a lot of race orther then nascar there.

racechick, i think you can cross state lines and still call a track ur home track but you have to race there a lot, everywked ect.

Lappy, I'll go with that, but when they called Texas the hometrack of Justin Labonte, that went a bit, no, not a bit, but way over the line. Justin is not a Texan nor was he born there. As far as I know, he's never even lived there either. However, all of the media will still call a track over 400 miles from the former home of a driver, his hometown track. Texas motor speedway wasn't even built when Terry and Bobby Labonte were driving the Saturday night circuits.

 

[Bucky Badger]

what does Jeff gordon consider his home track? Indy or cali? Probably both?

 

[MRM]

I agree with buckaroo. All the announcers go overboard calling these tracks their "hometown" track or whatever term they use. They should start saying something like "racing in front of the 'home state fans'". Otherwise, which track is Greg Biffle's hometown track, he's from Washington (state)?

 

[RaceChick]

A home track would be class as. the place where you started racing, and done most of you racing at. My home track would be Ky. Lake Motor Speedway and Paducah International Raceway.

The olny way a driver in nascar can call a track there home track is if they live with in an hour of the track, or done a lot of race orther then nascar there.

racechick, i think you can cross state lines and still call a track ur home track but you have to race there a lot, everywked ect.

I'll go along with that, but can you have two out of state home tracks and one in state home track. I know they call Wall Stadium Martin's home track because it's in NJ, but then you have NH and Dover. You would have multiple personalities to have that many home tracks. I think announcers can get a little crazy about this kind of thing sometimes. I know it makes me crazy just thinking about it.