More bad Rockingham news

DanicaFreak said:
wonder what will become of the track
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Probably something along the lines of this.....

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The Nature Boy said:
The next person to build a NASCAR Sprint Cup ready track needs to just take Rockingham and copy it verbatim.
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The next person to build a NASCAR Sprint Cup ready track needs to already have a Cup date they're willing to move or they're not likely to ever host a Cup race at their new facility.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
The next person to build a NASCAR Sprint Cup ready track needs to already have a Cup date they're willing to move or they're not likely to ever host a Cup race at their new facility.
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I'm assuming that Brian is still desperately wanting the NYC or PNW markets. If a track broke ground in the NYC area, there would be a Sprint Cup race scheduled before the first drop of asphalt was laid down.
 
The Nature Boy said:
I'm assuming that Brian is still desperately wanting the NYC or PNW markets. If a track broke ground in the NYC area, there would be a Sprint Cup race scheduled before the first drop of asphalt was laid down.
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They certainly were when NASCAR, err, ISC planned to develop in those two locations. In both case they were shot down. I can't see them giving up a race date at any of the existing ISC venues to another owner.
 
There has to be a way to save that track, and be profitable to a potential owner too. I know the economy sucks in that area, but there still has to be a way to make it work.
 
The Nature Boy said:
The area that Rockingham Speedway is in is pretty economically depressed. The nature of economics doomed Rockingham.
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Rockingham's within a reasonable distance of both Raleigh and Charlotte. No excuse for the fans not to support the place - especially with how much bitching was done about that track not being on the NASCAR schedule.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Rockingham's within a reasonable distance of both Raleigh and Charlotte. No excuse for the fans not to support the place - especially with how much bitching was done about that track not being on the NASCAR schedule.
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I agree. People were saying it's in the middle of nowhere, but it really isn't.
 
If I was rich I would buy the track and build a mansion for myself in the infield.
 
FenderBumper said:
I agree. People were saying it's in the middle of nowhere, but it really isn't.
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People had a million excuses for not going to the races out there. At the end of the day, that's what they were, excuses.

People need to remember, NASCAR fans are NOT the same thing as race fans. They'd rather go to a brobdingnagian and care more about what there is to do at and around the track.
 
I'm not sure if the "it's close to Raleigh/Charlotte" argument holds water when the track is two hours from either city. In fact, Rockingham is as close to Raleigh as Pocono is to the center of Manhattan.

Is it a great venue? Yes but it does suffer from a severe "middle of nowhere" syndrome. There's NOTHING in the Rockingham area for someone to do if they venture down for a race. It's not in an economically vibrant area so locals are often going to be shut out. I'm not blaming the fans because it mostly comes down to the economic conditions of the southeastern Piedmont area of North Carolina. The area is an economic black hole.

I'll be frank here: Andy was the wrong guy to buy the track. I know he had good intentions but for Rockingham Speedway to be vibrant again, it has to essentially create a micro-economy around the track itself. It needed a wealthy investor who could invest in new housing, shops, restaurants and the like around the track so it becomes a destination. Rockingham does worse than other NASCAR tracks in the middle of nowhere because they're at least close to vacation spots, Loudon is close to Laconia and the White Mountains, Pocono is in the Pocono Mountains and Bristol/Martinsville are in the southern Appalachians. Rockingham has none of those advantages. Getting Rockingham going again is going to take a lot more than just buying a track.
 
Nascar/ISC could swoop in and buy it with back pocket money if they choose too. Probably be more trouble than it is worth though.
 
The Nature Boy said:
I'm not sure if the "it's close to Raleigh/Charlotte" argument holds water when the track is two hours from either city. In fact, Rockingham is as close to Raleigh as Pocono is to the center of Manhattan.

Is it a great venue? Yes but it does suffer from a severe "middle of nowhere" syndrome. There's NOTHING in the Rockingham area for someone to do if they venture down for a race. It's not in an economically vibrant area so locals are often going to be shut out. I'm not blaming the fans because it mostly comes down to the economic conditions of the southeastern Piedmont area of North Carolina. The area is an economic black hole.

I'll be frank here: Andy was the wrong guy to buy the track. I know he had good intentions but for Rockingham Speedway to be vibrant again, it has to essentially create a micro-economy around the track itself. It needed a wealthy investor who could invest in new housing, shops, restaurants and the like around the track so it becomes a destination. Rockingham does worse than other NASCAR tracks in the middle of nowhere because they're at least close to vacation spots, Loudon is close to Laconia and the White Mountains, Pocono is in the Pocono Mountains and Bristol/Martinsville are in the southern Appalachians. Rockingham has none of those advantages. Getting Rockingham going again is going to take a lot more than just buying a track.
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Martinsville's in the middle of nowhere? Might want to rethink that statement. Remember, I live here.

Aside from that, you just made the very point that I made which you were trying to argue with ... which is that NASCAR fans are NOT race fans.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Martinsville's in the middle of nowhere? Might want to rethink that statement. Remember, I live here.

Aside from that, you just made the very point that I made which you were trying to argue with ... which is that NASCAR fans are NOT race fans.
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I've never been to Martinsville, it was a wild guess based on Google Mapping and my knowledge of western NC/VA. I'd argue it is certainly a rural area. Loudon's proximity to Manchester and Boston doesn't change that it is by and large in the middle of nowhere. If I'm wrong about Martinsville, I apologize.

Back to the point, I just think that when you're hurt by the economy and you're prioritizing funds, leisurely things like going to races tends to take a backseat. You can be the biggest race fan on the planet but when the choice is paying bills or going to the Friday night race, I would imagine that you pick the former. The fans didn't support Rockingham because the local fanbase by and large could not afford to support Rockingham. If you're going to make the argument that North Carolina is not filled with race fans, it's a losing one.

I'm not going to let people scapegoat the fans for this one.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Martinsville's in the middle of nowhere? Might want to rethink that statement. Remember, I live here.
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The track itself is in a sparsely populated area, but there are cities well within driving distance. Greensboro and Winston-Salem, both with about a quarter-million population, are about an hour to the south. And Roanoke, although I wouldn't consider it a major city but populated enough, is about an hour to the north.
 
ToyYoda said:
The track itself is in a sparsely populated area, but there are cities well within driving distance. Greensboro and Winston-Salem, both with about a quarter-million population, are about an hour to the south. And Roanoke, although I wouldn't consider it a major city but populated enough, is about an hour to the north.
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Like I said, my original point is that most tracks in the middle of nowhere have some nearby attraction. This only helps to prove my point. In Rockingham's case, Charlotte is still an hour and half to two hours (depending on traffic on US 74) and Raleigh is 2 hours away. If I'm planning a trip to a NASCAR race and I'm on a budget, I have two chances in Charlotte and I'd be better off financially to take those.
 
ToyYoda said:
The track itself is in a sparsely populated area, but there are cities well within driving distance. Greensboro and Winston-Salem, both with about a quarter-million population, are about an hour to the south. And Roanoke, although I wouldn't consider it a major city but populated enough, is about an hour to the north.
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Roanoke's bigger than you think.
 
The Nature Boy said:
I've never been to Martinsville, it was a wild guess based on Google Mapping and my knowledge of western NC/VA. I'd argue it is certainly a rural area. Loudon's proximity to Manchester and Boston doesn't change that it is by and large in the middle of nowhere. If I'm wrong about Martinsville, I apologize.

Back to the point, I just think that when you're hurt by the economy and you're prioritizing funds, leisurely things like going to races tends to take a backseat. You can be the biggest race fan on the planet but when the choice is paying bills or going to the Friday night race, I would imagine that you pick the former. The fans didn't support Rockingham because the local fanbase by and large could not afford to support Rockingham. If you're going to make the argument that North Carolina is not filled with race fans, it's a losing one.

I'm not going to let people scapegoat the fans for this one.
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The Rockingham ARCA races got about what an average short track race would get. The Rockingham Truck races had good numbers - but not good enough to keep that track in business. But, those were all race fans.

NASCAR fans care about the glitz and glamour. They care more about the facilities, not the racing. I've heard NASCAR fans tell me why they won't go to Martinsville and it makes me absolutely pound my head against a wall. There isn't a better ticket in NASCAR anywhere - tickets are cheap, every seat is a good one and the racing is the best NASCAR has to offer.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
The Rockingham ARCA races got about what an average short track race would get. The Rockingham Truck races had good numbers - but not good enough to keep that track in business. But, those were all race fans.

NASCAR fans care about the glitz and glamour. They care more about the facilities, not the racing. I've heard NASCAR fans tell me why they won't go to Martinsville and it makes me absolutely pound my head against a wall. There isn't a better ticket in NASCAR anywhere - tickets are cheap, every seat is a good one and the racing is the best NASCAR has to offer.
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I totally understand that point but Rockingham needs more than just "race fans" to show up. I can't imagine that maintenance is cheap for it since it is a facility built for NASCAR. What the Truck race attracted was about as good as you could expect, given the local economy and all.

And to combine our points, a NASCAR fan who makes the trip to NC would likely pick Charlotte over Rockingham for all the reasons you said. Rockingham is unfortunate because it's a great track in a piss poor area where the fans can't afford to provide the level of support it needed to survive. For Rockingham to be successful as a race track, you're going to need to pour a TON of money into the track and surrounding area.
 
The Nature Boy said:
I totally understand that point but Rockingham needs more than just "race fans" to show up. I can't imagine that maintenance is cheap for it since it is a facility built for NASCAR. What the Truck race attracted was about as good as you could expect, given the local economy and all.

And to combine our points, a NASCAR fan who makes the trip to NC would likely pick Charlotte over Rockingham for all the reasons you said. Rockingham is unfortunate because it's a great track in a piss poor area where the fans can't afford to provide the level of support it needed to survive. For Rockingham to be successful as a race track, you're going to need to pour a TON of money into the track and surrounding area.
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Right, but to say it's not close to anything is disingenuous. The fans didn't support that place when Winston Cup raced there, they didn't support it when ARCA raced there and they didn't support it when NASCAR went back there.
 
The Nature Boy said:
The next person to build a NASCAR Sprint Cup ready track needs to just take Rockingham and copy it verbatim.
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I believe that was the plan out here in the Pacific Northwest. I will tell you that a track will never happen here because our politicians are less than scum. Never, ever happen. Ever. Never. Never ever. No.
 
Revman said:
I believe that was the plan out here in the Pacific Northwest. I will tell you that a track will never happen here because our politicians are less than scum. Never, ever happen. Ever. Never. Never ever. No.
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Too bad they won't run Portland or Evergreen anymore.
 
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