NASCAR stages road course test at Charlotte Motor Speedway

I flat out don't know if the race will be good or not but I will be watching to find out. I hope the race is a good one or things can be learned to make it a good one as it could encourage other tracks to do some different things. I'm just thinking that maybe tracks like MIS, Pocono and some others that run races between the end of May and September could learn something. This is just my feelings but getting rid of one of them dull 1.5 milers and trying something different is progress from what I see.
 
The Pocono track is independently owned and has like three different versions of road courses in place already I believe. A whole lot less red tape to cut if they decide to run one of their races on a road course I would believe.
 
StandOnIt said:
The Pocono track is independently owned and has like three different versions of road courses in place already I believe. A whole lot less red tape to cut if they decide to run one of their races on a road course I would believe.
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Go check some of the posts in the #150 or #160 range. We discussed Pocono. I think there are some track layout diagrams and maybe some in-car video from sports car clubs.

Edit: #212
 
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Yeah I know. I was answering the above post of ATP55, his thinking is right on IMO. Pocono is a good possibility of a road course race in the future if the management want to go that way.
 
sdj said:
How can it not be good? Fans have been asking to change things up, and this, for sure does that.
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Oh, I can think of LOTS of ways this could end badly. I feel pretty confident that for the 99% of fans that have been clamoring for more road course races,( me included) this is NOT what they had in mind. If this race turns out to be a dud, it could kill the whole thing in one shot. I have said it before and I will say it until I'm blue in the face; Cup cars are poorly suited to track layouts like this, especially with drivers that only do this twice a year and in a series where contact is deemed acceptable.
 
Formerjackman said:
Oh, I can think of LOTS of ways this could end badly. I feel pretty confident that for the 99% of fans that have been clamoring for more road course races,( me included) this is NOT what they had in mind. If this race turns out to be a dud, it could kill the whole thing in one shot. I have said it before and I will say it until I'm blue in the face; Cup cars are poorly suited to track layouts like this, especially with drivers that only do this twice a year and in a series where contact is deemed acceptable.
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I haven't be clamoring for more road course races, I have been wanting what is happening in September at Charlotte, a combination race combining a road course aspect and a regular race track aspect. It's gonna be HUGELY successful and will challenge the cup guys to adapt and make it happen. I have no doubt these guys will figure this out pretty fast. Daytona would be a great place to have this type of racing. Nobody thought about racing on asphalt, until someone built Darlington and that worked out pretty well. You can race any car on a road course, some are faster than others and visa versa, but, our cup guys are pretty darn good at it.
 
Formerjackman said:
Oh, I can think of LOTS of ways this could end badly. I feel pretty confident that for the 99% of fans that have been clamoring for more road course races,( me included) this is NOT what they had in mind. If this race turns out to be a dud, it could kill the whole thing in one shot. I have said it before and I will say it until I'm blue in the face; Cup cars are poorly suited to track layouts like this, especially with drivers that only do this twice a year and in a series where contact is deemed acceptable.
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Other forms of road racing be interesting if contact was acceptable.
 
sdj said:
I haven't be clamoring for more road course races, I have been wanting what is happening in September at Charlotte, a combination race combining a road course aspect and a regular race track aspect. It's gonna be HUGELY successful and will challenge the cup guys to adapt and make it happen. I have no doubt these guys will figure this out pretty fast. Daytona would be a great place to have this type of racing. Nobody thought about racing on asphalt, until someone built Darlington and that worked out pretty well. You can race any car on a road course, some are faster than others and visa versa, but, our cup guys are pretty darn good at it.
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I can’t see the downside to the removal of a tired configuration. I’m glad NASCAR is taking this chance to inject some life into an otherwise stale schedule.
 
Formerjackman said:
Cup cars are poorly suited to track layouts like this, especially with drivers that only do this twice a year and in a series where contact is deemed acceptable.
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Sure glad they don't have acceptable contact on short trackso_O ..just might be killing two birds with one stone IMO
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I can’t see the downside to the removal of a tired configuration. I’m glad NASCAR is taking this chance to inject some life into an otherwise stale schedule.
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Remember when the race cars that NASCAR had used for a generation+ were "tired" and NASCAR gave us the CoT? Replacing a less than perfect product with a terrible product is not the path to success.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I'd give up a nut to see Cup run the Daytona roval for points.
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Daytona would suck less than Charlotte due to it's size, but it's still a crappy road course. They ran an IROC race on the roval once. Utterly forgettable.
 
Rovals should only be done to cookie cutters. You leave Daytona alone.
 
Formerjackman said:
Daytona would suck less than Charlotte due to it's size, but it's still a crappy road course. They ran an IROC race on the roval once. Utterly forgettable.
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We're not gonna get Spa or Bathurst or even any of the great American road courses for a while, if ever. 200+ MPH twice in one lap, deep braking zones, multiple apex options through the West Horseshoe and Turn 6, and sports car drivers who've raced there have said the Bus Stop is one of the more deceptively difficult complexes they've had to maneuver. Probably the best roval option out there.
 
FLRacingFan said:
We're not gonna get Spa or Bathurst or even any of the great American road courses for a while, if ever. 200+ MPH twice in one lap, deep braking zones, multiple apex options through the West Horseshoe and Turn 6, and sports car drivers who've raced there have said the Bus Stop is one of the more deceptively difficult complexes they've had to maneuver. Probably the best roval option out there.
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Make no mistake, Daytona is difficult, just not that good, but by FAR the best of the current rovals. There are still a LOT of NASCAR fans that want little to do with road courses. Taking away a fairly good oval race and replacing it with Rube Goldberg road course may cause even more of those fans to just turn the TV off. If you're going to make the case for more road races, it better be something good.
 
Formerjackman said:
I'd be fine with turning Daytona into nothing BUT a road course. Talladega, I'd turn it back into an airport. Restrictor plate racing has outlived its usefulness.
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Then don't watch it. Ill enjoy it enough to cover those who are wrong about it.
 
Formerjackman said:
Restrictor plate racing has outlived its usefulness.
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I agree, but also agreed 30 years ago. Isn't that something? Three decades of what should have been a temporary band-aid fix.

We've been overruled. The best we can hope for is that Brian's hair-brained ideas to bring it elsewhere don't happen.
 
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2006 Daytona road course under the lights..with IROC Firebirds. I watched the first 20 minutes, you could throw a blanket over the top 5. Stewart came from the back to the front and Papas side by side. Stewart passed road racer Angelellii, and Sharp. Mark Martin did well also. If the Roval produces a race like this bring it on.

 
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Formerjackman said:
Remember when the race cars that NASCAR had used for a generation+ were "tired" and NASCAR gave us the CoT? Replacing a less than perfect product with a terrible product is not the path to success.
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Yeah, I get it..... Your mind is made up regardless of the outcome. This sport is not going to flourish if it remains in its current box. The schedule lacks excitement. Many fans are excited to see something like this happen. I can't remember a season where before it began people were talking about looking forward to a fall race @ Charlotte. They are this year. That's a good thing. I think I'm going to wait to trash it until I've had the chance to see it.
 
Formerjackman said:
Remember when the race cars that NASCAR had used for a generation+ were "tired" and NASCAR gave us the CoT? Replacing a less than perfect product with a terrible product is not the path to success.
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I'm sure that was NASCAR's intention with the COT.

Failing to replace a less than perfect product isn't the path to success either. Sometimes it's difficult to tell if a change is going to work out until you implement it.
 
Formerjackman said:
Make no mistake, Daytona is difficult, just not that good, but by FAR the best of the current rovals. There are still a LOT of NASCAR fans that want little to do with road courses. Taking away a fairly good oval race and replacing it with Rube Goldberg road course may cause even more of those fans to just turn the TV off. If you're going to make the case for more road races, it better be something good.
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Fans haven't gotten excited about Charlotte in years. Especially for the fall race. You could say the same about a lot of other tracks too. Sure, some hardcore Facebook fans will be triggered that they're turning right more like the yuppie Euros, but those same fans also want Toyota banned and to have Chevy and Ford split the field at 20 cars a piece. As long as SMI and ISC have a stranglehold on the tracks, which will be for a long time, there aren't many options.
 
StandOnIt said:
2006 Daytona road course under the lights..with IROC Firebirds. I watched the first 20 minutes, you could throw a blanket over the top 5. Stewart came from the back to the front and Papas side by side. Stewart passed road racer Angelellii, and Sharp. Mark Martin did well also. If the Roval produces a race like this bring it on.

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Wow this race was awesome on multiple levels. Having just watched the 2018 Rolex 24, seeing these cars lumber around (comparatively to the sports cars) was kind of interesting. Also seeing the crossover of drivers from other forms of racing was awesome! I think that's what makes the Rolex 24 and Indy 500 so much fun to watch. Wish they would bring this IROC series back.

Also very cool to look back 12 years and see MTJ as a young lad out there. Plus this was pre-repave of Daytona so the cars are bouncing up and down like crazy.
 
LouieLouie said:
Wow this race was awesome on multiple levels. Having just watched the 2018 Rolex 24, seeing these cars lumber around (comparatively to the sports cars) was kind of interesting. Also seeing the crossover of drivers from other forms of racing was awesome! I think that's what makes the Rolex 24 and Indy 500 so much fun to watch. Wish they would bring this IROC series back.

Also very cool to look back 12 years and see MTJ as a young lad out there. Plus this was pre-repave of Daytona so the cars are bouncing up and down like crazy.
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I ended up watching the whole race. They had a competition caution like ARCA does, they all came in and were allowed to change tires. Papas was allowed to get a shifter knob...and then it got wild, Hornish popped Sharp into the grass, Sharp went backwards in the grass and hit Hornish going backwards. Kenseth hit Martin and they tangled on a restart. Papas and Stewart had a close battle to the end. Stewart was flawless and gradually outpaced Papas for the win.
 
FLRacingFan said:
From what I remember, this is the first use of sausage curbs in NASCAR? Makes sense, they were cutting the astro turf like crazy from the videos I saw. Not something you're gonna want to hit with the splitter and skirts.
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Yeah that thing is gonna rip a few front ends off.
 
Kiante said:
Charlotte is going to have a reason to be excited, it will be a definate change from the sameness of the schedule.

If they do it to Daytona in July, I'm going to be a sold man.
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I think I'd resist the change to the Firecracker 400 at first......but once I saw those cars in July at night on the Roval......... SOLD SOLD SOLD!
 
The roval is exciting, as most new toys are. Im just concerned that there are no passing or legit braking zones in the road course and the main goals are out braking going into the first turn and getting a better launch out of the final.
 
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