Phoenix Renovation

I guess they are going for a Richmond-feel with the start/finish line placement?
 
I like it, very unique pit situation.
 
That's one unconventional pit road. The exit is going put an end to cutting the corner in the dogleg.

Here's the real unanswered question: where's the overtime restart line? :rolleyes:
 
Instead of doing things the right way NASCAR and ISC are half-assing this. 90% of the seats are going to be before the start/finish line and in Turn 4. Those are the most undesirable seats at a racetrack. Cars travelling away from you. That start/finish line placement is gonna cause complete chaos through the dogleg. The pit road end location means that cars will be trying to move up onto the race track as cars are trying to dive down to cut through the dogleg. It's gonna be a ****** figure 8. A logical decision would've been to extend the Turn 1 grandstands down the frontstretch to replace the tiny, inadequate set of grandstands currently there.

Literally every track that's removed seating (every track minus Bristol) has taken seating away from the backstretch or the turns...because they're deemed unsellable. Everyone wants to sit on the frontstretch. So when a track has a chance to re-build it's self from the ground up, why are 90% of the seats in turns 3/4 or before the start/finish line?

The only pro of this plan is that it's a shorter walk from the parking lot towards the new frontstretch.

As much as I try not to be one of the whiner's on this forum who thinks every decision makes is stupid...this is a stupid, half-assed, cost-saving plan that hurts the Phoenix International Raceway fans the most. This is COMPLETELY against traditional oval track design...which has remained fundamentally unchanged for the last hundred years or so.

I will keep my mind open though. I won't judge till whenever this is complete...but if Phoenix was my home track I'd be fuming right now (more than I already am).
 
Speedbowl14 said:
Instead of doing things the right way NASCAR and ISC are half-assing this. 90% of the seats are going to be before the start/finish line and in Turn 4. Those are the most undesirable seats at a racetrack. Cars travelling away from you. That start/finish line placement is gonna cause complete chaos through the dogleg. The pit road end location means that cars will be trying to move up onto the race track as cars are trying to dive down to cut through the dogleg. It's gonna be a ******* figure 8. A logical decision would've been to extend the Turn 1 grandstands down the frontstretch to replace the tiny, inadequate set of grandstands currently there.

Literally every track that's removed seating (every track minus Bristol) has taken seating away from the backstretch or the turns...because they're deemed unsellable. Everyone wants to sit on the frontstretch. So when a track has a chance to re-build it's self from the ground up, why are 90% of the seats in turns 3/4 or before the start/finish line?

The only pro of this plan is that it's a shorter walk from the parking lot towards the new frontstretch.

As much as I try not to be one of the whiner's on this forum who thinks every decision makes is stupid...this is a stupid, half-assed, cost-saving plan that hurts the Phoenix International Raceway fans the most. This is COMPLETELY against traditional oval track design...which has remained fundamentally unchanged for the last hundred years or so.

I will keep my mind open though. I won't judge till whenever this is complete...but if Phoenix was my home track I'd be fuming right now (more than I already am).
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I prefer to sit in the turns, although I like turn 1 with the cars coming to me over 4 and them going away. I sat in turns 1 and 2 at Rockingham a couple of times. It was also a 1-mile track, like Phoenix is. It's much easier to see across the length of a 1-miler than 1.5'ers and larger.

Having said that, I don't know why the didn't put seats on the new front stretch. I also don't know why they're putting in such a major reconfiguration on what was already a unique track. Hopefully that means they're open to considering reconfiguring some of the 'cookie cutters'. That would sure separate ISC from SMI.
 
Would be nice to see the Texas get repaved into some sort of unique banking like Kentucky or something new in the progressive baking area (6 degrees up top with risk of hitting the wall).

Vegas should have never reconfigured their track.
 
Does this mean KH isn't going to have the typical gimme into he last round like he dust he last 2 years? If so, BRAVO ISC!!
 
Wow. Very cool. As much as everyone's been complaining about NASCAR I am sure people will welcome this change.
 
Hold up folks. The track is not changing. It was just re-paved. They're not ripping up asphalt that's less than 5 years old. This is an update of nearly everything else on track property. The only things that'll change that we'll see on TV are the start-finish line being moved and pit road being moved away from the track.

Restarts will be different, but after a lap it'll be the same racing Phoenix has given us just with a flip-flopped front and back straight
 
Speedbowl14 said:
Hold up folks. The track is not changing. It was just re-paved. They're not ripping up asphalt that's less than 5 years old. This is an update of nearly everything else on track property. The only things that'll change that we'll see on TV are the start-finish line being moved and pit road being moved away from the track.

Restarts will be different, but after a lap it'll be the same racing Phoenix has given us just with a flip-flopped front and back straight
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Same racing? Not with that pit road exit leading into the dogleg 'shortcut'. Run down there at speed on the new format and you'll cave in someone else's right side.
 
I agree with Charlie in regards to sitting in the turn. I have been to many tracks where sitting on the frontstretch or backstretch views are either blocked by the catchfence or others seated in the grandstands. Sitting in the turn allows you to see the majority of the track without turning your head. I am not sure about the current parking situation at Phoenix, but I don't see where they are accommodating anyone other than RVs. More and more tacks are making parking/tailgating difficult...and that is one of the more enjoyable activities for us.
 
I've only been to two tracks both with curved front stretches, so that's the obvious place to sit. Can you even seen turns 3&4 from all the way over in 1 and 2?
 
alot of money to spend just so harvick doesn't win most of the races there. haha
But the plans look really good.
 
Ok a few things. I understand what they are trying to do but they certainly aren't doing it right.

1. The start finish line should be after the dog leg. The idea is to get a turn 4 finish where they have to race to the line, but having the line before the dogleg does nothing. You might as well just put it in the middle of turn 1. :sarcasm:
2. PIR is limited in where it can put its grandstands because on the south side of the track, i.e. where the number 29 parking is located in the new map, there is a big mountain. So in order to install grandstands along the dogleg, they would literally have to move a mountain. Which I assume is why they put the start/finish line before the dogleg so people could actually see the end of the race.
3. Having the start/finish line before the dogleg means that on the restarts, cars will be pulling way down to get to turn 1, so now all your action is located on the opposite side of the grandstands. The new turn 4 will be basically useless because it is basically a one groove corner. The leader isn't going to magically take the high line around the final turn.

This is a terrible design.
 
Acs said:
I've only been to two tracks both with curved front stretches, so that's the obvious place to sit. Can you even seen turns 3&4 from all the way over in 1 and 2?
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Not really but you have a great vantage of the rest of the track, including the dogleg.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
Instead of doing things the right way NASCAR and ISC are half-assing this. 90% of the seats are going to be before the start/finish line and in Turn 4. Those are the most undesirable seats at a racetrack. Cars travelling away from you. That start/finish line placement is gonna cause complete chaos through the dogleg. The pit road end location means that cars will be trying to move up onto the race track as cars are trying to dive down to cut through the dogleg. It's gonna be a ******* figure 8. A logical decision would've been to extend the Turn 1 grandstands down the frontstretch to replace the tiny, inadequate set of grandstands currently there.

Literally every track that's removed seating (every track minus Bristol) has taken seating away from the backstretch or the turns...because they're deemed unsellable. Everyone wants to sit on the frontstretch. So when a track has a chance to re-build it's self from the ground up, why are 90% of the seats in turns 3/4 or before the start/finish line?

The only pro of this plan is that it's a shorter walk from the parking lot towards the new frontstretch.

As much as I try not to be one of the whiner's on this forum who thinks every decision makes is stupid...this is a stupid, half-assed, cost-saving plan that hurts the Phoenix International Raceway fans the most. This is COMPLETELY against traditional oval track design...which has remained fundamentally unchanged for the last hundred years or so.

I will keep my mind open though. I won't judge till whenever this is complete...but if Phoenix was my home track I'd be fuming right now (more than I already am).
Click to expand...
I could not disagree more with this. The problem with sitting on the front stretch or the so called 50 yard line on the track at most tracks your eyes cannot cover the entire track at one time. the other problem is directly in front of you the cars are simply going straight and NO wrecks or action ever takes place in that area. on a smaller track if your able to sit at the start or end of a turn you can actually see the entire track without moving your head or eyes. I think this layout gives fans everything. they get the advantage of seeing the cars pit which is an advantage of a 50 yard position on the front stretch, it gives them more action by seeing the cars turning. it gives what I think will be a complicated restart because the field will have to restart while TURNING. you will have different parts of the field having to adjust in different ways on the restart. some will have to be careful with throttle in the turn others will have to be careful not to run over other cars. its going to be interesting.
 
Acs said:
I've only been to two tracks both with curved front stretches, so that's the obvious place to sit. Can you even seen turns 3&4 from all the way over in 1 and 2?
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Depends on how high you sit and how tall the infield clutter is. I could at The Rock and I can at Darlington.
 
I'm reminded of the indignation when Bristol announced the installation of their new scoreboard.
 
This has been in the news a lot lately. I hope they make some changes before going thru with this.

http://www.jayski.com/news/tracks/story/_/page/phoenix-international-raceway

$178 million makeover headed for Phoenix International Raceway: Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale will receive a major overhaul worth $178 million, its parent company International Speedway Corp. announced Wednesday. The plans include new and upgraded grandstands, added structures for competitors and sponsors in the infield area, more RV parking and new steel and metal exteriors. ISC will pay for the upgrades without seeking help from taxpayers. PIR President Bryan R. Sperber said in a statement that the changes will enhance the experience for both fans and competitors. "The racetrack itself will remain unchanged as one of the most exciting circuits in motorsports, but we will modernize much of the venue and provide our fans with a high-quality, leading-edge experience," he said. The $178 renovation project is expected to start in early 2017 and should finish by late 2018, according to the statement from ISC. The start and finish line also will move under the new plan to the area between Turn Two and the following bend, according to Michael Knight, a motorsports industry analyst and contributor to azcentral sports. Elevated RV parking will replace the existing grandstand along the current start and finish line, according to renderings of the renovation. The upgrade also includes new concourses and stairs.(Arizona Republic)(12-1-2016)
 
Word is NASCAR wants Phoenix to host the final race of the season.
 
That could be interesting and the crowd at this past fall race was pretty good. I think I would be against it only because getting good tickets would be that much harder. haha.
 
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