With the apparent success of the Clash at the Coliseum, I'm convinced Stadium Racing is how NASCAR can revitalize the All Star Race

DewChaser988

DewChaser988

NASCAR fan since 1998
Joined
Apr 22, 2018
Messages
2,739
Points
443
Location
Tamarac, Florida
We all know how the All Star Race has lost it's luster in recent years, 15 years ago, it was one of the biggest nights on the NASCAR calendar, now Charlotte and Texas couldn't even give tickets away to it. But with how successful the Clash at the Coliseum has seemed to be, this opens up a chance to save the All Star Race.

Move it to football stadiums and open it up to any city that wants to host a big summer event. And for the love of all that is holy, make it a weekend again. Like a fan convention, skill competitions (like bringing back the burnout competition and pit stop challenge), maybe a legends or celebrity-pro race

Imagine NASCAR All Star Weekend in New Orleans (and yes indoor racing IS feasible, look at the Gateway Dirt Nationals, St. Louis is also a viable option, or in Atlanta
 
It was a great day Sunday and short tracks are my favorite. But one of the things that made it great was the novelty. I think you would loose that if you we went to always making it a staduim event.

I would prefer identifying or drawing up about 10 rotational representative regions and picking the best venue for that area. I would also consider some Canadian and Mexican marketing as well. I wouldn't try to use the same recipe every year either, part of what made this one so good was the uniqueness.
Part of that uniqueness should also try to never use the same facility twice for an All Star race.

The staduim option would be great for markets like Los Angeles, San Fran, NYC etc.
But if there was a good local short track nearby I would utilize those facilities first with tons off pre race advertising and main street promotions.

Nascar proved they could handle a lot of one off logitics with setting up this event Sunday including laying temporary asphalt.They should be able to handle other challenges like temporary seating as well.
 
Greg said:
It was a great day Sunday and short tracks are my favorite. But one of the things that made it great was the novelty. I think you would loose that if you we went to always making it a staduim event.

I would prefer identifying or drawing up about 10 rotational representative regions and picking the best venue for that area. I would also consider some Canadian and Mexican marketing as well. I wouldn't try to use the same recipe every year either, part of what made this one so good was the uniqueness.
Part of that uniqueness should also try to never use the same facility twice for an All Star race.

The staduim option would be great for markets like Los Angeles, San Fran, NYC etc.
But if there was a good local short track nearby I would utilize those facilities first with tons off pre race advertising and main street promotions.

Nascar proved they could handle a lot of one off logitics with setting up this event Sunday including laying temporary asphalt.They should be able to handle other challenges like temporary seating as well.
Click to expand...
I would change the early Busch Clash Febuary date to becoming the All Star race. New teams and paint schemes pairs well with an All Star race. It also provides a throw away or test race for the new equipment and teams. The May All Star date could then be turned into the 39th points paying race.
Then they could add another date to round up to make it a 40 race season.
 
I think the stadium racing is good, I'm just not sure 2 of them a year is a great idea. It's like anything else 1 time a year is special any more than that it becomes just another stadium race. I'm not a street course fan but I can see doing the clash and all star race as one as a stadium and one as a street course.
 
wi_racefan said:
I think the stadium racing is good, I'm just not sure 2 of them a year is a great idea. It's like anything else 1 time a year is special any more than that it becomes just another stadium race. I'm not a street course fan but I can see doing the clash and all star race as one as a stadium and one as a street course.
Click to expand...
I like that idea
 
wi_racefan said:
I think the stadium racing is good, I'm just not sure 2 of them a year is a great idea. It's like anything else 1 time a year is special any more than that it becomes just another stadium race. I'm not a street course fan but I can see doing the clash and all star race as one as a stadium and one as a street course.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. There was a day when 1.5s were a must. Now we remove seats. What's that whole deal in business? Balance demand on the edge of supply?
 
If NASCAR wants to build a track inside a football stadium, can they do it in the summer? With football season starting up late summer, I'm not sure that would work out as far as removing the track and getting grass/turf put in and having enough time for it to settle or whatever. I honestly have no idea how any of that works.

I know Ohio State just announced they will tear up their old turf at the conclusion of April practices to make way for the new turf. Assuming other stadiums work on a similar timeline for groundskeeping, I think it could work out if NASCAR has some flexibility in their own schedule.
 
Greg said:
It was a great day Sunday and short tracks are my favorite. But one of the things that made it great was the novelty. I think you would loose that if you we went to always making it a staduim event.
Click to expand...
I agree with that. Look at when the NHL started playing games outside in football or baseball stadiums. It was something people noticed the first few years they did it. Now, it barely gets a mention.
 
2 Sweet said:
If NASCAR wants to build a track inside a football stadium, can they do it in the summer? With football season starting up late summer, I'm not sure that would work out as far as removing the track and getting grass/turf put in and having enough time for it to settle or whatever. I honestly have no idea how any of that works.

I know Ohio State just announced they will tear up their old turf at the conclusion of April practices to make way for the new turf. Assuming other stadiums work on a similar timeline for groundskeeping, I think it could work out if NASCAR has some flexibility in their own schedule.
Click to expand...

That's something that can be easily worked around. Lot of places going to field turf and if grass that can redo during the season. I remember back in the day they had back to back games at Lambeau field and they completely changed the grass during the week
 
MRM said:
I agree with that. Look at when the NHL started playing games outside in football or baseball stadiums. It was something people noticed the first few years they did it. Now, it barely gets a mention.
Click to expand...
It's still really cool and a big deal for whatever team gets to host it. Every outdoor game gets huge crowds even as an annual thing. If Columbus ever got an outdoor game it would be huge for the area.

The novelty of anything wears off eventually but I think putting the ASR in stadiums is objectively cool enough to never really wear out its welcome.
 
LJ7201 said:
It's still really cool and a big deal for whatever team gets to host it. Every outdoor game gets huge crowds even as an annual thing. If Columbus ever got an outdoor game it would be huge for the area.

The novelty of anything wears off eventually but I think putting the ASR in stadiums is objectively cool enough to never really wear out its welcome.
Click to expand...
I think a lot of people probably said that about the winner of the all star race getting a million dollars too. Eventually everything gets old

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 
I think once a year is enough. Move it from city to city because that is what the design was invented for. Have a drawing for the competeing cities if two or more cities want a race in their city would be a cool idea. Points/no points, regular season, All Star or Clash, I could care less.
 
LJ7201 said:
It's still really cool and a big deal for whatever team gets to host it. Every outdoor game gets huge crowds even as an annual thing. If Columbus ever got an outdoor game it would be huge for the area.

The novelty of anything wears off eventually but I think putting the ASR in stadiums is objectively cool enough to never really wear out its welcome.
Click to expand...

Indeed. I live in Columbus and have always wanted to go to an NHL game at The Shoe, or a Browns/Bengals game
 
Let's not get carried away just yet. Just because people tuned in once doesn't necessarily mean they enjoyed the racing enough to do it again. They need to determine how many tuned in mainly for the pre-race and half time show and how many tuned in for the racing...and find out if they enjoyed it enough that they will tune in again if they do it again. I would tune in again for sure, but I would never go to another qualifying day unless there were some serious changes made. So stat wise they will count my seat as a plus this year but unless they fill it with someone else next year it will be a minus. The key is to find out how many more will do the same as me and why.
 
2 Sweet said:
Indeed. I live in Columbus and have always wanted to go to an NHL game at The Shoe, or a Browns/Bengals game
Click to expand...
We need it.

Anyway to circle back to the stadium thing the way I see it is every stadium race won't be the huge national story the first one was, but it will be huge for whatever stadium and city it's in. Plus am easy way to tap in to markets that wouldn't approve a permanent track in a million years.
 
MRM said:
I agree with that. Look at when the NHL started playing games outside in football or baseball stadiums. It was something people noticed the first few years they did it. Now, it barely gets a mention.
Click to expand...
Reminds me of football at Bristol. That didn’t last long.
 
This format would fit the All Star Race for sure. I agree that the Clash was a novelty and if it became more the norm, it might lose some of the appeal. That said, I think they should consider it.
 
I like the All-Star format as it is, just needs a pit crew (or pit stop) competition and/or skills competitions, the qualifying pit stops, more fan interaction, and like 2 million to the winner instead of 1 million

The football stadium racing should only be once a year. Not many places even have room to have a 0.25 track & don’t want to see a good thing beaten to death.
 
Last edited:
AuzGrams said:
I like the All-Star format as it is, just needs a pit crew (or pit stop) competition and/or skills competitions, the qualifying pit stops, more fan interaction, and like 2 million to the winner instead of 1 million

The football stadium racing should only be once a year. Not many places even have room to have a 0.25 track & don’t want to see a good thing beaten to death.
Click to expand...
It had a 2 million dollar purse which is nothing to sneeze at
 
AuzGrams said:
2 million to the winner instead of 1 million
Click to expand...
I've never understood the appeal of the purse size if I'm not eligible for a cut. $1 million, $2 million; no one at RF is getting any, so what does it matter? The drivers appear to compete at the same high level regardless of the cash prize. Unusual trophies seem to matter more to them - clocks, guitars, watches, etc.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I've never understood the appeal of the purse size if I'm not eligible for a cut. $1 million, $2 million; no one at RF is getting any, so what does it matter? The drivers appear to compete at the same high level regardless of the cash prize. Unusual trophies seem to matter more to them - clocks, guitars, watches, etc.
Click to expand...

Seems to me there’s a lot of hype about the Eldora Million. I think lots of casuals that aren’t on RF would be intrigued by a big money race. Also it’s not just a driver event but a team one.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I've never understood the appeal of the purse size if I'm not eligible for a cut. $1 million, $2 million; no one at RF is getting any, so what does it matter? The drivers appear to compete at the same high level regardless of the cash prize. Unusual trophies seem to matter more to them - clocks, guitars, watches, etc.
Click to expand...

I think in order to get drivers to drive dumb you need to dangle a bigger carrot than 1-2 million dollars. What is that? I don't know. Maybe 20 playoff points? #1 pit stall? Playoff spot?
 
I'd rather see them race at short tracks we already have. NASCAR as a company was willing to spend huge $$$ to completely build/tear down a track. It would be less $$$ to use existing short tracks and make small upgrades to them. There's a ton of short tracks out there that could be NASCAR-ready with a few improvements (certainly less than needed for the LA race we just had). A lot of stuff could be split 50/50 between NASCAR and the track like SAFER walls and media facilities. Other stuff like temporary bleachers could be owned by NASCAR and brought into events as-needed.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
I'd rather see them race at short tracks we already have. NASCAR as a company was willing to spend huge $$$ to completely build/tear down a track. It would be less $$$ to use existing short tracks and make small upgrades to them. There's a ton of short tracks out there that could be NASCAR-ready with a few improvements (certainly less than needed for the LA race we just had). A lot of stuff could be split 50/50 between NASCAR and the track like SAFER walls and media facilities. Other stuff like temporary bleachers could be owned by NASCAR and brought into events as-needed.
Click to expand...

Harvick already floated that idea out there. Use these events to make improvements to existing tracks so you have something valuable left after the race. Also with improvements it brings the opportunity for additional future races. Many on here were quick to shoot it down.....
 
jws926 said:
Once a year is good.
Click to expand...
I want it once per year as well but I think it fits the ASR more than the clash.
Speedbowl14 said:
I'd rather see them race at short tracks we already have.
Click to expand...
I'm honestly game for this too. Maybe have the clash at an established track and the ASR as a yearly stadium event or something.

Either way I'm glad NASCAR showed they aren't complacent with events like the Clash. Hopefully they do the same sort of thing with the ASR, this past weekend was a good sign they're willing to.
 
AuzGrams said:
Seems to me there’s a lot of hype about the Eldora Million. I think lots of casuals that aren’t on RF would be intrigued by a big money race. Also it’s not just a driver event but a team one.
Click to expand...
C'mon man compare likes with likes. Got stick n ball, now it's a dirt sprint race to Nascar.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
I'd rather see them race at short tracks we already have. NASCAR as a company was willing to spend huge $$$ to completely build/tear down a track. It would be less $$$ to use existing short tracks and make small upgrades to them. There's a ton of short tracks out there that could be NASCAR-ready with a few improvements (certainly less than needed for the LA race we just had). A lot of stuff could be split 50/50 between NASCAR and the track like SAFER walls and media facilities. Other stuff like temporary bleachers could be owned by NASCAR and brought into events as-needed.
Click to expand...
Do they hold 60 thousand, Have room for all that, parking, concessions, Pits, announcing facilities? Most little tracks aren't set up for any of that. But most decent football stadiums are.
 
StandOnIt said:
Do they hold 60 thousand, Have room for all that, parking, concessions, Pits, announcing facilities? Most little tracks aren't set up for any of that. But most decent football stadiums are.
Click to expand...

Most football stadiums don’t have room to build 0.25 miles
 
The number of feet around a regulation football stadium field (any regulation field) is 1680 feet not counting the sidelines or the end zone. A quarter of a mile is 1320 feet. Do the math
 
Speedbowl14 said:
I'd rather see them race at short tracks we already have. NASCAR as a company was willing to spend huge $$$ to completely build/tear down a track. It would be less $$$ to use existing short tracks and make small upgrades to them. There's a ton of short tracks out there that could be NASCAR-ready with a few improvements (certainly less than needed for the LA race we just had). A lot of stuff could be split 50/50 between NASCAR and the track like SAFER walls and media facilities. Other stuff like temporary bleachers could be owned by NASCAR and brought into events as-needed.
Click to expand...
It’s not the track size, it’s the high population major TV market.
 
What we saw in LA this past weekend was Stadium short track racing but, if you race at any of the regular short tracks then it would just be normal short track racing and the wow factor of racing in a stadium would be lost. If they would have had that same race at a short track in Fontana, I think it would have drawn half of the interest it did. Short track racing has been around for years but not stadium short track racing. Maybe next year it will be in SoFi stadium since the Super Bowl won't be there. :D
 
StandOnIt said:
The number of feet around a regulation football stadium field (any regulation field) is 1680 feet not counting the sidelines or the end zone. A quarter of a mile is 1320 feet. Do the math
Click to expand...
The figure is right but that includes the endzone to the uprights but nothing farther than that. Every stadium I know of has room beyond the uprights so 1680 feet is a minimum figure. Sidelines and the extra behind the uprights aren't being counted in the 1680.
 
Nitro Dude said:
What we saw in LA this past weekend was Stadium short track racing but, if you race at any of the regular short tracks then it would just be normal short track racing and the wow factor of racing in a stadium would be lost. If they would have had that same race at a short track in Fontana, I think it would have drawn half of the interest it did. Short track racing has been around for years but not stadium short track racing. Maybe next year it will be in SoFi stadium since the Super Bowl won't be there. :D
Click to expand...
Even the larger paved or unpaved smaller tracks don't have the facilities or location location location either. What works for the smaller tracks is the SRX series that Tony and Ray Evernham thought up. It's a big boost to the selected tracks when the Tony and Ray show comes to town.
 
Stadium and indoor motorsports are not new at all. I was involved in modified tractor pulling from the late 70's through the late 80's and was at the Indy Super Pulls in the Indiana State Fair Coliseum, the Houston Astrodome and the Cow Palace in San Francisco. There is just something about indoor or outdoor stadiums that makes any sport pretty exciting. But especially motorsports. If you think those cup cars sounded good you should hear these bad boys inside an indoor coliseum. :D
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom