25 replies to this topic

[Bob Riebe]

https://www.macsmoto...car/#more-80301

[arttidesco]

Returning to dirt at Bristol, how nostalgic is that 

[E1pix]

Wow, a race at Road America! I still have a mint program from that last 1956 race, despite my being -4 then.

I agree with Artti that these seem like good moves for NASCAR.

The only other improvement would be re-opening Miller’s (inside joke for my buddy Bob).

[Tom Glowacki]

Wow, a race at Road America! I still have a mint program from that last 1956 race, despite my being -4 then.

I agree with Artti that these seem like good moves for NASCAR.

The only other improvement would be re-opening Miller’s (inside joke for my buddy Bob).

They better not have fried chicken at either The Gearbox or St. John the Baptist concession stands.

[E1pix]

Shape it like a brat.

Done.

[10kDA]

Returning to dirt at Bristol, how nostalgic is that 

A NASCAR-following friend tells me this will be the third time they've trucked dirt in for a NASCAR event at Bristol.

[Michael Ferner]

[Michael Ferner]

The World of Outlaws raced several times on a "dirted up" NASCAR track, could it have been Bristol?

[BRG]

How do you keep a dirt surface on a banked oval?  Does it all slid down to the bottom? 

[10kDA]

How do you keep a dirt surface on a banked oval?  Does it all slid down to the bottom? 

I asked my friend if it slid down when they wetted it or if during the race the cars pushed it into a cushion on the outside thus exposing the asphalt but I haven't heard back.

[BRG]

Just seen this shot on the main NASCAR thread.  World of Outlaws race.  Maybe the cars push the dirt back up the slope as they corner?

 

Indeed    

 

[Beggysmalls]

If its a nice sticky clay it will stay there no problem. And yes the cars will push up the dirt up the track.
When they ran world of outlaws there in the early 2000's they actually damaged the asphalt surface removing the dirt.
It will be interesting to see how a cup car will go on a track like this, it wont be as wide as eldora (where they have run the truck series a few times) and a car thats not specifically setup for dirt will be a real challenge.

[Lemnpiper]

In watching a video of the WoO show at Bristol  on  you tube the announcers were saying the sprint  cars were entering the turns at 168 mph  . 

 

 

 Sammy  Swindell in practice   turned a lap at 13.60 at 141.088  MPH 

 

 Winston Cup  record was by 

 

 Steve Park ( a name out of the past )   at     15.184     at 126.370 mph has the Nascar record 

Edited by Lemnpiper, 02 October 2020 - 17:19.

[LittleChris]

Wonder if Liberty would think about doing the same on the new banked curve at Zandvoort ( all that sand on the dunes above and some soft tarmac ) ? 

[E1pix]

Hesitant thought as a lifer road race guy, but dare I say World of Outlaws cars are the best remnants of real cars in existance.

Downright STUNNING.

[Rupertlt1]

I wrote this back in 2016:
"NASCAR were still chasing newspaper column inches in Peoria, when the blog, mobile, twitter, facebook world came along. They just didn't get it. Instead FUBAR went for the Car of Tomorrow and "dancing partners." They let sponsors like Red Bull slip away, watched as Michael Waltrip Racing closed up shop, and tried to sell us on the Toyota Camry. Who knows or cares what their "Chase" scoring system is? Now TV ratings and track attendance are on the slide, setting up a negative feedback loop for sponsors and promoters. One mistake after another..."
Greed took over - milking RV campers for every last dollar - Joe Six-Pack was priced out of it. Tracks closed, grandstands shuttered, feeder series wilted. They "chased" many folk away for good.

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 02 October 2020 - 17:51.

[E1pix]

Well played.

We finally went to Eldora in 2016, for the luck of proximity and timing having the Four Crown Nationals finishing the day before we had to be at Indy for the SCCA Runoffs 100 miles away.

We showed up a day before the first practice and were greeted with open arms. The host drove us around in a golf cart to find the best campsite, and we ended up at the property’s *only* site directly on a small lake. $10 per night.

Despite my being raised an hour from Road America and attending every spectator event from 1963 to 1981, I have boycotted the track since 2002 for camping costing like $300, and once dark a security guy drives around to keep everything dead quiet like it’s a bloody prison camp.

I love that place. My best childhood memories live there. It is Heaven on Earth to me. This year will be the sixth holding of the SCCA Runoffs and we’re dying to go, but again they only allow camping the final three days for the nine-day event.

It is very likely I will never go back unless luck has me being a driver. The place needs an enema, and needs to follow places like Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio, and Indianapolis where camping is $50/weekend. Petit Le Mans still feels like the ‘70s and the result is 100,000 fans.

I guess we’re not worthy to fit in with the Yuppie Palace that is Road America. Their loss.

[D28]

 

Despite my being raised an hour from Road America and attending every spectator event from 1963 to 1981, I have boycotted the track since 2002 for camping costing like $300, and once dark a security guy drives around to keep everything dead quiet like it’s a bloody prison camp.

I love that place. My best childhood memories live there. It is Heaven on Earth to me. This year will be the sixth holding of the SCCA Runoffs and we’re dying to go, but again they only allow camping the final three days for the nine-day event.

It is very likely I will never go back unless luck has me being a driver. The place needs an enema, and needs to follow places like Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio, and Indianapolis where camping is $50/weekend. Petit Le Mans still feels like the ‘70s and the result is 100,000 fans.

I guess we’re not worthy to fit in with the Yuppie Palace that is Road America. Their loss.

I'm surprised and a bit disappointed to read of this. I know RA to be one of the iconic American circuits, serving up quality racing since the 1950s. I know of it mainly from televised races in the CART era and more recently ALMS. It is a superb road racing circuit.

 

I am aware through magazine features of the quality Vintage racing festivals promoted there. The impression I had was of a spectator friendly place with the parade of quality vintage cars in  Elkhart Lake and other hospitality events.  But, of course. it could be friendly to a well heeled audience as you suggest. I am with you in appreciating motor racing served up 1970s style with camping and a bit of fun included, but realize that such behaviour may be considered "vintage" in the negative sense, by some people today..

 

Did RA ever host any American sedan racing like USAC or NASCAR or similar series previously?

Edited by D28, 03 October 2020 - 18:25.

[Rupertlt1]

NASCAR, 1956:

 

https://library.revs...ion=p17257coll1

 

RGDS RLT

[E1pix]

Yes D28 and it breaks my heart to even feel this way. At first I considered it part of the times, but other tracks are still not like this. Laguna Seca is also quite expensive, but that’s because of socio-economic factors of local proximity.

Everyone should go to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to see how to treat supporters. The place is crawling with what we call “yellow shirts,” but they are there to serve patrons and largely a joy to interact with. Camping is also just like the past.

Perhaps some of RA’s shortcomings relate to Wisconsin having a pretty high rate of over-imbibing. In days gone by, there were a lot of college kids taking it a little far, but they were still paying customers — and let’s not forget that ticket-payors ARE customers — and the vast majority behaved. The place has been grossly “over-sanitized” and the only parallel atmosphere of the dozens of road courses I can think of is the track in Utah which draws near-zero spectators — and likely for its atmosphere.

I truly hope Road America can wake up and realize there’s only so many potential fans, and they deserve better. Management desperately needs to tour other successful tracks and make RA both affordable to families, and attractive to people of all means and interests.

My dad was an educator with three kids in a one-job family, and the fact is if RA had been like this in the ‘60s, our family would have never been there at all. It’s only in their interest to attract as many enthusiasts as possible, racing would have died decades ago with such philosophies and should not be exclusive to only the privileged few.

[FLB]

 

Did RA ever host any American sedan racing like USAC or NASCAR or similar series previously?

Trans-Am, regularly. Bike races as well.

[Jack-the-Lad]

Returning to dirt at Bristol, how nostalgic is that 

Maybe Tony Stewart could do a guest drive.

[BRG]

What tyres would they need for a dirt race? Goodyear Ultragrips?  I imagine you would need to soften the cars up a little to improve the grip and the diff settings might be changed.  Ride height?  It seems a lot of faff but maybe there has been a lot of repeats of the Dukes of Hazard on US TV lately.

[E1pix]

You’re a Daisy if you do.
— Doc Hazzard

[Bob Riebe]

Goodyear quit making dirt track tires a long time ago.

As of now, the only manufacturer, that I know of is Hoosier, so that is a good question.

[BiggestBuddyLazierFan]

They should run Martinsville on dirt, not Bristol. It makes no sense.