March 4, 2006

Why Not More Road Courses for NASCAR?

With the Busch series going international this weekend and visiting Mexico there's a lot of talk about future tracks and where NASCAR could expand to (and God help me if I have to hear one more person complain about forsaking the heritage and tradition of the south--get over it already). Felix Sabates seems to think NASCAR Nextel Cup will be in Mexico in the next five years and Europe in the next several decades.

But not at the Autrodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course where the Busch series runs. Supposedly NASCAR doesn't want to add more road courses. Apparently two out of 36 races is just enough? I don't get it. The biggest complaint leveled against NASCAR from outsiders is that the drivers only turn left. Boring. When I drive a car a road course is much closer to the kind of driving I do. I'd rather watch the drivers do what I do then go in circles. Can't we at least mix it up a little more?

Everybody pisses and moans when legacy tracks get cut down to only one race per year, but nobody complains that we only visit Watkins Glenn or Infineon once. How about some variety?

I'm watching the Busch race tomorrow simply because it's a road course. Bring on the right turns!

Posted by kevin at 6:55 PM | TrackBack

August 23, 2005

NASCAR at Bristol

You've gotta love Bristol Motorspeedway. My wife says I love every track (Charlotte, Michigan, any road course), which is how I justify watching for an entire afternoon, but I mean it when I talk about Bristol.

The only thing better than a race at Bristol is a night race at Bristol. For the uninitiated, Bristol is like a cereal bowl: steep banking and a half-mile track. Putting 40 cars on the track is like swirling water in a bowl. The action doesn't get any better.

Check it out for yourself this Saturday night on TNT at 7:00 p.m. ET. (why on earth is one of the best races of the season on cable and not NBC?)

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Posted by kevin at 5:29 PM | TrackBack