Chase race at Road Atlanta?

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by Purist

Crowd capacity around either track is NOT at issue. There is plenty of space for 90,000, or more, to find a spot to plunk down at either circuit. It's more a question of whether the series finds the facilities adequate to suit its image and perceived status.

I would say that the north Georgia hills are probably more severe than the undulations in that portion of Wisconsin around Elkhart Lake.

On a historical note, the road course at Riverside held the season finale for quite a number of years. (Look up the Winston Western 500 on YouTube.)

Yeah but Nascar isn't really a 'plunk down' kinda crowd. I don't think most would know what to do. "Hey bo, where bouts is my seat?" "What do you mean you don't sell beer here?"

[Jacques Rabbit]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Sounds a good reason for me to spend another weekend at the track. Looks like this year will be three weekends with GA, MGs and CanAms at the Mitty and PLM. Let's see if they can make it three weekends again next year. Cup race would slot in nicely in September with PLM (or whatever it gets renamed) in October.

Run the Cup race on Sunday and the 1000 mile Grand-Am race on Saturday. There's already a K&N Pro race on Friday. NASCAR owns all the properties; may as well try to introduce the fan-bases to the other side. I know logistics make it really tough to do a nearly 10 hour race the day before a Cup race, but it makes sense, right?

You let sports car-only fans know that stock cars aren't just for ovals, and that they now have manufacturer identity and involvement paired with some really skilled road racers who do this as a full-time job. You let NASCAR-only fans get the huge level of access you can get at a sports car race and fall in love with some different types of machinery and meet some drivers they've never heard of (or that Jan Magnussen guy they know from Sonoma...)

I know a lot of us on 10/10 watch many series, or are aware of other series and just aren't interested in them. But I bet there are plenty of people who aren't as hardcore as we are who may find out that there are things out there that they didn't know about or things that they saw the wrong way (I know a NASCAR fan who thinks sports car racing is "snooty" when, in reality, you can't even get the kind of access an ALMS or Grand-Am event offers at a local dirt track; I am sure there are sports car fans who look at NASCAR one way from what they see at Talladega on the TV and may be really impressed by that show in person).

This is not the "#TheFuture" thread and I won't turn it into one, but as much as I'm not on-board going forward with that stuff, you sleep easier knowing Don Panoz solid it to NASCAR if NASCAR uses their abilities to turn it into something bigger. Would this not be a good place to start?

[broadrun96]

I'm not sure the specifics but I believe there are some noise restrictions on Sundays at Road Atlanta and I'm not sure about the morning routine for the Cup guys at road courses if they have any morning warmup either engines or ontrack time. Plus the track is cramped enough, both paddock and infield, for PLM; add in a Cup race and all its gear and there will be absolutely no room for a flea. All parties involved would be better served with the Cup race as second or third event (mid-Sept) in the Chase with Conti challenge and IMSA GT3s as support with the GA/ALMS race later (mid-Oct) with Nationwide as their support race on Friday. That would serve the cross-marketing campaign and give the Cup race a chance to act as advertising for the sportscar race the next month. Even if they don't come back to attend, they might watch it on Speed and gives them a chance to pack the track twice.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Jacques Rabbit

Run the Cup race on Sunday and the 1000 mile Grand-Am race on Saturday.

I like the idea for all the reasons you have given, but I don't like it for all the drawbacks you mentioned. Granted, you seem to have the same mentality as I, and as you stated, a number of tenthers here think in the similar manner; we are race fans. That said, you'd probably have half the crowd either leaving Saturday night or not showing up until Sunday Morning, gripping about the fancy boys taking up track time and gripping of not having a 2nd race at AMS instead of one of dem road courses, or wondering why we are watching stockcars. I'd absolutely love it. Quite honestly, I am looking forward to seeing the K&N series work their way around Road ATL. Hell, I thoroughly enjoy the 8 or 10 quick stockcars that show up to the Mitty every year.

Yes, the logistics would be a nightmare with one way in and one way out and the main road being a two lane state highway, not to mention the absurd amount of media that would show up but they'd clean up on a weekend like that. They certainly would get a load of people to show up just for the scene. I think it is highly unlikely, but not completely out of the realm of possibilities.

Originally Posted by broadrun96

I'm not sure the specifics but I believe there are some noise restrictions on Sundays at Road Atlanta and I'm not sure about the morning routine for the Cup guys at road courses if they have any morning warmup either engines or ontrack time. Plus the track is cramped enough, both paddock and infield, for PLM; add in a Cup race and all its gear and there will be absolutely no room for a flea. All parties involved would be better served with the Cup race as second or third event (mid-Sept) in the Chase with Conti challenge and IMSA GT3s as support with the GA/ALMS race later (mid-Oct) with Nationwide as their support race on Friday. That would serve the cross-marketing campaign and give the Cup race a chance to act as advertising for the sportscar race the next month. Even if they don't come back to attend, they might watch it on Speed and gives them a chance to pack the track twice.

We've got logistics coming out of our ears on this one for sure. The quiet time is 9-12 on Sundays at Road ATL. I am also unsure of the routine of Cup guys before the race, but I do now the time I had the privilege of walking through a NASCAR garage on race day, there was some heavy revving of engines during the lead up, which could either be done from 8-9 or a little before go time. Mostly, in the hours leading up to race time, it's a lot of tech inspections.

Interesting thought.

[Scooter185]

I know nascar owning the track makes it easier to host the race, but they could always go to CotA too.

[MagVanisher]

Originally Posted by Scooter185

I know nascar owning the track makes it easier to host the race, but they could always go to CotA too.

They could race there hypothetically... if they use the short course instead of the full F1 course.

[NaBUru38]

Doing the Chase race in September is a good idea. But I would pick as support races the Grand-Am Conti Challange, SCCA Trans-Am and Viper Cup.

[HJJ]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Doing the Chase race in September is a good idea. But I would pick as support races the Grand-Am Conti Challange, SCCA Trans-Am and Viper Cup.

AMS has the Labor Day Weekend Cup/Nationwide/Truck race. Bruton & Ed Clark would be pi$$ed (that's not a bad thing either).

Since they now only have one race a year at AMS, I don't think that's going to fly.

[MJ_N_09]

I would love to see this happen. I know taking dates away from other tracks to accommodate the road courses will hurt those tracks, but I feel they'd be more exciting to watch and get new fans into the sport. Good publicity to attract outsiders, basically.

[Purist]

There was a piece a few months back done by RACER magazine. In it, the man in charge of Road America said there was VERY LITTLE crossover between the Grand-Am crowd and the Nationwide crowd these past two seasons. Maybe it could be a bit different elsewhere, but it doesn't exactly bode well. I've heard similar anecdotes several times about there being virtually nobody watching the Grand-Am stuff at Watkins Glen during the Cup weekend.

Personally, I'd leave the Road Atlanta sportscar race alone, and run Cup there on a different weekend.

[broadrun96]

I really think you could use one to advertise the other but each event in itself is enough to fill the place with I'm guessing only a small percentage of over-lapping fans. Plus that gives me two seperate weekends to head to the track

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

IPlus that gives me two seperate weekends to head to the track

That works for me!

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

That works for me!

Coming up for three weekends this year, sucks that Grand-Am and the Mitty are back-to-back but thinking I'll be there for both. Got some new things for the site I want to try out.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Coming up for three weekends this year, sucks that Grand-Am and the Mitty are back-to-back but thinking I'll be there for both. Got some new things for the site I want to try out.

Saturday for the Mitty is my B-day and Wilkes wants to go camping at the GA race....I am set. Let's do NASCAR on a weekend in the fall followed by PLM. Just make sure that it is an away or off weekend for the Dawgs.

[JHamilton]

They'll just screw the place up. It may happen anyway.

[broadrun96]

Yeah, after the keslowski incident in testing there who knows how they would 'improve' the track. Facilities upgrades sure, but leave the track alone. Its previous use as a Cup test track for the road courses might spare it too much change, if the no testing on circuits on the calendar rule is still in place.

[fieldodreams79]

Other than chopping the place up entirely, I am not sure what they can do with the actual circuit so close to the property line.

Just maintain a footpath and a "bridge' between 4 and 5; that's the only change I see necessary...well, that and maybe a fresh coat of paint on the occasional comfort station.

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Other than chopping the place up entirely, I am not sure what they can do with the actual circuit so close to the property line.

Just maintain a footpath and a "bridge' between 4 and 5; that's the only change I see necessary...well, that and maybe a fresh coat of paint on the occasional comfort station.

I see the viewing areas at T6 & 7 going away, catch fences on the approach to T11, etc.