Oldest NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Race Tracks
Tuesday August 28, 2007
NASCAR has certainly changed a lot in the last few years. For example, every NASCAR old timer knows that Labor Day weekend should bring the Southern 500 to Darlington Raceway. Unfortunately that race has been modernized out of the sport. Instead the NEXTEL Cup series heads west to California Speedway this weekend.
Change is the price of progress. However, there is still a lot of great history and tradition left in the NASCAR. Here are five shining examples of historic NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race tracks which continue to find a place on the modern NASCAR schedule.
Comments
We had this discussion about Bristol. I live in L.A., but am also 60 years of age. Simply put NASCAR is out for the money and adventually will loose it’s entire fan base to the EA sports generation. No offense entended to the younger generation, but stock car racing has become a repetious video game.
I just heard in 2010 after nascar feel the bugs are out of the cot they going to have Dover re-do their track and make it on the concept of the old slot cars tracks. That way at any time when nascar want a new leader they can give the car more power (they already tell the drivers what to say anyway). Plus when a driver does something that nascar doesn’t like they can turn the power off. Yes I’m talking about the green machine or I.E. Electric cars, for the noise they going to run old tapes of the old cars over the speaker system for us to hear.
LOL #2!
I absolutly love the old tracks. They have a personality of thier own.
The cookie cutter track are very boring. Some could say the new tracks are built for safety issues. Great, make the improvements to keep the fans and the drivers safe like the softer walls, but stop with the boring 1.5 mile cookie cutter tracks. Let the tracks have personalities of thier own. Then let the drivers adapt.
Dale Sr. was always a fan of tracks with personalities. If you mnake all the tracks smooth, wide and no bumps, you have a boring race.
I know this is not a Nascar Nextel Cup track, but Steve, you may want to check the history of the Milwaulkee Mile. The Busch series races there and I thought I heard at one time it was the oldest paved track in the U.S.
Darlington losing the tradtional race on Labor day weekend was one of those things that NASCAR did that really made me frown on the way NASCAR is handling it’s future. If you can find anyone who would agree that a race at the California track is anywhere near the excitement of Darlington, I’ll show you someone who doesnt know squat about stock car racing. Take a look at the stands this weekend, California is one of the most boring races that we have every year……TWICE!
In all fairness to nascar,the cars of the seventies are gone.I miss that kind of racing too but I think everything changes.You either change or quit watching.Look what happened to football.At least in Nascar I believe the drivers want to win.The sport is now nationwide so they race all over the country.How would you feel if you lived in Ca. and they only raced in the southeast?
I’m not a NASCAR basher by any means. I love the sport and realize that change is ineviatable. But, your comment on football makes my point. From 1973 to 1996 I cant remember not keeping up with my team. As it stands now, I couldnt tell you if they are even still in Dallas….and I dont care either.
I dont want that to happen to my favorite sport NASCAR.
I couldnt agree more.I really didnt mean to point the finger at anyone.I just get tired of people constantly saying there done watching,then you read them on the next discussion board.Just cranky today I guess.
True, the Milwaukee Mile was built in 1903, but there is no NEXTEL Cup there.
Also, the 1911-built Indianapolis Motor Speedway didn’t see NEXTEL Cup action until 1994.
This is the danger in putting together a list like this. There are all sorts of parameters that you need to define up front.
willy, I get what you mean. TLabontefan, you make sense, too.
I live near Darlington and this week I’m buying my tickets to LMS in Oct. Wish with all my heart I was going to Darlington this w/e. I’m very lucky to live in the southeast and have access to no less than 8 Cup races within easy driving distance. I feel for those fans who must spend big travel $$ on top of race tickets.
BUT … I keep fueling the argument that we need a NASCAR West and a NASCAR East, with a playoff race between them.
Since that will NEVER happen, I’ll hope for what usually happens — changes always go full circle. We’ll have TWO Darlington races in a year … someday.
Cheers!
I agree with all your points LaBabonte Fan. I have no desire to go to Fontana even though it’s an hour and half from my house. The cars are so spread out that the only way you have any action is when a tire fails, or a driver falls asleep at the wheel from their own boredom. The races are sold out at Fontana and that proves my case that NASCAR is money driven and my fellow Californian’s are disperate to support Jeff Gordon’s Winery.
Nascar don’t suck. Most of the tracks suck, though. Nascar was known for its short tracks. Where are they now. Bristol is a minature cookie cutter now. Whats going on France family??
OK, the race @ Bristol was not fun to watch, I will give you that! The COT is SLOW, the HARD tires all helped with the problem. Lets wait until next year & see what happens before turnning off the TV.
I guess I still have some faith (and hope)in the system & NASCAR to work on this. The teams WILL find more speed for these COT!!! NASCAR can only slow them down for a short time as always!
Get with the race things change, fontana’s the place. Thear’s no chase’n Gordon in the chase. He’s allready got it.
Gordon already has the Chase, that’s why it’s such a waste and totally lame.
The chase, COT, cookie cutter tracks, Nascar controlled what the drivers can and can’t say. Sooner or later NASCAR going to tell the drivers what to eat and not, and when they can go to the bathroom, and when and who to pass on the track.
Nascar needs to remember when your on top, sooner or later there is only one direction to go from there. Look at GM, Ford and now Wal-mart. They all fall because they get the false sense we can’t do no wrong, and don’t look at what people want. Just the others Co.’s they are looking at the BIG $$$$.
I’m a Gordon fan, but don’t say it’s wrapped up. Knowing NASCAR they are stringing us along and then will lower multi-penalties on Henrick, Gordon and his Crew for something. I don’t think a NASCAR east-west would work. Do you set it up by owners, or break up teams? What I would like to see is a championship based upon wins.
Give Darlington the Labor Day Race.The LADY IN BLACK needs this to happen and get back to the old days of racing.What won on Sunday sold on Monday.I have been a member of NASCAR since 1963.Driver,owner,mechanic
Worked for #34 Wendall Scott when I was in college.Yes,I am white.Got no pay BUT a lot of experience.He was a really nice man.His garage had a dirt floor and once got a home improvement loan and bought a race car.
makes a person wonder why should the remainder of the 31 teams(?) that don’t make the race to champ or what ever it’s called to spend the money and race the last ten races if there was no way for them to win. True lot of them have no chance, but look at last year Tony was on a roll.
It’s nice we all have a means to blow off steam at NASCAR. Reading over everyone’s comments I think we can all agree that we love a good race. blah blah kitty gave me an idea. How about two races for the chase? The top 12 goes for the championship and the remaining teams have another race with all those teams starting with zero points. The winner of their chase gets to tell off the France family on Iragi tv. Actually though a second tier competition would make the remaining races more exciting and give those teams a goal.
Sorry Mule with no name.That’s why Tony stays in so much trouble.He doesn’t say what they want him to.He speaks his own mind.A lot of people cut him down for that.But that’s one of the reasons I pull for him.Besides his ability to drive anything with wheels on it.Whether you’re a fan of his or not you must agree he speaks his mind.Sometimes maybe he shouldn’t but oh well we all have our faults.
angela What? Did you take me wrong or what?
Well just to show you how well Kasey Kane is liked up here In WA. They still trying to get rid of the tickets for his race. Sorry folks we was glad when he went to NASCAR he kept getting in to everybody way when he was on the track, that is only if he could qualify.
The only thing constant is change. I agree with #9. We need to divide into the north, east, south and west. Cut the number of races to 18 and take the top 3 cars from each group (12 cars total) and have a 10 race chase. That gives more people an oppertunity to race and shortens the shcedule so the crew and drivers can spend more time with their families.
nascar needs to add a few dirt track races and longer road course races
Lloyd — applying the east/west division setup to NASCAR, there would be 43 cars in each race within their geographic area. Unfortunately, most of the main motorsport garages are in NC.
Can’t see them moving shops out west.
But yeah, #23/Steve expanded what I was getting at. Dividing the circuit means more races out west for fans in that area, and likewise on the east coast. Televising both venues shouldn’t be any more difficult than how they do MLB.
Then it comes down to the Chase, after eliminations, with winning races being the Big Deal it should be, with oh, maybe 20 teams vying for Cup Champ after 10 races. Yep, more teams for each division, more races on the schedule, but no stress for a team being in NH one w/e and Vegas or AZ the next.
It could actually generate lots more $$ for NA$CAR, the ISC and sponsors.
The fans could get back The Rock and the Southern 500.
I agree,nascar has gotten boring with the new tracks.would like to go back when raceing was fun and anyone could win. they really took the fun out of bristol. we’d love a track in wa. or ore. theres alot of fans that would go.can’t wait until earnhardt gets to drive for a real team.he may be our next champ.and they really need to stop pushing montoya,he sucks.
The loss of the Southern 500l less that ten years after NASCAR made a big deal about it’s 50th anniversary show how poorly NASCAR and the Nextel Cup is run since Bill France left. The “New” France family haven’t any understanding of the traditions of NASCAR. Next, they will probably get rid of a race at Martinsville. There is no more racing at the “The Rock” Rockingham because of them. It could be said that when North Wilkesboro was sold and dismantled, you could have read the writing on the wall.
Now, the Car of Tommorrow will shoot the last nail on the coffin to the image of “Stoke Car” racing. The loss of the Labor Day 500 race at Darlington just goes to show how far away we are from Bill France Sr’s dream in 1949.