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Miljax
01-23-03, 01:56 PM
Posted this idea over at 7th Gear as well, just wanted to see what folks over here thought... If NASCAR wants to contract its' way out of its' second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Pook wants into large metropolitan markets, and Pook is pushing the diversity of the series (ovals, etc...), then would this not be a good fit?!? NASCAR is ticking off track ownership, and I am sure that they would like to have a race come in to fill that void...

chop456
01-23-03, 02:13 PM
No.

Bad track.
Bad crowd.
Bad deal.

mnkywrch
01-23-03, 02:28 PM
Wouldn't they draw a bigger crowd at ROAD ATLANTA?

Napoleon
01-23-03, 02:31 PM
It failed for CART in the early 80's

It failed for the IRL.

Bad idea.

BTW, I am all for diversity and staying with the ovals, but if they want in the Alt market they really should be at Road Atlanta.

Railbird
01-23-03, 02:36 PM
Road Atlanta would attract a CART crowd. AMS won't atract anything other than folks using free tickets to see what seat is best for the next Nascar race.

There is a road racing crowd in the Atlanta area, call Panoz and make a deal.

Hurling Frootmig
01-23-03, 03:22 PM
Road Atlanta makes a lot of sense especially with the emphasis Pook wants to put on metro areas.

RTKar
01-23-03, 08:21 PM
Originally posted by chop456
No.

Bad track.
Bad crowd.
Bad deal.


I'm with Chop, Road Atlanta would be a better place...

No shoes
No shirt
No dice

Miljax
01-23-03, 09:43 PM
O.K., my point was to get in good with IMS at AMS. Sure, I would much rather be at Road Atlanta, but we are not and this is an oppurtunity to get a foot in the door with the IMS people!!!

Hink
01-23-03, 09:51 PM
IMS? Opportunity?

Huh?

What am I missing here?

JT265
01-23-03, 09:56 PM
Miljax, you thinking about ISC?

If you are, it's still no better 'cause Bruton Smith owns Atlanta.

mnkywrch
01-23-03, 10:19 PM
Perhaps he meant SMI.

It's not getting in good with the SMI folks... it's called redeeming yourself after the TMS fiasco.

Miljax
01-23-03, 11:37 PM
Originally posted by mnkywrch
Perhaps he meant SMI.

It's not getting in good with the SMI folks... it's called redeeming yourself after the TMS fiasco.

That's what I meant, thanks for pointing it out!!!:confused:

Foxman
01-24-03, 08:56 AM
Besides the SMI deal, didn't a wheel go over the fence into a luckily empty grandstand at the inheritors last race there?

Napoleon
01-24-03, 09:09 AM
Originally posted by Foxman
Besides the SMI deal, didn't a wheel go over the fence into a luckily empty grandstand at the inheritors last race there?

Yeah, but so what. The biggest of the lemmings (in fact look at the trolls who raise the issue in this same thread over on 7G) love to raise that as a reason the IRL does not race there but it is an intellectually dishonest reason and is one of the bigger BS explanations the Lemming trot out. The laws of physics apply at other SMI tracks also and it’s just as likely that a tire will go over the fence at TMS as Atlanta. If Burton had such a problem with having the IRL (or any formula car class) at Atl., he would have it at every one of his tracks.

Don Quixote
01-24-03, 09:44 AM
Originally posted by Napoleon
If Burton had such a problem with having the IRL (or any formula car class) at Atl., he would have it at every one of his tracks.
Yes. We all know the real reason: the race was a miserable failure from a promoter or track owner standpoint. Marketing Bubba and Joe Bob on their own back yard ovals just won't worked for open wheel racing. Having said that, however, I thing Road Atlanta would draw well from a large geographical area.

Foxman
01-24-03, 10:05 AM
Originally posted by Napoleon
Yeah, but so what. The biggest of the lemmings (in fact look at the trolls who raise the issue in this same thread over on 7G) love to raise that as a reason the IRL does not race there but it is an intellectually dishonest reason and is one of the bigger BS explanations the Lemming trot out. The laws of physics apply at other SMI tracks also and it’s just as likely that a tire will go over the fence at TMS as Atlanta. If Burton had such a problem with having the IRL (or any formula car class) at Atl., he would have it at every one of his tracks.


Yep.. I think the bottom line here is if the IRL had made $$$$ at Atlanta, they'd still be racing there come hell or high water.

IlliniRacer
01-24-03, 10:41 AM
What kind of upgrades would Road Atlanta need for Champ Cars to be able to run there? I remember Bill Auberlin's blow over at the Petit Le Mans a few years back in an LMP. I would hate to think what would happen to a Champ Car Driver in that situation.

chop456
01-24-03, 10:44 AM
Originally posted by IlliniRacer
What kind of upgrades would Road Atlanta need for Champ Cars to be able to run there? I remember Bill Auberlin's blow over at the Petit Le Mans a few years back in an LMP. I would hate to think what would happen to a Champ Car Driver in that situation.

Somebody did it in a Porsche GT1 also, IIRC.

Warlock!
01-24-03, 11:22 AM
Wouldn't a champcar's lack of bodywork eliminate that problem since there's really no place to catch that air (driving in a forward direction, that is?

Winter Warlock!

mapguy
01-24-03, 11:52 AM
Originally posted by chop456
Somebody did it in a Porsche GT1 also, IIRC.

That was Phillipe Alliot in the first Petit LeMans.

mnkywrch
01-24-03, 12:00 PM
I'm reasonably sure they've fixed that issue.

I suspect the real issue is that CART wants more than Panoz is willing to pay.

CART probably wants a street race sanctioning fee; Panoz can likely afford to pay around what Mid-Ohio and Elkhart Lake are (or are not) paying.

Napoleon
01-24-03, 12:23 PM
Originally posted by mnkywrch
I suspect the real issue is that CART wants more than Panoz is willing to pay.

Or maybe because Panoz has aligned himself with the IRL and is unwilling to do anything to help CART. Why do you always blame CART?

mnkywrch
01-24-03, 12:35 PM
Originally posted by Napoleon
Or maybe because Panoz has aligned himself with the IRL and is unwilling to do anything to help CART. Why do you always blame CART?

Geez, I dunno - their long history of screwing up?

Why would Panoz align himself with the IRL? He runs a sports car series, for chrissakes.

Yeah, he makes IRL chassis, but thanks to the market sapping his stock fortune, he's not really in the situation where he can put politics before a race that would probably draw a healthy paying crowd to his facility.

Unless, of course, the sanctioning body is asking for a fee where he can't make any money.

Napoleon
01-24-03, 06:19 PM
Originally posted by mnkywrch
Why would Panoz align himself with the IRL? He runs a sports car series, for chrissakes.

Yeah, he makes IRL chassis, but thanks to the market sapping his stock fortune, he's not really in the situation where he can put politics before a race that would probably draw a healthy paying crowd to his facility.


He was making IRL chassis before his stock went south (BTW he is still very rich), and he has seemed very lukewarm to CART (and that is giving the benefit of the doubt) even when they helped out and shared a date in Miami.

And why wouldn't Panoz align with the IRL. Its an oval series that does not compete with his road racing series, as some could interpret CART as doing.