NASCAR to Rockingham

[steve y]

just a thought now we have endured NHL doing their Torvill & Dean impressions in body armour, the NBA playing netball with freaks of nature and the NFL rolling around in the mud at Wembley is it not our, the petrol heads of the UK to have their own slice of American sport and have a cup race at Rockingham I would love to see the likes of Gordon (weiner) and Johnson (weiner clone) doing battle over here. anyone think there is a chance?

[johnph]

NASCAR is building up to international expansion slowly and quitely. The Busch Series has run in Mexico for the past 3 years, and they ran in Canada for the first time this year. They also have more international interest coming from foreign drivers like Montoya, Villeneuve, Ambrose and Franchitti.

I would expect that soon we will have a permanent Nextel race in Canada and Mexico (maybe using an oval rather than the road courses they have been using). I wouldn't rule out there being a race in Australia in the next few years. So hopefully we'll have a race at Rockingham soon.

[The Hypno-Toad]

Most people in the industry seem to think that a European race is only a matter of time.

[kenthardy]

Wishful thinking - but a pipe dream.

NASCAR have previously made it clear that there are no marketing reasons for coming here when their sponsors are largely all inward looking American corporations.

The schedule cannot accomodate the number of tracks in the US that want races - viz frequent legal challenges about reallocation of dates in the calendar and the building of new ovals in new markets at the expense of the traditional good old boy tracks in the South.

The Busch series going to Mexico and Canada is a bit different from expecting the Sprint Cup (as it will be from 08) to up sticks and come here when we haven't even been able to attract ASA or ARCA here let alone Craftsman Trucks or Busch.

Champ Car didnt like Rockingham as it is not an oval - it's almost a square with four different corners - and there was no flow for them - the infrastructure was proved incapable of absorbing the crowd with the industrial estate needing access 24/7 and locals still needing to go about their business.

Not in any of our lifetimes i'm afraid! (although I'd love to be proved wrong and would be first in the queue - have to stick with annual trip to Talladega instead.)

[steve y]

Not in any of our lifetimes i'm afraid! (although I'd love to be proved wrong and would be first in the queue - have to stick with annual trip to Talladega instead.)
[/quote]
well I guess keep the fingers crossed and get my fix at Bristol!
the rockingham track is a copu of Indy hence the "square" track

[simonfa]

Being a big Montoya fan I would love to believe i would live long enough to see this happen but as most above i will be more than surprised to see Nascar come to Rockingham, hell we have tons of great motorsprt in the UK but such is the high ticket prices and poor event managment that the turnout at british motorsport events is somewhat often lacklustre, i cant see them generating enough 'bums on seats' as it where to warrent them picking up the show and sailing across the pond for a weekend.

[onomatopoeia]

I'd love to see the NNCS come to the UK, but somewhere like the Brands GP circuit. Can't see it happening though, there's no space in the schedule as it is - not that I'd mind if they dropped a 1.5 mile oval somwhere.

Hopefully I can get to the March Bristol race next year if I can get a ticket, not seen one live yet.

[jon-]

Having driven Rockingham my dream of seeing Nascar there went out of the window. The circuit isn't anywhere near the standard of the American tracks, would take some serious developement I recon.

[steve y]

onomatopoeia said:

I'd love to see the NNCS come to the UK, but somewhere like the Brands GP circuit. Can't see it happening though, there's no space in the schedule as it is - not that I'd mind if they dropped a 1.5 mile oval somwhere.

Hopefully I can get to the March Bristol race next year if I can get a ticket, not seen one live yet.

make every effort to get there, it is a brilliant race 43 cars charging round a 1/2 mile track 160,000 drunk rednecks great day out however don't be in a rush to leave cos the same drunk rednecks are all trying to get their RV'S onto the highway, kick back with a long neck and wonder how many days it will be before your hearing comes back the aug night race is also good although very hot.

[andy97]

kenthardy said:

Wishful thinking - but a pipe dream.
Champ Car didnt like Rockingham as it is not an oval - it's almost a square with four different corners - and there was no flow for them - the infrastructure was proved incapable of absorbing the crowd with the industrial estate needing access 24/7 and locals still needing to go about their business.

Hmm, didn't realise this. Surely the whole thing was planned around bringing "Oval Racing" to the UK, in which case why didn't they use a US "oval" designer who could make sure that the design met requirements? Mind you, many of the US tracks are not strictly oval either - I believe that some are tri-cornered, for eg. If Rockingham isn't fit for purpose as an Oval then someone really screwed up & perhaps the place would be better off levelled!!

As for the last comment about infrastructure, I think that's probably true of just about every circuit in the UK when it comes to big meetings like Superbikes, BTCC, World Series By Renault, Brit GP etc.

I was working in Dallas a couple of years ago (but didn't get to the circuit to see the Nascar unfortunately) and the chap that built the Speedway there built a complete 10 mile long 8 lane super highway to get the fans in and out as part of the development - and all just to service a couple of Nascar and an IRL race each year. But, its a different scale of things in the US & they have the real estate to do that sort of thing and not blink. Dallas Airport for eg, has 14 runways and yet is way less busy tha heathrow and its measly 3!