NASCAR is just a oval track, all the time.
NASCAR Cup raced at Sonoma, CA yesterday. That's a road course. Nothing like watching a heavy stocker trying to negotiate the hills and curves of a road course. The Busch GN Series and the Truck series hit road courses too.
Many of the new tracks that NASCAR races at are boring. The mid-size "super" speedways like Texas, Las Vegas and the new CA track are all cookie cutter tracks with no personality.The best tracks are still the older, smaller tracks like Darlington, Bristol, Richmond. Daytona and Talladaga are fun to watch with the three wide, 10 rows deep racing even if the drivers hate having the restrictor plate.
The F1 series really hurt their chances at an American audience with what happened last week. But...Bruton Smith of legendary fame by helping take NASCAR to new levels is trying to come to the rescue....(and make a buck):
From a NC newspaper:
Formula One's American troubles, after the Indianapolis fiasco, are so deep that there may be only one man who can save F1 in the United States: Bruton Smith.
Smith, a veteran promoter, said he's willing to give Formula One and Bernie Ecclestone a hand - Smith is suggesting a Formula One race at his Sonoma road course.
But Smith said that Ecclestone would have to bring money. If Ecclestone accepts, that would be quite a turnaround, since Ecclestone typically charges tracks a big fee for bringing the Grand Prix circus to town. Indianapolis Motor Speedway pays about $15 million a year for the right to run an F1 race.
Smith said that if Ecclestone really wants to save Formula One in America, he'll have to dance to a different tune.
Ecclestone, according to some reports, has made about $3.7 billion since taking over Formula One's TV operations 20 years ago.
"Bless his heart ... then he'll have to spend it," Smith said with a laugh.
"If he's got that kind of net worth, he ought to be able to make a deal with me. Money talks."
