The 2022 running NASCAR, IMSA & other racing things thread

Ben Kennedy is running the press conference, looks like.

 

Where, exactly, are they gonna pass on that track?

 

I wasn’t under the impression Chicago struggled to attract tourists 4th of July weekend.

 

I didn't think there could be a NASCAR race in Illinois with less banking than Chicago Motor Speedway, but there it is.

 

Chip and NASCAR let greed get in the way of just going with one track that was, like, close to the city and people could get to. I suppose in 2001 the track in BFE might’ve been a better bet, but that was a short-sighted move.

 

I realize he was going for the "super Martinsville" idea, but you want to talk about no passing, particularly for IndyCars? If he had just put some banking in the corners, that track could have been sort of like Atlanta before SMI Charlotte-ized it. I drove over there one time from Midway, just to see it before they took down the grandstands and it was definitely so much better than a cornfield outside of Joliet.

 

Seems like the other thing I remember about CMS was that the grandstands faced south, which meant the fans baked in the sun all day. Not Chip's brightest idea.

 

That was a function of the original horse track’s footprint, with little room between the backstretch and the property line, with Hawthorne Race Course, another horse track, on the other side. Sportsman’s Park ran harness racing at night so grandstand direction wasn’t important.

I was just happy the upper deck didn’t tip over when everyone moved at the same time. You could feel the movement and hear the crowd murmur. They were still finishing the upper suites during Saturday qualifying for the Sunday race of the 1999 inaugural.

 

One and Six. I think.

 

Four and Seven could see some action as well. Seven is at the bottom of a 20-foot or so drop down a bridge over railroad tracks.

 

Day started early.

 

Somebody in NASCAR's PR department watched "Grease" way too times as a kid.