International Speedway Corporation, the track company that is a sister to NASCAR, finally -- and I mean finally -- dropped their plan to build a speedway in Washington state this year.And it took this long?
Now before I get all the comments about how there are NASCAR fans in the Seattle and Northwest region, I know that. I know there are NASCAR racing fans all over the country. And props to you folks.
But this idea has been a failure for months now. Remember the insinuation by the Washington state Speaker of the House that Richard Petty (yeah, that guy that owns the race team that doesn't allow alcohol sponsorships) has a had a DUI? Dude ate crow for that one.
I won't even get into amazing comments made by State Rep. Larry Seaquist that NASCAR fans "aren't the kind of people you would want living next door to you". (Note: Seaquist did apologize and said he was referring the NASCAR as a company, not the fan base. I still don't buy or understand that explanation)
Even aside from the legislative hating on NASCAR racing, this plan just doesn't make sense to me. California Speedway can't sell out and it has two dates, but a track in the Northwest would? L.A. already proved "location, location, location" isn't a good marketing tool for NASCAR, but apparently ISC thought that building a track an hour and a half away from Seattle (yeah, it's smaller than that SoCal population) would be a tremendous enterprise.
As a NASCAR fan from the mid-west, I realize that I've got it pretty good with plenty of options to see a race. But you know, its almost a slap in the face to fans in the South and East that have built this sport to be building tracks and trying to get the sport away from them. There really is something about going to a NASCAR race in Charlotte and seeing how virtually the whole city is wrapped in the excitement.
Does NASCAR get that in Los Angeles? What about at Vegas? I couldn't tell you for sure, but I'd imagine it's not the talk of the town.
I'm glad NASCAR and ISC lost this battle in the Pacific Northwest. I've always been a firm believer that you should never pull your roots -- and apparently that is at odds with Brian France and the rest of the Daytona posse. Apologies to all of you loyal fans in the Northwest, but right now is just not the time for this sport to expand into Washington, much less anywhere else.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I live near Seattle and I agree 100% with everything you said. This state doesn't deserve a Nascar track, much less one or two Cup series races. Nascar just doesn't jive with Washington's green sensibilities and it never will, not to mention that the location ISC selected would have been a traffic control/ingress/egress NIGHTMARE. The Cali track location is superb and it can't manage a sell-out; what does that tell you??? I'm with you--I'd rather go to Charlotte or the Brickyard to see a race when I'm jonesing for racing history, and Vegas or Phoenix when I'd prefer a short flight.
I think Vegas is better than Cali re: excitement about the race, attendance, and the racing itself. I think that track ought to have two races, especially before they try to add another track to the West Coast.
I'm originally from the PNW though I doubt I'll ever move back, and it was a pain to have to travel so far to go to races but it was worth it (well Cali wasn't, but traveling to other places sure was.) It's a wonderful area for a lot of reasons, but I don't think it needs a track, specifically not near Seattle or Portland. The weather is too much of a disastor and like Kari mentioned the traffic would be horrid.