Southern 500 to California

[Asp]

The 2004 Winston Cup schedule - sorry, Nextel Cup schedule (I must learn that one) had been announced provisionally - with big changes: notable that Fontana gets a second race, a night race on (Southern 500) Labout Day weekend; North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham loses its fall date; and Darlington Raceway moves its 53-year Labor Day tradition, the Southern 500, to Rockingham's fall date.

Quite a big break in tradition...

[Lee Janotta]

NASCAR only respects tradition when it's profitable. Effing businessmen...

[bcobbus]

The date may have changed but hte race will still be the same! Darlington is Darlington, any time of year! I think this move is best for NASCAR, now if we could only get rid of some of the other tracks with two dates and bring them down to just one. Such examples may include New Hampshire, Dover, Atlanta, etc...

[chris24]

*******s !

My family has a ticket allocation for the night race at Bristol.
This year my dad is going but with my mum and he is then going to the Southern 500 at Darlington the following weekend. I was hoping to do the same next year when he doesn't go as he has now retired. Well I guess not . Miserable gits !

[muggle not]

Originally posted by bcobbus
The date may have changed but hte race will still be the same! Darlington is Darlington, any time of year! I think this move is best for NASCAR, now if we could only get rid of some of the other tracks with two dates and bring them down to just one. Such examples may include New Hampshire, Dover, Atlanta, etc...

Geez, Dover is one of the better tracks, Atlanta has good racing also. If you are going to get rid of any do so with Texas, California, and Phoenix.

[chris24]

Got to agree, the races at Texas and California are always boring races. But I hope the IRL races at Texas are still good as I am going to it in October.

[bcobbus]

I did not base my choices of tracks to posibly get rid of based on how great the racing was, rather I based it on what NASCAR needs to grow even more. NASCAR needs to have more races here on the West coast and other areas it has not focused on before. However with 36 races as of now, to expand its market more to new area, some tracks have to loose a date. Trust me, I would much rather watch a race from Dover or Atlanta then California or Texas, but I did not use that as my basis here.

[24thunder]

A 53 year old tradition down the tubes,so We can have another cookie-cutter(yawn)track,those types of tracks generate the most $$$$$$$ for NASCAR so IMO expect to see more & more of them,regardless of what the majority of fans want!Cookie-cutter tracks already account for 66.8% of race dates among current track types,this doesn't even include the extra California date starting next year!IMO,the average fan is getting the short end of the straw,IMO if NASCAR continues down this path of $$$$$$ first,fans second,that there might become a time in the near future that NASCAR finds Themselves without all that many $$$$$$$$$$ or that many fans,JMO!