# Bristol Speedway; should more speedways look like this?



## 1772 (Aug 18, 2009)

I'm not that much of a NASCAR fan but I've always liked the way Bristol Speedway looks. 

The fact that it's almost like a big football stadium/colliseum but contains Nascar is pretty awesome. 

Why aren't more tracks built like this? Does any NASCAR-fan know why? 

http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/


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## skaP187 (Jan 10, 2006)

This doesn´t look like the coloseum. The Romans also liked the Nascar of those days and build ´circus maximus´. cap 200 000.


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## Scba (Nov 20, 2004)

It's a common gripe among NASCAR fans that the newer tracks stink, but it's really the same mindset that F1 and other series have when it comes to new tracks.

Build them in areas that don't currently have one, and built it with sponsor, hospitality, and ticket money in mind. Never mind the actual racing, doesn't matter how dull the track is. The newer tracks in Chicago, Kansas, Las Vegas, California, and to an extent Kentucky and Texas, are all extremely similar - 1.5 mile tri-oval designs, with large infields and single grandstands. Bristol seats more than all of those, but the infill of the stands came over decades, and I can vividly remember a time when it wasn't fully enclosed. And if you look - I mean just look it at it - there's no space for anything. There's no tunnel in and out of the infield, no garages within it, none of that.

So, why aren't more tracks built like this? As a fan I have no idea. That was just an explanation of the how the building scene has been in recent years. People LIKE Bristol and the racing and experience there, but the boys with the big bucks want to see more style, bigger tracks, larger suites, high speeds, year-round events. Same reason why as much as fans like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, no one will build another one of them again. 

- But one sign that things might be coming full-circle is the death of California (Fontana) and the rebirth of Rockingham. California had two races a year, but the attendance was so crappy and the racing so dull that they stripped a date from it. And Rockingham, a traditional track in the South, was bought for its dates and shut down a decade ago, but was recently bought and refurbished enough that it's going to begin holding lower level events again.


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## BOSDAN (Jul 19, 2011)

Considering Bristol is a short track, I don't think it would be feasible to have the level and amount of continuous seating around an entire track.

NASCAR has not been selling out their races over the last few years, look at California where you have thousands of empty seats. So adding capacity to tracks would not work.


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## joezierer (Jan 16, 2011)

There are a couple more tracks that go with the "Stadium" style building but obviously it only works on short tracks:









Currently closed North Wilkesbororo Speedway (NC)









Martinsville Speedway (VA)









Richmond International Raceway (VA)









(sorry for the bad pic) North Carolina Speedway (now Rockingham Speedway) (NC)


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## Bobby3 (Jun 26, 2007)

Rockingham's backstretch stand is gone now. There's a short track there now.

Re: The original question. That design only works at short tracks, like the ones the poster above showed. The capacities would be incredible if that did it at larger tracks and the cost of upkeep would go off the charts. Charlotte actually comes close to it, though there aren't any stands from the middle of the backstretch to the center of 3 and 4. The Toyota Terrace -- a new-ish addition -- is in turn four.


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## 1772 (Aug 18, 2009)

I suppose this would only go in big cities with hotels and stuff.


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## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

It looks extremely crowded and outdated IMO. No suites, no space for sponsor areas, no skyways over or parallel to the paddock.

In other words: a facility that has outlived its usefulness and an example of what is never going to be built today.


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## 1772 (Aug 18, 2009)

Suburbanist said:


> It looks extremely crowded and outdated IMO. No suites, no space for sponsor areas, no skyways over or parallel to the paddock.
> 
> In other words: a facility that has outlived its usefulness and an example of what is never going to be built today.


How can it not be useful while being the most popular place?


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## Scba (Nov 20, 2004)

I'd say that the two Superspeedways are more popular than the short tracks - but no one's building more of those, either!


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## Bobby3 (Jun 26, 2007)

Suburbanist said:


> It looks extremely crowded and outdated IMO. No suites, no space for sponsor areas, no skyways over or parallel to the paddock.
> 
> In other words: a facility that has outlived its usefulness and an example of what is never going to be built today.


It's no more crowded for fans then many football stadiums are. The paddock area is accessible though a tunnel, a skyway would create obstructed views (this is a typical practice at oval tracks, even Charlotte and Daytona which get updated seemingly every next day have them). The area above the grandstand is filled with suites, it has a lot of them.


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## joezierer (Jan 16, 2011)

Suburbanist said:


> It looks extremely crowded and outdated IMO. No suites, no space for sponsor areas, no skyways over or parallel to the paddock.
> 
> In other words: a facility that has outlived its usefulness and an example of what is never going to be built today.


Skyways are dumb on oval courses because they ruin sightlines and are unsafe.


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## Scba (Nov 20, 2004)

There's also only one oval track that has a skywalk, Dover. I think Nazareth may have but it's since been torn down.


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## rantanamo (Sep 12, 2002)

Suburbanist said:


> It looks extremely crowded and outdated IMO. No suites, no space for sponsor areas, no skyways over or parallel to the paddock.
> 
> In other words: a facility that has outlived its usefulness and an example of what is never going to be built today.


Bristol is ringed by suites. Keep in mind, these are smaller tracks. The midsized and Super Speedways have a huge number of suites. 










You have to also take into account the difference between ovals and roadcourse. Most ovals give enough of a view to see the whole track. Not multi-story paddock/garage building in the middle. Generally there is an alley of garages behind the pit straight. There are also specific rules where a team has to stay behind the pit wall until the car hits certain points on the track. To access these areas for fans, there are tunnels that provide far more fan access to the paddock than anyone but press and celebrity could ever buy one in Formula 1.


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## joezierer (Jan 16, 2011)

Scba said:


> There's also only one oval track that has a skywalk, Dover. I think Nazareth may have but it's since been torn down.


Nazareth had them before being closed and Phoenix had them untill 200x. They're still dumb.









Dover









Nazareth

edit: jesus christ I had to reupload these like 9 times what is up with the internet today.


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## skaP187 (Jan 10, 2006)

You mean Jesus Christ of Nazareth?


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## Topher51 (Mar 28, 2009)

I've been to Bristol for two races. It is very fun. Unlike larger tracks like Atlanta and Charlotte, you are never too far away from the action. The speeds are considerably slower than at those other tracks though, so that would be my guess as to why more short tracks weren't built recently.


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## Pelt (Sep 8, 2010)

Nothing beats Indy.


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## joezierer (Jan 16, 2011)

Topher51 said:


> I've been to Bristol for two races. It is very fun. Unlike larger tracks like Atlanta and Charlotte, you are never too far away from the action. The speeds are considerably slower than at those other tracks though, so that would be my guess as to why more short tracks weren't built recently.


That's the main reason, yeah. Slower tracks aren't that popular because they're slower. Though it seems fans appreciate the short tracks for their rough physical racing more than the speedways. NASCAR abandonded the Nashville Fairgrounds for a similarly named Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, TN. The Superspeedway shut down because everyone hated it. (That could also be down to Dover Downs Inc who closed Gateway and Memphis)


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