Possible changes to Bristol Motor Speedway?

[David24]

It's not even so much the lack of bumping that people have a problem with as much as that it's dang near impossible to pass on the inside anymore. What was done to create close, equal, competitive racing only succeeded in giving one line a huge advantage.

Multiple drivers made most of their passes on the low line including Keselowski, Vickers, Burton and Bowyer in yesterday's race.

 

[dalejrgamer]

I don't mind the "new" Bristol now, but I wouldn't miss it.

go back to asphalt plz

 

[MnM1400]

If they really wanted long green flag runs, then they should've built another Michigan or Auto Club.

I would still prefer that to Bristol. And if NASCAR and everyone else is listening to the fans; add another road coarse to the cup circuit or at least bank up pocono and make it a restrictor plate track.

Really, I've only seen replays of a few races on the "old" Bristol but those were some pretty good races. The "new" Bristol just isn't what it was before the re-configure.

 

[Relly]

I look at is as there being a time and place for everything. I love seeing some good side by side action at Charlotte, Texas, Michigan, Kansas ect. But when I'm watching a short track, like Bristol, I expect to see beating and banging and people using their fenders to make passes and I'm somewhat let down when I don't see it, as that's what I expect out of a short track.

Should SMI tear it up and re-do it? I don't know about that, they certinly have the time and money, but I fear it's an overreaction. You have other factors into things like attendance. I was there for the race this weekend, and you have to travel miles for overpriced hotels, the track is in a relatively remote location, notorious for bad traffic, and the economy still isn't fully recovered, so it's not just the racing that's leading to low attendance. Would the reconfiguration of the track help attendance? Sure...but remember there's 160,000 seats in that track, and standing in the pits yesterday I had to remind myself that is a big reason the stands looked so empty.

So if I had to make a vote I'd say re-do it, but when it comes down to it, that still won't solve some of those aforementioned issues, and there will still be people complaining about "new old Bristol"

 

[MattSRD28]

So if I had to make a vote I'd say re-do it, but when it comes down to it, that still won't solve some of those aforementioned issues, and there will still be people complaining about "new old Bristol"

Well this goes back to what I was talking about before about pleasing your customers. No, it won't eliminate complaining, but it will go a long way to solving the problem of only having 102,000 in attendance with a seating capacity of 160,000.

From what I've seen, it's still as hard to pass at Bristol as it ever has been. The cars can just take different lines through the turns now instead of following one behind the other on the bottom groove. So if progressive banking is done away with, I don't see it changing a whole lot, besides restoring the bumper cars-style racing that the fans are very vocal about wanting back.

So I say make the changes Mr. Bruton Smith. Make them now. Have the sell out that you want, and tell the drivers to practice rattling cages.

 

[celticfang]

I'm all for the change here. I grew up late 80s-early 90s, every Sunday night I'd watch NASCAR on Eurosport, the races I remember clearest are the ones where Dale or Rusty or Jeff or Jeff or Terry or Mark or whoever were beating or leaning on each other to pass at the short tracks or even the mile tracks or 1.5 milers. I remember not sleeping at all after Bristol 95 or 99 as I was excited about the races.

To me a short track screams out that you got to use your car up if you a spot that badly. Sure, you COULD sit back in 19th and wait for a pitstop, or you could rattle that guy in 18th, get him loose and go on by, that to me is what short track racing's about, seeing drivers going for it, not sitting back and just waiting for a pit stop or a yellow.

I'd rather have the older, rougher Bristol back as it was a challenge and it made the drivers go out and nudge and beat and bang on each other. However, can the COT take nudging and bumping people or not?

 

[Fisha695]

I was gonna quote a bunch of people but I figured it'd just be easier to sum up it all in one general post.

Bristol being a Short-Track... Yes technically .5mi tracks are Short-Tracks, however technically 1mi tracks are "Super Speedways", that doesn't mean every 1mi track is gonna produce SS style racing and it doesn't mean every track under 1mi is gonna produce ST style racing, nor should they all.

I don't like people calling the 1st Concrete Bristol "Old Bristol" as it's not "Old Bristol". Old Bristol was Asphalt and had two different versions of the years, yeah so it's not like the "People of Bristol" have never seen a change in track or ever had to adapt to anything.
1961 - 1969 = Asphalt 22deg banking =8yrs
1969 - 1992 = Asphalt 36deg banking (promoted as 36 not sure if that was legit) 23yrs
1992 - 2007 = Concrete 26deg banking (promoted as 36, teams measured and found to be 26) 15yrs
2007 - present = Concrete 22-27deg banking 5yrs

I wonder if come the second race in 1969 (or the handful or races earlier) people cried about how the version "sucks", same with the second race in 1992? I'm sure some did, maybe even a majority of the fans but guess what the track sucked it up and kept doing what they were doing until when they finally changed an entirely new generation of fans cried about it again along side the fans that openly loved the new track.

What's the difference between the 3rd & 4th Gen Bristol? Nothing, it's still a 1-groove track that you have to move people out of the way or man-up & drive around them to advance your position.

As far as the attendance, y'all don't think the crappy weather & the economy had anything to do with that? 8,120 tickets that were sold went unused and the Walk-up crowd was about 4,000 short then normal. Had those 12,120 people shown up then attendance wouldn't even be an issue. Gas is $4 a gallon and Bristol is realistically in the middle of nowhere Metropolitan wise... You want a hotel room for $150 or under a night? According to reports the closest city that offered that was Asheville, NC which by Google Earth is 65mi away (straight as the crows fly). Y'all don't think that that had hurt attendance & not just this year but in recent years too. $100 for a 1-day ticket to the Spring Race which throughout history has been regarded as a "Throw-Away" non-important race.... Yeah I'm sure that had something to do with it too. Let's not forget the outrageous prices for food/beverage these tracks all charge now-a-days also.

According to reports over previous years most of the Bristol crowd was always made-up of people who have traveled from other states and even Canada... $4 a gallon gas, expensive hotels, expensive airfare, expensive tickets, less disposable income. People aren't gonna travel 4 states away to watch a race anymore especially when for half the price they could go see 1 if not 2 NASCAR/IRL/Grand-Am/ALMS races at whatever the closer track to their house is.

I'm not saying that people not liking the track isn't the reason for some people, however for most people who didn't go this past weekend or the past few years money, or better lack there of, is the bigger reason.


Also something to think about as far as the seating capacity of Bristol, it was built to it's current specs during a NASCAR boom period so it was built up to have way more seats then it realistically needed in the long-run. Think of it as other sports stadiums or even your local schools, sometimes they're built/upgraded during a boom thus they have way more seating/space then is realistic & other times they're done during a lull and 5yrs later people are complaining because there isn't enough capacity.

Out of 6 Cup races this year (Shootout & Duel counted)
Las Vegas = 150,000
Daytona 500 = 140,000
Bristol Spring = 102,000
Bud Shootout = 82,000
Daytona Duel = 80,000
Phoenix Spring = 75,000

Let's look back at 2011 and see how many races had an attendence of 100,000 or greater
Daytona 500
Las Vegas
Bristol 1
Texas 1
Talladega 1
Charlotte 1
Daytona 2
Kentucky
Indy 400
Bristol 2
Charlotte 2
Talladega 2
Texas 2

Out of 36 Cup Points Races in 2011 only 13 races across 8 tracks broke that mythical 100,000 attendance barrier,

Let's put that in perspective, there were more people at Bristol on Sunday then there were at...
2012 Superbowl
2010 Superbowl
2011 AFL Grand Final (99,537 so just under)
2011 Every Major International Sports Championship game throughout the World held in an Outdoor stadium

Hell pretty much every Indoor & Outdoor sporting event outside of NASCAR held within recent years falls far below that 100,000 barrier, there have been a few here and there that have gone over it but far more fall below it. Sure Bristol may have had lower attendance this past week then it had for that same weekend 10 years ago, however it still out-drew at least 20 Major International Championship games and most of them by around 20,000 people. Maybe I'm just a "Glass Half Full" kind of guy but when it comes to attendance anything over 100,000 heck anything over 25,000 for a Pro Sporting Event is simply amazing when you really sit down and think about it. 25,000 people all with one interest all paying to gather in one area at the same time to partake in the same thing, heck I'd be willing to bet that 95% of the town in the USA don't even have that many people residing in them.


Does the track suck? I don't think so , then again I've always looked at Motorsports as "If I'm paying to see it or if I'm taking time out of my day to watch it on TV I want to watch them race at speed under green, not ride around neutralized at 30mph under caution behind the pacecar".


Just my 2¢ on the subject, now lets see how many people actually read all of that XD

 

[Alan Harkleroad]

I think and this is my personal opinion its the cars, not the track that produces the racing as it is right now. Look at those cars, they way the bobble and bounce around being spring/shock loaded. No coil binding and no bump stops. In all reality NASCAR let the cars get so advanced suspension wise it killed "THE RACING" as some perceive it. The cars handle too well, the are not on the edge of out of control, and they are aero matched. So this is what you get. But if you go back and watch Darlington and other racier tracks like Dover and even martinsville. Look at the attitude of the cars. They have technologically ruined it more then the track surface and configurations have. Take away all this coil binding, bumpstop crap and the cars will go back to being a real handful and you have to really step up on the wheel as they bounce around and you will be playing with shocks and springs more because those will be what controls the attitude of the car not this controlled lift and fall system they use now where the car runs even with the track all the way around the surface.

The side by side racing was good sunday and has been since they went to progressive banking, if you want one groove racing you dont really like racing at all.
And if you havent been too Bristol in person both before and after the change you really dont know what you are talking about. The on tv product is different then seeing it live and thats a fact for both old and new bristol. But watching then run in a one line circle like mini daytona waiting for someone to pass isn't racing. And then when they get to the next car they have no option but to move the guys out of the way, thats not racing either. If you cant beat em with out hitting them then you couldnt beat them in the first place most likely.

And thats my opinion. Go watch it in person, then complain. If you didnt go before, and you dont go now then you should stop complaining.

 

[amidst tundra]

In all reality NASCAR let the cars get so advanced suspension wise it killed "THE RACING" as some perceive it.
The side by side racing was good sunday and has been since they went to progressive banking, if you want one groove racing you dont really like racing at all.

And thats my opinion. Go watch it in person, then complain. If you didnt go before, and you dont go now then you should stop whining.

Exactly, and not only that I think driver attitudes have changed anyway, they're far happier to play the strategy game for track position then wreck the entire field after playing follow the leader for 499 laps.

Here's a crazy idea but instead of making Bristol "old school" they introduce more short tracks to the schedule. Smaller crowds but bigger TV ratings. The advertizers will love it, the tracks will be packed and surely it's more cost effective to run a SoBo or an IRP or an Mansfield than a 1.5 mile cookie-cutter.

Tracks are supposed to race differently, there isn't one defined way of "short track racing." I liked the Sunday Bristol race, plenty of racing not plenty of time watching cars at 30 MPH behind the pace car after yet another bump and run went ary and ended someones day early.

 

[MattSRD28]

Let's try to avoid using overtly negative terms like "whining" to describe an opinion differing from your own, shall we?

Let's not start being disrespectful to each other simply because there might be some disagreement.

 

[IrishNation24]

Alot of good posts here. I am a major fan of the bristol of years past, before the progressive banking. I loved watching the bump and runs between Wallace and Gordon(only if Gordon came out on top though, haha), loved watchin' Spencer and Busch battle, and obvioulsy, the many times the Intimidator roughed his way to the lead. One exception though, I was really mad after Earnhardt wrecked Terry Labonte in the saturday night race years ago. Anyone rememeber that? If i remember right, that was one of the last times Labonte had a shot at a win...

That being said, they are never going to go back to the "old" way. They just spent millions changing it, and its not bad really. Maybe some kind of tire change or supspension change could make it a little more exciting(I will admit, it was a very boring race IMO), because bristol still needs the bump and run and the hot tempers. Thats the attraction of it. I felt no excitment watching it this time, and to be honest it was a little sad, I miss the good ol' days. But tracks are always changing. So lets see what happens.

 

[Fisha695]

Here is something to think about that I thought of as I was trying to fall asleep early this morning.. In order to repave/build Bristol SMI will need various permits (maybe even EPA/DEP ones?), they'll need to schedule the construction, find a concrete supplier that has enough of a supply and enough of an opening in their schedule, etc...

Bruton already has this stuff figured out and is going to mess with the track regardless of what fans want, or he doesn't have any of that stuff secured and is going to pull the "Fans love it" card no matter what the majority of fans really say. There is no way he would throw the statement of "I'll change it and do so by the August race" out there without already having a plan.

 

[The Captain]

I've been to Bristol races on the old concrete and the current concrete. While both are entertaining, watching the cars push each other around and hearing the metal grind on the previous layout is awesome to me. Not every track can be "OH DON'T TOUCH ME" racing. The physical aspect of Bristol is what sold the place in recent years. If you've seen a Bristol advertisement since 2007, they still use the physical aspect of the racing as a selling point even though it's been greatly reduced since the reconfiguration. The bump and grind racing is what the modern race fan knows Bristol for. There are places where less physical racing is nice. Bristol isn't one of those places. Bristol is a place where a little bit of muscle and aggression is expected.

 

[Relly]

Bruton Smith Considering Changes To Bristol Motor Speedway
Mar
20
6:41a
by Jeff Gluck

Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO Bruton Smith is weighing whether to change the track configuration at Bristol Motor Speedway following Sunday's poorly attended Food City 500.

The stands were half-full in the 160,000-seat stadium, giving Bristol its smallest crowd since NASCAR began estimating attendance in 2003. Some fans have been upset since Bristol reconfigured its surface in 2007 to allow more side-by-side racing – and thus tamed the once-wild action.

Smith told "Fast Talk" on the SMI-owned Performance Racing Network that he and his engineers began discussing changes at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, just hours after the race ended.

"We're getting a lot of feedback from fans, and we're going to listen to them, too," Smith told PRN. "A lot of them say, ‘Well, we like the old track the way it was.' We're going to concentrate on that, and whatever the fans want, we're going to do it."

Smith said he expected to make an announcement about SMI's decision as soon as Friday.

"We are indebted to the fans; the fans make it possible," he said. "And I'm not going to forget about that. If the fans want us to do things, when I hear from enough of them, we're going to respond and go that route because they're the ones that pay the bills."

The builder of tracks such as Charlotte Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway said his team has the old configuration on its computers and is looking hard at potential alterations.

"These engineers I have are very competent," he said. "We're going to study this thing until we make this decision. "(The fans) have been responding all day, and I'll tell you, they're moving the needle."

Bruton Smith Considering Changes To Bristol Motor Speedway - SBNation.com


Looks like we might be getting an answer this week.

 

[TJBartel]

Alot of good posts here. Alot to think about, look at it from different points of view. Maybe I was wrong, the last Bristol(as opposed to calling "old" as that isn't truely accurate) was very unique. No other track save for Martinsville do you have that kind of physical let the rough side drag racing. Maybe that is what is missing and makes Bristol unique and diversifies the Cup schedule??
Trouble is, trying to recreate the former track racing might be hard, that surface was worn and conditioned, but I am sure Bruton will do his best.

 

[Fisha695]

Just thought of something... If we're changing Bristol back can we change Atlanta back as well? And also run the long course at Sears Point again. Pleeeaaasssseeeeeeee (puppy dog eyes)

 

[Jericohol14]

Just thought of something... If we're changing Bristol back can we change Atlanta back as well? And also run the long course at Sears Point again. Pleeeaaasssseeeeeeee (puppy dog eyes)

Atlanta = probably could've killed someone with the old setup.
Sears Point = Was kind of boring with the old setup.

 

[Fisha695]

Atlanta = probably could've killed someone with the old setup.
Sears Point = Was kind of boring with the old setup.

You could easily say both those things about "Old Bristol" too.

 

[Dr. Kstar]

Besides leaving ORP, I believe that Nascar and their track owners have made nothing but good choices. I think they might be considering a few other changes, they might as well since they changed about 10 tracks since 2011. I say give California some banking, and make Kansas have progressive banking.

 

[The Captain]

Not sure what made the old Atlanta more dangerous than the current version?