Possible changes to Bristol Motor Speedway?

[Jericohol14]

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

The giant opening on the backstretch?
Exhibit A:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia2D-irpIIs]1997 Steve Grissom Flips @ Atlanta - YouTube[/ame]
Exhibit B:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCskor5RMtQ]ARCA at Atlanta 1996 - the vicious crashes: (pt.2/5) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Dr. Kstar]

The giant opening on the backstretch?
Exhibit A:
1997 Steve Grissom Flips @ Atlanta - YouTube
Exhibit B:
ARCA at Atlanta 1996 - the vicious crashes: (pt.2/5) - YouTube

They could always fix that wall and still keep the old configuration.

 

[Fisha695]

The giant opening on the backstretch?
Exhibit A:
1997 Steve Grissom Flips @ Atlanta - YouTube
Exhibit B:
ARCA at Atlanta 1996 - the vicious crashes: (pt.2/5) - YouTube

Ummm.... Old Bristol
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxtID4k3UBw]Mike Harmon's Car Torn Apart in Crash at Bristol. O... - YouTube[/ame]

And even Older Bristol
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzxcuV5rmA4]Michael Waltrip Crash at Bristol. Official Footage. - YouTube[/ame]

BTW watching all the crew members on pitroad react on that first one gave me chills.

 

[The Captain]

The giant opening on the backstretch?
Exhibit A:
1997 Steve Grissom Flips @ Atlanta - YouTube
Exhibit B:
ARCA at Atlanta 1996 - the vicious crashes: (pt.2/5) - YouTube

Has nothing to do with the actual racing surface, which is the discussion. Vegas has one of those openings on the backstretch. Atlanta could easily have left that at the reconfiguration and it would have been just as dangerous if not worse.

 

[Fisha695]

Has nothing to do with the actual racing surface, which is the discussion. Vegas has one of those openings on the backstretch. Atlanta could easily have left that at the reconfiguration and it would have been just as dangerous if not worse.

Had they left that opening it'd be on Pit Road (remember they flipped the back & front straights)

 

[brt3]

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?

Well, I guess that is looking at the bright side. 102,000 people is nothing to sneeze at especially when you compare it the way you did. But you can't compare things like that in a vacuum. When you have a business and in the last 5 years attendance has fallen 37% yet your expenses have risen, you have to do something.

I won’t presume why others haven’t attended races, I’ll just speak for myself. From 1985-2003 I never missed a race in person at Talladega, Bristol and Atlanta. My interest in NASCAR fell some after Earnhardt’s death (and other reasons) and I stopped going and sold my tickets. I started to pick up interest in NASCAR again in 2006 and renewed my tickets at those tracks. 2 years ago, I cancelled my Bristol tickets. Yes, money is a small reason, but if I really wanted to go I would come up with the money.

It comes down to this, it’s not worth it. I would pay twice the amount it cost to go if it was entertaining and I had a great time. But I didn’t and usually spent the second half of the race wondering how I could beat the traffic home. The racing just wasn’t Bristol. I love good old fashioned short track racing, not progressive banking so we can run side by side and not touch each other once. Part of the entertainment was watching the drivers get more and more frustrated with one another and then start to take it out on one another. You could see the buildup throughout the race.

I think there are a lot of fans out there like me. If it was worth it, the high price of gas and hotels would just to be something to complain about while tailgating before the race. But we would still be there nevertheless. But it’s not, so we’re not.

 

[Markfan]

Atlanta = probably could've killed someone with the old setup.

That is not really a good example since the opening was similar to the one that Gordon hit at Las Vegas in 2009. Other than that, it wasn't as bad as you're claiming.

Sears Point = Was kind of boring with the old setup.

What?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lsge6sNE3s]1993 - Save Mart Supermarkets 300 Finish - YouTube[/ame]

 

[MattSRD28]

Holy crap I forgot how awesome that Speedworld animation was. To think what kind of computer that stuff was designed & created on. Dang.

 

[Alan Harkleroad]

Just look how much faster they were on the old course and those greasy big tires. Miss that

 

[Alan Harkleroad]

look at those cars roll and lean.. .i will say it again. get rid of this coil bind crap and bump stop bs and go back to shocks and springs. You will get some great racing out of just that.

 

[David24]

To think there wasn't a caution @1:50...

 

[Cheeze]

i will say it again. get rid of this coil bind crap and bump stop bs and go back to shocks and springs. You will get some great racing out of just that.

Would that work with the splitter though?

 

[Alan Harkleroad]

I think yes because its really no different then the valence of before both hit the track and grind away over the duration of a race. Both for the car up the track if you land on it rather then keep it off the track.

 

[Cheeze]

But the splitter creates ALOT more drag than the valence when it hits the ground and might lift the front tires off the ground also.

 

[David24]

Well it sounds like this is going to happen. Another new Bristol will come this August.

Bruton Smith talks with The Late Shift about upcoming changes to Bristol Motor Speedway - SiriusXM Sports

 

[Orian Thompson]

The giant opening on the backstretch?
Exhibit A:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia2D-irpIIs]1997 Steve Grissom Flips @ Atlanta - YouTube[/ame]
Exhibit B:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCskor5RMtQ]ARCA at Atlanta 1996 - the vicious crashes: (pt.2/5) - YouTube[/ame][/QUOT

Yeah because using ARCA footage totally proves your point c.c

 

[Kevin_McAdams]

Yeah because using ARCA footage totally proves your point c.c

The first one is a Cup clip.

 

[MattSRD28]

Well it sounds like this is going to happen. Another new Bristol will come this August.

Bruton Smith talks with The Late Shift about upcoming changes to Bristol Motor Speedway - SiriusXM Sports

Am I the only one who detected a hint of sarcasm in Bruton Smith's voice? Especially with the "race fans are always right" remark?

He's clearly not convinced of the problems he's hearing about from fans, but he's prepared to give the fans what they've been clamoring for because he also said he does want 160,000 people in those grandstands. It's a very interesting situation from a business standpoint. I'm anxious to see how it turns out. If it succeeds, Bruton's going to have to eat some crow here.

 

[Cheeze]

I'm pretty sure he dosen't care what he's eating, as long as the money's flowing

 

[ModSquadRacing]

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 general idea of making the cars handle less favorably could be a decent idea in theory. The biggest issue with it though, is how advanced the engineering is now. Its not a matter of getting rid of a coil binded or bumpstop package. They arent like a special part or component that makes the car handle better. They're just two different methods of trying to regulate roll angle and load. And they're just one of many different variables that go into the setup and handling. All 'coil binded' means is running stiffer rear springs, softer front springs, and a bigger sway bar. With bump stop packages, its just a matter of putting different rubber shims or "packers" onto the shock shaft to achieve the same effects. And with the engineering being as advanced as it is now, teams have seven-post pull-down rigs and shaker rigs among other things which they can use to dial in the setups.

The only way around that would be to mandate specific spring rates and such at every track. At that point, you'd be essentially turning it into a spec series and taking out one of the biggest aspects of the sport.

Aside from that though, I'm not sure if I believe the handling is the biggest issue to begin with. And the biggest reason is because the COT doesnt handle nearly as well as the COY does. With the COY, you had a bunch of downforce on the front of the car which would plant the nose (thus more front grip) which would help the car rotate through the center of the turn. Then on top of it, you had the coil binded package which is essentially tailor-made for cars with that kind of aero package and downforce on the nose. Now, you have a car with an aero package like a brick, a higher center of gravity, and the bumpstop package which has alot more variation and possibilities. Ask any driver and they'll tell you the COY handles much better than the COT.

In my personal opinion, I think the aero package is the bigger problem. At almost every track, the dominating factor is clean air. And the hardest to overcome is dirty air. Yea, clean air is always going to be better than dirty air obviously, but it never had as much impact as it does with this COT. A 5th place car, or even a 10th place car in some cases, can play some strategy and take no tires to get up front, and then drive away and completely check out on the field at a lot of tracks. And on the flipside, the best car in the field cant even make its way back to the front from 5th place.

I personally think they need to put together a better aero package with some front downforce, similar to the COY. I dont know how likely thats going to be with the way these new cars are looking so far, but I really wish they would do something about it. Or better yet, just go back to the COY body and add in all the COT safety advancements (I can dream).