Bruton Smith wants season finale ...

[RaceFanStan]

Bruton Smith wants the Cup season final race back at Atlanta or maybe Las Vegas ...
of course both tracks are SMI (Smith) tracks while Homestead is an ISC track (France).

http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/cup/03/06/bsmith.atlanta.vegas.homestead.finale.ap/index.html

[wbcobrar]

Well, I want the season finale at Milwaukee (not for good racing , but because its thirty mins. from my door ) , who asked Burton Smith anyway ?

[muggle not]

Bruton Smith wants the Cup season final race back at Atlanta or maybe Las Vegas ...
of course both tracks are SMI (Smith) tracks while Homestead is an ISC track (France).

http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/cup/03/06/bsmith.atlanta.vegas.homestead.finale.ap/index.html
Today's race was a real snoozer. atlanta would be the last track for a last race of the season.
How about a vote as to which track should have the last race of the season?

[Sparky1329]

10 cars on the lead lap way before the halfway point is not good racing. It's a joke. A really big bad joke. Sorta like Bruton Smith.

[harvick#1]

10 cars on the lead lap way before the halfway point is not good racing. It's a joke. A really big bad joke. Sorta like Bruton Smith.

well it the idiot who chased the tire caused that caution that trapped all but 6 cars. thats normal atlanta cookie cutters, in 2 weeks, its beatin and bangin Bristol style

[Mark in Oshawa]

I would never knock Bruton. His tracks are better run as a rule and have more amentities for the fan than most of the ISC tracks. That said, ISC and NASCAR are cousins, so he knows he is just stirring the pot. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing the finale be run at Vegas but I suspect things just wont change. AS for putting it in Atlanta, Bruton is dreaming. Atlanta's rep for great racing is not what it is cracked to be IMO.

[muggle not]

Disagree on Bruton. He doesn't give a chit about the fans. All he cares about is making a buck. That is why Humpy finally left him after all those years in making Charlotte a great track and big event.

[call_me_andrew]

well it the idiot who chased the tire caused that caution that trapped all but 6 cars. thats normal atlanta cookie cutters, in 2 weeks, its beatin and bangin Bristol style

I think it's safe to say that NASCAR would have thrown a caution for that without someone going after it.

[colinspooky]

wow - harsh divisions here. My tuppence worth. Smith needs to make money, he is in business after all.

Someone else said his tracks have better facilities than other tracks. I have only been to Charlotte, and that was stunning -- sooooo much better than Silverstone here in the UK last time I went.

So who is right. Facilities cost money don't they?

The only conclusion seems to be that Smith is only interested in making a buck by making his tracks better than others?

Sounds ok to me. :cool:

[muggle not]

wow - harsh divisions here. My tuppence worth. Smith needs to make money, he is in business after all.

Someone else said his tracks have better facilities than other tracks. I have only been to Charlotte, and that was stunning -- sooooo much better than Silverstone here in the UK last time I went.

So who is right. Facilities cost money don't they?

The only conclusion seems to be that Smith is only interested in making a buck by making his tracks better than others?

Sounds ok to me. :cool:
The actual fact is that Humpy Wheeler made Charlotte the track that it is, not Bruton. Remember, it was Bruton that also wanted to stop the TV if his track hadn't sold all the tickets. Don't kid yourself, Bruton only cares about making money. And that is one of the reasons that Nascar is in the decline like it is today. Did you see all the empty seats at Atlanta.

[tstran17_88]

I used to have OBS's back...but his crack of blacking out races ticked me off. However...this has to be the quote of the day..."Why have the last race of the season at some Godforsaken area just north of Cuba?"

[jeffmr2]

I know nothing whatsoever about the region where Homestead is located but Mr Smith's comments were very disrespectfull.
However he makes a fair point in Homestead being a rather low key event for a season finale.I would think a bigger impact would be achieved if it was held at one of the premier high profile tracks Daytona,Bristol or Vegas(or maybe even alternate between these tracks).

[call_me_andrew]

I don't think there's anything low-key about Miami.

[colinspooky]

Did you see all the empty seats at Atlanta




Yep, and that was a true tragedy - I could have been there - darn elusive lottery win :mad:

[Mark in Oshawa]

The actual fact is that Humpy Wheeler made Charlotte the track that it is, not Bruton. Remember, it was Bruton that also wanted to stop the TV if his track hadn't sold all the tickets. Don't kid yourself, Bruton only cares about making money. And that is one of the reasons that Nascar is in the decline like it is today. Did you see all the empty seats at Atlanta.

Muggle, I too am a Humpy fan, but get one thing straight. Bruton wanted that job for his kid, and THAT is why Humpy was pushed aside. Humpy was there 30 years so if there was an issue between the two, knowing the way both of them are, Humpy would have been gone a long time ago.

Of course Bruton wants to make money....DUH!! THat said, he is always putting ideas out to see what might fly and what wont. He knows he wont get the last race. He knows he wont get the blackout he wants either. He is just getting press because that is what cranky old millionaires do.

I stand by what I said above. His tracks are top notch facilities and he upgrades and improves any he buys. His buidling of the dragstrip in Charlotte says volumes of how he does business. HE built it in less than a year, sucked the county into helping pay for improvements, but he built a facility that is unequalled anywhere in drag racing.

AS for Atlanta, the Atlanta Braves couldn't sell out their World Series dates a few years ago. It is a LOUSY town for pro sports. May I point out tho that Atlanta has close to 150000 seats does it not? You put in 120000 people you are outdrawing a lot of Cup tracks and would still have 30000 seats left empty. That is almost half a Martinsville crowd. Atlanta I think would be better with one date, as would Fontana, Dover, Pocono, and Michigan. I think the two dates a year strategy has actually hurt NASCAR, and if they were going to strip Atlanta of a date, I would applaud that just because I dislike the two dates per track strategy.

[RaceFanStan]

from nascar.com :
NASCAR and (Atlanta) track officials announced attendance at 94,400
but critics say the actual number of people there was far less.

(NOTE : Atlanta is listed as having 124,000 seats.)

[slorydn1]

ouch

[Mark in Oshawa]

The critics counting the seats from the press box? I would say even at 80000 that isn't horrible. It isn't good, but it is 20000 more than Martinsville at full capacity, which it HASNT been for a few years.

Atlanta though should be over 6 figures being in a major market and for the quality of racing. Just another example of Atlanta showing what a lousy sports city they are.