Las Vegas Make Over

[TDIndy500]

With the plans to increase the banking to 22 degrees could the IRL still run there?

The void in Open Wheel Racing in the West is maddening at best. This is a market the IRL needs to be in.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/5242466

[dalz]

AW FER CRY'N OUT LOUD!! Is that a new criteria for a real race track according to the contingent from south of the Mason-Dixon that wears tablecloths for shirts?! Must be banked at least 18 degrees?! :mad: :mad: :mad:

Anyway, might make it more Indycar-friendly. A raceable upper lane. The new Texas? First of all let's get the heck back there!

[Jamski]

Vegas was a boring layout and inspired boring races (save the IRL shows, of course ) Adding banking to it will be a welcome improvement.

[Powercat]

So NASCAR's solution to 1 1/2 groove aero-push racing is not to change the cars, but rather squeeze the tracks into changing their banking? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?

I think what they did with Homestead turned out pretty good from an IRL standpoint, but I liked the fact that the old Homestead was challenging for the drivers and the teams. Somewhere there has to be a middle ground. If the IRL were to go back to Vegas, it would work just fine and we would have another awesome Kansas/Chicago/Texas kind of race. But I hate seeing some of the challenge taken out of the sport, both for the IRL and NASCAR.

[silva2]

I can't believe they are going to do that. Homestead had a poor layout that needed to be changed the first time and the addition of "some" banking for the second adjustment. Texas was poorly designed originally and needed to be changed.

But now they seem to be changing a track just for the heck of it. It's not a bad design, the drivers aren't complaining and the track is popular.

There have been some boring Cup events at LVMS but there have been some goods ones too! Same as any track really. By that logic, Michigan would have been "rebanked" long ago as it has been host to a greater percentage of snoozers that LVMS.

It won't see more tickets sold because it's sold out to begin with. Talk about fixing something that isn't broke.

[MarkDonohueFan]

Long Beach will be back on the Indy Car schedule before Las Vegas. They'll never go back to Las Vegas.

[vegasduo]

Long Beach will be back on the Indy Car schedule before Las Vegas. They'll never go back to Las Vegas.

Easy to say. IndyCar and LVMS parted on good terms. They both stated they would like to have an IndyCar race there at sometime in the future. LVMS and Atlanta were track rental/profit-loss sharing races but TG stopped doing that. Of course I suppose you have some 'insider' information that says otherwise.

[MarkDonohueFan]

Nope, no insider info. Just looking at the market and what it can bear. It's a NASCAR town and a NASCAR track and the locals will go to a NASCAR event there. But Indy Cars run mainly in the hotter weather and we know where people go in Las Vegas when the weather is warm: inside. The tourists stay inside at a casino. Great place, but Indy Car left the market for a reason.

Is that an ISC track?

[FenderFree]

No its a Bruton Smith/SMI track.

Since CCWS apparently has left there is an ideal spot in the fall.

A 400-miler on the Sunday after the Truck race would fit well as a season finale.

[AdamM]

Well let's just say that the last two IRL races at Vegas were track rentals for a good reason. The same goes with the Champcar deal. 2/3rds of the folks that watched the truck race didn't even bother sticking around for the Champcar race.

FWIW, I love it how letting a few years go by has some trying to rehabilitate a race that was an attendance disaster. Ehh, maybe the reason Tony had to rent the track in the first place had a little something to do with the crowd the races were drawing? Ya suppose? Heck, at this rate, pretty soon we're going to start hearing folks talking about how great Dover was and slotting it into the future schedule. They do draw a huge cup crowd ya know.

[Chris Paff]

Hey i love those Dover races they were close to me.. I loved the track for the Indycars as well.. I took my dad and best friend to the 1999 race.. It was the first time either saw Indycars in person.. My dad turned to me on the pace lap and stated "these guys are nuts"

[Firefox]

So NASCAR's solution to 1 1/2 groove aero-push racing is not to change the cars, but rather squeeze the tracks into changing their banking? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?

I think what they did with Homestead turned out pretty good from an IRL standpoint, but I liked the fact that the old Homestead was challenging for the drivers and the teams. Somewhere there has to be a middle ground. If the IRL were to go back to Vegas, it would work just fine and we would have another awesome Kansas/Chicago/Texas kind of race. But I hate seeing some of the challenge taken out of the sport, both for the IRL and NASCAR.

Every time they do this, someone should comment publicly "yet another reason why the Formula One drivers will forever kick the living sh*t out of the taxi drivers." I'm not a huge Formula One fan (at least not even a moderate one after June 2005), but the cookie-cutter mentality of America is one designed to increase explosions, not actual racing performance, which is Barnum&Bailey stuff.

[vegasduo]

Well let's just say that the last two IRL races at Vegas were track rentals for a good reason. The same goes with the Champcar deal. 2/3rds of the folks that watched the truck race didn't even bother sticking around for the Champcar race.

FWIW, I love it how letting a few years go by has some trying to rehabilitate a race that was an attendance disaster. Ehh, maybe the reason Tony had to rent the track in the first place had a little something to do with the crowd the races were drawing? Ya suppose? Heck, at this rate, pretty soon we're going to start hearing folks talking about how great Dover was and slotting it into the future schedule. They do draw a huge cup crowd ya know.

For me, LVMS is close and IRL/IndyCar put on some very good racing there. Now with Fontana gone my only possibility for an IndyCar race will be at Infinion. I went to Phoenix some years ago but I didn't feel it was worth the trip plus its gone now also.

Fact: TMS is the largest attended IndyCar race outside of the Indy 500. With the changes being planned at LVMS that track could easily turn into another TMS including the huge attendance.

[Rosco]

Vegas was a boring layout and inspired boring races (save the IRL shows, of course ) Adding banking to it will be a welcome improvement.

I remember Mark Martin saying after he won the cup race at Las Vegas, what a race I feel like I just made a trip to the super market, not 1 car hit the wall, this place is great.