2014 United SportsCar Racing schedule - which circuits to drop?

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Purist

FoD79, Indy isn't a full month anymore. The Daytona 500 doesn't have a gap after it.

It doesn't matter that Daytona and Sebring are the big ones on the schedule. In this day and age, with how pervasive, and constantly updating, the "news" cycle has become, you simply get lost in the shuffle unless you are consistently doing something.

I'll just have to respectively disagree as I don't find it to be that big of a deal. I see your point, but if you "lose" a fan or interest with a 6 week delay between the two races, then your not a fan to begin with.

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by Purist

FoD79, Indy isn't a full month anymore. The Daytona 500 doesn't have a gap after it.

It doesn't matter that Daytona and Sebring are the big ones on the schedule. In this day and age, with how pervasive, and constantly updating, the "news" cycle has become, you simply get lost in the shuffle unless you are consistently doing something.

It's already been suggested by myself and a few others that Austin be the track that fills that Spring gap. The chances of snow, or of being below freezing, are pretty low there. And while we're on the subject, there have been some darn cold nights at the Daytona 24, but that race hasn't moved. Be prepared for it, or just watch on TV.

I like Seattle Int'l Raceway, but it would definitely need a major update. If it had one though, it would be an excellent option. It covers an unserved market, is in a wonderful setting, and would be enough longer than Portland that you might be able to run the entire field there all in the same race.

Exactly. Portland is just too small and old to host a major sportscar event weekend. If Pacific Raceways gets elongated a bit and the facilities are operated on, it could be a great option. But you'd have to run it in the summertime. NOLA seems to always be on my mind when I come to this thread. Is that 5-6 mile Phase 2 thing still in development?

[FCYTravis]

It's really sad to see what's happened to Portland. It's a wonderful circuit but there's no promoter and hasn't been much/any investment to keep the track up to date.

[FCYTravis]

I very much doubt that either Mid-Ohio or Barber will be dropped. They have both been (relatively speaking) well-attended races, are pretty popular racing-wise with the teams and are unique markets.

Kansas, I'm willing to lay money on, is just a one-year experiment like the Iowa Speedway deal in 2007. It'll be gone.

[FCYTravis]

Originally Posted by Beetle

Is that 5-6 mile Phase 2 thing still in development?

If they build a circuit that long, it's almost certainly going to be for club racing only. I don't see any American pro series racing on a 6-mile circuit for one reason: television. You're talking a ton more cameras, crew, cabling, setup time, etc.

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by FCYTravis

If they build a circuit that long, it's almost certainly going to be for club racing only. I don't see any American pro series racing on a 6-mile circuit for one reason: television. You're talking a ton more cameras, crew, cabling, setup time, etc.

Probably so.

[fieldodreams79]

would love to see a major sportscar series back at PIR.

[HJJ]

Originally Posted by FCYTravis

I very much doubt that either Mid-Ohio or Barber will be dropped. They have both been (relatively speaking) well-attended races, are pretty popular racing-wise with the teams and are unique markets.

Kansas, I'm willing to lay money on, is just a one-year experiment like the Iowa Speedway deal in 2007. It'll be gone.

Barber serves no purpose other than a compressed scheduled to support Indycar. Kill it, kill it now.

Grand-Am & Nationwide have weekends at M-O. They will build the "new" NSX in Marysville so Honda will like to have a race in their backyard just like Indycar.

Latest print edition of Autoweek says expect Kansas on the schedule in '14.

[codename_47]

I'd drop anything that's on a Roval except the 24 hours, obviously.

Limiting the amount of street courses would be a good idea, leave that for Indycar, don't support them at their events, shows you as willing to play second fiddle to others.

The schedule needs classic tracks to really let these cars stretch their legs, such as Sebring,(please!), Road America, Road Atlanta, Mid Ohio, Watkins Glen, etc.

And since no-one else is using it, beg Cleveland to bring the Burke Lakeside Airport race back and make a special event there.
12 Hours of Cleveland sounds good to me
Damn track is amazing and it's a massive shame it's not being used any more.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by HJJ

Latest print edition of Autoweek says expect Kansas on the schedule in '14.

Booooo!

Originally Posted by codename_47

And since no-one else is using it, beg Cleveland to bring the Burke Lakeside Airport race back and make a special event there.
12 Hours of Cleveland sounds good to me
Damn track is amazing and it's a massive shame it's not being used any more.

Excellent point and excellent track. Too lazy to look, but wonder how sportscar would get along on that circuit. Has there ever been a "big league" fender car race there?

[FCYTravis]

Originally Posted by HJJ

Barber serves no purpose other than a compressed scheduled to support Indycar. Kill it, kill it now.

I wouldn't run it as a support race for IndyCar - take it back to a stand-alone event, as it was a few years ago. When I worked in the series, it was one of the best-attended races of the season

[FCYTravis]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Excellent point and excellent track. Too lazy to look, but wonder how sportscar would get along on that circuit. Has there ever been a "big league" fender car race there?

Trans-Am and World Challenge ran there a few times in support of CART, but I don't think IMSA Camel/Exxon Supreme GT or any other endurance series ever went there.

[BrentJackson]

Originally Posted by FordCosworthPanoz

PIR might be a better alternative for the northwest.

I went with Pacific Raceways over Portland because the potential market is bigger and the setting is beautiful, as Beetle points out. Seattle is a nice town in general, too.

[BrentJackson]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Excellent point and excellent track. Too lazy to look, but wonder how sportscar would get along on that circuit. Has there ever been a "big league" fender car race there?

Considering how wide the track is, I doubt room is an issue for a race at Cleveland. If you really wanna make a scene, do what Champ Car did in 2003 and bring in the lights and race into the night. Considering Indycar has all but abandoned the place, if might be worth a little asking around, at least.

Barber Park, remember, started as a sports car track. Indycar just showed up later. Honestly, the two should be co-headlining, because its not as if the two series aren't effective equals in the marketplace in modern times.

[Maelochs]

"Barber Park, remember, started as a sports car track."

I think it started as a motorcycle track.

"Honestly, the two should be co-headlining, because its not as if the two series aren't effective equals in the marketplace in modern times."

Having attended this one (and leaving in a few hours to attend again,) I'd have to say most of the folks there are IndyCar fans, some of whom who go both days.

Sports cars seem to race better there (though the IndyCar did better last year than the year before,) but the fans seemed to be more there for IndyCar.

It's a good early spring track, a beautiful setting, and would be a shame to waste.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

It's a good early spring track, a beautiful setting, and would be a shame to waste.

There is no doubt that Barber has some of the best facilities and has an absolute dynamite setting (I love the fact it's an old dump, love what they've done with the place), but that doesn't take away the obnoxiousness of navigating the facilities to find a good spot to view the circuit and the silly rules they have on camping/parking, etc.; perhaps I'm spoiled. The only portion of the circuit that I find fascinating to watch is the high speed esses on the backside, I believe just past the museum. The rest, as you stated, if pure motor bike circuit, and I must say, they put on a pretty good show. Cars? Not so much.

Having only been once, I'll probably go back in 2014, as long as they don't run it during the summer months, like they did on my last visit. Unbearable!

[Purist]

We'll have to see on some of these. It may be a sign that the Barber race is shorter this year (only two hours), and that the ALMS isn't going to Mid Ohio.

Despite AutoWeek, I don't see Kansas lasting. It maybe makes sense as an option for the new DTM series in conjunction with one of the NASCAR weekends. I think the USCR event, if you want it to have the chance of being a modest success in its own right, has to be able to run on its own weekend. However, that pretty much means putting it in Summer (as the GA race is scheduled this year) to have it separated from the NASCAR races. Summer in Kansas of late has been AWFUL. The last two years, we've had 40 or more 100-degree days down here, and at night, it can be a sticky 80 degrees. Even an evening race would see 85-95 degrees, with humidity (not at all appealing).

[HORNDAWG]

Barber making its case today....

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2...ited_spor.html







L.P.

[Lizardfolk]

Do you guys think there will be more international races? And by international I mean Canada and SA

[Purist]

For the time being, the best bet, by far, is just the one race, at Mosport. i sincerely doubt that USCR itself would run races in South America; Mexico City is the only real possibility in Latin America.

To get "down there", you'd need a dedicated SALMS or USCR SA, and I haven't heard of either one of those being in the works.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Purist

We'll have to see on some of these. It may be a sign that the Barber race is shorter this year (only two hours), and that the ALMS isn't going to Mid Ohio.

Despite AutoWeek, I don't see Kansas lasting. It maybe makes sense as an option for the new DTM series in conjunction with one of the NASCAR weekends. I think the USCR event, if you want it to have the chance of being a modest success in its own right, has to be able to run on its own weekend. However, that pretty much means putting it in Summer (as the GA race is scheduled this year) to have it separated from the NASCAR races. Summer in Kansas of late has been AWFUL. The last two years, we've had 40 or more 100-degree days down here, and at night, it can be a sticky 80 degrees. Even an evening race would see 85-95 degrees, with humidity (not at all appealing).

I hope for people like yourself and others in your region that it stays , but not the biggest fan of the circuit after seeing the runoffs and the reasons you give seem to make it difficult to keep. For the SCCA, it was ok, but at least I'd like to see how the big boys get on.

Originally Posted by HORNDAWG

Barber making its case today....

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2...ited_spor.html

I don't see the circuit being removed, TBH, even though I voted to blackball it.

[FCYTravis]

The ALMS race at Mid-Ohio was pulled at the last minute because of a date conflict with the new Nationwide race... which was going to be scheduled whenever the hell NASCAR wanted it to be scheduled.

Grand-Am is still going there and I fully expect it to be on the 2014 schedule.

[Purist]

FoD79, I'm honestly not too keen on the Kansas roval as a circuit either. The date of this year's GA race doesn't help. Even so, and considering the distances involved, a day or two at Road America or Watkins Glen is far more appealing to me, and to those who would be interested in coming with me. (I have been to Kansas Speedway three times for the Indy Cars, and the visits included paddock passes, but then I found out what a permanent, natural-terrain road course could be like, and I don't particularly miss the oval now.)

One track in the middle of the country that would be nice to see developed into a proper, professional road racing facility is High Plains Raceway east of Denver. Take a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-ICYk4tdb8

[TheMightyM]

One thing to keep in mind: If USCR drops a street race, there’s no guarantee that the promoter/city will want USCR back a few years down the road. Or that the event will even exist in the future. That’s much less of a concern with events at permanent road courses.

So from USCR’s point of view, if it’s a push between a street race and a road circuit, it may make more sense to keep that street race in a desirable market.

Or to put another way, if you’re thinking “Well, I’d include (say) Detroit if the series runs 14 races a year but not if does only 12”, Detroit may not be an option to down the road as a 14th race if it’s not consistently the schedule.

[HJJ]

John Dagys ‏@johndagys 5h @aGomez_AGMWorld I don't think we'll see United SportsCar at Barber next year

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