What's your favorite track?

[S.D. Grady]

This week in my Tuesday Newsletter Commentary, I discussed the value in retaining even tracks that are deemed "boring" in the eyes of many fans.  Maybe one of these tracks is your favorite.

What's your favorite track and why?

I find it hard to chose one.  I love the racing at Martinsville...so much emotion packed into such a small space.  Atlanta provided the best fan experience to me.  Awesome pit  and team access combined with fantastic racing.  But even my weekend at Watkins Glen was really enjoyable.  Being able to wander around the entire track and see the different turns and the action on the cars was marvelous.  At Pocono, I didn't really enjoy watching the race in person (itty bitty ant cars) but I love watching the event on TV...

I'm having a hard time finding a track to hate!

[Skig]

As far as being there in person, it's hard to find anything to complain about with Bristol.  Well, except for maybe the big hill.  If you've been, you know what I'm talking about.  Not a bad view in the place, everybody was so friendly, the racing was good.

If we were looking for the worst too, again as far as being there in person, I'd hafta say The Brickyard.  Who's idea was it to put a golf course, complete with tall pines, in the infield.  Oh, and let's throw in the infield grandstands to further screw over your view.  May be a good race to watch on TV, but as a fan up high in turn three, I couldn't help but feel left out.

To give a better understanding of my choices, I'll list the tracks I've been to:  Michigan, Bristol, Brickyard, and Charlotte.

Since those are the only ones I've attended races, I'm not able to discuss the others.  I would like to see a race at Richmond and Martinsville though.

[KurtBuschFan]

Having only attended races at two different tracks (Texas and Daytona) I can't really judge the rest.  Between those two, Texas will be my choice to attend anytime.  Daytona was alot of fun, and we sat in the fourth row, but the staff that was there to help was no help at all.  We probably had 35 people crammed into a row designed for 25 because we found the signs designating the sections a pain in the butt to read and interpret.

As far as watching on tv, I really enjoy Bristol and Martinsville and Charlotte.

[skool]

One word

BRISTOL!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah skig, the hill is a bummer, but after years of walking up it, my calves look awesome when im in my shorts!

I go in Aug. When are you there?

[FS Kurt]

I've been to six tracks: Michigan, Charlotte, Richmond, Martinsville, Pocono, and Dover.

My favorites are Martinsville and Dover, but Pocono is very close. I don't know why everyone hates the place. I think Pocono is awesome. I LOVE that the cars are so far away in the tunnel turn, then they're screaming down the frontstretch. Pocono rocks! Plus it's not far from me.

Martinsville is great but it's really, really loud...earplugs mandatory in that joint. And Martinsville is a way small town to be hosting 100,000 for a race...parking is a nightmare.

Richmond is probably my least favorite of the ones I've been to. I had a seat in something like the 14th row, and I couldn't even see the action on half of the track. It's billed as a short track, but it doesn't seem that way really when you're there. It's closer to Dover than Bristol.

Dover is really cool because the whole place is banked and the cars just scream around the place.

[FS_Amy]

Both on TV and in person: Darlington.  Tough to drive and makes the driver work for every inch they get.  A lot of good racing.  Tradition.

[Skig]

One word

BRISTOL!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah skig, the hill is a bummer, but after years of walking up it, my calves look awesome when im in my shorts!

I go in Aug. When are you there?

I was only there once.  August 2000.  MIS is my home track.  I've been there at least a dozen times.

[Yatesguy]

"43 cars in a blender"

"Like flying airplanes in a gymnasium"


Well I've never been to a Cup race yet, so I don't know about hill climbing in Tenn. But I do know about stomping through some mud-bog/ parking lots at some local tracks here in Mo. That's how I came to know racing as a child. Asphalt or dirt, sea to shining sea, short track racing is grass roots racing. It's where blue collar America was on Satuday night and where most of our Cup heroes came from. (I saw R. Wallace and K. Schrader turn their first laps at Lakehill Speedway, Valley Park, Mo.)

That's why Bristol has always been my favorite track. The greatest stock car drivers in the world doing it "old school" style. Beatin' and bangin' just like I did with my Hot Wheels cars. Always look forward to both of them.

[racin_girl72]

I'd vote for Richmond.  Haven't been there yet though (I've been to MIS and TMS).   I like the fact that it's a short track, but doesn't seem wound as tight as Bristol and M'Ville.  Not that I don't like Bristol and Mville

[flamehothead]

B R I S T O L !!!!!!!!!

[Roswell]

I've only been to Martinsville and Bristol. Gotta say, there was something in the air at Bristol  ;Dand I don't mean those big ass flying aircraft carrier bugs that came in at dusk!
 I saw the race at Martinsville fron the pits (not a good place to watch a race, not to mention I was sick as a dog the day before and was a tad on the unsteady side.  A great experience though.
 I like Atlanta and Daytona  (on tv anyway). My vote goes to Bristol though. I would really like to get to Richmond.
Maybe if Bush gets those checks out in time I'll plan my visit to Mom that week and hop over to Richmond 

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[Chris]

WELL  I'm gonna say NASHVILLE (since I never been to Bristol)
But since Bristol was modeled after Nashville It's about the same thing
Nashville has now recently been changed and the banking lowered,.. but "back in the day it had the same 36* banking, run BOTH races at night, and put on a GREAT show.

Martinsville is a great place also.  As is Dover
The OLD Atlanta is better than the new 'reconfigured' Atlanta... but the new Atlanta s still good (as is Lowes)
Michigan is good,.. not a bad seat in the house... even row #1 you can see the whole track
Those are the best 5 IMO I have saw so far.
OH Darlington and Rockingham are great places for a race also,.. not sure where they would rank in my list... hhuumm


Worst is INDY.  Like someone else said... whose bright idea was it to put trees, and grandstands in the infield of a FLAT track??  Best most expensive seats let you see about 1/2 the track

[FS Kurt]

Michigan isn't bad, even if it is a cookie cutter...saw my first race there in 2002, Matt Kenseth won it.

We were sitting about fourteen rows up just before turn one and we could see pretty much everything. I remember during driver introductions the announcer said "number 24" and you couldn't hear his name above the boos! 

[Fathead]

Watching on TV, I love Richmond.

[Frogger49]

I've personally only been to Pocono (July, 1995), Loudon (August, 1998) and Watkins Glen (1998 and 2006).  It's true that you can't see much at Pocono.  Seeing things were worse back then since the seats we had were right at pit in and were kinda low to the ground.  I could only see the cars come through turn 3, come past us, then through a small hole, you could see them go up the Long Pond Straight.  Traffic getting in is horrible and has probably gotten worse since 1995 (since there are more seats now).  As for the racing, I couldn't see much racing.
Loudon's traffic is worse than Pocono's (12 mile backup at 9 in the morning).  As for parking, you know it's rather interesting when you come upon a small parking area in the middle of the woods advertising parking for $20, "Park at Your Own Risk," in what resembled a mud pit.  As for sightlines, I could see everything basically from my seat in Section Q at the end of the frontstretch, except for a small part that was blocked out by the Luxury Suites.
Watkins Glen, even though you can only get in via 2 lane roads, has the best traffic flow (even though I was held at an intersection by a cop for 15 minutes in 2006 before I could make a left turn).  Sightlines are always going to be an issue on a road course and Watkins Glen is no different.  You'll basically be able to see right in front of you.  However, it is more affordable than many other tracks.  I had fun there in 2006 after driving 220 miles solo to meet a couple of my friends out there who had camped out.  We sat on top of their trailer and could only see the area in front of us.  This was right before the braking zone for the Inner Loop.  The racing there is much better than the telecasts make it out to be.  Also, rumor has it that debauchery occurs in the infield.  My buddies mentioned that there was a guy running around the infield the day before the Cup race with a poster that said his dying wish was for women to flash him.
As for television, I like watching road races in particular, but I like a good Martinsville race every now and then.  The races at Chicagoland and Kansas have never really fazed me.  I find them kinda boring, to be honest.