 |
 |
 |
Busch Dominates, Wins History 300 at Charlotte
posted by Amy Henderson
Saturday May 25, 2013
Kyle Busch led 186 laps en route to a dominating victory in the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday. It was a record seventh CMS win for Busch and his overall in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Busch’s victory was the most dominant in a 200-lap Nationwide Series race at Charlotte since 1986, when Dale Earnhardt led 194 laps en route to the win. Kasey Kahne looked like he might have something for Busch after a series of late cautions set up a dash to the finish, but the No. 5 faded in the final alps while the No. 54 rolled to the win. Joey Logano, rookie Kyle Larson, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5, with Larson the highest finishing Nationwide Series regular in the race. Larson’s charge through the field in the second half of the race, using the high groove to pass several cars, had the young driver closing on the leaders before a string of cautions shuffled the field. The first half of the race was a test of patience for race teams. Austin Dillon started from the pole but quickly faded, leading just one lap and finishing 14th. The caution didn’t fly for the first 39 laps, until debris in turn three brought the yellow flag out of hiding. Close racing on the restart led to a second yellow flag at lap 47 as Robert Richardson, Johanna Long and Reed Sorenson were all involved in a crash that ended Richardson’s day and caused damage to both Long’s and Sorenson’s machines. The third of seven cautions, for debris, flew at lap 88. The field would not see another caution until lap 154. That yellow flag came out on that lap for debris once again. The final 43 laps were punctuated by three more caution periods, starting at lap 166 with a spin by Travis Pastrana, who hit the inside wall on the backstretch hard enough to lift all four wheels off the ground, reminiscent of Denny Hamlin’s hit at Fontana that sidelined Hamlin for more than a month, but unlike that crash, there was a SAFER barrier where Pastrana slammed the wall, and the driver walked away unhurt. John Wes Townley and Joe Nemechek also sustained damage trying to avoid Pastrana and the cars checking up around him. Just seven laps after the race went back to green, Sorenson spun in Turn 2 for caution number six, and the field went back to green for just two laps before the final caution came out on lap 185 for a crash between Dakoda Armstrong and Michael Annett, who was making his first series start since being injured in a crash at Daytona. That incident set up the 13-lap shootout between Busch and Kahne before Busch pulled away for the win, leaving Logano and Larson to duke it out with Harvick for the rest of the top 5. Trevor Bayne finished sixth, and Justin Allgaier, Matt Kenseth, Parker Kligerman, and Regan Smith rounded out the top 10. Busch was quick to credit his team after the victory. “It was a really great race for us,” said Busch in the media center at Charlotte after the race. “We’ve had a lot of fast race cars this year, and it’s a testament to our team and (crew chief) Adam Stevens and the work that the guys put in. They do such a great job for me, and being able to go out there with some good-driving cars and lead a lot of laps and put them in Victory Lane, I think it’s just a true testament to how good our organization is and how hard these guys work. They never forget what they’re supposed to do. We have to have good race cars from practice and qualifying and into the race, and so having those adjustments all set and having things ready to go is what makes us look so good. “ Smith leaves Charlotte with a 29-point advantage over Hornish in Nationwide Series standings. Allgaier moves into third, 40 back of Smith, and Elliott Sadler dropped to fourth after finishing 13th. Sadler’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Brian Vickers, holds on to fifth spot after a pit gamble didn’t pay off, leaving Vickers, who had been racing with the leaders, with an 11th-place result. Kligerman, Dillon, Brian Scott, Larson, and Alex Bowman finish off the top 10 in points.
Hamlin Snags Coca-Cola 600 Pole With Track Record Time
posted by Amy Henderson
Thursday May 23, 2013
Denny Hamlin shattered the track qualifying record at Charlotte Motor Speedway as he rocketed to the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Hamlin had a lap time of 27.604 seconds, or 195.624 miles per hour. Several drivers drove past the old record, set by Greg Biffle in 2012, but it was Hamlin who came out at the top of the heap and holds the new record. Kurt Busch will start on the outside of the front row. Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, and Clint Bowyer round out the top 5. Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Ryan Newman hold down sixth through tenth places. The pole is Hamlin’s second of 2013; he also started in front at Fontana before an injury in that race sidelined him for over a month. Hamlin says that his back feels “nearly 100%” and that it doesn’t cause him pain while driving. He added that winning the pole helped solidify for him that he is back at a competitive level, but he wants one more thing before he’ll be satisfied. “I think winning would do that. I think ultimately getting the big trophy on Sunday is the validation that you’re truly back,” said Hamlin after his lap. “For me, it’s going to take some wins and some really good consistency throughout these summer months to put ourselves in position to have a chance at a championship. That’s what we’re here for. Even these small victories though give me that confidence that I’m still capable, and I’m still able to do the job at 100 percent like I should be. Any kind of confidence booster for me — it’s always a plus on Sunday.” The Cup teams are next on track Saturday at 10 AM for the weekend’s second practice. Final practice for Sunday’s race is Saturday afternoon at one o’clock. The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled to start at 6 PM on Sunday and will air on FOX.
Jimmie Johnson wins the Sprint All-Star race.....again
posted by Mike Neff
Sunday May 19, 2013
Five-time is now four-time when it comes to the Sprint All-Star race. Coming into Saturday night’s race, Johnson was tied with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt for most wins in the annual event with three wins. Johnson bided his time, restarted the last segment in the second spot, dueled Kasey Kahne for two laps to secure the lead and pulled away to a convincing win. Joey Logano started the last segment in the seventh position, took advantage of a slip up by Kyle Busch on the start of the final segment, and ultimately came home in the runner-up spot. Kyle Busch rebounded from his slip up to muscle his way back to third. Kahne started the final segment on the pole but couldn’t hold off Johnson on the first few laps of the restart and ended up fourth. Kurt Busch won two segments, was the first on pit road for the money pit stop, but finished the event in fifth place. Jimmie Johnson summed up his results in two words, “we’re lucky”. It was tongue in cheek but Johnson was poking fun at the people who continue to accuse the No. 48 of preferential treatment, fixed races, and a blind eye to cheating. Johnson has one of the highest winning percentages in NASCAR history and it comes from natural talent and chemistry with his crew. This race also now ties Johnson with Davey Allison as the only two drivers to win the race in back-to-back years. Logano and Busch visited with the media after the race to speak about their runs. Logano was understandably upbeat about his second while Busch was quite dejected, having another All-Star race slip out of his grasp. Kahne spoke about the elephant in the room that is the length of the segments in the race during his post race availability on pit road. He noted that the inherent problem with the format is that the car is designed with downforce, on a track that is cool and has a bunch of grip. The only way to make the races exciting after the first couple of laps of racing would be to extend the segments to the The first 20 lap segment was won by Kurt Busch. Segment two went to his brother Kyle. That segment win allowed Bruton Smith to breathe more easily since he put up a $1,000,000 bonus to anyone who won all four of the segments. Segment three also went to the younger Busch, while the fourth segment win was tallied in brother Kurt’ s account.
Kyle Busch wins the North Carolina Education Lottery 200
posted by Mike Neff
Friday May 17, 2013
‘Rowdy’ Busch was back in his familiar No. 51 truck at his favorite track on the Truck schedule. Busch led 80 laps and thought he should have led more but had a fuel issue on pit road that resulted in him having to battle back through the field. The race was slowed by eight cautions that helped him work his way back through the field. Busch beat Brendan Gaughan to the finish by .488 seconds, while Max Gresham chased them both to the line for his first top three finish of his Truck career. Matt Crafton came home in fourth place after having to battle through a couple of tire mishaps during the event. Ty Dillon rounded out the top 5 for his first finish that high this season. Busch led the race three times for his 80 laps. Miguel Paludo was second on the laps led board with 33. Gaughan, Gresham and Dillon also scored bonus points for leading laps. There were two cautions in the first 72 laps of the race while 29 of the last 62 laps were completed under the yellow flag. Jeb Burton started the race on the pole but did not lead a lap. He did however end the race as the Rookie of the Race for his 13th place finish. Matt Crafton leads Burton by 22 points in the season standings after five races this season.
Matt Kenseth Snatches Victory from the Jaws of Defeat at Darlington
posted by Mike Neff
Sunday May 12, 2013
Kyle Busch appeared to be headed for another weekend sweep after winning the Nationwide race at Darlington on Friday night. However, a funny thing happened as they were bringing out the dustpan. Matt Kenseth chased down the dominant car of the night, passed him with relative ease and then strolled away to a 3.165 second victory. Kenseth led the final 13 laps after Busch had held the point for 265 of the 354 laps leading up to Kenseth’s race winning pass. After Kenseth worked around Busch, the No. 18 slid rapidly backwards over the final eight laps to fall from second to sixth place. Joe Gibbs Racing did manage a 1-2 finish after sweeping the podium in Friday night’s Nationwide tilt. Denny Hamlin, in his first full race back in the car since his vertebrae fracture at California, soldiered through the pain of his arms, neck and shoulders more than his recovered back to wrestle a second place finish away from the Lady in Black. Coming home in third was Jeff Gordon, who turned his 700th career start into a top 3 finish. Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5 in the Bojangles Southern 500. Kurt Busch started the race on the pole and led the first 51 laps before coming to the pits for a green flag stop. After the stops cycled through Busch was back at the point for 18 more laps before his brother began his domination. The race went green for the first 302 laps save a seven lap caution stint from lap 125 to lap 131. The final 65 laps saw four more cautions that flew for accidents involving Regan Smith, Brad Keselowski, Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Josh Wise, David Reutimann and Kasey Kahne. The race saw four leaders including Jeff Gordon in addition to the Busch brothers and Kenseth. The win is Kenseth’s 27th of his career and breaks a tie between himself and his teammate Kyle Busch. The win is Kenseth’s third this season which is the most among all of the competitors in the Cup series. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the Rookie of the Race. Jeff Gordon’s top 5 finish was his 300th of his career. He joins Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison as the only four drivers in the history of the sport to accomplish such a feat.
Busch Dominates at Darlington as JGR Sets Nationwide Series Record
posted by Amy Henderson
Friday May 10, 2013
Kyle Busch dominated the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 on Friday night en route to his 56th career Nationwide Series victory and fifth series win of 2013. Joe Gibbs Racing in general was the class of the field all night at Darlington Raceway, claiming four of the top 5 finishing spots, with only fourth-place Joey Logano keeping them from sweeping the top four spots. It was a historic night for JGR, as no team has ever before placed four cars in the top 5. Elliott Sadler finished second to Busch and Brian Vickers third, with Logano and Matt Kenseth rounding out the top 5. Busch led 107 of 147 laps on the way to the win. Sadler was the best among the Nationwide Regulars, finishing second despite an early spin in Turn 2, and gained points on leader Regan Smith, who finished seventh. Kyle Larson continued to impress at the Lady in Black, posting a sixth-place finish in his first Darlington start as he runs for rookie honors. Sam Hornish, Jr., who remained second in points, finished eighth while Kasey Kahne and Justin Allgaier filled the top 10. Smith now leads Nationwide Series points by 28 over Hornish. Sadler jumps two spots to third on his second-place run as Justin Allgaier fell one place to fourth. Vickers gained three sports and is now fifth, 49 behind Smith. Austin Dillon, Parker Kligerman, Brian Scott, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Larson round out the top 10.
Joe Gibbs Racing Penalties Reduced Following Appeal
posted by Summer Bedgood
Wednesday May 8, 2013
Joe Gibbs Racing had many of their penalties for the No. 20 team reduced during the appeal process on Wednesday. Driver Matt Kenseth and owner Joe Gibbs had their points penalties reduced from 50 to 12 points. Crew chief Jason Ratcliff’s suspension has also been dropped from seven races to one, though he will still be forced to pay the $200,000 fine. Not all of the penalties were reduced, however. Toyota Racing’s manufacturer points penalty was increased from five points to seven. All other penalties were dropped, including the suspension of Joe Gibbs’ owners license, the loss of bonus points for the Chase earned at Kansas Speedway, and the loss of eligibility into the Sprint Unlimited garnered from the pole at Kansas Speedway. JGR has accepted the penalties and will not appeal further. Following a dominant win at Kansas Speedway a few weeks ago, Kenseth’s car failed post-race inspection when it was found that a connecting rod was 2.7 grams below the minimum weight. Toyota Racing Development accepted the blame for the incident. The reduction moves Kenseth up to fourth in points, 66 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. JGR has not announced who will replace Ratcliff this weekend in Darlington. The appeal was heard by Mark Arute, Dennis McGlynn, and Jack Housby. NASCAR cannot appeal the revised penalties.
Penske Has Suspensions Reduced On Appeal
posted by Thomas Bowles
Wednesday May 8, 2013
Roger Penske’s team got some relief Tuesday from NASCAR’s Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook, as he chose to reduce penalties assessed to that organization at Texas Motor Speedway in early April. Middlebrook, after hearing the evidence from both sides Tuesday chose to reduce all suspensions in the case from six to two weeks, plus NASCAR’s All-Star Race on May 18th. That means the final consequences for both teams are the following: No. 2 car No. 22 car Other Middlebrook’s official statement was short, simply stating, “After looking at all the facts, data, and interpretations from the rule book, I have decided to uphold the original fines and points penalties. However, I have decided to reduce the suspensions of the seven team members involved from six points races and the All-Star race to two points races and the All-Star Race.” However, it seemed both sides, after presenting their cases were far more pleased with how the case was handled during this portion of the appeal. “We were able to talk about areas we worked in,” said Roger Penske, referring to the “gray area” of the NASCAR rulebook officials ultimately felt stepped over the line. “I’m very happy with the outcome. This sport has been built on innovation. All of us have tried to innovate in areas not defined in the rulebook. We were in that area.” In conversations with the parties involved, it was clear the controversy surrounded parts designed to increase the rear-end angle at the back of both cars. In past years, with innovation limited through the Car of Tomorrow templates teams have played around with suspension systems designed to make the rear end of the car easier to “move.” The more the car skews in the corner, the easier it can be to handle and gain extra speed. However, NASCAR had made rules designed to curb those types of innovations this year and made the determination Penske parts to build the rear suspension were unapproved. Why they had gone undetected in previous inspections was never addressed, along with claims someone else in the garage had alerted officials to possible inappropriate car construction. One thing Penske did admit, though is had this decision been issued by the initial appeals panel, he would not have pressed his luck with Middlebrook. “All of us,” he said. “Have lost points for certain infractions over the years. The key thing is to have people back at the racetrack operating in full control.” The end results leave Logano 18th in points, 146 behind championship leader Jimmie Johnson and 43 outside a Chase position. Keselowski is far more stable; fifth in points, he’s 69 behind and 45 ahead of 11th-place Matt Kenseth. Neither of the Penske cars have won a race this season. “Moved on from last few weeks,” Keselowski tweeted Wednesday morning. “And ready to focus on @TooToughToTame (Darlington Raceway).” The next round of NASCAR penalty appeals, focusing on Joe Gibbs Racing and Matt Kenseth will be heard on Wednesday morning. Connect with Tom!
Penske Racing LOSES Penalty Case, Will Appeal To NSCRC John Middlebrook
posted by Thomas Bowles
Wednesday May 1, 2013
A three-member panel Wednesday unanimously upheld penalties assessed to Penske Racing after pre-race inspection at Texas Motor Speedway. Comprised of Pocono President Brandon Igdalsky, Bowman-Gray President Dale Pinilis and former NASCAR VP Paul Brooks, the trio determined the sanctioning body’s evidence was enough to “convict” Penske to the tune of points lost, suspensions given and $200,000 in fines. Roger Penske, in response has pledged to send a final appeal to National Stock Car Racing Commissioner John Middlebrook. That hearing will occur Tuesday, May 7th at NASCAR’s Research and Development Center. Here’s a quick list of what penalties are pending (everything but the points deductions will be deferred, pending Middlebrook’s approval until after the final appeal): No. 2 team No. 22 team Both teams NASCAR’s representation included Sprint Cup Director John Darby but not Vice President Robin Pemberton, who was whisked away to Florida on jury duty. Owner Roger Penske was in attendance to defend the allegations along with Team Manager Travis Geisler, Tim Cindric, Walt Czarnecki, Joey Logano’s crew chief Todd Gordon along with several other key principles. UPDATE: The National Stock Car Racing Commission issued a brief statement, reviewing the penalties and then explaining the following. “Upon hearing the testimony and carefully reviewing the facts, it was a unanimous decision by the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel to uphold the original penalties assessed by NASCAR.” “The Appellants have the right under Section 15 of the rule book to appeal this decision to the National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer.” Connect with Tom!
Kyle Busch Wins Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown
posted by Thomas Bowles
Friday April 26, 2013
Who says Joe Gibbs Racing teammates don’t get along? Kyle Busch is certainly receiving gifts, from Denny Hamlin in the form of shiny trophies from winning the latter’s annual charity event. Rowdy was romping through the field again at Richmond Thursday night, taking control at the race’s midpoint and cruising during the latter stages to win the Showdown for the third time in the past six years. In a race that benefits the Denny Hamlin Foundation, created to help those with cystic fibrosis Busch had his late model hitting on all cyilnders down the stretch. Pulling away from fellow Cup driver David Ragan, in the final segment of the 75-lap race the outcome was simply never in doubt following a 5-minute break for pit stops prior to Lap 47. Ben Rhodes, Ronnie Bassett, Jr., and Garrett Campbell rounded out the top-5 finishers. Other Cup drivers, including defending race champion Tony Stewart were in the field but never a factor up front. Smoke, actually extending his slumping start to 2013 into this race got wrecked before the halfway point and wound up 28th. Matt Kenseth, still distraught after a midweek penalty virtually negated his win at Kansas was never truly competitive, either; he finished 22nd. Also on Thursday night, African-American driver Ryan Gifford won the first K&N Pro Series East race of his young career. Surviving a five-lap shootout, following a red flag he cruised home over Brandon Gdovic. Connect with Tom! |
||
 |
Find tons of cheap tickets to 2012 speedway races like Talladega NASCAR schedule, Brickyard 400 at Indy Motor Speedway, Coca Cola 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway tickets plus the full 2012 Monster Jam schedule
Don't miss this week's edition!
Frontstretch Podcast: November 18th Edition
Check in with Matt and Jay on their site at CareyandCoffey.com.
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| Subscribe to The Frontstretch Newsletter |
Bowles-Eye View: Special Edition · Thomas Bowles · Tuesday July 12, 2011
As The Kentucky Speedway Turns had its latest plot twist Monday, two days after the sport’s newest Cup Series track took one on the chin with appalling traffic conditions that left even government officials late or unable to attend the race. A Republican State Senator, David L. Williams is pledging to hold hearings on the issue, claiming there’s a “responsibility” to investigate the matter of public safety; after all, some fans were stuck in their cars for seven hours plus only to be turned away at the door. On the flip side, “I’m sorry” was the new modus operandi for Kentucky track president Mark Simendinger, Speedway Motorsports, Inc.’s owner Bruton Smith and even his son, SMI President Marcus, all of whom got into the action with various romantic apologies. If nothing else, they were far-ranging in scope, from ESPN’s NASCAR Now to a press release that seemed an obvious melt to pressure Monday afternoon. As of this writing, those fans that bought tickets, yet missed the race can cash their ticket in for a free one at any SMI Cup event the rest of the year or the 2012 Kentucky race next summer. As a bonus, they’ll also get free admission to October’s Camping World Truck Series / IndyCar weekend at the 1.5-mile facility.
Cars everywhere, but not a green flag in sight. Kentucky fans couldn’t get past the front gates, even with tickets in hand.
But will it be enough? The variety of first-person accounts we’ve heard from fans run the gambit; there are those who feel the problems are overblown, but plenty more who’ve taken the stance “they’re never coming back.” And note a ticket exchange, while a juicy consolation prize does not equate to a full, monetary refund for fans that might not be able to make future race dates work for them.
How big, exactly, is the scope of the problem SMI is dealing with? Well, here’s a small sampling of fan reaction received by us in the last 48 hours since the race.
Disclaimer: these are real stories, by real people whose last names have been withheld to protect the innocent.
The Good
In any type of situation like this one, it’s important to note that not everyone had a bad experience. After all, the race itself did sell out and there’s a reason traffic was backed up for miles: tens of thousands of people did make it in the stands and enjoy it.
“Yes, I would go again,” explains Vicki, who had a great time from her seats in the inaugural race. “Everyone that I talked to said this was expected – they need to re-route the traffic not going to the race, and that should be possible. Our bus left extra early.”
Another fan, Steve through Twitter, maintained the camping experience was great: no traffic, amazing people and an impressive group of Speedway employees to help out. He’ll certainly be back next year, along with a number of those who camped around him.
The Main Complaint
Marilyn, who writes in from north of the track explained in detail what happened to her and a whole bunch of people in the same line of traffic. Hers, more than any other story stands out as the template through which plenty of fans endured unexpected suffering throughout the afternoon.
“We traveled from Michigan to attend the race,” she explained. “We arrived at the backup on highway 127 (or is it 27) at approximately 2:30 pm, and we were exactly 5 miles out from the track. During the next 3 hours, we managed to move ahead 1.5 miles. By this time, people were coming back from the track saying that there was no place to park and they were turning traffic away; since we calculated that at our current rate of speed, we wouldn’t even get there until 11:30, we left. There were five of us in our group – all over the age of 60, so even though we might have been tempted to walk in, we would never have been OK to walk back out in the dark.”
“We were amazed on several levels,” she continued. “How can you not know that with 100,000 seats, you’re going to have at least 40,000 cars – especially after you had problems parking people for races the 2 previous nights? And even if you have no experience with event-day traffic, why would you not do a little homework and ask other tracks what they do. You never even considered running all roads inbound prior to the race and all roads outbound after? I find that completely amazing. Michigan International Speedway gets many more people than that in and out in way less time. Call them. They can probably help you.”
Writer’s Note: So much for help. Michigan President Roger Curtis issued his own personal response to the incident Monday, expressing “disappointment” at what happened down in the Bluegrass State and promising his Speedway would do more to personally ensure a great fan experience for everyone who attends there.
Marilyn continues: “Where is your PR person who has had nothing to say for the past 2 days. The only thing we’re hearing is that everyone is ‘sorry’ and they’ll ‘do better next time.’ Tell you what…in Michigan’s depressed economy, it was a bit of a sacrifice to spend $550.00 for those tickets, but we were excited to celebrate the inaugural race in Kentucky. And now, through no fault of our own, our tickets are worthless and the track is ‘sorry?’ I’m sorry, too, guys. Sorry we spent upwards of $1,000 for a race we weren’t allowed to attend. Also, sorry for the folks at the track who don’t seem to want to make it right with loyal fans.”
Here’s where the “will a ticket exchange be enough” question comes in. These people, like many others, had plenty of other expenses to go with their racing purchase; gas money, possible hotel expenses along with hours of wasted time. Will a simple exchange, in some sense baiting them to spend more money in traveling elsewhere – or back to Kentucky, with an uncertain traffic situation in 2012 – fully appease concerns? And is Monday, a full two days after the event too late to come out with a full-fledged apology?
Back to Marilyn. “How can NASCAR and Bruton Smith continue to sing the ‘It’s all about the fans’ song and yet let so many down?” she continues. “It would appear that everyone is sorry unless it’s going to cost them something. Then it’s ‘Tough luck, you guys.’ It makes me sad. One of the people in our party was attending his first ever NASCAR race and he’s vowed to never even attempt it again, and I know our story is not unique. People in line Saturday were out of their hot cars and talking. Everyone started out to be jovial and kidding about the holdup. By the time we left 3 hours later, there wasn’t a smile to be seen.”
But she ends with optimism for the future, if the track can make necessary improvements. “We went back to Richmond and watched the race at BWW’s,” she said. “It was a great race and the track looked wicked fast. Everyone who made it there seemed to really appreciate the Kentucky venue, so I’m sure you’ll not have trouble getting some folks to come back.”
Don’t Forget The Food
Several fans wrote in complaining about concession stands, perhaps a smaller problem in the grand scheme of things but don’t forget – those who made it in still need a certain amount of food and water to make it through.
“We sat in the Ohio Tower,” writes John. “They ran out of soft drinks and only half of the registers were open, causing long lines.”
Fellow fan Kathy agrees. “I guess we were some of the lucky ones,” she explains. “Though it took us 5 hours to go 20 miles, we did make it for the start of the race (pace laps). Also, we were on a chartered bus with TV so got to watch Race Day on SPEED and Countdown to Green on TNT. But food was another problem: it took my friend 45 minutes to get food after standing in 5 different lines.”
Clearly, according to several reports directly to us, it appeared the food stands were simply overwhelmed. Smith addressed this problem yesterday, claiming track workers from hot dog vendors to bathroom janitors ended up backlogged because of their own traffic problems. With even employees running late, it left Kentucky hopelessly understaffed in a “domino effect” that continued throughout the night. But if enough fans, at least the ones coming to us, are complaining about not enough food vendors? Expansion in that area might not be a bad idea for 2012. And we haven’t even mentioned the bathrooms…
Good Samaritans
Sandra, an older fan attending the race writes in: “I was 6 1/2 miles from the track at 3 PM for Saturday’s race. After the green flag was dropped, I was able to find a $15 parking lot about 1 mile from the track. I am a Senior Citizen and have knee problems. I took my cane and 12-year-old grandson, parked the car and started walking. I would like to thank the man driving a hay cart who offered us a ride up to the track after we walked about half a mile.”
Whoever that is, know how appreciated you are; the woman was unsure if she would have been able to make it to the track if not for that helping hand. “I did get to see part of the race,” she continues, “But had no time to shop for souvenirs, as after the race I still had to walk back to my car. This was definitely not a ‘Priceless Moment.’ Had the tickets not cost so much, I probably would have turned around after sitting in traffic for 4 hours.”
Anger
From those who experienced what many called a personal nightmare, frustration won’t go away so easily. While Bruton Smith was blaming the roadways themselves, specifically I-71, fans seemed focused on pointing the finger at SMI’s eccentric, octogenarian owner. Joe writes in, “Don’t tell me the ‘old man’ didn’t know this was going to happen! He’s smart enough to steal the race away from other tracks and he’s smart enough to know what was going to occur to the traffic situation when the race was held. He knows ‘You can’t put five pounds of [horse poo] in a one pound bag! However, the $$$$$ came in and that’s what important to him!”
Ken, who commented on an article Monday fired off as well, summing up a variety of problems. “We left Cincinnati at about noon and finally made it into the track at about 7:00,” he claimed. “There were cars running out of gas on I-71! When we finally got off I-71, there were no cops directing traffic. No wonder there was traffic chaos! It was worse once we finally got into the track! Now, we knew about the no cooler policy, but apparently, a lot of people didn’t. And there were some serious delays getting into the grandstands. The concession stands were selling everything out by the time the race started!”
“I finally made it to my seat with my one bottle of water about halfway through driver intros. Never again! This was my first time to that track, and my last! Bruton and Mark Simendinger both should be strung up! If I was the Governor of Kentucky, I’d order that facility shut down for good! Absolutely the worst fan experience ever!”
That’s the type of attitude from many of these fans that pose a challenge for track management. They have a voice, a public means to dispense that anger and for now, have developed an “off with their head” mentality; that, of course, is the hardest type to heal through even exceptional customer service.
Through several statements made Monday, to their credit, those in charge are moving in the right direction. But the process ahead will be long, arduous, and – if these fan stories are any indication – incredibly difficult to change perception.
Connect with Tom!
Contact Tom Bowles
This Weekend on the Frontstretch:
Mirror Driving: Correcting Mistakes, Moving Forward With Charlotte And Dramatic Returns
Charlotte’s Four Burning Questions: Translating Success And McMurray’s Time To Shine
Frontstretch Foto Funnies: Cleaning Out The Vintage Vault
Brendan Gaughan Driver Diary: Race Day, Sharks, And A Fast Fix
That Sound You Heard? Hall Of Fame Standards Dropping A Notch
IndyCar In-Depth: Indianapolis 500
Formula 1 Friday: Two Questions
Voices From the Cheapseats: Discussing The Need For Diversity’
Nuts for Nationwide: Jack Ingram’s Moment To Shine
FREE NEWSLETTER! CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
NEW YEAR? NEW NEWSLETTER. LOOKING FOR THE INFO YOU NEED ABOUT NASCAR IN 2013 – SENT RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL INBOX?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. The Frontstretch Newsletter gives you more of the daily news, commentary, and racing features from your favorite writers you know and love. Don’t waste another minute – click here to sign up and get all the information you need. We’re here to make sure you stay informed … so make sure you jump on for the ride!
©2000 - 2008 Thomas Bowles and Frontstetch.com. Thanks for visiting the Frontstretch!
