NASCAR in Houston

[Trae]

Would NASCAR work well in Houston? It always amazes me how NASCAR can bring in 100,000 fans at each event. I think it would be great for Houston's economy (or being able to boast at having a NASCAR track). My proposal is having a NASCAR track either south of Pearland along 288 (to help out that area), or having it in the trees along US 59 in Northeast Houston. Would it work?

[Chamo]

Would NASCAR work well in Houston?

No doubt in my mind that it will work. Last Sunday coming back from the race in Forth Worth, we had a steady flow of traffic returning back home to Houston.

Cart had good crowds when they were running in Downtown and now that they came back as Champ cars to Reliant, last year attendance in my opinion was pretty decent.

As big as Nascar is nationwide, I can see them packing a big facility in our area, as they do in all the tracks they visit, many of them twice a year.

[donnieyen]

No doubt in my mind that it will work. Last Sunday coming back from the race in Forth Worth, we had a steady flow of traffic returning back home to Houston.

Cart had good crowds when they were running in Downtown and now that they came back as Champ cars to Reliant, last year attendance in my opinion was pretty decent.

As big as Nascar is nationwide, I can see them packing a big facility in our area, as they do in all the tracks they visit, many of them twice a year.

Personally, I don't like NASCAR, but i would have to agree that it would do well here. I'd rather see F-1 come to town .

[Howard]

Personally, I don't like NASCAR, but i would have to agree that it would do well here. I'd rather see F-1 come to town .

AGREED! I am suprised at how much motorsports there already are in Houston. It would work well but I am not a fan of driving in circles.

[TJones]

It won't work in Houston, because of the owner's of the Dallas Speedway. They were supposed to build a Super Speedway in Baytown as an addition to the Dragstrip some years ago. Then they were supposed to build it in Pearland. Nascar doesn't think Texas can carry 2 events now though.

[Jeebus]

Personally, I don't like NASCAR, but i would have to agree that it would do well here. I'd rather see F-1 come to town .

I agree. I'd rather a rally track that could entertain F-1, Champcar, Circuit, & Rally. I'd leave the NASCAR & Dallas, and try to get a head with the rally track. Besides, racing in an oval bowl gets real boring, say around.. lap 4?

[Trae]

I believe in Indy that have an F-1, Champcar, etc., track in the middle of their NASCAR track (proposed plan). Houston could do something like that.

[Jeebus]

I believe in Indy that have an F-1, Champcar, etc., track in the middle of their NASCAR track (proposed plan). Houston could do something like that.

I'd rather not, only because most rally tracks are landscaped. It would look horribly tacky to have a huge oval surrounding miniscule rally track with giant grandstands over looking all of it. The rally track would ultimately be limited in size because of the oval and you couldn't really landscape (eg plant tall trees) it as well.

Besides, where would you put all the white-trash rednecks & their mobile beer-coolers (motorhomes) if there is a beautifully landscaped rally track in the middle?

NASCAR = White-trash Redneck. Lets let Dallas think they've got one on us, and just move on to a classier breed of auto racing.

[713 To 214]

Only 8 posts in before the first negative comment about Dallas. Keep it classy Houston, indeed.

[Trae]

It wasn't really negative, but the Texas Motor Speedway is closer to Fort Worth. I actually have heard that most announcers say "just north of Fort Worth, Texas".

[713 To 214]

Let's let Jeebus speak for himself, and give him an opportunity to explain how he meant it. It's pretty obvious to me, though.

[Trae]

I am getting annoyed by this little fight between Dallas and Houston. Don't you all "grown ups" get annoyed by it, too?

[Jeebus]

Let's let Jeebus speak for himself, and give him an opportunity to explain how he meant it. It's pretty obvious to me, though.

Or you could just go back and check my other 1,600 posts and find out that I really don't give a crap about which city is better in the age old debate between Dallas & Houston. You could also check to see if I've ever participated in any of the juvenile "my city is better that yours" or "lets flame our sister-city in their own forum" threads either. Funny 713, you're in all those threads, aren't you?

I stated what NASCAR is. I can't help what city its in. If any of you are in denial, well.. I guess there is no hope for you.

[editor]

I am getting annoyed by this little fight between Dallas and Houston. Don't you all "grown ups" get annoyed by it, too?

Yes. And you can get booted from HAIF if it gets out of control. I've done it before.

You're all neighbors, and you're all Texans. Dallas and Houston should be proud of each other and what they've built.

[TJones]

Really Jeebus !!! C'mon man, you tellin' me that you wouldn't want to take in the spectacle and beauty of THIS for 3 hours. This is what Nascar is all about. Go Dallas Go !

[Jeebus]

Thank you TJones. This was exactly my point. Why should we try and compete with Dallas for a sport that caters to the lowest common denominator, when we could go for something they don't have - and draw in a more reputable, international crowd. For once we should acknowledge something that we don't have and just move on to better things. Nothing against Dallas, but better them than us to have NASCAR to brag about.

Oh yeah (to everyone reading this), you're reading correctly between the lines. I don't don't like rednecks & I don't like NASCAR. Sure it takes skill to drive a car 200+ mph, in a circle, inches from your opponent - I'm not doubting that. However, it takes even more skill to drive that same car 200+ mph, then know how much to brake, how low a gear to drop, and how tight to enter a turn, still all while inches from your opponent.

Circuit racing is where its at.

[TJones]

I ,myself, like IMSA Road America racing. Watching all the different classes out there and the body styles is great.

Drag Racing also, NOT bracket racing either, any Joe Schmoe can dial it in, I'm talkin' straight up, run what you brung and see if you can beat me, type of drag racing. Hard to keep a straight line at 330MPH, car physics turn to mush at that kind of speed.

[Jeebus]

I ,myself, like IMSA Road America racing. Watching all the different classes out there and the body styles is great.

I'm the same way. Anything on a circuit vs. an oval and I'll sit down & watch. I'm not big on drag racing, but I don't have beef with it. I'm just anti-NASCAR.

[moni]

I'm the same way. Anything on a circuit vs. an oval and I'll sit down & watch. I'm not big on drag racing, but I don't have beef with it. I'm just anti-NASCAR.

When I was young, my friends and I would hang out at A.J.Foyt's place in downtown Houston. His shop was so cool.

[donnieyen]

Whenever i see NASCAR on Fox or NBC, i immediately flip the channel. I just cannot watch cars going around in ovals all day.I can see why Michael Schumacher has turned down repeated invitations to drive in the NASCAR circuit. I want to see some really skilled driving having to slow down, change gears, turning sharp corners, etc. Plus, F-1 has some really nice looking cars!!

[Jeebus]

I agree! I actually am a big fan of circuit & rally. I love seeing cars you can buy off the lot tweaked out for racing. That was the whole point of stock car until about twenty-years ago. Now the term "stock-car" is a false identifier, kinda like American Football I guess!

[DJ V Lawrence]

Whenever i see NASCAR on Fox or NBC, i immediately flip the channel. I just cannot watch cars going around in ovals all day.I can see why Michael Schumacher has turned down repeated invitations to drive in the NASCAR circuit. I want to see some really skilled driving having to slow down, change gears, turning sharp corners, etc. Plus, F-1 has some really nice looking cars!!

F-1 would make a lot more sense. It'd be cool to see a variety of racing in the state. How NASCAR attracts over 100,000 in a race other than Daytona or Indy is beyond me, but hey, if it does that, I wish Super Speedway came through.

[Guest Marty]

200,000+ fan's is more like it, I like to see something like this built in the Tomball area and maybe it will be a success like Talladega in Alabama.

[KimberlySayWhat]

Jeebus:

NASCAR = White-trash Redneck. Lets let Dallas think they've got one on us, and just move on to a classier breed of auto racing.

Is there such a thing as classy car racing?

This thread is too funny.

[TJones]

Is there such a thing as classy car racing?

This thread is too funny.

Only thing I can think of is F-1, that is where Ferrari comes out to play. You can catch some class in IMSA though. Porsche, Ferrari, Vipers, Vettes, Holden, BMW, Shelby. Some BigBoys in that league, letting the Champagne flow.

[rantanamo]

I'm a huge F-1 fan, but I don't think calling it classy vs NASCAR is the right way to put it. NASCAR is simply the F-1 of the US. Here in the US its usually more tech type guys, or more upper class people that follow, but in a lot of the world, it simply IS auto racing regardless of economic background. Same way soccer is seen here by many as an upper-middle class suburban sport, whereas in the rest of the world from the poorest tenament to the wealthiest estate it is the sport.

Before dissing Dallas in regards to racing, a deal was very close( I know it was close as they were looking for contractors to hire for the constructions) to being finished about two or 3 years ago for a huge motorsports park called Boundless. They were forming a new Outlaw league and were very connected in the F-1 and MotoGP world and wanted to bring them to the track. Basically, the Texas Motorspeedway and NASCAR officials politically ram-rodded the development and trashed the idea of road racing in North Texas and how few series there were(nevermind that there are only 3 major weekends at TMS during the year) that ran road racing. Truth is TMS was competing for a 2nd Cup date at that time(they got it) and were looking to reduce the IRL races by one(did this too last season) and saw that Boundless was going after both series in addition to the USGPs of F-1 and MotoGP. They also wanted Champ Car (who was looking for a new GP in Texas at that time), ALMS, Rolex(another dumped series from TMS), AMA road bike series races and some of the boat racing series as there was a racing lake planned in the center of the road course. Hated to see their negotiations go downhill so much. The group(Boundless, Inc) was really progressing and wanted to start construction in 2005.

[Coffin]

Jeebus, you're not showing any class at all by stereotyping a millions of people as "white trash rednecks," many of whom you've never even met or experienced. In fact, I seriously doubt you would ever say that comment in public, so it doesn't carry a lot of weight.

Houston is more blue-collar (as far as careers and environment go) than the other major cities in Texas, and the nicer parts such as Bellaire aren't much more prestigious, so I think you need to get off that high and mighty, wooden horse of yours. If you want to be classy, why aren't you complaining to the City of Houston about the massive crime spike in the past two years? Instead of actively doing something to prove that you have class, you try to prove it by insulting a group of people. That doesn't show that you have any class at all. In fact, right now I don't think you are much better than white trash rednecks.

As far as F1 goes, nobody in the States watches it because it is boring, "follow the leader" type racing. At least in NASCAR the cars will be beating and banging on each other for each position. Several race car drivers jumped ship from open wheel racing such as F1 and Indy over to NASCAR because the racing is better and it is also safer. F1 drivers aren't protected by roll cages, which is another reason why it's not too popular in the States. A NASCAR race at the short track in Bristol, Tennessee is more exciting than all the F1 races combined.

As far as the landscaping at race tracks, who cares? Nobody goes to race tracks to view the landscaping.

There will probably never be a NASCAR Cup sanctioned track in Houston simply because NASCAR is already running 36 races a year, the drivers do not want to race more than that, and nobody would want to give up its dates for a new track in Houston. The Texas Motor Speedway got into a lawsuit with NASCAR over its second date, so I doubt it will give it up for a speedway in Houston. The proposed Houston Superspeedway idea was dumb anyway since superspeedway is boring; short track racing is more exciting.

[Trae]

Houston isn't the most blue-collar major Texas city (if you include Austin and San Antonio). I actually wish that Houston Superspeedway happened just for bragging rights, but I don't really care about NASCAR at all.

And Jeebus didn't say anything about the landscaping (he did, but not the way you put it). He said you wouldn't be able to see the race because the landscaping would get in the way (if the F-1 tracks were in the middle of the NASCAR tracks).

[Ethanra]

I've heard people include engineers and geoligist as blue collar jobs. Houston has plenty of "blue-collar" $100,000+ year engineers and geoligist. Also the real blue collar workers who work at the plants along the ship channel, they make $60,000+ a year. Blue-collar is not a bad thing. Would you rather have a city full of blue collar workers making $60,000+ a year or a bunch of white-collar $30,000 a year bill collectors like they have in other cities?

[Trae]

I guess I had all this "blue collar" and "white collar" thing mixed up. My mom has a friend who lives out in a nice home in Baytown and works in a plant. The homes are cheaper out there, but the house is big and the whole neighborhood is new.