JohnM - 13 May 2008 03:44 PM

To be honest, I used to be a fan of Watkins Glen. But really, I've never really liked Watkins Glen much anymore for some reason. I think Charlotte used to have a road course configuration that 7/8 of the course was the NASCAR oval (and I'm not talking about that pathetic joke of a race track when the Speed World Challenge raced at Charlotte). Question is, do you think NASCAR can actually market having stock cars road race in the heart of NASCAR country? It's a competitive race track for a variety of motorsports. Or at best, NASCAR could use this as a test track for road racing. They can use this track or VIR.

Otherwise, NASCAR country has a competitive road course.

There are those of us who believe that Watkins Glen hasn['t been the same since the USGP left there. There are probably more who believe that NASCAR or any series they run have no business on a road course, period. Where cars designed and built for road racing show some grace on a road course, stockers - and you do have to use the term with a lot of generosity these days - tend to mrely wallow around one, be it the Glen or Sears Point.

Charlotte used to have a road course based heavily on the road course at Daytona; the only real difference was in length. The infield section was as good as a duplicate of Daytona.

tshirts - 22 April 2008 07:26 AM

Awesome, a track right in my back yard!

If the track's close enough to be in your backyard, then you probably know this. the local historical society says that High Rock is on the site of a Civil War battle and the land shouldn't be developed for that reason and they seem to be intent on stopping it. The good news is, the town of Soencer, which seems to have jurisdiction over the site, says whatever historic significance the site has is long past.

RACETRACE MAY COVER CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD.

SPENCER
the Civil War Preservation Socisty has placed a piece of land north of Charlotte on the 25 most-endangered Civil War battlefields, but the landowner said that no written evidence supports the claim and he plans to build a racetrack there.
Former Boston investment banker Dave Risdon wants to build a 2.15-mile racetrack on the landfor amateur drivers of sports cars and motocycles.
But preservationists claim the Confederates won their last victory in the Carolinas on the site in April, 1865. Risdon says the fighting took place over the nearby Yadkin River, insisting there's no written evidence that the battle took place on his land.
The town of Spencer approved the project, concluding that the land lost its historical siginificance long ago. Work on the track is delayed while Risdon seeks approval of an erosion-control plan.
"We're not anti-development, but we try to get people to take a hard look at where they're trying to build things," said Mary Kolk, a preservationist. "You can move a school - or in this case, a racetrack - but you can't move a battlefield."
The dispute centers on a former textile mill and 130 acres of forestr just north of the railroad town. The two sides disagree on how much of Risden's land was occupied by troops during the 865 battle for a vital railroad bridge over the Yadkin River.
The property is split by US 29 to the west, 70 acres hold remnants of the NC Finishing Plant that abruptly closed in 2000. To the east is is the raceway site, which Risdon says was mostly trees and bramble when he bought it.
Ann Brownlee, Risdon's most vical critic said that evidence of the battle exists, including cannon balls and other artifacts found at the site, an eyewitness accounts of a Union cavalry man being shot off his horse.
The planned racetrack would be "smack in the heart of the battleground. If you take out the heart, the periphery will be meaningless," she said.

From the Winston-Salem Journal, Monday May 19, 2008. Sorry, the link had already been takend own when I tried to find it yesterday, so I just did the entire article here.