[Bob Tanner]

Hola. (Thought I'd set the atmosphere)

Just read a really interesting article on, of all places, nascar.com. It was a piece on the progression of stock car racing south of the Rio Grande. The following is a short piece cut from alonger article:
"While the weekend was blessed with amazingly nice weather, Sunday's Nationwide Series Corona Mexico 200 was troubled by an attendance, cited by NASCAR as more than 57,000 -- a number that has continually shrunk from the inaugural event's estimated crowd of about 100,000.On the other hand, NASCAR Mexico has a touring division, the Corona Series, that uses purpose-built racecars that resemble the Late Model Stock Cars used primarily at weekly short tracks in the Southeastern United States with a target cost of well under $30,000 apiece.

That series has experienced continued growth, with this season's five events marked by five different winners, increased attendance across the board and a higher per-event average number of racecars."

What does this tell us? Well, from my sperspective it says that this current NA__AR is kind of "Sucko." It seems, from the writer that Mexican NASCAR has taken a page from history and is going with low cost race cars, local sponsorships and putting on good racing and guess what? Attendance is constantly growing and car count is through the roof!

Hey, Brian Z. Are you reading any of this?

For the entire article: NASCAR.COM - In Mexico, slow and steady setting pace for progress - Jun 13, 2008

[SpaceCadet]

I wish someone could explain to me why this is a no brainer to everyone else but the NASCAR big guns. Maybe we are just plain smarter (or at the very least, less greedy) than they are.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by SpaceCadet

I wish someone could explain to me why this is a no brainer to everyone else but the NASCAR big guns. Maybe we are just plain smarter (or at the very least, less greedy) than they are.

NA__AR/ISC is like our Imperial Government; they know what's best for us and what our likes and dislikes are. In short, to the Daytona Beach crowd, we are the "unwashed." We're just children who have to be spoon fed and NASCAR holds the spoon. (and making a profit from the pablum.)

[Quality88]

I withhold comment at this time for fear the alcohol in me would misrepresent waht I am thinkin.

[DOF_power]

This situation in Mexico seems similar to the CAMSO V8 late models "stockcar" championship in Belgium/Europe.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by DOF_power

This situation in Mexico seems similar to the CAMSO V8 late models "stockcar" championship in Belgium/Europe.

THis is one I know absolutely nothing about. Would you care to enlighten us?
I would have thought the touring car series would have been the hot "stock car" series over there?

Hmmm. I went to the web page and it looks very much like racing here in Alabama. They even have Legends Cars!

But, of the three tracks listed, two have shut down? How is Warenton (sp) doing?

[DOF_power]

Right now they seem fine, but the series will need more short ovals.
As to touring cars yes they're popular.
There's also another more stock-ish cheap racing series namely GT3 and GT4 (probably the stock-iest series in the world).
It would be interesting to see if they bring Speedcar (a simplified cheap twisted-sister asian series) in Europe also as the TV audience comes from here (former F1 drivers helped a lot in this).
There are all sorts of racing series in Europe for every budget.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by DOF_power

Right now they seem fine, but the series will need more short ovals.
As to touring cars yes they're popular.
There's also another more stock-ish cheap racing series namely GT3 and GT4 (probably the stock-iest series in the world).
It would be interesting to see if they bring Speedcar (a simplified cheap twisted-sister asian series) in Europe also as the TV audience comes from here (former F1 drivers helped a lot in this).
There are all sorts of racing series in Europe for every budget.

Good! It's changed since I left. At the cost of real estate in Europe, I'm surprised that suitable land could be found for a track, even a 1/4-miler.

I was amazed at the number of classes they have at Warenton.

I found the sight extremely interesting. It looks as though they're running basically the same car that ASA ran here before Rex sold the series. Good economical formula. Crate engines and cars built by a single builder. The price break down was interesting.

Yeah, they need more tracks. It's tough to have a touring series with only a single track (though I see some of the competitors come down from the Netherlands).

Thanks for the information. I enjoyed it.