Milwaukee Mile: All but Gone?

[JohnHKart]

http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/nns-sun-sets-on-the-mile/

sad to see it.

JH

[Duroc]

That sucks.

American open wheel has entered hospice care.

[NismoZ]

I knew they shouldn't have knocked down the old stone grandstands.

[opinionated ow]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Napoleon]

Another track I really wanted to see a CART race at.

[Elmo T]

Ties into the thread on Nazareth. :shakehead

[NismoZ]

What, no "Thanks:tony:"? Guess it just needed some high banks...or a race series. Mile fans were Indy Car fans and when they quit coming to see Indy cars there?...that says a lot.

[JLMannin]

What, no "Thanks:tony:"? Guess it just needed some high banks...or a race series. Mile fans were Indy Car fans and when they quit coming to see Indy cars there?...that says a lot.

No, this one is not :tony:'s fault. I lay blame at the feet of the fair board. They always treated racing at the track as a huge distraction, and in my opinion, wanted it gone so they could have more state fair parking.

I'm sad to see it go, however. I saw a number of USAC stock car races there, as well as ASA cars, and of course, CART - during the glory days of CART.

[NismoZ]

The fair board was responsible for the split in big-time openwheel racing in America and the ruination of it's biggest event in Indy? Perhaps a short-sighted group with only local interests and responsibilities but I seriously doubt they were responsible for people staying away in droves from the on track product. The place (The Mile) was losing money by the bushel basket. They would have preferred financially successful racing events there but did what they had to do when remedies failed.

[Don Quixote]

It is :tony:'s fault. This whole freaking mess is his fault. If you trace the problems back in time, it all lands on :tony:.

[patski]

It is :tony:'s fault. This whole freaking mess is his fault. If you trace the problems back in time, it all lands on :tony:.

Dam* right!

[TRDfan]

And the Nationwide series is going to Road America.....RA just posted it on Twitter



http://twitter.com/roadamerica

[Don Quixote]

^^^ Oh my. Those sleds sure will look fast chugging up the hill.

[Gnam]

collateral damage. :(

Is it still the Kink if you go through it at 55mph? :p

[NismoZ]

But, THINK about it!....DANICA will be there!!!:thumbup::gomer:

[Napoleon]

And the Nationwide series is going to Road America.....RA just posted it on Twitter



http://twitter.com/roadamerica

Didn't the top level in NASCAR run a race there in the 50s (I know they did in my little home town in Ohio, Canfield).

[High Sided]

^^^
"Stock cars aren't entirely new to RA. Tim Flock won in NASCAR's premier division in its only appearance in 1956."


And the Nationwide series is going to Road America.....RA just posted it on Twitter



story...
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/79827717.html

[SteveH]

Didn't the top level in NASCAR run a race there in the 50s (I know they did in my little home town in Ohio, Canfield).

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/60/198475682_a837b98450.jpg

:D

[NismoZ]

More NASCABs are making their appearance at the Brian Redman Vintage meet at RA each year (they're cheaper than old IMSA GTPs, I guess) but THAT one is my favorite!:)

[High Sided]

Sports Illustrated article, august 20, 1956...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1131825/index.htm

http://vintageracecar.com/news/db/pics/1241470281_10938.f_news_grs.jpg

[stroker]

Hope they bring a whole buncha brake pads...

I wonder what they'd want from somebody to purchase The Mile?

[Sean O'Gorman]

I should keep my sources anonymous, but I obtained this top secret copy of the revised Road America NASCAR layout:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2531/4206544858_8ce1b8d7e4_o.jpg

[NismoZ]

Actually I like "stock" cars on road courses...Trans Am, DTM, Aussie V-8s etc. and had an early introduction to that on a cold fall weekend in '58 at Meadowdale. Most seem to have forgotten that event. I think it was a USAC race, not NASCAR but a local guy in the #28 PIZZA Ford schooled everybody...Fred Lorenzen. He was incredible, smooth and fast and looked like a natural road racer to me. (I was just 12) The guy retired too soon. I think he has to be regarded as one of NASCAR's all-time best. The other guy that impressed me was Jimmy Bryan in an orange Mercury as I recall. He was fast, but WILD fast. I guess he thought he was on dirt! Believe it or not one of the drivers, I THINK in a blue #2 '57 Chevy, visited a neighbor just down the street from us that weekend. Marshall Teague was talking about the new speedway under construction down in Florida that was going to be the "stock car's Indy 500." He ran Meadowdale's infamous "Monza Wall" hard and fast, right at the top and was pretty impressive. He was killed a few months later driving an Indy roadster at Daytona when the banks were lined with a simple guardrail.:shakehead A second Indy guy was also killed (his name escapes me at the moment) and the roadsters were banned! But, stock cars at RA? Why, not. They've run just about everything else!

[JLMannin]

The fair board was responsible for the split in big-time openwheel racing in America and the ruination of it's biggest event in Indy? Perhaps a short-sighted group with only local interests and responsibilities but I seriously doubt they were responsible for people staying away in droves from the on track product. The place (The Mile) was losing money by the bushel basket. They would have preferred financially successful racing events there but did what they had to do when remedies failed.

In an alternate universe where the split did not happen, I still think the mile would cease operations. They never adopted the promoter mentality necessary to be a viable racing facility in today's world (ie, pay a sanctioning fee and sell enough tickets to cover the fee and operations to turn a profit). They were still expecting the sanctioning bodies to do all the promotion and rent the facility.

[patski]

In an alternate universe where the split did not happen, I still think the mile would cease operations. They never adopted the promoter mentality necessary to be a viable racing facility in today's world (ie, pay a sanctioning fee and sell enough tickets to cover the fee and operations to turn a profit). They were still expecting the sanctioning bodies to do all the promotion and rent the facility.

Sort-of like Road America!

[NismoZ]

Yeah, we needed a Bernie Maxi-Me!

[opinionated ow]

Actually I like "stock" cars on road courses...Trans Am, DTM, Aussie V-8s etc.

Strictly speaking DTM and V8 Supercrap classify as touring cars rather than Stock Cars. The difference according to wikipedia is that touring cars are notionally based on road going cars where stockcars are built on a standard chassis. In Europe or New Zealand you'll be shown this if you ask for stock cars:
7KyMdRxgc4Q
xcD7rBJzeAE

[cameraman]

7KyMdRxgc4Q

What the hell is that, motorized roller derby?

[opinionated ow]

What the hell is that, motorized roller derby?
Hahaha...teams stock car racing. The winner is the team who gets A car across the line first. :rofl:

[Michaelhatesfans]

Is it still the Kink if you go through it at 55mph? :p

Their fans will be grateful for 55mph after watching them do eight laps of full course yellow around a four mile track because someone had a harmless spin at turn one.

[oddlycalm]

Their fans will be grateful for 55mph after watching them do eight laps of full course yellow around a four mile track because someone had a harmless spin at turn one.

:rofl: Isn't that the truth.

I actually liked the one NASCAR race I saw at PIR. For some reason a couple of cup drivers were here, Dale Jarret and Terry Labonte as I recall, and they drove the wheels off. Hearing them coming down the straight into the Festival Corners braking zone was like hearing a locomotive coming. There was a near total crowd change between the CART quals and the NASCAR West race. :gomer: The yellow laps did killl it though before long though. Not too surprising considering it was the only road race of the season for NASCAR West. We finished watching from the air conditioned comfort of the Kenton Tavern. The caution period was long enough for us to driver up there :D

oc

[grungex]

I should keep my sources anonymous, but I obtained this top secret copy of the revised Road America NASCAR layout:

More like:

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa208/grungexx/Nationwide_at_RA_map.jpg

Of course, they'll run it counter-clockwise...




:tony:

[SteveH]

Of course, they'll run it counter-clockwise...




:tony:

Can you imagine what a cluster turn 1 (T14 on the road course) would be if they did? There isn't enough runoff in the state of WI for that. :D

[oddlycalm]

Can you imagine what a cluster turn 1 (T14 on the road course) would be if they did? There isn't enough runoff in the state of WI for that. :D

More that true. The race I saw there were so many cars straight lining turn 1 that I gave up counting. You miss your brake point in something that heavy and you'll slide into the next county.

oc

[miatanut]

:rofl: Isn't that the truth.

I actually liked the one NASCAR race I saw at PIR. For some reason a couple of cup drivers were here, Dale Jarret and Terry Labonte as I recall, and they drove the wheels off. Hearing them coming down the straight into the Festival Corners braking zone was like hearing a locomotive coming. There was a near total crowd change between the CART quals and the NASCAR West race. :gomer: The yellow laps did killl it though before long though. Not too surprising considering it was the only road race of the season for NASCAR West. We finished watching from the air conditioned comfort of the Kenton Tavern. The caution period was long enough for us to driver up there :D

oc

I stayed in my seat at C2. :gomer: It was fun watching all the cars blowing FC.

I'll never forget the first time I heard the TransAm grid fire-up at PIR. I was walking up the front straight when this rolling thunder sound started but it just kept going and going and finally I got close enough to see where it was coming from.

[NismoZ]

Hmmm...I think they should beep the tire barriers between 5 & 13A so they can zig-zag through!

[Steve99]

Can you imagine what a cluster turn 1 (T14 on the road course) would be if they did? There isn't enough runoff in the state of WI for that. :D
But there is all of Canada, so there should be enough room to get them stopped. :D

[NismoZ]

Hmmm...I think they should keep the tire barriers between 5 & 13A so they can zig-zag through! (beep...keep...you know what I meant)