The Real Reason The IRL Failed at Nazareth

[SurfaceUnits]

I remember reading somewhere that possibly one of the reasons that attendance dropped was because when Nazareth (formerly known as Pennsylvania International Speedway) changed its name to Nazareth Speedway, they didn't change any of the highway signs along Route 22 to Nazareth Speedway (still reads Pennsylvania International Speedway), thus confusing people that were going to the racetrack. :rofl:

[fourrunner]

:rofl:

I'm sure that's true

I have absolutely NO Doubt that that would confuse the typical IRL Fan

Nazareth has maybe 4 traffic lights ... The Main Roads in & Out Intersect just 1000 feet North of the Track

You can see the Track ( Its gone now) from a mile away in any direction

IRL Fans would get lost behind a Police Escort to the Track

I can just picture the Fans asking the Locals how to get to the track & the locals saying that they want "The other Nazareth" out by Pittsburgh, about 300 miles west ! ;)

[Newtpal]

You can't make this **** up. I'm picturing a :gomer: and his son on his way to the track with tickets in hand. "We're almost there, this is the exit I was told the track was at... wait, whats that sign say son? "Pennsylvania International Speedway", nope I'm looking for Nazarath Speedway. I better keep driving."

[fourrunner]

Of course that sign for Pennsylvania International Raceway ALSO says

"Take PA 191 to >>>>N-A-Z-A-R-E-T-H<<<< "


The track has a sign out front that says " GLAD TO SEE YOU MADE IT STUPID"

[DagoFast]

You guys think that's funny? Try this one:





Jim Wilke
Senior Member

Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Hanging on Robin's every word
Posts: 10658
Maybe Phoenix ain't dead yet

quote:Bryan Sperber is the president of the Phoenix track and recently became the interim president of California Speedway when Bill Miller left.

But Sperber emphasized Saturday that the latter job is indeed interim, even though he didn't deny being offered the position by International Speedway Corp., which owns both tracks.

"I said I'd help out (at California), but we'll find the right person to do the job there," he said.

Sperber said he expects this Nextel Cup race in the spring to remain a night event, and he expects to renew discussions with the Indy Racing League about having its Phoenix race at night, too.

"But we have a small window where (lights) make sense," he said. "You can do it into the early part of the summer and early in the fall, but believe it or not, it gets cold here at night in the winter."





JohnMc
Senior Member

Registered: Jul 2004
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Posts: 239


Jim...I feel that the Phoenix track is a great place to race and if the promotors could figure it out than I think they can have a great IRL event there.




Jim Wilke
Senior Member

Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Hanging on Robin's every word
Posts: 10658


I agree. Maybe ISC and the IRL figure that this year's disappointing attendance was an anomaly.



It was an anomaly, I tell ya! :gomer:

[nrc]

Explain the logic underlying that conclusion.

According to this site the IRL and Phoenix pulled out all the stops on marketing the event. How did this result in an "anomaly" of barely 8000 atendees? Were people driven off by the concert? By the $20 ticket price?

http://www.racingpress.com/publish/tjpir31105.shtml

Now, however, IRL is putting the IndyCar Series on its own stage in Avondale, and in anticipation of the event the sanction and the track are pulling out all the marketing stops with a non-stop marketing blitz. Saturating the Phoenix Metro market with TV and radio commercials, the promotors are making a major push to raise IRL's visibility.

[DagoFast]

Explain the logic underlying that conclusion.

You are a funny guy! Wilke and logic, HAAaaa HAAAaaa!

Perhaps if they had hired more "actors"?

OMG! Maybe that's their evil plan for Long Beach? But if they hire every "actor" in S. California to attend the race and "act" excited, who's gonna serve the food?

[cart7]

I heard it was cloudy and everyone thought it would rain. :gomer:

[JohnHKart]

I'm sure that's true

I You can see the Track ( Its gone now) from a mile away in any direction




Seriously, Is the track really gone already? It's bulldozed?

John

[SurfaceUnits]

Explain the logic underlying that conclusion.Advertising the IRL functions as an early warning system. Danger, Danger. Crapwagons eventually land, keep a safe distance. :laugh: I'm setting up an IRL Ad Fund on Paypal. People are smarter than some think.

The IRL: Anomaly Amplified.

[DagoFast]

Seriously, Is the track really gone already? It's bulldozed?

John


Yep. Gone.

[Napoleon]

Seriously, Is the track really gone already? It's bulldozed?

John

My question exactly.

If so, what are the plans for the site.

[nrc]

Yep. Gone.

Preserving American open wheel oval racing, indeed. Tony's vision is in danger of running American open wheel racing out of every oval where they aren't purely an add-on event to tax NASCAR fans.

[Newtpal]

You guys think that's funny? Try this one:




It was an anomaly, I tell ya! :gomer:


Over 80,000 fans showed up on Sunday, no one told them it was on Saturday. :gomer:

[theunions]

My question exactly.

If so, what are the plans for the site.

One prospective buyer waiting for community approval wants to turn it into a hockey rink.

[Andrew Longman]

Yep. Gone.

Going, going, but not quite gone. At least last month when I drove by. Most of the stands in T1 were down but they were not through with the main stands and T4 stands. The track is still there.

My understanding is they will still run some schools out of there for the short term but that development plans are unclear. Nazareth is a pretty small place and there is a mall just down the road in Palmer and another in Wilson. Its not like Nazareth has a burning need for a Loews/Walmart/Home Depot/Target, so who knows, it may give way to senior housing.

[RacinM3]

OMG! Maybe that's their evil plan for Long Beach? But if they hire every "actor" in S. California to attend the race and "act" excited, who's gonna serve the food?

hahahahah....awesome.

[SurfaceUnits]

The House That George Tore Down
http://www.bnsracing.com/racepics/nazareth-01.jpg :shakehead

[Sean O'Gorman]

:(

[fourrunner]

I was at the First Race at Nazareth in 1987 (and every CART race after that)..... It was so new Roger Penske who partnered with Danny Sullivan & Mario Andretti and (I'm not sure who else) hadn't finished the Parking Lot next to the Track ... it rained buckets and Roger hired every tow truck in the area to help get the Fans out of the quagmire at his own expense .... McDonalds was the ONLY food Vendor at the track ... If you wanted something else, you had to walk into Nazareth to get it!

Nazareth was a "Fan Friendly" Track everything close at hand ... If you sat high in the stands you could see the whole track ... even with the elevation changes ....

Of course these were the "Good Old Days" before Tony George crapped out the IRL and everything went to Hell !

God I totally dislike Tony George !

[FCYTravis]

FTG certainly upheld the grand old oval tradition in America, didn't he? :flame: :thumdown:

[nrc]

Shouldn't there be about a dozen lemmings manacled to one of those girders?

[DagoFast]

Those girders are probably headin' to China. Them babies are made of gold I tell ya. Do you know how many Dale Jr. collectables you can make from just one?

[Hard Driver]

It used to be crowded when I went to Champ Car races years ago. I stopped going when the real races stopped. Shame, I did not know it was being dismantled.

[Steve99]

Shouldn't there be about a dozen lemmings manacled to one of those girders?
They couldn't find the track. Damn signs!

[FTG]

The Mark Knofler song was pretty cool.

[Sean O'Gorman]

The Mark Knofler song was pretty cool.

:thumbup:

[Newtpal]

The Mark Knofler song was pretty cool.

I've got that CD, there are a couple good songs on there.