Included among them are Texas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway, which are adding bars near the restart zone at each track.
Texas Motor Speedway’s Restart BAR Zone Club, located 26 rows above the restart zone at the start of the frontstretch dogleg area, will be open in time for the April 8 O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. The new area will feature indoor and outdoor lounges and give fans the chance to watch the race in a climate-controlled, indoor setting.
Atlanta’s Restart Bar, which will be located 20 rows above the track surface in the Earnhardt Grandstand, will accommodate up to 300 fans with indoor and open-air seating as well as a bar, high-top tables and space for games and activities.
At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the track has added three totally renovated, exclusive clubhouse areas, two separate loge-box seat areas and a racing inspired, interactive sports lounge.
• Speedway Motorsports Inc. President and COO and Charlotte Motor Speedway General Manager Marcus Smith calmly sidestepped questions Monday about his family’s interest in purchasing the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, which was put up for sale by current owner Jerry Richardson following sexual misconduct allegations.
Smith and other members of the NASCAR community, including Felix Sabates, have been linked to the potential sale of the franchise in recent weeks.
• The first usage of the word excitement during the NASCAR Media Tour came at exactly 2:48 p.m. EST. The man who used it was NASCAR Vice President of Competition Steve O’Donnell when talking about Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval, which will host the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on Sept. 28-30.
• Former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Mike Skinner was on hand Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway to make a handful of hot laps in his specially prepared Toyota Tundra race truck on the Roval. The truck, decaled in a similar fashion to the one he drove for Bill Davis from 2004 to ’08, is the same truck he uses to compete in the hill climb as part of the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.
• Several former and current NASCAR stars were on hand Monday to give members of the media a preview of the Roval. Among them were Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Brandon Jones and racers turned broadcasters Dale Jarrett and Jeff Burton.
• We asked Max Papis, a former NASCAR and Formula One competitor turned owner of Max Papis Innovations who helped develop the layout for the Roval, where he would try to make a pass on the Roval. He said the last corner, turn 17 on the frontstretch, would be a good spot to make a move. He also mentioned the backstretch chicane as an ideal passing zone.
• Speaking of Papis, he casually reminded us that he isn’t officially retired from driving and would like to find a ride to compete in one of the races on the Roval on Bank of America 500 weekend.
“There is only one big thing missing, I don’t have a drive yet,” Papis said to a pack of journalists. “I’m actually not retired. I told Marcus, I love this, I love the contribution I did, but it’s definitely going to be better when I drive on it in a race.”
Source :speedsport.com
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