Perfect Opportunity
The Sprint Cup Series has the weekend off and although there will be some great Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series action on track, there's other racing you should check out.

Your local short track.

It's a great chance to go out and support the weekly local and regional tracks that dot this country on a summer weekend in July. These facilities are the backbone of the sport and as we've outlined many times in recent years are in danger of becoming only a memory.

We're seen several of these gems close over the years due to increased real estate values, economic issues and financial woes. 

As more race fans are finding it tough to travel to a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, my hope was maybe the local tracks would thrive as people sought racing action maybe a little closer to home.

In some areas it's been reported that may hold true and attendance is up. Car counts are also reportedly up in a few selected areas as well.

But overall there hasn't been a significant bump and the entire industry continues to teeter.

If you're not attending a local track you're missing some of the best affordable family entertainment anyway. Tracks that do it right provide what I consider an experience on par with taking the kids to a minor league baseball game, movie or other sporting event.

I'm doing my part this off weekend without a heavy workload by toting my daughter and a carload of nieces and nephews up to Rockford Speedway on Saturday night for a "Christmas in July" promotional event, which will be fun for the kids and I'm sure provide enough racing action for the adults as well.

To me any time I get a chance to visit a short track it feels like Christmas morning.
Posted: 7/16/2009 7:51:26 AM
Comments:
Couldn't agree more! I'll be heading to Wall Stadium (formally Wall Township Speedway)in Wall NJ this Saturday night. It's the Garden State Classic, 150 laps for Modifieds plus a whole slate of other action including street stocks, factory stocks and legend cars. If you live near the Jersey shore area, I highly suggest going.

I know my NASCAR fans who have never been to a local short track. They have no idea what they're missing.
Posted On: 7/17/2009 1:10:12 PM

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