Waltrip: Make California a restrictor plate track-UPDATE 2

Waltrip: Make California a restrictor plate track-UPDATE 2

UPDATE 2: A senior spokesman for track operator International Speedway Corp. said Wednesday that there are no plans to turn Auto Club Speedway into a restrictor-plate configuration or otherwise modify the layout of the 2.0-mile facility that hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. ISC owns the track and ultimately would be the entity approving and paying for any track changes. But none are forthcoming, an ISC official confirmed. Wes Harris, ISC?s senior director, corporate and investor communications, said Wednesday there are no plans for such an extreme and costly makeover. In fact, Harris said, it isn?t even in the discussion phase, nor is it likely to be. SPEEDtv.com ————————————————————- UPDATE: Gillian Zucker, president of Auto Club Speedway, believes reconfiguring the 2-mile Fontana, Calif. oval into a restrictor-plate track is an idea worth considering seriously. “I love it,” Zucker said Tuesday. “It’s a game-changer. Michael Waltrip told me his idea about it Saturday night. It was funny at first, but I thought, ‘Sure. Why not?’” Restrictor plates, flat pieces of metal with small holes that are placed over the carburetors, reduce horsepower and slow down the cars. They are used at Daytona and Talladega, producing some of NASCAR most exciting and most dangerous racing. Zucker said they are going to rebuilt part of the racing surface to repair the water seepage problems (commonly known as weepers) that arose last weekend. Heavy rain caused water to push up through the seams in the turns. “If we are going to tear it up anyway to fix the drainage, let’s make it a lot more interesting,” Zucker said. “It could be a very dramatic thing for us.” ESPN.com ————————————————————– “They will never win against Las Vegas [Motor Speedway],” Waltrip said of the Fontana facility. “So build up the corners, 32 to 33 degrees banking, and make this a restrictor-plate track.” Wow. That’s quite a proposal. It catches you by surprise at first, but once Waltrip had a chance to explain his logic, it’s easy to understand his point. His argument above is that Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a much nicer place and has far more to offer fans than the 2-mile oval 50 miles east of Los Angeles. So if race fans are going to pick and choose, why not travel another 200 miles and attend the Vegas race one week later? Auto Club Speedway needs something to set it apart from other tracks in the region. “Think about Sonoma and Phoenix and Vegas,” Waltrip said. “Sonoma has amenities and it’s a cool road course. It’s different. Phoenix ? a fun, little short track that people adore so much. Vegas, obviously. “But you come here and it’s sort of caught in the middle. We could come to the West Coast to a purpose-built plate track, the first one that’s ever been done that way. We could put on a heck of a race.” Clearly, Waltrip has thought this out. The man deserves a spot on the International Speedway Corp. board of directors. “That’s what I would do here,” Waltrip said. “The stereotype of a restrictor plate being bad, that’s over. “They might have to stretch it out to 2? miles to make the draft work, but I would put these banks up right now and say, ‘We’re going to build the first-ever track meant for restrictor plates.’ To me, that’s the answer.” More at ESPN.com Bookmark to:

Date: February / 28 / 2008
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Car News Overview for February / 28 / 2008

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