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NASCAR releases 2009 schedule
Los Angeles race is moved to mid-October; Labor Day date now set for Atlanta
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Published: August 20, 2008
Kentucky Speedway didn't make NASCAR's 2009 Sprint Cup schedule, which NASCAR president Mike Helton released yesterday.
But Helton and CEO Brian France did bow to the late-summer heat in Southern California and move the Labor Day weekend race from California Auto Club Speedway to Atlanta Motor Speedway, on Saturday night.
NASCAR will move the Los Angeles stop to mid-October next year, when it will likely have better weather and when it will be in the heart of the championship chase.
NASCAR also moved Talladega Speedway's Chase date to Nov. 1.
Other changes announced yesterday:
❑ The Montreal Nationwide race will have a weekend of its own. NASCAR was criticized for having no wiggle room when rain hit Montreal earlier this month.
❑ A weekend off was added, giving Cup teams four Sundays off next season.
❑ Iowa Speedway was added to the Nationwide tour on Aug. 1. That race replaces Mexico City on that tour.
❑ A Truck series race was added, in Chicago on Aug. 28.
Ed Clark, the president of Atlanta Motor Speedway, once had the Cup tour's season finale but gave that back to NASCAR, citing poor weather in November. He called his new late-season race date "a win-win for all of us. We've desired a night race for a number of years."
Gillian Zucker, who runs the L.A. track for the France family, has been pushing for a cooler weekend. The Labor Day heat has been brutal, even though that race has started in late afternoon.
"We have to pinch ourselves to be sure this is really happening," she said. "We know how complicated the schedule change was to complete.
"This is an emerging market for NASCAR but also a very important one. Since the track opened in 1997, we've seen nothing but growth in this market, even with a less-than-ideal schedule. What we see here is a real opportunity for people to come out and experience NASCAR in temperate conditions, and we believe it certainly will help with our attendance and help us to continue to grow.
Moving Talladega a few weeks deeper into the Chase makes it even more of a wild card in the title run.
"Also, moving to the end of October separates our two events," Talladega boss Rick Humphries said, referring to Atlanta Motor Speedway, less than two hours away.
What Iowa Speedway brings to the table is questionable. Still, Jerry Jauron, who runs that track for owner Rusty Wallace, points to NASCAR's Midwestern fan base: "We have a tremendous fan base, with what we believe is enormous growth potential. Our Iowa fans are crazy about racing since we have no professional baseball, basketball or football teams in the state to compete with."
The Chicago market is the third largest in the U.S., and it is key to NASCAR's growth, which Matt Alexander, the Chicagoland Speedway president, knows.
"We have a lot of great competition, and we're very proud of the progress we've played in trying to establish NASCAR, motorsports and Chicagoland Speedway," Alexander said. "A tangible example of our growth is our TV ratings for this year for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series -- up 26 percent compared to last year."
Helton declined to describe the decision to move the Labor Day race out of Los Angeles as NASCAR's realizing that moving Darlington's Southern 500 was a mistake.
"The inaugural Labor Day event in California was the addition of a second race in California, and the schedule throughout the 60-year history of NASCAR has been a work in progress to find the right place at the right time for the series," Helton said.
So, does Atlanta, in effect, inherit the Southern 500?
"We certainly don't think we're going to replace Darlington.… But what we've done is given Southeastern fans an opportunity to have an event back in the Southeast at a longtime NASCAR speedway," Clark said. "We'll be celebrating our 50th year of racing next year, and this event certainly is going to be the keystone of that celebration."
Atlanta has had small crowds in recent years, and weak attendance at Darlington was one reason for moving its date to California. But California's attendance has also been weak that weekend.
Clark's decision to move to Labor Day takes his track out of the title chase.
"That's certainly something we took a hard look at," Clark said. "We felt the opportunity to have a night event in a summertime setting on a holiday weekend overshadowed the opportunity to be in the Chase."
Zucker says that creative promotion is the key for the California track.
"We have some unique marketing partnerships with the military, and with our area sports franchises, everything from the Angels to college football," she said.
Jauron agreed: "I've challenged our staff to throw the box away. We've only been in existence two years officially next month. This just raises the ante."
■ Mike Mulhern can be reached at mmulhern@wsjournal.com
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2008-2009 Spring Cup schedule
Feb. 7: Budweiser Shootout at Daytona; Feb. 15: Daytona; Feb. 22: Fontana, Calif.; March 1: Las Vegas; March 8: Atlanta; March 22: Bristol; March 29: Martinsville; April 5: Texas; April 18: Phoenix; April 26: Talladega; May 2: Richmond; May 9: Darlington; May 16: x-Sprint All-Star Race, Concord; May 24: Lowe's; May 31: Dover
June 7: Pocono; June 14: Michigan; June 21: Infineon; June 28: New Hampshire; July 4: Daytona; July 11: Chicagoland; July 26: Indianapolis; Aug. 2: Pocono; Aug. 9: Watkins Glen; Aug. 16: Michigan; Aug. 22: Bristol; Sept. 6: Atlanta; Sept. 12: Richmond; Sept. 20: New Hampshire; Sept. 27: Dover; Oct. 4: Kansas; Oct. 11: Fontana, Calif.; Oct. 17: Concord; Oct. 25: Martinsville; Nov. 1: Talladega ; Nov. 8: Texas; Nov. 15: Phoenix; Nov. 22: Homestead-Miami
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