Would repaving Loudon road course...

[odduc]

Some have suggested an entirely new road course on the back side of the property. This would be the dream scenario. They could continue with the Nascrap and have a safe and classy road course featuring other events (LRRS, CCS, WERA, etc). Even though it's not something I'd expect the owners to invest in, but a good road course with regulation runoff and design might even be attractive to endurance race cars. All the while maintain NHMS in it's current configuration and have the Legends races and car clubs, etc. So, LRRS could be running on the new road course while the Legends or whatever could run on the old road course. Now, the owners collect revenue from both courses on one weekend. Crazy though, I know....

[Woodcraft]

I don't mean this to come off as a Nascar bitch...

I don't think there's any chance in hell of a total repave, or even a significant, partial repave. Don't forget that Loudon has a "big show". And it sure ain't the road course. This isn't some small racetrack that makes their entire living off of armature car and motorcycle racing like Thompson, NYST, Stafford Springs, or even Waterford Speedbowl. With the massive amount of cash that Nascar brings to the track, they could do away with the road course all together and barely feel the hit in gross revenue. An AMA race wouldn't change the situation at all. He'll, we can't even watch it on tv anymore. You think people will travel to the bustling metropolis of Loudon NH to come see an AMA race? Hell no.

Tony mentioned ROI in his last post. Unfortunately for us motorcycle guys, I really don't think there's any ROI to be had in the track's eyes. They aren't going to attract more track day orgs. The current ones all fight to cater to the same, small group of customers. LRRS isn't going to drastically increase in participants or spectators. CCS racers could care less about our seprecate series. AMA can't even run a full season, so they sure aren't going to bring a race to NH. It will take forever to recuperate the investment. They will pour money into the track surface and still generate the same revenue that the current POS road course generates.

Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I don't see what the track has to gain by dumping a pile of money into the road course.

Regardless of apparent ROI, there is talk of some pretty cool stuff. We are not going to get a road course out back - the economy would need to look like it did before the recent pullback to even consider something like that. We have talked about layouts and such that could work to reconfigure turn 9-10 if that becames a reality.

[catahoulabuldog]

so if repaving a road course isnt worth the $$ why did Pocono? they also have a nascar event yet they repaved their infield course? which I believe is significantly larger than Loudon. ROI?

honestly the bottom line is Loudon went from being the ONLY show in town for road course cars as well as bike with only what? Lime Rock? Pocono? for years.. and the closest in NE. to compete against? they may not "need" the money but its good filler $$ lets face it competition breeds excellence and there is now competition for not only MC cash but also for SCCA and other car clubs $$. time to step up the game!

[SVRACER01]

Wirelessly posted (GS3)

You cant pave the WHOLE road course when 25% is the nascar track. Most of the bumps in 3 and 10 are on the nascar track and since that track runs perpendicular to the direction we run they wont pave over it because it would have to be paved perpendicular to how nascar runs.
not to mention the transitions are so abrupt because it has to be flat enough to put the wall back in place after we are done.
even if they pave just the road course sections youre still dealing with 2 different pavement types and transitions on and off of those pavement differences and the 2 major transitions where the wall goes.
a new track is optimal. Preferably one that wouldnt be used for parking or driving on during nascar which will be almost impossible if I had to guess.
would repaving the road course make a difference. Yes and no. For the fast guys not really but I could see tbe lap times dropping a little. The people who sould benefit the most and would be more obvious are the people who maybe dont have great suspension or get a little sketched out by all the pavement changes and bumps. In other words, TD people and NVs

[SVRACER01]

Wirelessly posted (GS3)

want better track, add more spectator seating so more money is made from Nascar racing, Loudon is one of the smallest seating venues on the Nascar circuit, most others are double the capacity

You would have to get rid of the road course or move it altogether to do that.
with that said, one could argue that the added revenue by almost doubling the seating capacity could pay for the new road course. The problem is that nhms seems to have a hard enough time selling out the events they have even at ridiculously low ticket prices. Not to mention all the extra parking that would be required for all those extra seats even if they could fill them. How do you add parking for more spectators and take parking away for a new road course?
you cant.

[MHenry600]

not to mention the transitions are so abrupt because it has to be flat enough to put the wall back in place after we are done.
even if they pave just the road course sections youre still dealing with 2 different pavement types and transitions on and off of those pavement differences and the 2 major transitions where the wall goes.

The problem with the transitions is that you have two sections of track converging at different angles. If the track went out at the NASCAR angle for a bit longer then curved up (more like a parabola shape), it would smooth that out, but would require a bit of re-shaping to the hillside.

[RandyO]

Wirelessly posted (GS3)



You would have to get rid of the road course or move it altogether to do that.
with that said, one could argue that the added revenue by almost doubling the seating capacity could pay for the new road course. The problem is that nhms seems to have a hard enough time selling out the events they have even at ridiculously low ticket prices. Not to mention all the extra parking that would be required for all those extra seats even if they could fill them. How do you add parking for more spectators and take parking away for a new road course?
you cant.

The problem really stems from the fact that New Hampshire is not in the middle of good ole boy Nascar country, parking would be what it is now, mostly offsite, just more of it, a bigger problem with doubling the capacity is Route 106, it already takes 5 or 6 hours to clear the place out after a race, so that's a state highway issue

[Slowpoke387]

The problem really stems from the fact that New Hampshire is not in the middle of good ole boy Nascar country, parking would be what it is now, mostly offsite, just more of it, a bigger problem with doubling the capacity is Route 106, it already takes 5 or 6 hours to clear the place out after a race, so that's a state highway issue

LOL, unfortunately I don't think bringing the AMA here would create any traffic issues whatsoever...

[CBR929RE]

LOL, unfortunately I don't think bringing the AMA here would create any traffic issues whatsoever...

if I can't do 65 down 106 then there's too much traffic

[tsorfas]

LOL, unfortunately I don't think bringing the AMA here would create any traffic issues whatsoever...

One of my first times at NHMS I'm driving from the hotel with Jim and they talking about Monday morning traffic.

Let me tell you something... Monday morning traffic in MA (aka mass pike) and in NH are two very different things lol

[CBR929RE]

One of my first times at NHMS I'm driving from the hotel with Jim and they talking about Monday morning traffic.

Let me tell you something... Monday morning traffic in MA (aka mass pike) and in NH are two very different things lol

what does that have to do with traffic leaving a large sporting event? next time you go up check out the signs hanging over the road. 1 lane becomes multiple lanes for nascar. even 93 a little south of 89 is changed (at least for Nascar).

[nhbubba]

He's making reference to the comparatively low threshold people from that part of the world have for traffic. He's right, and it is a fine point. NASCAR weekend is the exception, not the rule for that area.

[tsorfas]

He's making reference to the comparatively low threshold people from that part of the world have for traffic. He's right, and it is a fine point. NASCAR weekend is the exception, not the rule for that area.

Thanks for translating for me... Mind you I come from an area of total population of 2000 people where each family has 1 car for the entire household. I didn't even know what traffic was lol

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if I can't do 65 down 106 then there's too much traffic

Your comment is even less relevant

[OreoGaborio]

Are you guys seriously getting bent out of shape talking about what you consider "traffic" on 106?

[BMMCBR]

Are you guys seriously getting bent out of shape talking about what you consider "traffic" on 106?

Back in my day we used to drive for miles and not see a single car!

[CBR929RE]

Thanks for translating for me... Mind you I come from an area of total population of 2000 people where each family has 1 car for the entire household. I didn't even know what traffic was lol

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Your comment is even less relevant

the people who live there can fuck off about there being a lot of traffic for 1 day because of a large event. they live right near a large capacity sporting venue, they can deal with major traffic for less than 5 days. and the major events are probably all on weekends so unless they all work weekends then they really don't even have to deal with it.

my joke at least had to do with the traffic from an event such as AMA.

[jasnmar]

the people who live there can fuck off about there being a lot of traffic for 1 day because of a large event. they live right near a large capacity sporting venue, they can deal with major traffic for less than 5 days. and the major events are probably all on weekends so unless they all work weekends then they really don't even have to deal with it.

my joke at least had to do with the traffic from an event such as AMA.

Attitudes like the locals can fuck off are exactly why additional tracks don't get built, and ones that do get significant resistance from the locals.

It didn't become a "major" event until 1990 when the first NASCAR race was run, and I can promise you there are plenty of locals who regret the fact that they ever agree to that happening at all. In many cases they didn't move near a large capacity sporting venue, the venue moved in near them.

I try very hard not to be home on NASCAR weekends, as there's a whole lot more too all the assholes showing up than just the traffic.

[Mr. Kurtz]

Back in my day we used to drive for miles and not see a single car!

Uphill, both ways.

[RandyO]

I several years ago, I went riding in Vermont on the September Nascar race day, I wasn't really aware what day it was

in the morning as I took Rt 140 from Alton to Tilton at 6am, I noticed more traffic than I expected, mostly motorhomes that turned off at Allens Mill Road, this is when I realized it was track traffic

when I returned that evening 4 -5 hours after the race was over, (luckily I was going in opposite direction of traffic) it was a parking lot all the way from 93 to 106, and I assume all the way from 140 to the track (about 12 miles total) I mean parking lot, worse than anything I've seen during commuter hours on 128, and that is not even the primary route into the track, most people come from Concord direction

any major construction at the track would require town and state approvals, engineering and studies alone may run a couple hundred thousand $$ just to get approvals

if Nascar income doesn't support the expense, I doubt it will happen

[Imbeek]

The one and only time I went to nascar at Loudon, traffic getting out wasn't that bad...because we left early!

[repete513]

I haven't heard anyone mention the fact that there's been buzz about nhms losing one of the nascar races ever since the motor speedway corp bought it. They own a bunch of tracks and all of them seat way more than nh. Do you think losing one of the races would force them to spend more money on the road coarse or take away money from the rr budget

[SVRACER01]

The problem really stems from the fact that New Hampshire is not in the middle of good ole boy Nascar country, parking would be what it is now, mostly offsite, just more of it, a bigger problem with doubling the capacity is Route 106, it already takes 5 or 6 hours to clear the place out after a race, so that's a state highway issue

the first year i went to laguna for WSBK we took a car. i never made that mistake again. a bike is the only way in and out of there. its 1 lane out onto a 2 lane state highway. i believe there is another entrance/exit out the back, but its also 1 lane and dumps into a neighborhood.

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Do you think losing one of the races would force them to spend more money on the road coarse or take away money from the rr budget

no.