“I guess if you equate it to a minor league baseball team getting to play at Yankee Stadium it’s going to be the same thing,” said South Bend, Ind., native Ryan Newman.
“Change is good,” said Kevin Harvick when asked about it.
“I think it’s cool for IMS,” said Hoosier Tony Stewart.
When the NASCAR Nationwide Series leaves Indianapolis Raceway Park (or O’Reilly Raceway Park or, now, Lucas Oil Raceway) in two-and-a-half weeks, they’ll do so not knowing when they’ll be back.
NASCAR’s second-tier series is slated to run at IRP (yes, it’s IRP, and it’s still the Busch Series, if you must know) on July 30th, and then move to the big track—the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway—in 2012.
“The enthusiasm is going to be up,” said Harvick. “It’s going to be a new venue for the Nationwide Series. It’s going to be new for the fans. There are going to be a lot of new things that go with that.”
Count Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, both Indiana natives, against the plan to move away from IRP. They don’t want to see NASCAR leave its short track roots.
“I’m kind of sad for ORP though because I know from my history at ORP that was a big event that we all looked forward to as USAC drivers getting to watch the Nationwide guys come,” said Stewart.
“I’m sure there’s going to be a lot more excitement,” Newman said. “I’m a big fan of the short tracks; I grew up racing at IRP. That to me is a part of the sport that I think we shouldn’t let go, but at the same time, there is a reason why it’s getting moved to the Brickyard.”
“I hate to see ORP go,” Harvick said. “But things change. This is no different than any other business. You have to keep up with the times.”
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My opinion on the move? Stay tuned. More on Kentucky’s traffic and attendance as well as some fun photos from the Kentucky Speedway weekend of Cincinnati-area TV folks getting work done.
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