New Cup schedule, link additions, and the NAPA AutoCare 500 from Martinsville, VA.
2001 Schedule.......... New Tracks
Chicagoland Speedway and Kansas Speedway have been added to next season's Cup schedule. The tracks are both banked 1.5 mile tri-ovals that should handle speeds in the vicinity of 185 MPH. The two new venues didn't replace any of the regular stops on the circuit, NASCAR apparently used two of the off-weekends to work these dates into the schedule.
Looking over the tentative schedule, the only Sunday off that I can see is the usual break for Mothers Day. From then on, it's solid racing right on through November. Just a couple of years ago, the schedule consisted of 32 races. Then it moved up to 34, and now it's moved up to 36. That's great for the fans, but it will take it's toll on the teams. I assume that if they want to race, they'll get used to it.
Chicagoland Speedway gets their first race dates on the weekend of July 15th. The track is located outside of Joliet, IL, 30 miles south of Chicago, and three miles south of Interstate 80 on Route 53. At it's inaugural race, the facility is planning to have grandstand seating for 75k and parking facilities for 70k.
Kansas Speedway gets it's first 2001 Cup date on Sept 30th. The Craftsman trucks and the IRL cars will be the first to race on the track in early July, with the Busch series sharing the weekend with the Cup series in September. The track is located outside of Kansas City near Interstate 70 and the I-435 beltway. The first phase of construction is supposed to allow for 75k grandstand capacity and parking facilities for 65k vehicles.
New Links...............
I've added new links to this site that can be accessed from my welcome page. There's a link to it at the bottom of this page. I've added team homepages, some driver homepages, and the web sites for the Cup tracks on the circuit, including the new tracks added to next season's schedule.
Coming soon........ A new link category entitled "Fan Homepages!" If you have a homepage that you would like to share with us, please E-mail me the URL address and I'll add it to my links list at the top right of my welcome page.
NAPA AutoCare 500............. Tony Stewart
