Michael Waltrip has announced that he and his race team will be investors in a new racetrack coming to Columbus, Ohio. The Sports Pavilion and Automotive Research Complex is currently being developed on the site of the city's Cooper Stadium and will include a half-mile track and seating for 8,500 spectators. A 50,000 square-foot office building will provide research space while an on-site hotel will serve up accommodations and a meeting center. The plan also calls for 1,900 parking spaces and several locations for restaurants. Of course, we're more excited to hear the SPARC facility will feature an outdoor karting track.
We're all for adding another paved oval to the world, but it seems unlikely the venue would attract any attention from NASCAR organizers. While the track itself could support a NASCAR event, Waltrip says the limited seating on hand would make it difficult to accommodate the sport's spectators. Instead, the SPARC track would possibly bring in smaller Nationwide Series races. More importantly, the track will offer NASCAR teams another viable testing facility since race rules prohibit testing on any track associated with a series race. You can check out the project's promotional video below.
We're all for adding another paved oval to the world, but it seems unlikely the venue would attract any attention from NASCAR organizers. While the track itself could support a NASCAR event, Waltrip says the limited seating on hand would make it difficult to accommodate the sport's spectators. Instead, the SPARC track would possibly bring in smaller Nationwide Series races. More importantly, the track will offer NASCAR teams another viable testing facility since race rules prohibit testing on any track associated with a series race. You can check out the project's promotional video below.
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue