Pikes Peak Raceway hoping to land Cup date
By Troy Fletcher, Special to Turner Sports Interactive
July 18, 2001
11:41 AM EDT (1541 GMT)
FOUNTAIN, Colo. -- The Winston Cup schedule is always evolving.
Look no further than the 2001 slate, which includes 36 points races with two of those events being held at new tracks in Joliet, Ill., and Kansas City, Kan.
All of which makes Rob Johnson, president of Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo., optimistic that his track will be part of the Cup campaign in the future.
"NASCAR officials know we want a Winston Cup race at our facility," Johnson said. "I know that the schedule is very full right now, but they will be looking to expand again in a market they are not in like Colorado. It may take a few years, but I like the position we are in."
Presently, PPIR is a one-mile tri-oval track, which plays host to NASCAR’s Busch Grand National and Craftsman Truck Series.
Although the five-year-old facility only has a 42,787-seating capacity, Johnson knows that number would change dramatically if PPIR were given a Cup event.
"We own 1,200 acres of land at the facility and if we had nine months to work before a Cup race, that would easily give us enough time to put in 80,000 permanent seats," said Johnson. "If we only had two months to get ready, we could have 60,000 permanent seats in place then easily expand to 80,000."
Both Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet and the Kansas Speedway have grandstand seating for 75,000 spectators.
Other issues NASCAR has had with PPIR in terms of considering it for a Cup race include whether it could handle the traffic and whether the race would be a sellout.
"For the past three years, we have really been focusing on the traffic issue and I think we have been pretty successful," said Johnson. "We have given people more places to park and more places to enter and leave the facility. Plus, we have organized shuttles and we keep doing whatever we need to in order to make the traffic issue easier for everybody. As for us getting a crowd at the Cup race, it would sell out and sell out very fast. I am certain of that."
 | |
Pikes Peak International Raceway is a one-mile tri-oval.
|
|
|
PPIR has already been getting favorable reviews from drivers.
"If I were to rate PPIR’s track on a scale from one to 10, I would give it an eight," said Mike Bliss, who is currently behind the wheel of the Eel River Racing Winston Cup machine. "It is great for racing and I love the fact that it is a one-mile tri-oval."
David Green, who is presently a regular in the Busch Series, echoed Bliss.
"(PPIR) would be a beautiful track to run a Cup race," said Green, who has made 75 Winston Cup starts and won $2,158,590 in prize money. "They just probably have to run a couple more Busch Series races here and earn their keep a little bit more, then they can talk about getting a Cup race."
Enhancing PPIR’s reputation is something Johnson is constantly doing.
"Our track rental revenue is up 400 percent from just three years ago," said Johnson. "We want to expose our track to as many local, regional and national people as we can, so they can tell people what our track is like. The more people who are talking about our track will only help us in regard to getting a Cup race."
| 
