Track Cover

[tx_trojan]

Maybe I'm being too naive, but why doesn't a track owner that has the cash (i.e., Bruton), build a contraption that covers the track during rainstorms? Does this sound too easy to anybody else?

 

[vegasnitro]

I have often wondered why someone hasn't tried a permanent canopy type structure 30 feet or so above the track surface (or above the highest level of the grandstands) ... It would help keep the track somewhat dry durning a rainstorm, but also has the added benefit of shading the track a good portion of the day, particularly the hottest portion of the day. It would ruin the blimp shots though.

 

[rckymtn3]

cost versus benefit on temporary covers.....you still need to drain the water away once you've created a quarter mile bathtub.....I am sure some new tracks have better water run-off management than the older tracks....drainage ditch-like depressions either side of retaining wall etc....might help, but it's not a turf surface that gets saturated, it's asphalt which can take a bit of a blow-dry without hurting....so, I'm guessing it's the cost of it versus just how much it helps in the end....

stadiums have been discussed since I can remember....a permanent structure costs too much (at least until this sport becomes as popular as football), but in order to keep tracks in proximity to the giant markets the NHRA is trying to tap into, it might be the only way it might survive 50 more years....not so much for waterproofing (it's a bonus) but more for sound abatement...

replace blimp with suspended cameras for that overhead view, though it adds the unique view, it does little for me enjoying the racing....

 

[tx_trojan]

I have often wondered why someone hasn't tried a permanent canopy type structure 30 feet or so above the track surface (or above the highest level of the grandstands) ... It would help keep the track somewhat dry durning a rainstorm, but also has the added benefit of shading the track a good portion of the day, particularly the hottest portion of the day. It would ruin the blimp shots though.

Ya, I agree. I was thinking of a mechanical contraption, sort of like the technology they use for baseball/football stadiums....

 

[john]

I forget the guys name, Argeness or something like that. He was a developer that wanted to build an indoor dragstrip in Plainfield, Ct's old dog track. The price was in the $300 million range but included stores and other sport venues. The locals killed it.

 

[twostep]

One national event a year...factor in the odds of it raining vs. the odds of it not...if it's widespread rain, they'll cancel the event anyway, cover or no...and it adds up not being cost effective. Not the same as covering a baseball infield.

 

[BaldyLochs]

The technology is already here, people. PlayStation 3 Countdown to the Championship has an indoor track. I've personally driven a Pro Stocker and quite a few laps in a Nitro Funny Car there.... and it is incredible. Now granted, they're still working out some HVAC bugs & such with the tire smoke & exhaust fumes.....not to mention that Coppertone & Banana Boat Sunscreen manufacturers are really pissed about it too