Race track at MK

[mitros]

Do they still have regular races at that stupid race track that they put in the most ridiculous place possible, or do they just do that Richard Petty experience? I recall going by there any time of year and you could hear the cars roaring by.

 

[hAm53]

they have a nextel (nee: winston) cup race there every year, and i'm sure they have a few lower tier races during the year as well

~ chris

 

[rapriebe]

Sorry hAm53 but they don't race Winston Cup cars at the Disney track. My husband is an avid race car fan who goes to numerous races every year and like he just said to me -- If there was a race at Disney then we would be there every year. But then who needs encouragement to go to Disney.

There might be some of the other "series" of races but not the "big boys". IRL has raced there in the past but I'm not sure if they still do.

 

[ToddBreakey]

Nope, no sanctioned races at Disneyworld Speedway anymore. The IRL raced there in January for a couple years (1997 - 1999 I think) with the then new NASCAR Craftsmen Truck Series as a support race. They were fun races to watch because of the unique layout of the track (only three corners.) Sadly, the only speed that track sees anymore is the Petty Driving Experience.

If you notice when you drive into the park next time, you will see that there are no grandstands anymore. (The grandstands used to be where the drive way is now. The driveway was all the way against the trees to the right then.) Also, as you drive along, if you watch the fence line of the track, you will see the flag stand that is not even used for the Petty Experience anymore.

 

[mitros]

You think this was another of Ei$ners ideas gone bad? What a waste of money that must have been! Do you think they might get rid of it at some point?

 

[MinniMama]

We were at the first IRL race in Jan 1996 right after the split in Indy. I think that had been the plan Indy- there were major issues with traffic we spent 2 hours on a bus and got off and walked to POLY. Wish they would consider it again all the racers were there we met John Andretti on main street MK and several drivers and owners at the track pit passes were awesome and free! It was a blast!

 

[ToddBreakey]

I don't think the idea of Disney owning a track is necessarily a bad thing. I think the planning, location, and series involved are not well thought out. If Disney had chosen a different area of the property (I'm not sure where that would be) and developed its own infrastructure (roads, parking, permenant grand stands, etc.), things might have been better.

Also I think that if Disney had tried to get the Winston Cup boys instead of the IRL and the Trucks they would have packed the stands every year and there would still be racing there.

As we all know Disney can put on a really good show and I think this would have been true for a NASCAR race also. Plus they might have gotten new people to Disney that might not go there if it wasn't for the race.

Do I think there will be any professional racing there again? Probably not. There were too many complaints about the traffic and noise that the regular WDW guests had to deal with. Again. if it was in a different location, this would not be a problem.

 

[mitros]

I agree that the track probably would have bought in more business. The big problem is where they put it. It should have been set up in a fringe area away from the "maddening" crowds. It did cause a lot of traffic problems and was very noisy.