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As I write this it’s Monday and there still hasn’t been a Cup race, but that’s OK because I’m thinking about the trucks, Eastern North Carolina and next season.

ESPN first reported last week that Rockingham is poised to host the Camping World Truck Series in 2012 – its first NASCAR national touring series event since 2004 and first ever Truck Series event. The track is expected to announce the addition on Wednesday with North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue in attendance.

The move wasn’t a complete surprise as the track has been working to install SAFER barriers – another item reported by ESPN last month. Since Andy Hillenburg purchased the track from Speedway Motorsports in 2007, it’s played host to ARCA races, late model and street stock events and a whole lot of testing.

The addition of this race is no doubt a boost for the track. It lost its ARCA date this year after just two seasons and doesn’t have any other premier events. The Truck Series will give it exposure to new fans and what is sure to be solid attendance in at least the first couple of years.

The question for Hillenburg though has to be what the loss of all that testing will mean for the bottom line. Now that Rockingham is hosting a major NASCAR event, teams can no longer use the big facility. I suspect that was a major portion of Rockingham’s revenue. Certainly “Little Rock,” the half-mile test track behind the big track, is still open and available, but is it enough?

With higher sanctioning fees than other racing series and generally smaller crowds than the Nationwide and Cup Series, it’s going to take some work to make up the deficit.

Still, the thought of driving down Highway 74 towards Rockingham for a NASCAR event is exciting. It’s something no one has been able to do in years – I for one am glad NASCAR is taking the chance on the venue. We’ll see how everything turns out next year, but this is sure to be a bright spot.

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Since the track’s reconfiguration a few years ago, it seems that every time we get close to Bristol, the comments about how the track and the racing just aren’t the same come back.  When the track’s concrete was redone in 2007, the banking in the corners went from a straight 26 degrees to 24-30 degrees.  And in making the change, the racing at Bristol was forever altered.  The question is, when tracks are getting resurfaced or reconfigured, is variable banking the answer to all that ails them?

The biggest complaint about the new Bristol is that the action just isn’t the same as it was.  Before the new concrete, Bristol was known for it’s close racing and the need for “bump-and-run” passes.  There was one fast way around the half mile track, and that was right on the bottom.  And often, the only way to pass a guy was to move him.  That always led to a lot of wrecks and a lot of angry drivers.  The variable banking all but eliminated this type of racing, and to some, killed Bristol.

The most recent example of a track getting variably banked corners is Phoenix International Raceway.  As part of the track’s reconfiguration that includes new pavement, and a change in the backstretch dogleg, variable (or progressive) banking will be added in turns 1-2 and turn 4.  We wrote back in November about our thoughts on the changes, but I will reiterate that we aren’t fans of them.  I’m all for new pavement, but as to the other changes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Besides Phoenix and Bristol, the other two tracks on the NASCAR schedule that employ this style of banking are Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.  While you can probably make the argument that both of these tracks were helped by the reconfigurations, neither are known for particularly close racing.

As the Cup and Nationwide cars get ready to take to the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” this weekend, I’m curious what your thoughts are on variable banking.  Personally, I think in certain situations it can be good, but it should not be something every track adopts.  It can create more side by side racing, but not every track needs 43 cars running two by two every lap.  Bristol is a perfect example.

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