Left in the dust

Carolinas lose races as NASCAR heads west, but will fans follow?

NASCAR is leaving North Carolina Speedway behind. Chris Stanford/Getty Images Tentative 2005 Nextel Cup schedule Date Site Feb. 12* Daytona International Speedway Feb. 20 Daytona International Speedway Feb. 27 California Speedway March 13 Las Vegas Motor Speedway March 20 Atlanta Motor Speedway April 3 Bristol Motor Speedway April 10 Martinsville Speedway April 17 Texas Motor Speedway April 23 Phoenix International Raceway May 1 Talladega Superspeedway May 7 Darlington Raceway May 14 Richmond International Raceway May 21** Lowe's Motor Speedway May 29 Lowe's Motor Speedway June 5 Dover International Speedway June 12 Pocono Raceway June 19 Michigan International Speedway June 26 Infineon Raceway July 2 Daytona International Speedway July 10 Chicagoland Speedway July 17 New Hampshire International Speedway July 24 Pocono Raceway Aug. 7 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Aug. 14 Watkins Glen International Aug. 21 Michigan International Speedway Aug. 27 Bristol Motor Speedway Sept. 4 California Speedway Sept. 10 Richmond International Raceway Sept. 18 New Hampshire International Speedway Sept. 25 Dover International Speedway Oct. 2 Talladega Superspeedway Oct. 9 Kansas Speedway Oct. 15 Lowe's Motor Speedway Oct. 23 Martinsville Speedway Oct. 30 Atlanta Motor Speedway Nov. 6 Texas Motor Speedway Nov. 13 Phoenix International Raceway Nov. 20 Homestead-Miami Speedway * -- Budweiser Shootout ** -- Nextel All-Star Challenge

It was Horace Greeley who advised young men to "go west." And NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France is taking Nextel Cup thatta way. He is certain the cash to be had is greener on the other side, so much so that the sport is leaving behind its roots in favor of a Southwest flavor.

"The 2005 schedule marks an important milestone in NASCAR's realignment efforts because it provides opportunities for more fans to experience first-hand NASCAR Nextel Cup events near their hometowns," France said. "I don't think it's any secret that the demand is there [in the West], the population is there, the race fans are there. We're going to take our events there."

And what he means by "there" is that's where the money is. A bigger population base means more potential fans which equals larger crowds and more money. There will be outrage from the tradition-rich Southeast, but at the end of the day, France has shareholders to answer to -- and that means getting the biggest buck for the bang.

NASCAR's expansion to the left coast will include nine races west of the Mississippi in 2005, up from only two events 10 years ago. Texas and Phoenix will have two races, while Darlington, S.C. -- which had its traditional Labor Day race yanked in favor of California this year -- will lose one of its two events and Rockingham, N.C., is being eliminated from the schedule.

"At the end of the day it really doesn't matter to me where I race as long as I'm racing every weekend," driver Casey Mears said. "If NASCAR is making business decisions that will help the sport grow, I'm all for it. It's sad to see a place like Rockingham get dumped because it's such a fun place to race. You've got so many tracks that are so similar and then you've got a track like that that's so unique. It's such a good track.

"Racing-wise I hate to see it go, but this sport is growing and changing. You've got to move with the times and do what's going to help the sport grow."

As for those fans that helped grow the sport to where it is today -- the ones seemingly left behind with this latest expansion -- France points out there are still plenty of races in Richmond, Charlotte, Atlanta and Daytona. And the one thing each of those cities has in common is large population bases, which again goes back to larger crowds and more money taken into the coffers.

Nonetheless, dropping a one-mile track like Rockingham to add a race at a larger speedway isn't veteran Sterling Marlin's choice. "Rockingham, to me, was one of the best tracks we raced at. I guess the area it's in just wouldn't pull in the fans. It's a shame for Rockingham.

"We run twice [a year] at some tracks that I don't think we need to run twice at now. We go to New Hampshire twice; I don't know why we go there twice, but we do. Some tracks have two races that don't need 'em. Maybe we could plug a Rockingham in there. Maybe before we get all the tracks out West we need to stand back and look at things a little harder."

Darlington, the original NASCAR superspeedway, is left with only one race -- under the lights on Mother's Day weekend -- for the first time since the 1960 season. In total, the Carolinas, once considered the heartbeat of Cup racing, have now lost three of six races in the past year.

MAILBAG

"It has become big business and when you look at next year's schedule," driver Ricky Craven said, "it is more of a reflection of the business of racing than necessarily the flavor of racing. If the seats aren't full, then I think new options need to be considered.

"From a driver's standpoint, I'm really going to miss Rockingham and that second date at Darlington. That's from a driver's standpoint, but from a business standpoint, it makes perfect sense."

And speaking of business, Texas' second date comes on the heels of a lawsuit settlement between Francis Ferko, a stockholder within Texas Motor Speedway, and NASCAR. France acknowledges it was a "complicated settlement," but the fact is NASCAR capitalized on making the most of its year-to-year scheduling agreements with tracks. Again, it's big business.

However, part of the settlement includes International Speedway Corporation (NASCAR, for all intent and purposes) purchasing Martinsville Speedway for $192 million, to be funded by $100.4 million in proceeds from the sale of North Carolina Speedway and $91.6 million in cash to Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

ISC already indirectly owns 50 percent of Martinsville, but the nuts and bolts of the deal (see: lawsuit settlement) essentially allows SMI to move the one remaining race date at The Rock to Texas.

But France hinted this latest shift in geographical balance may not be the end of NASCAR's expansion. "Now we're on to 2005. [The schedule change] is a big distraction out of the way. We're going to focus on what we do best: provide great racing all over the world, or all over the country -- hopefully the world one day -- and we'll leave it at that."

NASCAR is prepared to go west -- maybe even farther west than many originally envisioned. What remains to be seen is whether fans will go along for the ride. Get your tickets now, because after NASCAR dropped off the Southeast fans, plenty of seats are available.

B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for SI.com.