Vision to reality: LA Coliseum event already a break from the norm
LOS ANGELES — Friday was a rare quiet day for a NASCAR weekend. Engine sounds were nearly nil, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum provided a historic backdrop as teams made themselves at home — turning what’s normally a tailgating area into a makeshift garage.
Friday was orientation day ahead of Sunday’s Busch Light Clash (6 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), a chance for teams, broadcasters and crew to get acquainted with the famed surroundings. Some of the most curious onlookers were the drivers, who loaded in early to walk the grounds and see the temporary quarter-mile track for themselves.
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The LA Coliseum has hosted plenty in its nearly 100-year-old lifetime, and it’s a peerless list. But there may be no apples-to-apples comparison for what’s about to happen with Sunday’s season-opening exhibition, one that has come a full revolution from wild idea to closed-course reality and one that could usher in a new era of change.
“We haven’t been calling this a race, we’ve been calling this an event, and that’s what’s different about this weekend versus our traditional weekly races,” said Tony Stewart, a team owner who will join the FOX Sports booth for Sunday’s call. “Different cities, different race tracks … were races. This is an event. This is different. This is not just a race. This is an event at a very special place, a very special venue.
“What’s going to make it a success is if everybody leaves here and feels good about the product and what they saw. The time they were here, if they left here and felt like they were entertained, that’s what’s going to make it a success. It doesn’t have to be 40 passes for the lead, it doesn’t have to be two-wide racing, three-wide racing. If people leave here and they feel good about this event, that is going to make this event a success.”
Friday’s walk-through provided hints that this weekend promises to be far from the routine. The Olympic torch burned bright at the east end of the stadium. Bass-heavy sound checks from race break performer Ice Cube resonated. The LA skyline, San Gabriel Mountains and the Hollywood sign offered iconic long-race scenery.
The LA Coliseum has hosted motorsports events before — motocross, rallycross and off-road racing to name a sampling. But this endeavor marks something all-new, even though the speedway surface almost seems like it’s in a natural habitat within the coliseum bowl.
“Back in the ’70s and ’80s, we did the Mickey Thompson off-road show, we’ve done rock ‘n’ roll shows, so flipping the field from one event to another isn’t foreign for us at all,” said Joe Furin, the coliseum’s general manager. “If NASCAR can engineer something within these parameters, we’re all in. … From the venue perspective, in some ways, we’ve done what we can do. I think they’re going to put one heck of a show on. I think if you’re sitting up in those stands and when you hear those engines rumbling, you’re not just going to hear it, you’re going to feel it come through the concrete and it’s going to shake you.”
MORE: How the LA Coliseum track was built
Cars will make the track rattle for practice and qualifying Saturday, the initial tune-up for Sunday’s heats and 150-lap main event. Friday offered a quieter time to get familiar with the venue, and for those instrumental in making the track come alive to soak it all in.
“If you think about the window between September when we announced this and Feb. 6, it’s a small window — not only to announce a race and be racing, but then to build a track inside of it, too,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation. “As a vision of the team’s and then to actually be able to promote it, build the track and then actually execute it on Sunday will be something really special. I’m really excited and proud of the team for where it’s at today. I’ll be more excited and proud once we drop the checkered flag on Sunday.”
