WDW Speedway

[mousecar]

Does anyone know if the WDW Speedway is used for anything else but the Richard Petty Driving Experience? I heard they used to have Indy cars race there.

 

[DisJosh]

Some races are held there...I'm not too sure about Formula 1 races though.

 

[Sean23]

I know a few years back they had a WDW 200, I think it was in Feburary. The last few years they have not had it and think it is mainly used for the Richard Petty driving experience.

 

[TURKEY]

It wasn't Formula 1. It was either IRL or CART, one of the two indy cars.

I believe the last race was in 2000. I don't know of how many races are held there now. I can't think of any MAJOR racing leagues that race there.

It's mainly the Richard Petty experience.

 

[gjpjtj]

I believe it was IRL, don't know why they stopped racing there. I remember the inaugaral race, it was kind of a big deal.

 

[mickeyfanatics]

All I know is that they ruined the best designed parking lot in the world by putting a race track in it. What a waste of space!

 

[Disneyanna0521]

go to disneyworld.com and do some homework

 

[jwbeck3]

IRL stopped having the race there because the track was desinged kind of poorly, it wasn't safe, many accidents happened.

 

[Fievel]

I think NASCAR's Busch series has held races there.

 

[TURKEY]

Originally posted by Fievel
I think NASCAR's Busch series has held races there.

I've followed NASCAR for several years and have never heard of any Busch series races there.

NASCAR has several much smaller series than the big two that may have raced there. They don't get very much pub.

 

[pheneix]

The Craftsman Truck Series raced there for a couple of years, but I have never heard of the Busch Series ever holding an event at WDW.

 

[Fievel]

Originally posted by pheneix
The Craftsman Truck Series raced there for a couple of years, but I have never heard of the Busch Series ever holding an event at WDW.

That's what it was..I knew somethign from NASCAR was there...d'oh...thanks

 

[mousecar]

I love racing but if there aren't any races held there, maybe they should make it something different. Diehard NASCAR fans will do the Richard Petty Driving Experience at one of the bigger tracks - Lowe's, Daytona, etc.

How about a "Non-Disney" priced grocery store with shuttle service to all of the Disney resorts?

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Formula 1 has NEVER been held at Disney.

For some unknown reason the idea of Formula 1 in the USA has never really caught on. In the 70's & 80's F1 was held at Watkins Glen and in California. Then the American decline, USA disappeared off the race calendar for several years until they decided to have a race around the car park in Caesars Palace ??? probably semed like a good idea at the time.
In the last few years F1 has returned and is held at The Brickyard - home of the Indy 500

 

[Badger Brent]

Yes, it was trucks and the IRL for the first couple of years and then some serious accidents happened and the configuration wasn't what everyone expected for close racing. As a die hard race fan, I say either use it the right way or tear it down and use it for something more useful. Even a waterpark or another mini golf course would be a lot better then what it's used for now. I know, That area might not be big enough for a water park and then the parking problem. It was just a idea.:brick:

 

[Rehabilitated]

Well it looks like this thread has it sorted out. It was IRL and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The track was not laid out by a professional or with professional guidance by any series. It does not have enough width for the speeds resulting in cars hitting the wall at odd angles (head on for example) which resulted in some serious injuries. They would need to change the configuration to make it work right.

There was discussion some time ago about Formula 1 coming to Disney. Disney was considering paying the $80 million hosting fee in addition to creating a track but dropped the idea. It was around the height of their sports expansion with the Wide World of Sports, the Speedway, the California Angels, the Mighty Ducks, etc. and around when F1 declared it was coming to Indy.

Living in Charlotte, NC I agree that anyone wanting to do the Richard Petty Driving Experience should do it at a larger track. Tear it down and leave it as green space. If they want a real raceway then engage Rick Mears or Tom Sneva and get help from a major series. IRL would do it, CART might, NASCAR Winston Cup has its calendar too full already but Busch might, Truck might.

 

[Hurricane]

It would be interesting to see an F1 race at disney, but i'd rather have a le mans type endurance road race that would, to some degree, go thru the parks. It would be so surreal, almost like a video game to see Schumacher and Coulthard peeling out infront of the castle

 

[Since '79]

Best Use Of Space?

Hey there, I believe there were an IRL indycar and NASCAR truck race, but besides general track layout problems, I think attendance was an issue. Might have been due to the track promoters requiring ticket buyers to buy "season tickets". This seems to be commonplace with new race venues now. If you have to spend 500-800-1000 dollars for tickets because you want to take a family to one race but have to buy tickets to an event you wont attend[worse yet two or three!]that can hurt attendance. OKAY! Sorry for rambling! I agree its probably got a higher use as a parking lot than a race track at this point. Maybe someone is unable to admit defeat seeing the amount of money wasted on this one?