Kevin Harvick: ’90 percent’ of NASCAR tracks should have just 1 Sprint Cup race

Despite downsizing to just one NASCAR weekend, Auto Club Speedway has thrived. It’s a model Kevin Harvick thinks other tracks should utilize.

If Kevin Harvick had his way, the majority of tracks would follow the lead of Auto Club Speedway and host just one Sprint Cup Series each season.

The Southern California track -- located about an hour east of Los Angeles -- has hosted NASCAR races since 1997. ACS initially had just a single date, but a second was added in 2004. The expansion hurt attendance, and NASCAR shifted its second race to Kansas Speedway in 2011.

That consolidation has helped revitalize ACS, which has seen its attendance steadily climb. It's a strategy Harvick, a native of Bakersfield, Calif., thinks other tracks should incorporate.

"This race track is a great example of a lot of lessons that a lot of people obviously don't pay attention to that run race tracks," Harvick said Friday. "Sometimes, if you take one really great thing and you can really easily make them into two mediocres, and we do that all the time in our sport."

Of the 23 tracks the Cup Series visits, only 10 don't stage a second race. The recent economic downturn greatly impacted many speedways. Vast areas of empty seats became commonplace as tracks struggled with ticket sales, to the point where some grandstands have been completely removed.

"I think some markets are just one-race markets," Harvick said. "I would say 90 percent of them are one-race markets, but a lot of them still have two races and you just see those mediocre crowds. I think when people know that you're only coming one time a year, you have to go to that one particular race."

But there are other factors contributing to ACS's recent upswing. The aged surface has made the product dramatically better in recent years with drivers afforded multiple grooves to race.

Another plus is a date change from Labor Day weekend to March, which features much cooler temperatures for fans and competitors alike.

"When you look at the crowds that we've had over the last couple of years, they've been really good," Harvick said. "As a driver you look forward to coming here now because it's one of those race tracks where you can run all over the place and the cars can slide around and you're going to have fun from the driver's seat. So, that bleeds over into the perception that the fans get as well, because everybody is talking about enjoying racing on this particular track.

"Having a race with a good date is obviously good for the weather and the people to come out and enjoy it. It's not 115 degrees in August."

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