Mid-Ohio,
a 2.4-mile, 15-turn road course in Lexington, marks the return of NASCAR
national series racing to Ohio, the home state of the series’ Columbus-based
entitlement sponsor, Nationwide Insurance. Mid-Ohio’s Aug. 17 addition
fortifies the series’ trio of challenging road courses, joining Road America
(June 22) and Watkins Glen (Aug. 10).
“With
Mid-Ohio on the schedule, the NASCAR Nationwide Series has another opportunity
to lead the way at a new venue,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR senior vice
president of racing operations, of the sixth time in nine years the series will
run an inaugural race. “This gives us the opportunity to bring the series’
signature side-by-side racing to a new fan base, and build enthusiasm among
race fans that have yet to experience the unparalleled experience of attending
a NASCAR event.
“This
is a competitive and well-balanced schedule that challenges our drivers and
teams with a variety of different tracks and distances. It’s a schedule that
the fans will enjoy.”
NASCAR
national series racing last competed in Ohio in 2008, with the running of the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Mansfield Motorsports Park. GRAND-AM
Road Racing has raced at Mid-Ohio since 2000.
The
balance of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide schedule, the series’ 32nd
season,maintains a familiar feel, with a strong mix of short tracks, road courses,
intermediate race tracks and superspeedways.
Daytona
International Speedway hosts the season opener on Feb. 23. That race also will
feature the introduction of Chevrolet’s Camaro into the series. The series
finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway is set for Nov. 16.
On
July 27, the series will race at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the
second consecutive year as part of “Super Weekend at The Brickyard” with the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and GRAND-AM.
Next
season’s schedule includes six “standalone” race dates: Iowa Speedway (June 8
and Aug. 3), Chicagoland Speedway (July 21), Kentucky Speedway (Sept. 21), Road
America and Mid-Ohio.
Kentucky’s
first NASCAR Nationwide Series race on June 28, one of 27 companion weekends
with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series,also will be the qualifying event for the
2013 “Dash 4 Cash” bonus program. The subsequent four races make up the 2013
“Dash 4 Cash” events: Daytona on July 5; New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July
13; Chicagoland and the Brickyard.
2013
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES SCHEDULE
2/23
Daytona International Speedway 3/2 Phoenix International Raceway
3/9 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
3/16 Bristol Motor Speedway
3/23 Auto Club Speedway
4/12 Texas Motor Speedway
4/26 Richmond International Raceway
5/4 Talladega Superspeedway
5/10 Darlington Raceway
5/25 Charlotte Motor Speedway
6/1 Dover International Speedway
6/8 Iowa Speedway
6/15 Michigan International Speedway
6/22 Road America
6/28 Kentucky Speedway
7/5 Daytona International Speedway
7/13 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
7/21 Chicagoland Speedway
7/27 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
8/3 Iowa Speedway
8/10 Watkins Glen International
8/17 Mid-Ohio
8/23 Bristol Motor Speedway
8/31 Atlanta Motor Speedway
9/6 Richmond International Raceway
9/14 Chicagoland Speedway
9/21 Kentucky Speedway
9/28 Dover International Speedway
10/5 Kansas Speedway
10/11 Charlotte Motor Speedway
11/2 Texas Motor Speedway
11/9 Phoenix International Raceway
11/16 Homestead-Miami Speedway
I would like to see either the Sprint cars or Nationwide cars run on the road race track at Indy. Maybe that would bring out some people to fill the seats.
ReplyDeleteI was bummed after reading the article, I read the headine and thought they were going to Eldora.
ReplyDelete