Here we grow again--that should be the motto of many of the NASCAR-sanctioned Winston Cup racetracks these days. In this age of race mania, racetracks everywhere are scrambling to provide more seats to accommodate a race-thirsty public.
One track that has gone through an incredible upgrade and expansion over the last few years is the Charlotte Motor Speedway. In addition to the lights that brought night racing to the track, CMS has added new stands and sky boxes that have made the facility the envy of racetrack owners everywhere.
This story doesn't stop here, because Charlotte is on the expansion track again. Construction has begun for the addition of 11,500 new seats for the year 2000. The new seats will be part of a double deck addition to the track that will feature grandstand seats and unique open sky-boxes. To make way for part of the planned growth, some of the older grandstands had to go--and go they did. Take a look at what we saw as part of the speedway passed unceremoniously into history.
The destruction force consisted of three tractors with chains attached to the support pillars of the 606-seat concrete Ford Tower grandstands, which stood just before Turn 1. When the command was given, the tractors put their considerable force in gear to pull the stands down.
As the stands gave in to the force tugging at them, the left side began to crumble and the inevitable chain reaction occurred. The process continued until finally the last pillar gave up and the expected cloud of dust followed the total collapse.
When the dust settled, all that remained of the once-grand-stand was a heap of concrete and twisted seats. The next day the cleanup began, making way for new construction.
We did some post-destruction investigating to get some history on the tower stands. The stands were built in 1966 and had seated 606 people. The stands were named the Ford Tower in recognition of the Ford Motor Company and from the years 1966 to 1983 were filled two weekends a year for Winston Cup action. That means during those 17 years a total of 41,208 people watched racing action from these stands.
In the years 1984 to 1996 the stands were filled three weekends a year for racing events. These events included Winston Cup, Busch, IROC, and The Winston. During those 12 years 43,632 fans enjoyed the races. From 1997 to 1998, CMS hosted two Winston Cup, two Busch, one IROC, and one Indy racing event. During these years 3,636 race fans watched the races from the Ford Tower.
All together, the 32-year life of the grandstands permitted 88,476 fans to see a lot of racing.